Talk to the Coach
Posted: Feb. 25, 2004
With Kevin Ray out, Suns Head Coach Mike D’Antoni joined Dave Burns for the weekly “Talk to the Coach” program on the 620 Sportsline. The duo discussed everything from keeping team spirits high to how excited the coach is about the future of the team.
Dave Burns: Keeping everybody’s head up, keeping everyone positive, that’s a challenge when you’re working through an eight-game losing streak.
Mike D’Antoni: We’re doing a great job of coming into practice everyday and just focusing on getting better. We’ve been working hard. We have played well in certain spots. We just can’t finish games off. We’re not yet good enough to control the game from start to finish, but pretty soon hopefully we can get there.
Burns: You mentioned from start to finish. It seems like everything about the way you guys are playing is great except for the start and the finish. You fall behind, you get back in it and then you can’t close out games. You made an interesting comment in the paper the other day in transferring it from the practice court to the real court in a live game situation. Have you made any progress?
D’Antoni: It’s a little bit of youth. When you go over and practice, you know what’s coming and they do a good job. Recognizing it and understanding what to do. When they get in the game, the jump ball goes up, and it takes them a couple of times to run through the scenario like the play that we’ve gone over 15 times in the team runs. When they see it a few times, they get it down exactly what they’re supposed to do again and they remember. It goes well until the end and then we don’t execute half-court. We’ve worked on a running game which we do real well, but when the other team’s getting back or they’re scoring and we need to execute, we don’t do a great job of knowing how to handle pressure, moving the basketball and understanding the double team. These are things we’re working on everyday and try and get better at it.
Caller (David, Mesa): Are you concerned about the perception of your ability, coming onto a team that’s obviously rebuilding?
D’Antoni: I’m not worried about the win-loss record right now. I want to do a good job of teaching these guys how to play. No one likes to lose, but it’s a part of the process. If we can get over the hump, the wins will take care of themselves. If not, we’ll have a new coach. They are going to give me a chance to get the team better and develop the young guys and we’ll go from there.
Caller (Al, Phoenix): When the team has the ball they don’t pass it fast enough. The other teams seem to pass the ball around faster. It doesn’t give the Suns an opportunity to steal the ball.
D’Antoni: The biggest thing is the recognition of what’s going on out on the floor. It comes with experience. We’re slow to recognize when we’re double-teamed. We’re slow to recognize when someone’s open. You’re right. The ball is a half second too late a lot of times. We’re not swift right now hitting the open man as swiftly as we should.
Caller (Joe, Tempe): Win, lose or draw these guys are hustling every play and trying. I’m very proud of this team and of how hard they’ve worked. With the talent we have and the direction of the team, I’m very pleased.
Could you see Joe Johnson becoming a functional point guard and doing it well?
D’Antoni: In certain scenarios, yes. Look back at the Boston Celtics when they had Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson, not a true point guard there. You had Larry Bird who the ball went through. He was a point forward or whatever you want to call it. We have guys like a Joe Johnson who can be that type of guy where the ball goes through. Zarko Cabarkapa is another guy that the ball can go through. He’s got great instincts.
Caller (Scott, Goodyear): You have exceptional talent at every position. If you can keep this core group together, nobody’s going to want to mess with these guys in a few years. What excites you about the future of this team?
D’Antoni: That’s the main thing I’m excited about, the attitude and heart they have. To go through a practice and watch them work, it’s great. It’s refreshing as a coach to go in everyday and know we’re going to accomplishing something everyday and have fun doing it. In the NBA, that’s something that doesn’t happen everyday. I’ve been with a lot of teams over the years, and sometimes it was a struggle to just go to work. With these guys, it’s just fun. Even though we’ve lost eight in a row, it would be a heck of a lot better if we won some also. I want to win more than anything, just to keep these guys’ spirits up. They deserve it. The talent, I agree with you. At every position, without knowing what the future holds, we have guys that can really blossom. We don’t know how good Joe Johnson can be. We don’t know how good Amare Stoudemire can be. Barbosa, Cabarkapa, Lampe, we can go on and on. We can have a great team that people will be proud of. People are doubting, but I think we can get there.
Burns: You are seeing things, even though the team has lost eight straight, things that you like?
D’Antoni: After games, guys are down and the locker room's quiet. I go home and watch the films and break it down, and I’m excited again. There are times they look good where they’re doing the right thing. We just have to hang in there and keep the faith.
