duncan228
04-24-2008, 11:29 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA042508.Harveycolumn.en.19dead0.html
Buck Harvey: This one is all over -- when the Spurs' path became easier
Buck Harvey
Express-News staff writer
PHOENIX — Avery Johnson and Mike D'Antoni are "rumored to be on the hot seat," according to a Chicago newspaper. Maybe the Bulls should wait, the story said, before hiring their next coach.
Asked about that Thursday, Steve Kerr said what general managers say while their coaches still work the playoffs. Both an explanation point and a question mark could be detected in his answer.
"You've got to be kidding me," Kerr said.
But no such outrage has been issued on behalf of Johnson, and Mark Cuban is pretty good at outrage. Instead, Cuban's mouth and blog have remained silent, and Johnson is getting defensive, and the Mavericks are playing accordingly.
These contrasting reactions are why the Suns aren't finished.
And why the Mavericks are.
The Spurs will feel this tonight, when the Suns win and return this series to its rightful place as the entertainment center of the first round. There will be too much emotion in the building, and there's already too much talent on the Phoenix bench.
If this gets away from the Spurs in the fourth quarter, don't be surprised if Gregg Popovich, already eyeing Sunday afternoon, pulls back his stars. He spent the regular season managing minutes, and he will be ready to do the same, especially for a limping Manu Ginobili.
Seems unlikely? A year ago, after losing the opener of the series, the Suns burst back with a 20-point win. Then Steve Nash outscored Ginobili and Tony Parker combined.
This is a common playoff pattern, especially between evenly matched teams. Two requirements: The trailing team has to believe, and it has to still listen to the coach.
D'Antoni may not be a defensive disciplinarian. There also might be a few in his locker room who wonder if a scheme reworked in midseason can hold up now against the Spurs.
Still, D'Antoni doesn't add to the fracture. He's a benign voice.
Johnson doesn't have the same voice, as everyone in San Antonio knows, but he shares a few things with D'Antoni. Both have been the coach of the year in this decade, and both have remarkable regular-season winning percentages.
Johnson is also down 2-0 in the first round and coming home, and he, too, can lean on a few things. One is history.
The Hornets have never won in Dallas — whether coming from Charlotte, Oklahoma City or New Orleans.
But even if the Mavericks win tonight, they aren't contenders anymore. They have won just two of their past dozen playoff games, and this is some reversal.
Two years ago, the Mavericks did more than beat the Spurs in seven games. They appeared to have figured out the Spurs' equation, with depth and youth and a German just coming into his own.
Even after the Mavericks collapsed in the NBA Finals, was any of that going to change? When Dallas zoomed to a 67-win season the next year, there was reason to wonder if the Spurs would ever be good enough.
Then came the Mavs' historic choke to Golden State, followed by a desperate trade for Jason Kidd, followed by Johnson being himself. Unlike D'Antoni, Johnson has added to the problems.
He can't be blamed for everything, and some criticism has been silly. One Dallas Web site, for example, questioned Johnson for wearing his Spurs' championship ring in New Orleans.
Why would he dare display such a thing?
Maybe to show his players what one looks like.
A bigger issue is the defensive mentality Johnson was supposed to have brought from San Antonio. That has slipped through his fingers, reflected in the 127-point game that New Orleans had.
Johnson still preaches toughness, but it's often misguided. Popovich believes histrionics don't matter, and Johnson seems to want dead-ball encounters.
Such as: After the Hornets' David West put his hand on Dirk Nowitzki's face, Johnson thought someone should have done something.
Johnson has never meshed with Kidd. Once-promising players, such as Josh Howard, have regressed. And when asked about all of the losses, Johnson acts more like Bob Hill than Popovich.
He takes sarcastic responsibility — on everything from missed free throws to botched layups.
Johnson will get $20 million from Cuban either way. And if he leaves, with Kidd another year older, a franchise that once had a bead on the Spurs goes away, too.
That matters, but not tonight.
Not in Phoenix.
Buck Harvey: This one is all over -- when the Spurs' path became easier
Buck Harvey
Express-News staff writer
PHOENIX — Avery Johnson and Mike D'Antoni are "rumored to be on the hot seat," according to a Chicago newspaper. Maybe the Bulls should wait, the story said, before hiring their next coach.
Asked about that Thursday, Steve Kerr said what general managers say while their coaches still work the playoffs. Both an explanation point and a question mark could be detected in his answer.
"You've got to be kidding me," Kerr said.
But no such outrage has been issued on behalf of Johnson, and Mark Cuban is pretty good at outrage. Instead, Cuban's mouth and blog have remained silent, and Johnson is getting defensive, and the Mavericks are playing accordingly.
These contrasting reactions are why the Suns aren't finished.
And why the Mavericks are.
The Spurs will feel this tonight, when the Suns win and return this series to its rightful place as the entertainment center of the first round. There will be too much emotion in the building, and there's already too much talent on the Phoenix bench.
If this gets away from the Spurs in the fourth quarter, don't be surprised if Gregg Popovich, already eyeing Sunday afternoon, pulls back his stars. He spent the regular season managing minutes, and he will be ready to do the same, especially for a limping Manu Ginobili.
Seems unlikely? A year ago, after losing the opener of the series, the Suns burst back with a 20-point win. Then Steve Nash outscored Ginobili and Tony Parker combined.
This is a common playoff pattern, especially between evenly matched teams. Two requirements: The trailing team has to believe, and it has to still listen to the coach.
D'Antoni may not be a defensive disciplinarian. There also might be a few in his locker room who wonder if a scheme reworked in midseason can hold up now against the Spurs.
Still, D'Antoni doesn't add to the fracture. He's a benign voice.
Johnson doesn't have the same voice, as everyone in San Antonio knows, but he shares a few things with D'Antoni. Both have been the coach of the year in this decade, and both have remarkable regular-season winning percentages.
Johnson is also down 2-0 in the first round and coming home, and he, too, can lean on a few things. One is history.
The Hornets have never won in Dallas — whether coming from Charlotte, Oklahoma City or New Orleans.
But even if the Mavericks win tonight, they aren't contenders anymore. They have won just two of their past dozen playoff games, and this is some reversal.
Two years ago, the Mavericks did more than beat the Spurs in seven games. They appeared to have figured out the Spurs' equation, with depth and youth and a German just coming into his own.
Even after the Mavericks collapsed in the NBA Finals, was any of that going to change? When Dallas zoomed to a 67-win season the next year, there was reason to wonder if the Spurs would ever be good enough.
Then came the Mavs' historic choke to Golden State, followed by a desperate trade for Jason Kidd, followed by Johnson being himself. Unlike D'Antoni, Johnson has added to the problems.
He can't be blamed for everything, and some criticism has been silly. One Dallas Web site, for example, questioned Johnson for wearing his Spurs' championship ring in New Orleans.
Why would he dare display such a thing?
Maybe to show his players what one looks like.
A bigger issue is the defensive mentality Johnson was supposed to have brought from San Antonio. That has slipped through his fingers, reflected in the 127-point game that New Orleans had.
Johnson still preaches toughness, but it's often misguided. Popovich believes histrionics don't matter, and Johnson seems to want dead-ball encounters.
Such as: After the Hornets' David West put his hand on Dirk Nowitzki's face, Johnson thought someone should have done something.
Johnson has never meshed with Kidd. Once-promising players, such as Josh Howard, have regressed. And when asked about all of the losses, Johnson acts more like Bob Hill than Popovich.
He takes sarcastic responsibility — on everything from missed free throws to botched layups.
Johnson will get $20 million from Cuban either way. And if he leaves, with Kidd another year older, a franchise that once had a bead on the Spurs goes away, too.
That matters, but not tonight.
Not in Phoenix.