D'Antoni, Kerr deny rift rumor

[Findog]

Few things are more evident than the difference between D'Antoni and Robert Horry. Horry is the ultimate role player and has the most "non-Celtic" championship rings in NBA history. D'Antoni is so star-heavy in his rotation that it's pretty evident why his fingers have been empty these past 3 years. If D'Antoni ever coached Horry, he never would have gotten off the bench because he's not Shaq, Kobe, Hakeem, Clyde Drexler, or Tim Duncan. Horry has come up huge in so many games because coaches like Rudy T, Pop, and Jackson gave him a chance out there.

Yeah, D'Antoni wants to put five scorers on the floor at all times. What he doesn't realize is that four scoring options is plenty. I think a front-court tandem of Skinner at the five and Amare at the four would be great. I'm not about to argue that Erick Dampier is a great player or he's earning his ten million a year, but he rebounds, he can body up opposing bigs, and it's not a layup line for the opposition when he's in there. What would it hurt to experiment a little and see if Skinner can have a similar impact in a similar role for Phoenix for about 25 minutes a game? You need role players too. You put five "stars" on the court, somebody's not going to get the touches and numbers that they might overwise get, their production is going to get cannibalized, and then where are you? What else can that player give you if their main contribution is scoring? There was a pretty telling comment from that 7 seconds or less book, when the Suns are getting ready to play the Mavs in the conference finals, and D'Antoni says of Dampier, " I think it's a rule that you have to play a bad player if he's making $70 million." Which leads me to think that Dampier would also be tethered to the bench if he wore purple and orange.

[DazedAndConfused]

I think it's safe to say D'Antoni doesn't have a clue about a lot of things. With all the talent on the Suns it's amazing that they have never even reached the NBA Finals. You give Phil Jackson that same lineup and he'd have a few more rings by now.

And the only reason Diaw won most improved player was because AMARE GOT INJURED. He would have never seen minutes had Amare not went down. Man you really are dense. There is no point arguing with any Sun's fan I guess, you guys have never won a championship and will never know what it takes to get there.

[yourcheatinheart]

I think it's safe to say D'Antoni doesn't have a clue about a lot of things. With all the talent on the Suns it's amazing that they have never even reached the NBA Finals. You give Phil Jackson that same lineup and he'd have a few more rings by now.

And the only reason Diaw won most improved player was because AMARE GOT INJURED. He would have never seen minutes had Amare not went down. Man you really are dense. There is no point arguing with any Sun's fan I guess, you guys have never won a championship and will never know what it takes to get there.

[RonMexico]

What's even more telling is that last night, Dan Majerle was practically pleading for more minutes out of DJ Strawberry during the broadcast by saying that he should get a lot of playing time out there because there's 4 scorers on the court and he can make such an impact on the defensive end.

Again, it's D'Antoni missing the bigger picture of the game out there because he doesn't realize that Strawberry can pester the opposing PG and help the Suns get stops much like role players such as Darrell Armstrong, Quinton Ross, Bruce Bowen, Derek Fisher, etc. can disrupt Nash's rhythm.

[da_suns_fan]

What's even more telling is that last night, Dan Majerle was practically pleading for more minutes out of DJ Strawberry during the broadcast by saying that he should get a lot of playing time out there because there's 4 scorers on the court and he can make such an impact on the defensive end.

Again, it's D'Antoni missing the bigger picture of the game out there because he doesn't realize that Strawberry can pester the opposing PG and help the Suns get stops much like role players such as Darrell Armstrong, Quinton Ross, Bruce Bowen, Derek Fisher, etc. can disrupt Nash's rhythm.

First of all, Derek Fisher couldn't stop Nash from getting 20 freaking assists the other day.

Darrell Armstrong? Does he even play anymore?

I think I know where youre going but those are bad examples.

Quinton Ross and Bruce Bowen are a lot closer to Raja Bell than they are to DJ Strawberry. Its not really a fair comparison.

Ask the Spurs if they wouldn't mind trading Bruce Bowen for DJ Strawberry. Same with the Clippers and Ross.

, I'd be surprised if ANYBODY is interested in Strawberry for any type of trade. There was a reason that he was one of the last players taken in the second round.

I think your desire to see more of the guy stems from the fact that we've seen so much of our top six. Youre just hungry for some change.

Funny that we have Mavs and Laker fans jumping on the "D'Antoni sucks" bandwagon.

Both teams were ELIMINATED last year by teams playing at an up tempo pace.

Theyre just bitter.


Banks doesn't deserve to be in the rotation. Neither does Strawberry.

[da_suns_fan]

I think it's safe to say D'Antoni doesn't have a clue about a lot of things. With all the talent on the Suns it's amazing that they have never even reached the NBA Finals. You give Phil Jackson that same lineup and he'd have a few more rings by now.

And the only reason Diaw won most improved player was because AMARE GOT INJURED. He would have never seen minutes had Amare not went down. Man you really are dense. There is no point arguing with any Sun's fan I guess, you guys have never won a championship and will never know what it takes to get there.

Funny. Those first two years of Diaw's career, Amare wasn't even in the same conference and Diaw STILL couldn't get off the bench for the worst team in the NBA.

Also, Diaw's production is NOT a product of how many minutes he plays. He could play 40 minutes in one game and do nothing and play 25 minutes the next night and be effective.

Further, Amare is on the team now and Diaw still gets a lot of minutes.

In fact, this season he's averaging 27 minutes a game.

MOTHER OF ALL OWNAGE: Diaw is the seventh man for the Suns and still gets more minutes per game than anyone on the LAKERS besides Kobe, Odom and Bynum!!

Too easy.

[DazedAndConfused]

You're not owning anybody moron. The fact is D'Antoni has no idea how to properly develop a bench and this has and will cost him if the Suns manage to go deep into the playoffs. No defense, no rebounding, no bench = NO ING CHAMPIONSHIP. Until D'Antoni changes his philosophy or you get a new coach your team will never win anything. Enjoy those 50+ regular season wins though, damn that must be so exciting!!!

[RonMexico]

First of all, Derek Fisher couldn't stop Nash from getting 20 freaking assists the other day.

Darrell Armstrong? Does he even play anymore?

I think I know where youre going but those are bad examples.

Quinton Ross and Bruce Bowen are a lot closer to Raja Bell than they are to DJ Strawberry. Its not really a fair comparison.

Ask the Spurs if they wouldn't mind trading Bruce Bowen for DJ Strawberry. Same with the Clippers and Ross.

, I'd be surprised if ANYBODY is interested in Strawberry for any type of trade. There was a reason that he was one of the last players taken in the second round.

I think your desire to see more of the guy stems from the fact that we've seen so much of our top six. Youre just hungry for some change.

Funny that we have Mavs and Laker fans jumping on the "D'Antoni sucks" bandwagon.

Both teams were ELIMINATED last year by teams playing at an up tempo pace.

Theyre just bitter.


Banks doesn't deserve to be in the rotation. Neither does Strawberry.

Is this D'Antoni posting? I can't believe this is the real DSF, it sounds more link Da_SunsDynasty than anything else... unless that's the schtick.

[DazedAndConfused]

Is this D'Antoni posting? I can't believe this is the real DSF, it sounds more link Da_SunsDynasty than anything else... unless that's the schtick.

The Suns have an amazingly talented roster lead by an amazingly stupid coach. You put Larry Brown, Pop, or Phil Jackson in charge and that team wins rings. There is no excuse to lose games to the T-Wolves, Heat, etc. when your starting 5 is

Nash
Bell
Stoudemire
Hill
Marion

4 out of the 5 are legitimate all-stars or were all-stars at one point.

[da_suns_fan]

You're not owning anybody moron. The fact is D'Antoni has no idea how to properly develop a bench and this has and will cost him if the Suns manage to go deep into the playoffs. No defense, no rebounding, no bench = NO ING CHAMPIONSHIP. Until D'Antoni changes his philosophy or you get a new coach your team will never win anything. Enjoy those 50+ regular season wins though, damn that must be so exciting!!!

You just got owned pal. Let it go.

btw - They're actually 60+ regular season wins, and beating the Lakers every year is pretty exciting.

[da_suns_fan]

Is this D'Antoni posting? I can't believe this is the real DSF, it sounds more link Da_SunsDynasty than anything else... unless that's the schtick.

I understand your frustrations Ron...I definately have a problem with the lack of minutes that Skinner has gotten, especially considering how bad our rebounding has been.

But getting upset that he hasn't given consistent minutes to a late second round pick who's in the first half of his first season is kind of crazy. The kid has some potential, but at this point he's (Strawberry) just trying to make it in the league.

Think about that. How many of our guys on the end of the bench wouldn't be in the league if they got cut?

Would anyone go after Marks, Banks, Piatowski, Strawberry or Tucker or would they be playing for Macab Tel Aviv?

I remember during preseason a lot of our base was drinking the Sean Marks kool aid and I just rolled my eyes. That guy absolutely stinks. But so many die hard Suns fans are always convinced that we have several "diamonds in the rough" not being used on the bench.

FinDog's example of Jalen Rose is ridiculous. Jalen Rose was flat out awful when he got any time last year.

What about Jimmy Jackson? Everyone was pissed that D'Antoni benched him, but he couldn't get any time on the Lakers after the Suns cut him either.

Burke? Paul Shirley? Jake Voskhul? Casey Jacobsen? Which one of our bench players do you think deserved (or deserves) more time?

It would help out youre (and everyone else who feels this way) argument if you could name just one player who proved D'Antoni wrong. Which player went on to bigger things once he left D'Antoni or once D'Antoni started giving him an opportunity?

[JMarkJohns]

Rose averaged 3.7 ppg, 0.8 rpg and 0.6 apg in 8.5 minutes per game.

That's a 30 minute per game average of 13 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2 apg with 44% from the field, 45% from range and a 2/1 assist/turnover ratio.

That's as a non-option to boot. Had he been given the ball and allowed to isolate off the dribble the way Hill is allowed, I'd bet his PPG and APG would be closer to 15 ppg, 4 apg or roughly what Hill is averaging in 35 minutes per game this season.

For comparison sake, Diaw last season, in 31 minutes per game, averaged only 9.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 4 apg on 53% from the field and 33% from range.

Rose had better per minute averages in scoring and a stronger 3-point FG% by nearly 12%.

Rose easily could have been given 15-to-20 minutes a night, and with those minutes he'd have scored 8-10 ppg and, with backup PG duties, would have likely averaged 3/4 assists.

We'll never truly know why Rose was played more often, but you can stop saying it was because he sucked when given minutes, because his per-minute scoring is better than that of Diaw's and nearly equal to that of Hill's this season, and his 3-point FG% of 45% was one of the best on the team.

[DazedAndConfused]

You just got owned pal. Let it go.

btw - They're actually 60+ regular season wins, and beating the Lakers every year is pretty exciting.

Beating a Laker team that was in rebuilding mode for the last two years is exciting? Wow you sure have some low expectations.....

The reality is your window for a championship is closed. Last year was your year to win it all and your stupid players blew it by getting suspended. Enjoy the dismantling of your team in the offseason and the eventual demise of Steve Nash in 2 years.

[da_suns_fan]

Rose averaged 3.7 ppg, 0.8 rpg and 0.6 apg in 8.5 minutes per game.

That's a 30 minute per game average of 13 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2 apg with 44% from the field, 45% from range and a 2/1 assist/turnover ratio.
That's as a non-option to boot. Had he been given the ball and allowed to isolate off the dribble the way Hill is allowed, I'd bet his PPG and APG would be closer to 15 ppg, 4 apg or roughly what Hill is averaging in 35 minutes per game this season.

For comparison sake, Diaw last season, in 31 minutes per game, averaged only 9.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 4 apg on 53% from the field and 33% from range.

Rose had better per minute averages in scoring and a stronger 3-point FG% by nearly 12%.

Rose easily could have been given 15-to-20 minutes a night, and with those minutes he'd have scored 8-10 ppg and, with backup PG duties, would have likely averaged 3/4 assists.

We'll never truly know why Rose was played more often, but you can stop saying it was because he sucked when given minutes, because his per-minute scoring is better than that of Diaw's and nearly equal to that of Hill's this season, and his 3-point FG% of 45% was one of the best on the team.

I think its quite a stretch to believe that any player's (especially old players) productivity per minutes remains the same if they play 8 minutes or 30 minutes.

Not to mention the fact that he usually got these eight minutes in blowout games against other scrubs.

Banks currently has the second best three point shooting percentage on the team, should he be givien twenty mintues per game as well?

I was shaking my head at your post until I read the Jalen Rose/Grant Hill analogy. Thats when I just laughed.

You don't REALLY believe Rose would have been just as productive as Hill had he been given Hill-type minutes do you?

If thats true, then D'Antoni's not dumb, every other team in the league is screwing up by not having a Hill-type player on their team right now!

Like what Grant Hill is doing for the Suns? Rose is available!

Seriously. Tell me your joking.

[da_suns_fan]

Beating a Laker team that was in rebuilding mode for the last two years is exciting? Wow you sure have some low expectations.....

The reality is your window for a championship is closed. Last year was your year to win it all and your stupid players blew it by getting suspended. Enjoy the dismantling of your team in the offseason and the eventual demise of Steve Nash in 2 years.

Kudos to acknowledging the Suns would have won it all had it not been for the suspensions. A lot of Suns haters won't do that.

We got two more years of Nash? Sweet. Possible three-peat, then?

[JMarkJohns]

At age 33 Rose averaged 12.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.5 apg in 28 minutes per game. I just showed that at age 34, with the Suns, Rose's per-minute averages were spot on to those of the season prior.

Rose had plenty in the tank. D'Antoni just never got around to using it.

As for Banks, I think he should easily be getting 15 minutes or so a game. He's a tough on-ball defender and can sink the open three. He doesn't have to be the initiator on offense all the time, but having him play 15-to-20 minutes a game wouldn't be bad at all. Stagger the minutes so he's playing more in the first half than the second. Something like 10-to-12 minutes in the first half, then 5-to-8 in the second.

It's hardly something that shoudln' be done, like you seemingly infer.

[DazedAndConfused]

Kudos to acknowledging the Suns would have won it all had it not been for the suspensions. A lot of Suns haters won't do that.

We got two more years of Nash? Sweet. Possible three-peat, then?

Ironically the best thing that could happen for the Suns is for them to not win it all this year. Fire D'Antoni, tell your cheap ass owner to stop selling draft picks and letting valuable role players go, and bring in a defensive minded coach.

[da_suns_fan]

At age 33 Rose averaged 12.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.5 apg in 28 minutes per game. I just showed that at age 34, with the Suns, Rose's per-minute averages were spot on to those of the season prior.

Rose had plenty in the tank. D'Antoni just never got around to using it.

As for Banks, I think he should easily be getting 15 minutes or so a game. He's a tough on-ball defender and can sink the open three. He doesn't have to be the initiator on offense all the time, but having him play 15-to-20 minutes a game wouldn't be bad at all. Stagger the minutes so he's playing more in the first half than the second. Something like 10-to-12 minutes in the first half, then 5-to-8 in the second.

It's hardly something that shoudln' be done, like you seemingly infer.

If Rose had plenty left in the tank, why is he retired this year?

Banks has been given PLENTY of opportunities to prove he can play.

Its not just D'Antoni. Why did Minnesota and Boston give up on him if he's so capable of being productive?

Ive heard that the coaching staff feels that Banks just doesn't understand the flow of the game. He takes ill advised shots in a some situations and passes up open one in others. He's too much of a liability to play night in and night out.

Last week, it was Banks (WE SHOULD PLAY HIM MORE). Then Banks goes out and stinks up and now everyone wants more of Strawberry.

Im not saying the Strawberry can't be a good player some day, but Im not drinking the kool-aid like a lot of other people either. He's a late 2nd round draft pick in his first season. Lets wait a little while before chastizing our coaching staff for not playing him every game.

[da_suns_fan]

Ironically the best thing that could happen for the Suns is for them to not win it all this year. Fire D'Antoni, tell your cheap ass owner to stop selling draft picks and letting valuable role players go, and bring in a defensive minded coach.

Wait...you JUST said the Suns should have won it all last year. Surely the coach is doing something right for that to be true.

[JMarkJohns]

WTF did D'Antoni sign Banks to a rediculous 5 year, $20+ million deal if it was a foregone conclusion that he couldn't play? Why did he lobby for, then sign Rose right after?

Both were D'Antoni signings, so one can reason they were D'Antoni guys. , Mike D even claimed Banks was his #1 PG target all along after losing out on John Salmons. A quote that's laughable, not just for its absurdity, but for its pointing out that D'Antoni is a terrible evaluator of talent.

Why is Rose not playing any more? I don't know. Perhaps he likes looking good ever other day on TV and getting paid for it. But the per-minute averages clearly show that he didn't lose what he had at age 33 once he turned 34 and donned a Suns uni.

D'Antoni wined 'em and signed 'em. Where is his fault for even bringing them in if both were/are so terrible?

[da_suns_fan]

WTF did D'Antoni sign Banks to a rediculous 5 year, $20+ million deal if it was a foregone conclusion that he couldn't play? Why did he lobby for, then sign Rose right after?

Both were D'Antoni signings, so one can reason they were D'Antoni guys. , Mike D even claimed Banks was his #1 PG target all along after losing out on John Salmons. A quote that's laughable, not just for its absurdity, but for its pointing out that D'Antoni is a terrible evaluator of talent.

Why is Rose not playing any more? I don't know. Perhaps he likes looking good ever other day on TV and getting paid for it. But the per-minute averages clearly show that he didn't lose what he had at age 33 once he turned 34 and donned a Suns uni.

D'Antoni wined 'em and signed 'em. Where is his fault for even bringing them in if both were/are so terrible?

Was signing Banks a mistake? Absolutely.

But here's the thing: D'Antoni never asked to be the GM. I blame that on Sarver.

Not only did we miss out on Salmons, but we made two critical errors in signing Banks and Diaw to long term extentions. It was a bad summer. I completely agree.

Their number one priority for that year was to get a backup point guard for Nash.

Salmons would have fit in beautifully. He plays three positions and its easy to see how he could have gotten a LOT of minutes on this team.

Unfortunately, Bryan Colangelo took that little secret with him to Toronto.

I heard a radio interview with Sarver in which Sarver stated he prioritized giving money to the players first, coaches second and GM third. I thought "you moron, a bad GM can cost you millions upon millions in bad player contracts" (see the New York Knicks).

So D'Antoni panicked. He what looked to be the best available player available and a lot of Suns fans applauded that move when it happened. Same with Diaw.

It didn't work out. D'Antoni isn't the GM anymore so we won't have to worry about him. Now we get the Kerr/Sarver spin machine.

[RonMexico]

DSF, Jr. you're basing all of your arguments ("show me why these scrubs haven't proved D'Antoni wrong yet!") on the idea that NBA GMs and coaches are intelligent individuals and good evaluators of talent.

#57 pick in the NBA draft = Manu Ginobili
#28 pick in the NBA draft = Tony Parker

Rings Ginobili and Parker have = 3 each (with 1 Finals MVP award)
Rings Popovich and RC Buford have = 4 each

(I guess late first and second rounders like Tucker and Strawberry are destined for failure.) What's great is that Tucker is putting up monster scoring numbers in the D-League, but will never get on the floor because he won't spot up behind the 3 point line like James Jones... well Grant Hill has a great midrange game and I think Tucker could as well.

Number of 60-win seasons Mike D'Antoni has with Suns = 2
Number of rings he has so far = 0

Number of lottery picks Isiah Thomas/Billy King/Rob Bab /Elgin Baylor/Kevin McHale have to their names = too many to count.

Casey Jacobsen is actually back in the league (playing for the Grizzlies, so it's not that glamorous, but he's back after 2 yrs in Europe). With him playing on the Grizz, it makes me think that Ivaroni may have liked him more in Phoenix than D'Antoni did and has brought him back.

Paul Shirley would much rather blog and listen to Interpol than play basketball. I never drank the "Marks kool-aid," so you could be onto something there. I also liked Pat Burke, but felt he was on too short of a leash and would get nervous, so it's not like I called for him every game. I definitely called on him to provide Amare with defensive help and keep him out of foul trouble, but I guess that would be too much to ask. How D'Antoni doesn't realize that Amare is a magnet for bad calls from the officials is beyond me. Maybe it would be a good idea to protect him with Skinner in there and keep him in the flow of the game.

This is especially important because D'Antoni keeps wanting to "find" more minutes for Skinner and doesn't want to "disrupt the flow" of the game. Nothing disrupts the flow more than Amare picking up two quick fouls, getting frustrated, and then having him try to force things on the offensive end (aka the ball "sticks" when it gets to him). Suns are something like 15-1 when Amare scores over 20 pts (lone loss to the , and what's a better way to get him points than to put him at the 5 on offense and the 4 on defense and let Skinner get in there and bang, especially since he's the better defensive rebounder while Amare is the better finisher on the break. Putting him at the 4 on defense can leave Skinner to rebound, Amare and Marion can get out on the break and Bell/Barbosa can be the trailers. If Amare gets upset or in foul trouble on the defensive end, then he starts to force way too much because he's afraid of limited (aka foul-plagued) minutes... guess what, I think that would mess up D'Antoni's precious "flow” quite a bit regardless.

No one makes the game work more smoothly than Steve Nash, so let him get out there with two big men who can set strong screens and nail the 15-foot jumper (Skinner and Amare), while letting Marion and Hill roam around, Bell/Barbosa spot up and letting Diaw do whatever when he feels like being a good player instead of a fatass. When you're matched up against another team without a strong post player, but 1-2 strong perimeter players, then throw Strawberry/Banks out there to pester guys like Cassell and Parker, while letting Nash sit on Quinton Ross/Bowen and leaving Marion to help Amare with rebounding from the 4 position instead of having Shawn guard a smaller guy.

D'Antoni doesn't understand that you can have 4 scorers out there and one or two guys to get quality stops and still run people out of the building… in fact, the Lakers and Celtics did it for years, with guys like Dennis Johnson and Michael Cooper. No one is worse at making adjustments than Mike D’Antoni and that’s a fact. This is absolutely why the Suns have to keep worrying about “chemistry” issues and working to “motivate” themselves. I’m pretty sure Pop is a good motivator… from what I’ve seen, Mike D isn’t… Pop trusts his players to make manageable mistakes over the course of an 82-game season… D’Antoni will bring in Nash with 10 minutes left in the 4th of a meaningless Eastern Conference game instead of letting his guys gain some experience on the court. This is why I couldn’t be the Suns’ beat writer, because I would actually make “unpopular” claims that I would hope would improve the team because I want them to win at le… we don’t need to be like New York fans who about everything, but we could show a little constructive criticism from time to time.

[Findog]

Kudos to acknowledging the Suns would have won it all had it not been for the suspensions.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/070117

I forgot, the Suns approached "that hallowed level" last year.

They're a juggernaut with a terrific coach

and no real holes other than a thin bench.

Well at least he got that part right.

[da_suns_fan]

DSF, Jr. you're basing all of your arguments ("show me why these scrubs haven't proved D'Antoni wrong yet!") on the idea that NBA GMs and coaches are intelligent individuals and good evaluators of talent.

#57 pick in the NBA draft = Manu Ginobili
#28 pick in the NBA draft = Tony Parker

Rings Ginobili and Parker have = 3 each (with 1 Finals MVP award)
Rings Popovich and RC Buford have = 4 each

(I guess late first and second rounders like Tucker and Strawberry are destined for failure.) What's great is that Tucker is putting up monster scoring numbers in the D-League, but will never get on the floor because he won't spot up behind the 3 point line like James Jones... well Grant Hill has a great midrange game and I think Tucker could as well.

Number of 60-win seasons Mike D'Antoni has with Suns = 2
Number of rings he has so far = 0

Number of lottery picks Isiah Thomas/Billy King/Rob Bab /Elgin Baylor/Kevin McHale have to their names = too many to count.

Casey Jacobsen is actually back in the league (playing for the Grizzlies, so it's not that glamorous, but he's back after 2 yrs in Europe). With him playing on the Grizz, it makes me think that Ivaroni may have liked him more in Phoenix than D'Antoni did and has brought him back.

Paul Shirley would much rather blog and listen to Interpol than play basketball. I never drank the "Marks kool-aid," so you could be onto something there. I also liked Pat Burke, but felt he was on too short of a leash and would get nervous, so it's not like I called for him every game. I definitely called on him to provide Amare with defensive help and keep him out of foul trouble, but I guess that would be too much to ask. How D'Antoni doesn't realize that Amare is a magnet for bad calls from the officials is beyond me. Maybe it would be a good idea to protect him with Skinner in there and keep him in the flow of the game.

This is especially important because D'Antoni keeps wanting to "find" more minutes for Skinner and doesn't want to "disrupt the flow" of the game. Nothing disrupts the flow more than Amare picking up two quick fouls, getting frustrated, and then having him try to force things on the offensive end (aka the ball "sticks" when it gets to him). Suns are something like 15-1 when Amare scores over 20 pts (lone loss to the , and what's a better way to get him points than to put him at the 5 on offense and the 4 on defense and let Skinner get in there and bang, especially since he's the better defensive rebounder while Amare is the better finisher on the break. Putting him at the 4 on defense can leave Skinner to rebound, Amare and Marion can get out on the break and Bell/Barbosa can be the trailers. If Amare gets upset or in foul trouble on the defensive end, then he starts to force way too much because he's afraid of limited (aka foul-plagued) minutes... guess what, I think that would mess up D'Antoni's precious "flow” quite a bit regardless.

No one makes the game work more smoothly than Steve Nash, so let him get out there with two big men who can set strong screens and nail the 15-foot jumper (Skinner and Amare), while letting Marion and Hill roam around, Bell/Barbosa spot up and letting Diaw do whatever when he feels like being a good player instead of a fatass. When you're matched up against another team without a strong post player, but 1-2 strong perimeter players, then throw Strawberry/Banks out there to pester guys like Cassell and Parker, while letting Nash sit on Quinton Ross/Bowen and leaving Marion to help Amare with rebounding from the 4 position instead of having Shawn guard a smaller guy.

D'Antoni doesn't understand that you can have 4 scorers out there and one or two guys to get quality stops and still run people out of the building… in fact, the Lakers and Celtics did it for years, with guys like Dennis Johnson and Michael Cooper. No one is worse at making adjustments than Mike D’Antoni and that’s a fact. This is absolutely why the Suns have to keep worrying about “chemistry” issues and working to “motivate” themselves. I’m pretty sure Pop is a good motivator… from what I’ve seen, Mike D isn’t… Pop trusts his players to make manageable mistakes over the course of an 82-game season… D’Antoni will bring in Nash with 10 minutes left in the 4th of a meaningless Eastern Conference game instead of letting his guys gain some experience on the court. This is why I couldn’t be the Suns’ beat writer, because I would actually make “unpopular” claims that I would hope would improve the team because I want them to win at le… we don’t need to be like New York fans who about everything, but we could show a little constructive criticism from time to time.

I agree with MOST of what you said (and you said A LOT). Skinner should get more time along side Amare for all the reasons you stated.

However, how can you compare Tucker and Strawberry to Ginobili and Parker at this time?

Ginobili was drafted in the late second round in 1999. He didn't play a minute for the Spurs until 2002 (he went back to Europe). I doubt he would have been part of Popovic's regular rotation back in 1999.

And for every Ginobili, how many guys in the second round never make it? Im guessing something over 70% is accurate.

Are you really comparing these two scrubs to Dennis Johnson? Im not saying Strawberry won't make it in the league, Im just saying he still looks like a second round draft pick.

Also, you want to bring in Banks/Strawberry to guard strong wing players AND keep Nash in (you said Nash can guard the Bowens/Rosses of the world)?

Who do you want to take out? Is Strawberry/Banks that much more effective than Grant Hill? Do what they bring on defense make up for how much of a better all around player Grant Hill is?

And even in your scenario, your only talking about playing Strawberry/Banks in games against teams with weak front courts but strong backcourts. Sounds like your rotation would generally be just as short as D'Antoni's with the only major change is more minutes for Brian Skinner (which Im all for).

Its a lot tougher than it looks, especially considering how talented the Suns' top seven are. NO ONE IN THE LEAGUE EVEN COMES CLOSE!!!!

[Findog]

I hope you realize dsf that it's unrealistic to expect the guys on the bench to produce as well as the starters, that's why they ride pine. Nobody is arguing the Suns bench was full of worldbeaters, but the Suns would be better off sacrificing a few regular season wins and a couple of places in the seedings in order to keep minutes down for the guys they depend on.