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Eisley to Face Former Jazz Club
By Josh Greene, Suns.com
Posted: Feb. 6, 2004
Total games, minutes logged, seasons played… Everyone gauges NBA experience differently. But if the determining factor involves the playoffs, consult Suns point guard Howard Eisley.
A veteran of 88 career postseason games, he’s the only member of the current Suns roster to have made it to the NBA Finals, let alone twice. The nine-year veteran was a member of the 1997 and 1998 Western Conference Champion Utah Jazz squads that twice fell to the Chicago Bulls in the Finals. Coming off the bench, he averaged 6.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg and 3.1 apg in 12 championship games.
“It was a very exciting time,” he said of the two Finals runs. “Guys were very excited, but at the same time we had a job to do. We tried to go out and approach it that way and get a win. Unfortunately it didn’t happen, but we tried to do the best we could to give ourselves a chance to win. Our goal remained the same in that we wanted to be a winning organization and try and win a championship. That was our mindset going in each and every night.
“It was a good experience, really. I learned how to play the game in Utah.”
Eisley goes up against his former team Saturday night at America West Arena, although a very different looking Jazz team than the ones the playmaker played on from 1995-2000. Current Utah Head Coach Jerry Sloan and center Greg Ostertag are the only holdovers from those glory years. Most notably absent nowadays are current Lakers forward Karl Malone and point guard-turned retiree John Stockton.
Eisley played backup to the NBA’s all-time assists and steals leader, crediting Stockton with helping him find his game, both mentally and physically, early on in his career.
“John definitely did help me,” Eisley said. “He helped my career tremendously. I tried to learn as much as I could from him. He was very professional. He showed up for work every day and gave it 100 percent every time he stepped out onto the floor.
“I do try and approach the game like he did, showing up and working hard every day, and giving it 100 percent every time I walk out on the floor. That was something that remained constant with him even on bad days. He always worked hard and played hard. He tried to give his club everything he had. I just tried to learn from him and pick things up from him on the floor.”
Eisley’s current role with the Suns is the same as it was with the Jazz, only instead of backing up a future Hall of Famer, he’s backing up a highly touted rookie in Leandro Barbosa. No longer playing the role of student, the veteran guard is now the teacher in what he considers an indirect way.
“When I see things,” the soft-spoken guard said, “I try to mention them (to Leandro) and say things, but I’m still just trying to learn myself. I’ve got some really good coaches, but whatever I see that I can help them with, I try.
“Those Jazz teams and these Suns are completely different teams. We’ve got some really good, young talent here. When I was in Utah, you had two established All-Star veterans. We were still learning from those guys who already knew how to play. They helped bring me along and I’m trying to help bring these guys along.”
Suns Head Coach Mike D’Antoni is more than pleased with the addition of Eisley and hopes the point guard’s overall experience will benefit Barbosa and the rest of his teammates, the youngest NBA roster going right now.
“Howard’s a perfect complement for Leandro, because he’s completely different,” D’Antoni said. “Howard’s from the Utah system where he can push the tempo. He’s good in the open court, but he also knows when to pull it out, set it up, get us in the zone and get us a shot when maybe things have broken down.
“He's also a great guy. If I play him 20 minutes or 40 minutes, he’s ready to go whenever I ask him. The guy’s invaluable and I think it’s a great learning tool for Leandro. I can only teach him so much, but he can learn a lot from Howard. He watches what Howard does, and by osmosis, he’s going to get a lot of it.”
Just like Eisley did from Stockton and his time with the Jazz.
By Josh Greene, Suns.com
Posted: Feb. 6, 2004
Total games, minutes logged, seasons played… Everyone gauges NBA experience differently. But if the determining factor involves the playoffs, consult Suns point guard Howard Eisley.
A veteran of 88 career postseason games, he’s the only member of the current Suns roster to have made it to the NBA Finals, let alone twice. The nine-year veteran was a member of the 1997 and 1998 Western Conference Champion Utah Jazz squads that twice fell to the Chicago Bulls in the Finals. Coming off the bench, he averaged 6.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg and 3.1 apg in 12 championship games.
“It was a very exciting time,” he said of the two Finals runs. “Guys were very excited, but at the same time we had a job to do. We tried to go out and approach it that way and get a win. Unfortunately it didn’t happen, but we tried to do the best we could to give ourselves a chance to win. Our goal remained the same in that we wanted to be a winning organization and try and win a championship. That was our mindset going in each and every night.
“It was a good experience, really. I learned how to play the game in Utah.”
Eisley goes up against his former team Saturday night at America West Arena, although a very different looking Jazz team than the ones the playmaker played on from 1995-2000. Current Utah Head Coach Jerry Sloan and center Greg Ostertag are the only holdovers from those glory years. Most notably absent nowadays are current Lakers forward Karl Malone and point guard-turned retiree John Stockton.
Eisley played backup to the NBA’s all-time assists and steals leader, crediting Stockton with helping him find his game, both mentally and physically, early on in his career.
“John definitely did help me,” Eisley said. “He helped my career tremendously. I tried to learn as much as I could from him. He was very professional. He showed up for work every day and gave it 100 percent every time he stepped out onto the floor.
“I do try and approach the game like he did, showing up and working hard every day, and giving it 100 percent every time I walk out on the floor. That was something that remained constant with him even on bad days. He always worked hard and played hard. He tried to give his club everything he had. I just tried to learn from him and pick things up from him on the floor.”
Eisley’s current role with the Suns is the same as it was with the Jazz, only instead of backing up a future Hall of Famer, he’s backing up a highly touted rookie in Leandro Barbosa. No longer playing the role of student, the veteran guard is now the teacher in what he considers an indirect way.
“When I see things,” the soft-spoken guard said, “I try to mention them (to Leandro) and say things, but I’m still just trying to learn myself. I’ve got some really good coaches, but whatever I see that I can help them with, I try.
“Those Jazz teams and these Suns are completely different teams. We’ve got some really good, young talent here. When I was in Utah, you had two established All-Star veterans. We were still learning from those guys who already knew how to play. They helped bring me along and I’m trying to help bring these guys along.”
Suns Head Coach Mike D’Antoni is more than pleased with the addition of Eisley and hopes the point guard’s overall experience will benefit Barbosa and the rest of his teammates, the youngest NBA roster going right now.
“Howard’s a perfect complement for Leandro, because he’s completely different,” D’Antoni said. “Howard’s from the Utah system where he can push the tempo. He’s good in the open court, but he also knows when to pull it out, set it up, get us in the zone and get us a shot when maybe things have broken down.
“He's also a great guy. If I play him 20 minutes or 40 minutes, he’s ready to go whenever I ask him. The guy’s invaluable and I think it’s a great learning tool for Leandro. I can only teach him so much, but he can learn a lot from Howard. He watches what Howard does, and by osmosis, he’s going to get a lot of it.”
Just like Eisley did from Stockton and his time with the Jazz.
