Why does D'Antoni refuse to use his bench??

[Purple & Gold]

:huh

[OldDirtMcGirt]

It sucks.

[crazyfool42]

he doesnt know how to coach? or is he an idiot?

[L.I.T]

I know the plan was to go small, but you would have thought he would have used Rose or Banks at least to spell the starters to keep them fresher for the fourth.

[sabar]

Because that takes more effort from him. I mean, with a 7 man rotation, it's cake... until they get tired.

[Purple & Gold]

Banks DNP
Rose DNP

Maybe they wouldn't have fallen off at the end if their main 3 weren't asked to play 45+ minutes.

[Mr. Body]

For the same reason he doesn't let anyone but Nash dribble the ball.

[Obstructed_View]

Because David Stern is the devil.

[itzsoweezee]

d'antoni is a joke. i have no respect for that dude whatsoever. even though i hate phil jackson, i understand that he's a good coach. d'antoni, on the other hand, i don't think knows much about basketball.

[sabar]

Every single play tonight was a pick-n-roll, the

exact.

same.

play.

[Borosai]

He hasn't used 9-15 since last year...at least in any meaningful way. It has been an 8-man rotation for a while. I don't think he even sees the other players as anything more than practice dummies/towel boys/cheerleaders.

[Purple & Gold]

Every single play tonight was a pick-n-roll, the

exact.

same.

play.
Pick-n-roll or drive and dish every single time. Hope this isn't the future of the NBA.

[myhc]

I was also baffled that D'Antoni couldn't at least give a couple minutes to guys like Rose and Banks, especially when they had that huge lead and we were playing god awful. Maybe he thought his players would be able to gut it out because you have to think the Suns are probably the best conditioned team in the NBA. But still...

[jag]

Because David Stern is the devil.

haha classic

[Purple & Gold]

D'Antoni would be better in a Tex Winter role.

[Spurologist]

Because David Stern is the devil.

:lmao

[AZSportsFan]

We ask the same thing every game. Visit a Suns forum [don't get banned!] and you can see that for yourself. It is quite frustrating...

[The Truth #6]

Nash is practically the player-coach out there. Also, I get the sense that Ivaroni is more of the brains of the coaching staff, for whatever its worth.

[jag]

d'antoni really isnt a bad coach, he just sets a bad example with the media, and then we wonder why they bitch so much

EDIT: and why would he? would you give jalen rose vital minutes in even a regular season game?

[Obstructed_View]

D'antoni seems kind of feast or famine like Pop. I thought he did a great job coaching in game 4 and it was the difference in the game, but sometimes he just lays an egg. There's no doubt that Nash is what makes them go. I'm really shocked that they haven't picked up a halfway decent point guard since '05.

[Kevin Blackistone]

Barbosa's a good player, but he's not even as polished a passer as TP at this point. The guy's a 2 guard and I think they were hoping he would be the viable backup for Nash. Instead he's the viable backup for Bell.

[Obstructed_View]

Barbosa's always been a good player, as was JJ, but neither of them were point guards. The Spurs and the Suns would benefit greatly from a Derek Fisher type guy right about now.

[Purple & Gold]

d'antoni really isnt a bad coach, he just sets a bad example with the media, and then we wonder why they bitch so much

EDIT: and why would he? would you give jalen rose vital minutes in even a regular season game?
Well that's the point if he would have given them bigger minutes during the regular season he could have at least found out what they have. Jalen has been in this league a long time, I'm sure he could be counted on to give his teammates some rest so they won't be so dead tired during crunch time.

[AZSportsFan]

Barbosa's a good player, but he's not even as polished a passer as TP at this point. The guy's a 2 guard and I think they were hoping he would be the viable backup for Nash. Instead he's the viable backup for Bell.
Exactly. The Suns have done a terrible job in finding a quality backup for Nash. Barbs is a 2. Banks was a mistake. You guys are singing to the choir on this one.

[Purple & Gold]

D'antoni seems kind of feast or famine like Pop. I thought he did a great job coaching in game 4 and it was the difference in the game, but sometimes he just lays an egg. There's no doubt that Nash is what makes them go. I'm really shocked that they haven't picked up a halfway decent point guard since '05.
Well they could have had their choice of PG's in this years draft, but passed on them and instead signed Banks to that bloated contract. Rondo, Rodriguez, Farmar, Williams, Lowry were all out there for the taking.

[sabar]

Yep, the Suns don't need quality players, just guys that play good enough for the starters to be able to rest. I mean, look at the Spurs and Vaughn or even Beno. They are crappy but at least it lets Parker rest up. Same with Bonner. We don't have a very talented bench, but at least they know our system and allow our dudes to rest. The Suns don't need to sign a good PG... heck, you guys want Beno?

[Purple & Gold]

Exactly. The Suns have done a terrible job in finding a quality backup for Nash. Barbs is a 2. Banks was a mistake. You guys are singing to the choir on this one.
Yeah I was scratching my head on that Banks signing. I always thought he was overrated. His defense is not as great as everybody says it is. After I saw Will Bynum working him in pre-season I knew it was a mistake. Sometimes it's like you just sign players so the Lakers won't. I'll have to thank you for that.

[Kevin Blackistone]

Exactly. The Suns have done a terrible job in finding a quality backup for Nash. Barbs is a 2. Banks was a mistake. You guys are singing to the choir on this one.

The Spurs haven't done much better. Beno Udrih is the most skilled spineless, useless player I've seen in quite a while. The Nick the Quick experiement didn't go well as a stop gap last year, and that leaves us with Jacque Vaughn, the NBA version of Rudy. All heart but not many tools. It's frustrating knowing that TP has to carry the load and if he's off things are very shaky at best.

[Obstructed_View]

Yep, the Suns don't need quality players, just guys that play good enough for the starters to be able to rest. I mean, look at the Spurs and Vaughn or even Beno. They are crappy but at least it lets Parker rest up. Same with Bonner. We don't have a very talented bench, but at least they know our system and allow our dudes to rest. The Suns don't need to sign a good PG... heck, you guys want Beno?

Yeah, all you do when Vaughn comes in is count the seconds that Parker gets to rest and hope he doesn't fuck up.

There's actually going to be lots of teams looking at Beno this summer and if he goes to the right situation he could be quite a reclamation project. It's not like he doesn't have talent, he just can't deal with Pop.

[Strike]

Because David Stern is the devil.

:lol

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/strike019/Waterboy_Mom.gif

[sabar]

Vaughn looks more like Nick Van Exel with every playoff game. At least he can... pass the ball.

[Kevin Blackistone]

Yep, the Suns don't need quality players, just guys that play good enough for the starters to be able to rest. I mean, look at the Spurs and Vaughn or even Beno. They are crappy but at least it lets Parker rest up. Same with Bonner. We don't have a very talented bench, but at least they know our system and allow our dudes to rest. The Suns don't need to sign a good PG... heck, you guys want Beno?

Both the Spurs and Suns would be much more consistent and much tougher opponents with a quality backup point. Both teams have just made bad decisions in the quest for one.

[AZSportsFan]

Yeah I was scratching my head on that Banks signing. I always thought he was overrated. His defense is not as great as everybody says it is. After I saw Will Bynum working him in pre-season I knew it was a mistake. Sometimes it's like you just sign players so the Lakers won't. I'll have to thank you for that.
Well, the John Salmons situation really screwed us over and the FO got caught with their pants down. Salmons was the PERFECT player for us, and we knew it, but so did BC in Toronto. Backstabber....

[Purple & Gold]

Well, the John Salmons situation really screwed us over and the FO got caught with their pants down. Salmons was the PERFECT player for us, and we knew it, but so did BC in Toronto. Backstabber....
There should be many Sacramento players available this offseason. I know he'd also be a great fit for the Lakers, but I doubt they'll trade with us.

[41times]

Because he is a stupid man and a bad coach. If he would have developed his bench he would have had a chance to win yet another game last night.

Just another reason he should be fired as the Suns coach.

He has had the one of the most talented teams in the league for 3 straight years and has yet to get past the WCF's. He should be fired.

If pop or Riley or Brown or Jackson were coaching that team over the last 3 years they would have at least 1 title.

[MajorMike]

It sucks.

[wildbill2u]

:huh
Many people--including coaches-- feel they have the best six men overall in the league compared to other teams--but it falls off precipitously after that.

[infinite styles]

He mentioned last night after the game that he was scared to take Nash out because they had the big lead and he didn't want to lose it. He said that he didn't realize Nash had played all those minutes and would have given him more rest if he would have caught that. I think that his staff and him did a poor job of managing the minutes last night. Even when the Spurs were down double digits Pop still rested Tim, Tony and Manu.

[violentkitten]

a good backup point is hard to find

[nkdlunch]

Pop was about to kick his ass, when he ran into the court in the middle of a last minut play. what a fuckin cheater that d'antoni is. a bitch and a cheat.

[cherylsteele]

Pop was about to kick his ass, when he ran into the court in the middle of a last minut play. what a fuckin cheater that d'antoni is. a bitch and a cheat.
Why did the refs not "T" him up? D'antoni was almort at half court....that ain't right.

[DDS4]

One thing Pop is great at is limiting the starter's minutes during the regular season so they don't wear out during the playoffs. It also gives opportunity to develop the bench players.

Something D'antoni and Avery (to some degree) should adopt.

[FromWayDowntown]

As a Spurs fan, I had some real concern when the Suns got up early, because I figured that D'Antoni would relent on his short rotation idea, give some minutes to some guys who might be motivated to perform, but who, at the very least, would buy time for his starters to rest. Particularly in the first half, I thought it was a very curious decision to use only Burke and not dig a bit deeper with Banks or Rose or Piatkowski. Your lead might slide, but the Spurs would have still been playing uphill against a hungry and more rested team in the 2nd half, which might have made that 4th quarter even more difficult for the Spurs than it ended up being.

[OldDirtMcGirt]

D'antoni seems kind of feast or famine like Pop. I thought he did a great job coaching in game 4 and it was the difference in the game, but sometimes he just lays an egg. There's no doubt that Nash is what makes them go. I'm really shocked that they haven't picked up a halfway decent point guard since '05.

The guy that I want the Suns to get to groom as Nash's successor is Luke Ridnour out of Seattle. I think he'd be a way better fit.

The problem with trying to find a decent backup point guard, is the very few of them fit in our system. It's incredibly difficult to find a true point guard and not a guy that just likes to huck up threes like Gilbert Arenas.

As for D'Antoni, as far as I'm concerned if he doesn't win this year he needs to go. He's had three very good chances to get something done but has fallen short every year, and I don't want to see Nash wasted. I think that a guy like Marc Iavaroni would be the ideal successor, he's a tough guy (I remember him getting into a fight with Larry Bird) and he might be able to help the rest of our team not named Steve Nash with a little bit of back bone and consistency.

[Supergirl]

Exactly. The Suns have done a terrible job in finding a quality backup for Nash. Barbs is a 2. Banks was a mistake. You guys are singing to the choir on this one.

Yeah, that's how it seems to me too - that Barbosa is not a very good PG. He's a brilliant scorer, but I've seen him make some terrible decisions with the ball in this series (particularly end of game 1 and last night, and a few times in between).

On the other hand, the Spurs have a PG who is a decent defender, but unreliable shooter, who has also made some terrible decisions with the ball.

I don't understand what happened with Marcus Banks. Kid has a lot of potential from what I've seen, with the right coach.

[OldDirtMcGirt]

Yeah, that's how it seems to me too - that Barbosa is not a very good PG. He's a brilliant scorer, but I've seen him make some terrible decisions with the ball in this series (particularly end of game 1 and last night, and a few times in between).

On the other hand, the Spurs have a PG who is a decent defender, but unreliable shooter, who has also made some terrible decisions with the ball.

I don't understand what happened with Marcus Banks. Kid has a lot of potential from what I've seen, with the right coach.

The problem with Banks is that he's a horrible fit for our system. His decision making is woeful, and the only thing he's good at is defense which isn't really necessary in our system.

[wildbill2u]

"On the other hand, the Spurs have a PG who is a decent defender, but unreliable shooter, who has also made some terrible decisions with the ball. " Supergirl

I know you meant Vaughn, but TP has made some awful decisions in this series that resulted in TOs including driving into heavy traffic for offensive fouls and some really soft passes that resulted in steals.