George O'Brien
ASFN Icon
Suns.com
Talk to the Coach
Posted: March 2, 2004
With new dad Kevin Ray out, KTAR's Dave Burns filled in to “Talk to the Coach” on 620 Sportsline Tuesday night. He and Head Coach Mike D'Antoni talked about the development of Leandro Barbosa and Maciej Lampe, Amare Stoudemire's return to form and what worked so well in the recent wins over New York and Seattle .
Dave Burns: If we’re going to talk about the Suns, we have to talk about the play of Amaré Stoudemire. What’s the word for it with the way he’s played the last nine games?
Mike D’Antoni: He’s playing really well. He’s doing it in the right way. He’s really picked up his defense. He’s really trying to pass out of double teams, and be a guy that we can run the offense through. Trying to learn when to attack and when to set his teammates up… He’s getting better. He’s been super the last four or five games, and we expect his progress to continue.
Burns: The progress you mentioned, it seemed like initially with his return he was struggling. But you like how he’s progressed?
D’Antoni: He wants to learn, and he’s a quick learner. He was struggling. Even now, his assists are a lot lower than his turnovers. We have to get that even if we want to be a team to contend in a few years. It’s something you can show tape on, but it’s something he has to experience. Again, he’s doing a lot better job. He doesn’t get it right all the time, but you see his talent and potential. As long as he keeps his willingness to learn and play hard, then it’s just a matter of time.
Burns: He’s always been an aggressive offensive player. Has he dialed it up a notch? He seems intent on taking it to guys.
D’Antoni: He’s getting in game shape. He missed summer work and nine weeks this year. He’s just getting into now where he feels good physically. He’s always been aggressive, and there are things he does on the court that leave you amazed. It’s a question of keeping his focus and understanding where he wants to go with his game.
Burns: Since last we spoke your team ended its losing streak. We talked about the relief in the locker room when you guys got that taste of sugar. Was that the taste you were looking for?
D’Antoni: No doubt, and it helps Amaré because he’s really started passing the ball even better. We can run him half court. We still have a running game. That’s where Joe, Shawn, Leandro and everybody have their freedom to do things. It’s working pretty well. We’re playing pretty good. In the end, it’s going to be how good we can be defensively. We need to get better. Sacramento exposed some of our weaknesses, but we’re playing pretty well.
Burns: Good starts and good finishes, a couple of keys to those recent wins as well?
D’Antoni: Without a doubt. We didn’t have that great a start against Sacramento, but in those two wins, we controlled the game from start to finish. We’ve been working on half-court execution in practice to get comfortable with it. I’ve seen this in practice over the last few days, we’re becoming a very good running team. If we’re not already. A big part of that is Leandro Barbosa. He’s doing a great job. His play over the last three or four games has been really fluid. We like his progress too. We just want to validate it with some big wins.
Burns: It is by no means is it complete for Leandro, but how difficult was the transition for him from a transition standpoint? It seemed consistency was a big issue for the last three or four weeks.
D’Antoni: You have a 21-year-old kid. This is the first time he’s been out of his country, leaving his family. He’s gone from playing very little to being a starter in a league that’s 15 levels above where he was playing in Brazil. Throw in, “You have to do this, you have to do that. Make Shawn happy. Make Joe happy. Be sure nobody’s yelling at our point guard. It goes to show how tough he is. He plays hard. He wants to be the best. His play has picked way up. The guy has made unbelievable progress. We think he’s got a great, great future.
Burns: Joe Johnson, was he one the guys having the most trouble adjusting to the return of Amaré Stoudemire in terms of getting his shot and looks?
D’Antoni: If it is, it’s kind of self made. He’s had plenty of looks. One for eight against the Lakers, one for six the other night, so he’s going to get his looks. We get about 94 possessions and 94 shots. He’s going to have plenty of looks. It might take some adjusting. He might not be a 25-35 point guy. As three or four other guys get better, you’re obviously going to have other guys contributing and that’s going to take away some looks and bring down some of your numbers. We can be a lousy team with one or two guys having great numbers. That doesn’t work. We have to have five guys, if not seven or eight, distributing and picking up the slack. Some nights it’ll be Amaré, some nights it’ll be Shawn, some nights it’ll be Joe. Have solid contributions from everybody and learn how to play solid basketball. There are a lot of teams that are lousy who have guys who score a lot of points.
Burns: How has Joe been defensively the last week?
D’Antoni: He’s always good, and when he’s not, he has to pick it up. Sometimes guys let their offense or defense bother them accordingly. Joe is one our best defenders. We can put him on just about everybody. Everybody has to pick it up. To win, we have to be better defensively. I’ve seen some lapses of concentration, but overall, we’ve been good. Amaré’s really trying to learn the weak side defense and how to rotate and help teammates.
Burns: Maciej Lampe, will he be ready to go against the Nets?
D’Antoni: He’s ready. When your 19, you’re ready that’s for sure. At practice, he works hard and he’s a tough guy. He won’t back down from anybody. If we get him some time, great. If not, we’ll keep working with him.
Caller (Rich in Phoenix): About the nucleus of the Suns, I’m hoping we stay with Joe, Shawn and Amaré and not the big free agent. The example I’m thinking of is Minnesota getting Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell, and that’s really elevated their team.
D’Antoni: I’m sure we’re going to try and keep the nucleus together as much as we can. We have a lot of young guys that we’re going to try and develop and see who can fill different roles. It’s just a matter of time and patience. I know the organization is trying to put together the best team as quickly as possible, yet we don’t want to make mistakes. It’s going to be pretty exciting for the near future.
Caller (Rich in Phoenix): Do you think you’re a few players away or are you there?
D’Antoni: We’re still a few away. This is me just talking, but we need more veteran leadership out there. We can address some needs in free agency or the draft. We never quit evaluating how we can get better.
Burns: Talk about the mass availability of big guys for you and the challenge of finding them minutes.
D’Antoni: It makes it tough for me, but it’s harder on the players. I feel for them. You’ve got Jahidi who’s great. Then he doesn’t get to play because of a matchup on a team. Donnell Harvey came in and gave us a lot early, and now I haven’t played him. That’s the way it is. Amaré’s going to play for 40 minutes. That leaves eight minutes there and 48 minutes in the other positions. You still have six guys who want time. Mathematically, it’s not possible. You have to go by a gut feeling. I feel for the players and so far they’ve responded.
Burns: With Lampe, you probably want to see what he can do in game action.
D’Antoni: We can evaluate him in practice. Games are invaluable to him. Every minute we can give him can only help.
Talk to the Coach
Posted: March 2, 2004
With new dad Kevin Ray out, KTAR's Dave Burns filled in to “Talk to the Coach” on 620 Sportsline Tuesday night. He and Head Coach Mike D'Antoni talked about the development of Leandro Barbosa and Maciej Lampe, Amare Stoudemire's return to form and what worked so well in the recent wins over New York and Seattle .
Dave Burns: If we’re going to talk about the Suns, we have to talk about the play of Amaré Stoudemire. What’s the word for it with the way he’s played the last nine games?
Mike D’Antoni: He’s playing really well. He’s doing it in the right way. He’s really picked up his defense. He’s really trying to pass out of double teams, and be a guy that we can run the offense through. Trying to learn when to attack and when to set his teammates up… He’s getting better. He’s been super the last four or five games, and we expect his progress to continue.
Burns: The progress you mentioned, it seemed like initially with his return he was struggling. But you like how he’s progressed?
D’Antoni: He wants to learn, and he’s a quick learner. He was struggling. Even now, his assists are a lot lower than his turnovers. We have to get that even if we want to be a team to contend in a few years. It’s something you can show tape on, but it’s something he has to experience. Again, he’s doing a lot better job. He doesn’t get it right all the time, but you see his talent and potential. As long as he keeps his willingness to learn and play hard, then it’s just a matter of time.
Burns: He’s always been an aggressive offensive player. Has he dialed it up a notch? He seems intent on taking it to guys.
D’Antoni: He’s getting in game shape. He missed summer work and nine weeks this year. He’s just getting into now where he feels good physically. He’s always been aggressive, and there are things he does on the court that leave you amazed. It’s a question of keeping his focus and understanding where he wants to go with his game.
Burns: Since last we spoke your team ended its losing streak. We talked about the relief in the locker room when you guys got that taste of sugar. Was that the taste you were looking for?
D’Antoni: No doubt, and it helps Amaré because he’s really started passing the ball even better. We can run him half court. We still have a running game. That’s where Joe, Shawn, Leandro and everybody have their freedom to do things. It’s working pretty well. We’re playing pretty good. In the end, it’s going to be how good we can be defensively. We need to get better. Sacramento exposed some of our weaknesses, but we’re playing pretty well.
Burns: Good starts and good finishes, a couple of keys to those recent wins as well?
D’Antoni: Without a doubt. We didn’t have that great a start against Sacramento, but in those two wins, we controlled the game from start to finish. We’ve been working on half-court execution in practice to get comfortable with it. I’ve seen this in practice over the last few days, we’re becoming a very good running team. If we’re not already. A big part of that is Leandro Barbosa. He’s doing a great job. His play over the last three or four games has been really fluid. We like his progress too. We just want to validate it with some big wins.
Burns: It is by no means is it complete for Leandro, but how difficult was the transition for him from a transition standpoint? It seemed consistency was a big issue for the last three or four weeks.
D’Antoni: You have a 21-year-old kid. This is the first time he’s been out of his country, leaving his family. He’s gone from playing very little to being a starter in a league that’s 15 levels above where he was playing in Brazil. Throw in, “You have to do this, you have to do that. Make Shawn happy. Make Joe happy. Be sure nobody’s yelling at our point guard. It goes to show how tough he is. He plays hard. He wants to be the best. His play has picked way up. The guy has made unbelievable progress. We think he’s got a great, great future.
Burns: Joe Johnson, was he one the guys having the most trouble adjusting to the return of Amaré Stoudemire in terms of getting his shot and looks?
D’Antoni: If it is, it’s kind of self made. He’s had plenty of looks. One for eight against the Lakers, one for six the other night, so he’s going to get his looks. We get about 94 possessions and 94 shots. He’s going to have plenty of looks. It might take some adjusting. He might not be a 25-35 point guy. As three or four other guys get better, you’re obviously going to have other guys contributing and that’s going to take away some looks and bring down some of your numbers. We can be a lousy team with one or two guys having great numbers. That doesn’t work. We have to have five guys, if not seven or eight, distributing and picking up the slack. Some nights it’ll be Amaré, some nights it’ll be Shawn, some nights it’ll be Joe. Have solid contributions from everybody and learn how to play solid basketball. There are a lot of teams that are lousy who have guys who score a lot of points.
Burns: How has Joe been defensively the last week?
D’Antoni: He’s always good, and when he’s not, he has to pick it up. Sometimes guys let their offense or defense bother them accordingly. Joe is one our best defenders. We can put him on just about everybody. Everybody has to pick it up. To win, we have to be better defensively. I’ve seen some lapses of concentration, but overall, we’ve been good. Amaré’s really trying to learn the weak side defense and how to rotate and help teammates.
Burns: Maciej Lampe, will he be ready to go against the Nets?
D’Antoni: He’s ready. When your 19, you’re ready that’s for sure. At practice, he works hard and he’s a tough guy. He won’t back down from anybody. If we get him some time, great. If not, we’ll keep working with him.
Caller (Rich in Phoenix): About the nucleus of the Suns, I’m hoping we stay with Joe, Shawn and Amaré and not the big free agent. The example I’m thinking of is Minnesota getting Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell, and that’s really elevated their team.
D’Antoni: I’m sure we’re going to try and keep the nucleus together as much as we can. We have a lot of young guys that we’re going to try and develop and see who can fill different roles. It’s just a matter of time and patience. I know the organization is trying to put together the best team as quickly as possible, yet we don’t want to make mistakes. It’s going to be pretty exciting for the near future.
Caller (Rich in Phoenix): Do you think you’re a few players away or are you there?
D’Antoni: We’re still a few away. This is me just talking, but we need more veteran leadership out there. We can address some needs in free agency or the draft. We never quit evaluating how we can get better.
Burns: Talk about the mass availability of big guys for you and the challenge of finding them minutes.
D’Antoni: It makes it tough for me, but it’s harder on the players. I feel for them. You’ve got Jahidi who’s great. Then he doesn’t get to play because of a matchup on a team. Donnell Harvey came in and gave us a lot early, and now I haven’t played him. That’s the way it is. Amaré’s going to play for 40 minutes. That leaves eight minutes there and 48 minutes in the other positions. You still have six guys who want time. Mathematically, it’s not possible. You have to go by a gut feeling. I feel for the players and so far they’ve responded.
Burns: With Lampe, you probably want to see what he can do in game action.
D’Antoni: We can evaluate him in practice. Games are invaluable to him. Every minute we can give him can only help.
