Bigger lineup vs Sonics, Quote on Marion going to the line

[thegrahamcrackr]

Found this quote interesting, so I posted the whole article

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/1216suns1216.html


D'Antoni looks to bigger lineup for Sonics' visit
Jim Gintonio
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 16, 2003 12:00 AM


SONICS UPDATE: Rashard Lewis, who suffered a mild sprain in his left shoulder Sunday, is expected to start. He left in the third quarter of a win over Milwaukee. Lewis leads Seattle (11-10) with 19.8 points per game.

SUNS UPDATE: Phoenix is trying to snap a six-game losing streak and give new coach Mike D'Antoni (0-3) his first win. The Suns (8-16) played three tough quarters in a 107-102 loss to the Kings on Sunday, but things fell part when they shot 3 for 26 in a 10-point final quarter.


The game plan from Suns coach Mike D'Antoni calls for a big lineup tonight against Seattle.

He's getting no argument from Stephon Marbury, who hopes it will help the team emerge from a six-game losing streak and give him a boost as well.

But big or small, D'Antoni said, there is one basic tenet: Nothing comes easy.

"With the small lineup, we weren't rebounding, not playing hard enough," he said. "The big boys on the block were knocking the heck out of us. We hit on the formula of big, but that's not a cure-all.

"We're not going to trick anybody. It's going to come down to defending well, playing hard and being relaxed on offense. Those are the keys. Whoever we put on the floor, we have to do that.

"After that, we can coach the X's and O's, but we have to make sure we have those three fundamental things in place."

With Scott Williams and Jake Voskuhl in the lineup and Shawn Marion returning to small forward, D'Antoni expects a solid effort.

Asked whether he would like to see Marion get to the free-throw line more often, he laughed: "Yeah, and I'd love to be born rich. But you have to deal with reality. Shawn is Shawn, and he's pretty good the way he is."

Marbury isn't ready to take anybody to the woodshed despite only one win in the past 10 games.

"It's getting guys to do what they're good at. . . . As opposed to harping on the negatives, you try to stay positive and make the guys understand you're in the NBA because you're good at doing something," said Marbury, the team's leader on the court. "I don't think you have to call guys out. You're not going to get the most out of them, especially at a time like this. This is a trying time."

A win against Sacramento on Sunday would have been an upset, but tonight's battle with Seattle is winnable.

The Suns must take responsibility on defense, D'Antoni said.

"We've stressed that," he said. "We took a step forward against Sacramento, and we have to build on that. . . . We can't go back to the old way."

D'Antoni knows his first victory won't necessarily get the monkey off his back.

"It's always there if you're coaching, until about June," he said. "Then you still got it, because you don't know if you're going to be hired again for the next year.

"Coaching is a tough business, and we all know it. The pressure is right there on you, but you handle it."

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by thegrahamcrackr
"It's getting guys to do what they're good at. . . . As opposed to harping on the negatives, you try to stay positive and make the guys understand you're in the NBA because you're good at doing something," said Marbury, the team's leader on the court. "I don't think you have to call guys out. You're not going to get the most out of them, especially at a time like this. This is a trying time."

I was definitely encouraged by this quote from Marbury. I had been really worried about his attitude with this losing streak.

Joe Mama

 

[Chaplin]

Re: Re: Bigger lineup vs Sonics, Quote on Marion going to the line

Originally posted by Joe Mama
I was definitely encouraged by this quote from Marbury. I had been really worried about his attitude with this losing streak.

Joe Mama

I agree, it was a very mature thing for him to say--and proves once and for all that he IS this team's leader.

 

[George O'Brien]

I agree with the sentiment that getting down on the players too much will only make things worse. None the less, I think the Suns players are going to have to deal with their reputation of being soft.

It is hard to tell players that they need to attack the basket when they see what happened to Zarko and Barbosa. Unfortunately, the Suns have no choice but have everyone get inside to shoot and rebound in spite of the degree people are beating them up.

Part of the reason the Suns small lineup is less effective than it was last year is that the refs are letting teams be more physical than before. It is going to be hard for the Suns players to accept that, but they will never be successful unless they are willing to get beat up.

 

[matt_whitlock]

Re: Re: Re: Bigger lineup vs Sonics, Quote on Marion going to the line

Originally posted by Chaplin
I agree, it was a very mature thing for him to say--and proves once and for all that he IS this team's leader.

It certainly shows some character in Marbury, but it doesn't necesarily show that he's a great leader. Talk is cheap. I haven't criticized Marbury once since his first year here, because I think he truly earned my respect as a great point guard in the NBA and an unselfish floor general. However, as it stands you cannot say his performance this year has been very good. He's been shooting the ball at an alright clip, distributing the ball maybe even better than last year, and playing okay defense, but he has been hoisting up a lot of bad shots, missing shots in crunch time that last year were falling effortlessly, and most importantly, his body language has been pretty poor. As the season has progressed and the losses have piled (and piled) up, Stephon has become increasingly immature and sulky out on the court. He is constantly arguing with the refs after a bad no-call on offense under the basket and subsequently not gotten back on defense. He throws his arms up in disgust when he is, well, disgusted.

I'm not saying these aren't natural reactions to our season. I'd probably be doing the same thing. So would 95% of the world in his position, I'd gather. But Marbury is not supposed to be 95% of the population. With that quote, I agree with everything he says, and maybe behind the scenes that's how he's been treating the season, but on the court I haven't seen him as a positive leader. He has to realize that, as the best player on the team and even at this stage in his career, one of the veterans of this team, that everybody is going to be looking at him. If Joe Johnson or Amare or Shawn sees Marbury sulking around, how do you think they're going to react. Especially with a coach now who just walks around the sidelines giggling, the leadership has to come from Marbury.

And Stephon can say whatever he wants, but it's what you do that matters.