ducks
11-02-2008, 09:48 PM
PHOENIX – The whistle blew and the Phoenix Suns rolled their eyes. They had run into training camp only to find a traffic cop standing in their way. Terry Porter walked into the middle of their scrimmages. He told them to slow down. He directed them where to go. Two weeks into the preseason and, already, a handful of the Suns had tired of that damn whistle.
“Next time,” one player muttered under his breath, “I’m just going to run him over.”
For the better part of five seasons, the Suns had their fun. Only one word mattered in their huddle: Go. Freedom reigned above all else. They launched their threes and they ran, ran, ran. They won games and fans, and the NBA was better for having them.
No longer, though, are these Mike D’Antoni’s Seven Seconds (or less) Suns, and that was evident Thursday. They spotted Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets nine points, sprayed the ball all over the floor and generally looked unsure of themselves. By game’s end, they had totaled 24 turnovers, nearly double what they averaged last season, more than enough to cement their fate with a 108-95 loss. That this happened in their home opener with the Hornets not only missing their starting center, Tyson Chandler, but also losing sharp-shooting guard Peja Stojakovic in the early moments of the fourth quarter, made the performance all the more frustrating.
Afterward, Steve Nash stood in front of his locker and said, “None of us, I think, are quite sure what tempo we’re going to play at.”
Nash wasn’t complaining as much as he was stating the obvious. Still, nine months ago, who would have imagined one of the game’s greatest playmakers needing to search for his team’s identity?
Much has happened in those nine months. Suns GM Steve Kerr, encouraged by D’Antoni, traded Shawn Marion to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O’Neal midway through last season. By then, Kerr had already begun to question the team’s defensive flaws. The Suns went on to lose to their longtime tormenter, the San Antonio Spurs, in the first round of the playoffs. D’Antoni considered Kerr too meddlesome; Kerr thought D’Antoni too stubborn. Unwilling to submit to his boss’ demand to add a defensive-minded assistant to his staff, D’Antoni left for New York.
Kerr chose Porter, a former Spurs teammate, as D’Antoni’s replacement, shouldering him with perhaps the greatest coaching challenge in the NBA: Change the culture of an already successful franchise, and do it on the fly in the rugged Western Conference.
Preseason injuries have already slowed the process, and the Suns’ opening schedule won’t help them. In the first four weeks, they play the Spurs, Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers (twice), Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.
Nights like Thursday will test the relationship of these Suns and their new coach. Porter was a heady and respected point guard during his day, but this is only his third season leading a staff. He’ll also need time to search through his roster, which includes a few stubborn veterans. While D’Antoni kept his rotation short, Porter used 11 players against the Hornets, even turning to Louis Amundson for a stretch in the second quarter.
“It’s still going to be a learning experience for me,” Porter said.
In spite of the initial whistle-happy transition, sources say the Suns started to warm to Porter as he loosened the reins toward the end of the preseason. After they beat the Spurs in Wednesday’s opener, picking-and-rolling them to death and getting key defensive stops in the fourth quarter, Grant Hill joked, “We out-San Antonioed San Antonio.”
The problem: The Spurs have been out-San Antonio-ing teams for more than a decade now. The Suns did it for a night. The Hornets came to town Thursday, and two minutes into the game, Shaq was turning his back on Paul, letting the point guard run up his jersey for a layup. The Suns can install all the new schemes they want, but they can’t escape this fact: Nash, Stoudemire and O’Neal are all poor defenders.
To lessen the pressure on the Suns’ defense, Porter has tried to control the pace at which they play. That means cutting back the number of quick shots. His motto: If you want to run, get a stop.
“A good shot to me is wide open, non-contested,” Porter said. “If that comes in five seconds or 20 seconds doesn’t matter.”
These Suns, however, are used to playing free and loose, and that’s how Nash became a two-time MVP. Shackle him and you lose what makes him so good, you lose his ability to improvise. “I don’t like what they’re doing,” said one Western Conference scout. “They could end up marginalizing Steve.”
Porter is smart and he’ll make a good coach. Even skeptics agree the Suns have long needed someone to hold Stoudemire accountable. Porter appears up to the task. Already, he’s drawn two technicals in his first two games. D’Antoni had that many all of last season.
But if the Suns’ new coach hasn’t learned now, he will soon. At some point, he and Nash will have to strike a balance. Ironically, Porter used to occasionally grouse about the Spurs’ offense under Gregg Popovich, saying the team needed to push the ball more. Once, Porter ended a 3-on-1 break by pulling up for a 3-pointer. He looked over to see Popovich burying his head in his hands.
So there stood Porter Thursday, eight years later, barking at Raja Bell for forcing a shot.
“I tried worrying about what’s a good shot and what’s a bad shot in training camp, and that didn’t work out too well for me,” Bell said after the game. “So I’m just going to shoot when I feel it’s a good look and if that’s not what he wants, he’ll tell me.”
Few Suns have looked more lost in the offense these first two games. Bell took just four shots against the Spurs and only two in Thursday’s first half. He scored 13 points in the second half, but that didn’t mask his frustration.
“I’m not a figure-it-out guy,” he said. “You tell me what you want, I’ll try to give it to you.
“I guess I didn’t know tonight.”
Thursday was just one night, but there will be more. No one expected this to be easy. For better or worse, these Suns now have someone telling them where to go. What direction they take remains to be seen.
“Next time,” one player muttered under his breath, “I’m just going to run him over.”
For the better part of five seasons, the Suns had their fun. Only one word mattered in their huddle: Go. Freedom reigned above all else. They launched their threes and they ran, ran, ran. They won games and fans, and the NBA was better for having them.
No longer, though, are these Mike D’Antoni’s Seven Seconds (or less) Suns, and that was evident Thursday. They spotted Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets nine points, sprayed the ball all over the floor and generally looked unsure of themselves. By game’s end, they had totaled 24 turnovers, nearly double what they averaged last season, more than enough to cement their fate with a 108-95 loss. That this happened in their home opener with the Hornets not only missing their starting center, Tyson Chandler, but also losing sharp-shooting guard Peja Stojakovic in the early moments of the fourth quarter, made the performance all the more frustrating.
Afterward, Steve Nash stood in front of his locker and said, “None of us, I think, are quite sure what tempo we’re going to play at.”
Nash wasn’t complaining as much as he was stating the obvious. Still, nine months ago, who would have imagined one of the game’s greatest playmakers needing to search for his team’s identity?
Much has happened in those nine months. Suns GM Steve Kerr, encouraged by D’Antoni, traded Shawn Marion to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O’Neal midway through last season. By then, Kerr had already begun to question the team’s defensive flaws. The Suns went on to lose to their longtime tormenter, the San Antonio Spurs, in the first round of the playoffs. D’Antoni considered Kerr too meddlesome; Kerr thought D’Antoni too stubborn. Unwilling to submit to his boss’ demand to add a defensive-minded assistant to his staff, D’Antoni left for New York.
Kerr chose Porter, a former Spurs teammate, as D’Antoni’s replacement, shouldering him with perhaps the greatest coaching challenge in the NBA: Change the culture of an already successful franchise, and do it on the fly in the rugged Western Conference.
Preseason injuries have already slowed the process, and the Suns’ opening schedule won’t help them. In the first four weeks, they play the Spurs, Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers (twice), Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.
Nights like Thursday will test the relationship of these Suns and their new coach. Porter was a heady and respected point guard during his day, but this is only his third season leading a staff. He’ll also need time to search through his roster, which includes a few stubborn veterans. While D’Antoni kept his rotation short, Porter used 11 players against the Hornets, even turning to Louis Amundson for a stretch in the second quarter.
“It’s still going to be a learning experience for me,” Porter said.
In spite of the initial whistle-happy transition, sources say the Suns started to warm to Porter as he loosened the reins toward the end of the preseason. After they beat the Spurs in Wednesday’s opener, picking-and-rolling them to death and getting key defensive stops in the fourth quarter, Grant Hill joked, “We out-San Antonioed San Antonio.”
The problem: The Spurs have been out-San Antonio-ing teams for more than a decade now. The Suns did it for a night. The Hornets came to town Thursday, and two minutes into the game, Shaq was turning his back on Paul, letting the point guard run up his jersey for a layup. The Suns can install all the new schemes they want, but they can’t escape this fact: Nash, Stoudemire and O’Neal are all poor defenders.
To lessen the pressure on the Suns’ defense, Porter has tried to control the pace at which they play. That means cutting back the number of quick shots. His motto: If you want to run, get a stop.
“A good shot to me is wide open, non-contested,” Porter said. “If that comes in five seconds or 20 seconds doesn’t matter.”
These Suns, however, are used to playing free and loose, and that’s how Nash became a two-time MVP. Shackle him and you lose what makes him so good, you lose his ability to improvise. “I don’t like what they’re doing,” said one Western Conference scout. “They could end up marginalizing Steve.”
Porter is smart and he’ll make a good coach. Even skeptics agree the Suns have long needed someone to hold Stoudemire accountable. Porter appears up to the task. Already, he’s drawn two technicals in his first two games. D’Antoni had that many all of last season.
But if the Suns’ new coach hasn’t learned now, he will soon. At some point, he and Nash will have to strike a balance. Ironically, Porter used to occasionally grouse about the Spurs’ offense under Gregg Popovich, saying the team needed to push the ball more. Once, Porter ended a 3-on-1 break by pulling up for a 3-pointer. He looked over to see Popovich burying his head in his hands.
So there stood Porter Thursday, eight years later, barking at Raja Bell for forcing a shot.
“I tried worrying about what’s a good shot and what’s a bad shot in training camp, and that didn’t work out too well for me,” Bell said after the game. “So I’m just going to shoot when I feel it’s a good look and if that’s not what he wants, he’ll tell me.”
Few Suns have looked more lost in the offense these first two games. Bell took just four shots against the Spurs and only two in Thursday’s first half. He scored 13 points in the second half, but that didn’t mask his frustration.
“I’m not a figure-it-out guy,” he said. “You tell me what you want, I’ll try to give it to you.
“I guess I didn’t know tonight.”
Thursday was just one night, but there will be more. No one expected this to be easy. For better or worse, these Suns now have someone telling them where to go. What direction they take remains to be seen.