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Suns Hope Diaw Back in Shape, Ready to Roll
By Jerry Brown
eastvalleytribune.com,
Nov. 16, 2006
Three games into the season, Mike D’Antoni approached a struggling Boris Diaw to tell him he’d been dropped from the starting lineup. He wasn’t sure exactly what kind of response he’d get from his mildmannered Frenchman, but he should have known better.
“He said, ‘Coach, if I were you, I wouldn’t start me either,’ ” D’Antoni said.
“But that’s Boris. He knew he wasn’t playing well. He knew he was behind and had work to do.”
Diaw has done the work. He’s trimmed down about 10 pounds. He’s finding his niche in a three-man, big-man rotation with Amaré Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas, understanding that he may not be able — or need to — put up the kind of numbers (13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists) that made him the NBA’s Most Improved Player last year.
He’s spending a five-day break in the schedule working overtime in practice — sharpening his shooting with assistant coach Phil Weber and inside footwork with Marc Iavaroni — and hopes to show the fruits of those labors Friday against Philadelphia.
“You can’t be mad if the coach is doing the right thing,” Diaw said. “You can’t be mad if you’re not playing well.
“You have to be true and fair to him. I’m trying to get better, to deserve the playing time, make him want to have you out there.”
There are many theories to Diaw’s slow start: That he was lazy during the offseason and packed on a lot of weight; that after signing a five-year, $45 million extension in October, he had lost some of his incentive and work ethic; or that, with Stoudemire returning to the lineup and dominating much of the lane, Diaw would struggle at times.
D’Antoni points to several extenuating circumstances that played pivotal roles in Diaw’s struggles:
# When the Suns’ playoff run ended in early June, Diaw had about two weeks off before assuming his role as captain of the French national team for the world championships.
It was early September before Diaw finally had an “offseason,” and he spent a month away from basketball when most players were working their way into shape.
“It wasn’t a perfect way to do it, but I didn’t have a choice,” Diaw said. “You have to take a break or you’ll be burned out.”
# In a year when Diaw could have used an intense training camp, the Suns had a light two weeks in Italy and Germany — mixing tourism with practices. And with the focus on working Stoudemire back into shape, Diaw saw less practice reps and less preseason minutes.
“We kind of lost Boris as we were force-feeding Amaré,” D’Antoni said. “He needed to play more and he needed more work, and we didn’t pick up on that.”
# Diaw was the main distributor when guard Steve Nash left the floor last year. But Leandro Barbosa is doing more dishing this year (5.5 assists a game) and players like Jalen Rose will also help out, meaning fewer chances for Diaw.
“We have more players and things will be spread out more, which is fine,” he said.
Diaw is back starting. His nine points, six rebounds and five assists in Saturday’s win over Memphis were a good sign. And D’Antoni feels that seven games into the season, Diaw is back in prime shape.
“It was seven games, and now he’s back,” D’Antoni said.
BONUS SHOTS: Raja Bell turned up his running and shooting Wednesday. He is likely to play Friday...
D’Antoni appears to be again leaning toward whittling down to an eight-man rotation. Diaw, Stoudemire and Shawn Marion (small forward) will start with Bell and Nash, with Barbosa, Thomas and Rose coming off the bench. That means Marcus Bell and James Jones will be sitting.
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/tribune_061116.html
By Jerry Brown
eastvalleytribune.com,
Nov. 16, 2006
Three games into the season, Mike D’Antoni approached a struggling Boris Diaw to tell him he’d been dropped from the starting lineup. He wasn’t sure exactly what kind of response he’d get from his mildmannered Frenchman, but he should have known better.
“He said, ‘Coach, if I were you, I wouldn’t start me either,’ ” D’Antoni said.
“But that’s Boris. He knew he wasn’t playing well. He knew he was behind and had work to do.”
Diaw has done the work. He’s trimmed down about 10 pounds. He’s finding his niche in a three-man, big-man rotation with Amaré Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas, understanding that he may not be able — or need to — put up the kind of numbers (13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists) that made him the NBA’s Most Improved Player last year.
He’s spending a five-day break in the schedule working overtime in practice — sharpening his shooting with assistant coach Phil Weber and inside footwork with Marc Iavaroni — and hopes to show the fruits of those labors Friday against Philadelphia.
“You can’t be mad if the coach is doing the right thing,” Diaw said. “You can’t be mad if you’re not playing well.
“You have to be true and fair to him. I’m trying to get better, to deserve the playing time, make him want to have you out there.”
There are many theories to Diaw’s slow start: That he was lazy during the offseason and packed on a lot of weight; that after signing a five-year, $45 million extension in October, he had lost some of his incentive and work ethic; or that, with Stoudemire returning to the lineup and dominating much of the lane, Diaw would struggle at times.
D’Antoni points to several extenuating circumstances that played pivotal roles in Diaw’s struggles:
# When the Suns’ playoff run ended in early June, Diaw had about two weeks off before assuming his role as captain of the French national team for the world championships.
It was early September before Diaw finally had an “offseason,” and he spent a month away from basketball when most players were working their way into shape.
“It wasn’t a perfect way to do it, but I didn’t have a choice,” Diaw said. “You have to take a break or you’ll be burned out.”
# In a year when Diaw could have used an intense training camp, the Suns had a light two weeks in Italy and Germany — mixing tourism with practices. And with the focus on working Stoudemire back into shape, Diaw saw less practice reps and less preseason minutes.
“We kind of lost Boris as we were force-feeding Amaré,” D’Antoni said. “He needed to play more and he needed more work, and we didn’t pick up on that.”
# Diaw was the main distributor when guard Steve Nash left the floor last year. But Leandro Barbosa is doing more dishing this year (5.5 assists a game) and players like Jalen Rose will also help out, meaning fewer chances for Diaw.
“We have more players and things will be spread out more, which is fine,” he said.
Diaw is back starting. His nine points, six rebounds and five assists in Saturday’s win over Memphis were a good sign. And D’Antoni feels that seven games into the season, Diaw is back in prime shape.
“It was seven games, and now he’s back,” D’Antoni said.
BONUS SHOTS: Raja Bell turned up his running and shooting Wednesday. He is likely to play Friday...
D’Antoni appears to be again leaning toward whittling down to an eight-man rotation. Diaw, Stoudemire and Shawn Marion (small forward) will start with Bell and Nash, with Barbosa, Thomas and Rose coming off the bench. That means Marcus Bell and James Jones will be sitting.
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/tribune_061116.html
