Knicks @ Suns 12-13-16

[Mainstreet]

The Knicks will play at the Suns tonight with a 7 p.m. Arizona start time. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Jeff Hornacek who was the Suns former head coach. As of now, it looks like Hornacek got the best end of the deal... at least for now. The Knicks record is 14-10 and the Suns record is 7-17.

Here are some comments from Hornacek taken from a Paul Coro article at azcentral dated 12-13-16.

Hornacek was the Coach of the Year runner-up to Gregg Popovich but was fired less than two years later when Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough said the team was not responding to Hornacek and that the culture had become unstructured and undisciplined.

“I could show you the texts I got from most of the guys,” Hornacek said of player messages of support after he was fired on Feb. 1 when the team returned from an 0-4 trip. “That really didn’t bother me. I think that’s what they wanted to put out there so they could make a change.”

Hornacek had been forced to make the rare in-season move to fire his top assistants, Mike Longabardi and Jerry Sichting, after a Dec. 26 home loss to Philadelphia in which Eric Bledsoe suffered a season-ending knee injury.

“I know they’re great coaches so when I got the job in New York, those were the first guys I called,” said Hornacek, who brought Sichting and former Suns assistant Corey Gaines to New York after Longabardi joined Cleveland's championship staff in January. “I could look at a lot of things in hindsight. I should have probably just said, ‘You want to fire them? Then fire me too now.’ But I was trying to get along with the management and what they wanted to try to do.”

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...ornacek-shoots-straight-suns-firing/95384178/

 

[Mainstreet]

Alan Williams gets an opportunity to play with Len out due to injury, reported right hip contusion.

 

[Mainstreet]

Knight is playing some of his best basketball right now.

 

[sunsfan88]

I missed the beginning of the game, anyone know if Hornacek got a standing ovation?

 

[Mainstreet]

I missed the beginning of the game, anyone know if Hornacek got a standing ovation?

Paul Coro reports Suns fans gave Hornacek a nice round of applause.

 

[Mainstreet]

Dudley has had a lot of open 3 point looks and he has turned down many. He is a stretch 4. If he gets wide open looks, I think he needs to take them. He doesn't help the team much when he drives.

 

[Mainstreet]

Chriss has had a nice game with 14 points and 11 rebounds but he is sitting with 5 personal fouls.

 

[Mainstreet]

Kristaps Porzingis is going to be a legitimate star. He is tearing the Suns up.

 

[devilalum]

Suns go to play: Bledsoe stands out near the half court line and dribbles until there are 6 seconds left on the clock then drives into the lane and jumps into the air.

He has no idea what he will do with the ball until he is in the air.

 

[Mainstreet]

Suns go to play: Bledsoe stands out near the half court line and dribbles until there are 6 seconds left on the clock then drives into the lane and jumps into the air.

He has no idea what he will do with the ball until he is in the air.

In fairness to Bledsoe, he frequently doesn't get much help. Bledsoe has had a very good game. I hope TJ Warren returns soon.

Overtime.

 

[Mainstreet]

Porzingis fouls out.

 

[SirStefan32]

Bledsoe and Chandler were incredible. I hope TJ comes back soon.

 

[Mainstreet]

Bledsoe carries the Suns to the win. Huge game. However, he needs help. Three 30 or more point games in a row.

 

[Mainstreet]

I was thinking Tucker should miss the second free throw as well with the Knicks out of timeouts. Only about 1.2 seconds left. It worked out.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Every game I've watched, which hasn't been many, Booker has missed seemingly every shot...Knight seems to always do something dumb...and Bledsoe looks like he's the only one trying to create opportunities. He's basically a one man show, from what I've seen. Chandler is a monster on the boards, and gives the team an attitude. Booker has regressed significantly for one reason or another...his misses are so far off too...it's almost like he forgot how to shoot.

 

[AfroSuns]

Every game I've watched, which hasn't been many, Booker has missed seemingly every shot...Knight seems to always do something dumb...and Bledsoe looks like he's the only one trying to create opportunities. He's basically a one man show, from what I've seen. Chandler is a monster on the boards, and gives the team an attitude. Booker has regressed significantly for one reason or another...his misses are so far off too...it's almost like he forgot how to shoot.

I have seen every game so far this season and I don't think he is quite as bad, but he is definitely not the Devin from last season. He was awful in this game. Kid is learning....He is a smart kid, i have very little doubt he will make necessary adjustment.

Nice toughness and win from the Suns tonight.

 

[Bert]

I have seen every game so far this season and I don't think he is quite as bad, but he is definitely not the Devin from last season. He was awful in this game. Kid is learning....He is a smart kid, i have very little doubt he will make necessary adjustment.

Nice toughness and win from the Suns tonight.

Yeah I agree with you on Booker.

This was a fun win tho. Was nice to see Chandler standing up to everyone and Bledsoe looked super confident all night. That reverse layin with the left hand towards the end was just beautiful. I'm buying in more and more with Bled. Once we get a more talented team around him he will be even better.

Everytime Brandon Knight is on the floor, I'm annoyed in one way or another. I just wish he was gone already because he seriously changes the entire game when he comes in. If the suns get in a good offensive rhythm, it's a certainty that BK will come in and break it up.

 

[sunsfan88]

I like seeing Bledsoe play with this much effort.

And Tyson Chandler is the best C the Suns have had in decades. Imagine if we had a guy like him rebounding like this during the Nash/Amare days...

Also, I know there were some Porzingis comparisons made for Bender pre draft and after having seen both play, I can assure anyone and everyone that Bender will never be as good as Porzingis is and will be.

That's not a knock on Bender, I'm still a huge fan of his and he's still only 18 or 19 but Porzingis is just an absolute special player. He will be probably be a top 10 player in the league at some point in his career. He's like Dirk Nowitzki and DeAndre Jordan combined.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I like seeing Bledsoe play with this much effort.

And Tyson Chandler is the best C the Suns have had in decades. Imagine if we had a guy like him rebounding like this during the Nash/Amare days...

Also, I know there were some Porzingis comparisons made for Bender pre draft and after having seen both play, I can assure anyone and everyone that Bender will never be as good as Porzingis is and will be.

That's not a knock on Bender, I'm still a huge fan of his and he's still only 18 or 19 but Porzingis is just an absolute special player. He will be probably be a top 10 player in the league at some point in his career. He's like Dirk Nowitzki and DeAndre Jordan combined.

Chandler in his 4th year, Len in his 4th year.

Player 1: 8.0 pts, 9.7 reb, 1.8 blks, .496 (2pt), 27.4 mpg
Player 2: 9.0 pts, 7.7 reb, 1.6 blks, .487 (2pt), 23.2 mpg

Moral of the story: It takes time to develop big men.

 

[sunsfan88]

Chandler in his 4th year, Len in his 4th year.

Player 1: 8.0 pts, 9.7 reb, 1.8 blks, .496 (2pt), 27.4 mpg
Player 2: 9.0 pts, 7.7 reb, 1.6 blks, .487 (2pt), 23.2 mpg

Moral of the story: It takes time to develop big men.

Chandler at that time didn't have the recurring injury issues that Len did however. I think Len's injured again now actually, didn't see him play yesterday.

 

[sunsfan88]

Looks like Hornacek feels like he was wronged by the Suns (not the first one to feel that way btw)

“I should’ve just said, ‘If you want to fire them, then fire me too now.’ But I was trying to get along with management and what they want to do.”

Hornacek was talking about GM Ryan McDonough forcing him to fire two of his assistant coaches, Mike Longabardi and Jerry Sichting. It was an ill-conceived statement meant to shake up a struggling team. But about a month later in February, the Suns canned Hornacek – who resurfaced with the Knicks and rehired Sichting.

“I could show you texts I got from most of the guys (after I was fired),” Hornacek said. “(McDonough saying that I lost the locker room) really didn’t bother me. I think that was what they wanted to put out there so they could make the change. It is what it is.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...s-effort-appease-suns-brass-article-1.2909680

The Dragic fiasco, then IT and then the Morris twins issue and now with this,I don't think Ryan McDonough has a very good reputation in the NBA circles.

 

[Errntknght]

Looks like Hornacek feels like he was wronged by the Suns (not the first one to feel that way btw)
The Dragic fiasco, then IT and then the Morris twins issue and now with this,I don't think Ryan McDonough has a very good reputation in the NBA circles.

AFAIC, the only McD fiasco was trading for Brandon Knight to continue starting two combo guards. Its certainly possible that he did not deal well with Hornacek though they seemed to be on the same page early on. I didn't like Horny's half court offense right from the start and I was very surprised by it - with his background I was sure he knew how to put together a better offense than that. It still seems unlikely that McD would have forced his hand but we never get enough info to judge that kind of thing. Forcing Jeff to fire his two top assistants was a bad mistake... unless they were undercutting Jeff in some way, which also seems extremely unlikely because Jeff would have been happy to get rid of them in that case. By then I'd been long convinced we needed to can Hornacek, so I didn't complain much about dumping his two assistants.

Seeing Watson trot out nearly the same half court offense I'm starting to think that McD might be responsible for both offenses, in which case I'll join the chorus calling for his head.

 

[leclerc]

xAlso, I know there were some Porzingis comparisons made for Bender pre draft and after having seen both play, I can assure anyone and everyone that Bender will never be as good as Porzingis is and will be.

That's not a knock on Bender, I'm still a huge fan of his and he's still only 18 or 19 but Porzingis is just an absolute special player. He will be probably be a top 10 player in the league at some point in his career. He's like Dirk Nowitzki and DeAndre Jordan combined.

I think it's a little quick to sign off Bender this early. He's 2-3 years younger than Porz and he hasn't gotten much of a chance so far, even though he's been solid and actually playing defence unlike our sixth man of the year candidate.

 

[slinslin]

I think it's a little quick to sign off Bender this early. He's 2-3 years younger than Porz and he hasn't gotten much of a chance so far, even though he's been solid and actually playing defence unlike our sixth man of the year candidate.

you have a weird definition of "solid".

 

[leclerc]

It looks like he knows what he's doing. Cutting, moving, rotating on defence, making passes, boxing out. Solid basketball fundamentals.

For instance he doesn't dribble the shot clock down just to drive and jump into the air... or shooting a deep two early in the shot clock ignoring open team mates.