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im happy with the team......
Minus coach Mike D'Antoni, things not so hot for Phoenix Suns
By Frank Isola
SACRAMENTO - The Phoenix Suns team that Mike D'Antoni sees tomorrow barely resembles the one that averaged 58 wins during his four seasons with the club.
A disgruntled Steve Nash is still around, and Amare Stoudemire is still wreaking havoc in the paint. But just about everything else with the run-and-gun Suns (14-10) has changed and continues to change.
On Wednesday, the team traded two D'Antoni favorites, Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, to the Charlotte Bobcats for shooting guard Jason Richardson. The move comes less than a year after Shawn Marion was dispatched to Miami for Shaquille O'Neal in a deal that D'Antoni says he supported even though it went against the coach's basic philosophy of playing small and fast.
Asked about the trade of Bell and Diaw, D'Antoni replied: "I can't comment on that one. It's too hot."
D'Antoni's vision of the team clashed with that of his general manager, Steve Kerr, who was a role player on championship teams in Chicago and San Antonio. Kerr was surrounded by superstar talent - Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago and Tim Duncan and David Robinson in San Antonio - that dominated on the defensive end. Kerr wanted D'Antoni to focus more on defense.
It didn't seem like an outrageous request, but D'Antoni, feeling threatened, eventually left the Suns following their first-round loss to the Spurs and signed with the Knicks. Meanwhile, Kerr is building the team he wants, although the results have not been as good.
"They're trying to get better and win a le," D'Antoni said last night. "Things come up that you think are better and you try to seize the opportunity. Lots of times it works out and sometimes it doesn't."
On the eve of his return to Phoenix, D'Antoni is being careful not to say anything even remotely critical of the Suns, Kerr or his (D'Antoni's) successor, Terry Porter.
"A lot of good stuff went on there," he said. "It's basketball. We sometimes make it a life and death situation. It's not a drama. I had the best four years I've had in basketball and a lot of good friends."
im happy with the team......
Why all the doom and gloom in December? Give it some time before considering it a complete failure.
tell me bout it lol
I have a feeling the Knicks are gonna play extra hard to win this game.
suns just beat both orland and jazz ...
yea there gonna play extra hard for dantoni this game, im already knowing
Let me correct that line.
It should be: Sometimes it works, but lots of times it doesn't.
Nash is a warrior and they'll pull thru come playoff time. But how ironic is it that this team less shaq is perfect for Dantoni's system.
I think the best bet there is to let amare and lopez shore up the frontcourt with nash, hill and JRich so they can kill with their P&R.
Shaq on the second unit with barnes, barbosa will be an inside game so they wont have to have a good pg since they're just gonna dump everything to shaq to post or kick out.
I think it's a little too early to announce the Suns' Time of Death. They've looked pretty decent these last 4 games, winning against the Jazz and Magic, as well as giving the Lakers a fight despite being very short-handed. I might be wrong, but I think the team might be turning it around after that horrible stretch at the end of November.
Seems like the Knicks are really begging for a beatdown. D'Antoni won't shut his mouth, and now Q joins the fray unprovoked. It's unfortunate that Nash probably agrees with both of them, and probably won't have a monster game like he needs to.
D'Antoni has just added "bitter" to his growing list(arrogant,stubborn,playoff stupid) of reasons to hate this asshole.
SUNS are gonna smoke the KNICKS tomorrow & D'Antoni will say afterward...."We just didn't play well tonight."
Good riddance Mike.
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