George O'Brien
ASFN Icon
KTAR/SUNS.OCM
Talk to the Coach
Posted: March 19, 2004
With just under a month left to go in the regular season, Suns Head Coach Mike D’Antoni joined Dave Burns for “Talk to the Coach” on KTAR’s 620 Sportsline on Thursday night. They discussed team energy, the importance of the Suns’ youth movement and what it means for the future of the team.
Dave Burns: There are a lot of teams in the Western Conference that are just sort of floating along. Minnesota is one of them.
Mike D’Antoni: They got two guys back in Wally Szczerbiak and Troy Hudson and it kind of disrupted them a little bit. Now they’re trying to find their rhythm, so anytime you change the chemistry of a team, it takes an adjustment period. I’m sure they want to get it together, coming into Phoenix.
Burns: Let’s talk about your team and specifically the game against the Rockets earlier in the week. It was one of the more entertaining, better played games in recent weeks. What was working that night that allowed you leave that almost-playoff atmosphere in Houston with a win?
D’Antoni: Again we had energy on defense. That’s something we talked about. After we played Dallas, we were down. We talked about what we wanted to do, what we wanted to accomplish. That night and just did everything defensively to give us a chance to win. We just can’t seem to capture that all the time. I don’t know if its inexperience or if its because we’re not playing for something right now. You see the prospects and the young talent we have, and its frustrating the next night we come out flat. We don’t play a lot of guys, we just play guys with a lot of minutes. We just don’t have the energy right now that’s required to win. We’re not going to get by on sass. We’re going to get by with energy and playing as a team. It’s still a learning process.
Burns: With the Houston game, how much did your guys need that game? That little bit of sugar?
D’Antoni: It’s very important for everybody, especially the coaches. We try and teach a certain way, and then you go execute and win and they’ll start looking at you sideways too. It’s good for everybody and if you bring the energy, we can be successful. A lot of times the message gets lost. When you are tired, you cut corners on defense. We’ve been paying for that.
Burns: You mentioned trying to figure out what it is, how difficult is it for you to motivate these guys given that the playoffs are not a possibility?
D’Antoni: Sometimes it just doesn’t work. It shouldn’t be difficult with the position we’re in. It concerns me because you should have the passion to win and compete no matter what. We’re trying to instill that. I understand people get tired and there are distractions, but every practice and every game should be 100 percent effort. They don’t voluntarily let down; they want to win. Sometime they get overloaded and they short circuit. They’re thinking too much sometimes.
Caller (Michael in Phoenix): I want to be optimistic about the young guys, but the thing that’s keeping me from being enthusiastic and optimistic about the future is not seeing any real team defense.
D’Antoni: I can understand that. That’s why we’re losing. Offensively we’re as talented as anybody. Defensively we’re having a hard time guarding people. You should be optimistic. We have all the pieces. To win in the NBA you have to have some experience. There are a lot of coaches who won’t play one young guy, because you can’t win consistently. We’ve got four young guys. Even Joe Johnson at 22 is a young player but also one of our veteran leaders. We’ll get over the hump. There are some holes in our game right now. They can be filled in free agency or the draft or by signing players who want to come to play in Phoenix. We’re in a learning process right now, seeing who is going to take us to the next level. Not everybody’s going to pass the test. This is a business and we’re going to get to that next level. It’ll be sooner than later. There’s a lot of optimism going around.
Caller (Doc in Phoenix): With the NBA Draft, is there anybody we have our eye on who can help us out down the road?
D’Antoni: We have four or five scouts who are going through the process. They’re pretty excited about our pick. They think we can get a player who’ll be a future star or one who can help us immediately. There are a few of those guys out there. Be confident that at least one guy will come out of the draft and help us out.
Caller (Bill in Phoenix): When you bring in anew guy, is it easier to blend him into the defensive scheme of the team or is it easier to blend him in with the offensive scheme?
D’Antoni: It should be defensively for a veteran who knows how to rotate and help his teammates. The difference in the NBA from high school and college is that if you don’t give help guarding Kobe Brant, Tracy McGrady or Shaquille O’Neal, they’ll get 70 points on you. You have to be in tune with that or it’s going to be embarrassing. That’s contagious, then there will be a total breakdown. Shoulder will sag. As young kids who’ve never experienced that… That’s why we want to play Lampe a lot. He’s in the process of learning this. You get in the game and you have 15,000 people there. Everybody’s yelling and screaming, and you’re trying to survive and guard your man and then think I have to help Amare up there with Kevin Garnett. Sometime they short circuit. It’s not one player learning the process. It’s five or six.
Burns: Maciej Lampe got 18 minutes against the Clippers. Tell me what you saw in him?
D’Antoni: Offensively he looked pretty good. He looked like he belonged out there. He’s got a lot of skills. Defensively, he’s good also because he’s got nice lateral movement. He’s quick. He can play some three all the way to the five. He should be a senior in high school. There’s no getting around that. His future’s bright if he keeps working. This summer will be crucial for him. He’s staying around all summer. He seems to have the desire and heart. He’s a tough kid.
Burns: For a big guy, he’s got fluid movement.
D’Antoni: Very much so. He’s 6-11, 275 pounds. He can get out on a double team or pick and roll. We can trap well with him. As soon as he learns to get leverage, get some calls and learn to play basketball. He has heart. He loves to play. He can be very good. He won’t back down from anybody. He’s going to be fun to watch for the next few years.
Burns: How’s Jake Voskuhl doing?
D’Antoni: He’s a little sore. He sort of sprained the arch in his foot against Houston. I hope he wakes up tomorrow without any pain, but you never know. He probably won’t play.
Burns: As dividing playing time among your guys, what is your rationale as to who plays and who doesn’t?
D’Antoni: It’s not easy. A guy like Antonio McDyess is a veteran in the league. He’s really itching to get back out on the court. You have to explain and talk and hope for the best. We want to win games but we also have to be sure Zarko Cabarkapa is given the opportunity to be able to develop. His minutes go up and down. Lampe has earned some minutes. Before you had to be careful throwing a young guy in there over veterans. You don’t want a mutiny. He has to earn that. It’s tough for veterans and watch us lose and not get in the game. It’s not fair all the time, but we have to look at the bigger picture. Hopefully that translates into wins. Worse comes to worse, we’re going to have some great players here shortly.
Talk to the Coach
Posted: March 19, 2004
With just under a month left to go in the regular season, Suns Head Coach Mike D’Antoni joined Dave Burns for “Talk to the Coach” on KTAR’s 620 Sportsline on Thursday night. They discussed team energy, the importance of the Suns’ youth movement and what it means for the future of the team.
Dave Burns: There are a lot of teams in the Western Conference that are just sort of floating along. Minnesota is one of them.
Mike D’Antoni: They got two guys back in Wally Szczerbiak and Troy Hudson and it kind of disrupted them a little bit. Now they’re trying to find their rhythm, so anytime you change the chemistry of a team, it takes an adjustment period. I’m sure they want to get it together, coming into Phoenix.
Burns: Let’s talk about your team and specifically the game against the Rockets earlier in the week. It was one of the more entertaining, better played games in recent weeks. What was working that night that allowed you leave that almost-playoff atmosphere in Houston with a win?
D’Antoni: Again we had energy on defense. That’s something we talked about. After we played Dallas, we were down. We talked about what we wanted to do, what we wanted to accomplish. That night and just did everything defensively to give us a chance to win. We just can’t seem to capture that all the time. I don’t know if its inexperience or if its because we’re not playing for something right now. You see the prospects and the young talent we have, and its frustrating the next night we come out flat. We don’t play a lot of guys, we just play guys with a lot of minutes. We just don’t have the energy right now that’s required to win. We’re not going to get by on sass. We’re going to get by with energy and playing as a team. It’s still a learning process.
Burns: With the Houston game, how much did your guys need that game? That little bit of sugar?
D’Antoni: It’s very important for everybody, especially the coaches. We try and teach a certain way, and then you go execute and win and they’ll start looking at you sideways too. It’s good for everybody and if you bring the energy, we can be successful. A lot of times the message gets lost. When you are tired, you cut corners on defense. We’ve been paying for that.
Burns: You mentioned trying to figure out what it is, how difficult is it for you to motivate these guys given that the playoffs are not a possibility?
D’Antoni: Sometimes it just doesn’t work. It shouldn’t be difficult with the position we’re in. It concerns me because you should have the passion to win and compete no matter what. We’re trying to instill that. I understand people get tired and there are distractions, but every practice and every game should be 100 percent effort. They don’t voluntarily let down; they want to win. Sometime they get overloaded and they short circuit. They’re thinking too much sometimes.
Caller (Michael in Phoenix): I want to be optimistic about the young guys, but the thing that’s keeping me from being enthusiastic and optimistic about the future is not seeing any real team defense.
D’Antoni: I can understand that. That’s why we’re losing. Offensively we’re as talented as anybody. Defensively we’re having a hard time guarding people. You should be optimistic. We have all the pieces. To win in the NBA you have to have some experience. There are a lot of coaches who won’t play one young guy, because you can’t win consistently. We’ve got four young guys. Even Joe Johnson at 22 is a young player but also one of our veteran leaders. We’ll get over the hump. There are some holes in our game right now. They can be filled in free agency or the draft or by signing players who want to come to play in Phoenix. We’re in a learning process right now, seeing who is going to take us to the next level. Not everybody’s going to pass the test. This is a business and we’re going to get to that next level. It’ll be sooner than later. There’s a lot of optimism going around.
Caller (Doc in Phoenix): With the NBA Draft, is there anybody we have our eye on who can help us out down the road?
D’Antoni: We have four or five scouts who are going through the process. They’re pretty excited about our pick. They think we can get a player who’ll be a future star or one who can help us immediately. There are a few of those guys out there. Be confident that at least one guy will come out of the draft and help us out.
Caller (Bill in Phoenix): When you bring in anew guy, is it easier to blend him into the defensive scheme of the team or is it easier to blend him in with the offensive scheme?
D’Antoni: It should be defensively for a veteran who knows how to rotate and help his teammates. The difference in the NBA from high school and college is that if you don’t give help guarding Kobe Brant, Tracy McGrady or Shaquille O’Neal, they’ll get 70 points on you. You have to be in tune with that or it’s going to be embarrassing. That’s contagious, then there will be a total breakdown. Shoulder will sag. As young kids who’ve never experienced that… That’s why we want to play Lampe a lot. He’s in the process of learning this. You get in the game and you have 15,000 people there. Everybody’s yelling and screaming, and you’re trying to survive and guard your man and then think I have to help Amare up there with Kevin Garnett. Sometime they short circuit. It’s not one player learning the process. It’s five or six.
Burns: Maciej Lampe got 18 minutes against the Clippers. Tell me what you saw in him?
D’Antoni: Offensively he looked pretty good. He looked like he belonged out there. He’s got a lot of skills. Defensively, he’s good also because he’s got nice lateral movement. He’s quick. He can play some three all the way to the five. He should be a senior in high school. There’s no getting around that. His future’s bright if he keeps working. This summer will be crucial for him. He’s staying around all summer. He seems to have the desire and heart. He’s a tough kid.
Burns: For a big guy, he’s got fluid movement.
D’Antoni: Very much so. He’s 6-11, 275 pounds. He can get out on a double team or pick and roll. We can trap well with him. As soon as he learns to get leverage, get some calls and learn to play basketball. He has heart. He loves to play. He can be very good. He won’t back down from anybody. He’s going to be fun to watch for the next few years.
Burns: How’s Jake Voskuhl doing?
D’Antoni: He’s a little sore. He sort of sprained the arch in his foot against Houston. I hope he wakes up tomorrow without any pain, but you never know. He probably won’t play.
Burns: As dividing playing time among your guys, what is your rationale as to who plays and who doesn’t?
D’Antoni: It’s not easy. A guy like Antonio McDyess is a veteran in the league. He’s really itching to get back out on the court. You have to explain and talk and hope for the best. We want to win games but we also have to be sure Zarko Cabarkapa is given the opportunity to be able to develop. His minutes go up and down. Lampe has earned some minutes. Before you had to be careful throwing a young guy in there over veterans. You don’t want a mutiny. He has to earn that. It’s tough for veterans and watch us lose and not get in the game. It’s not fair all the time, but we have to look at the bigger picture. Hopefully that translates into wins. Worse comes to worse, we’re going to have some great players here shortly.
