George O'Brien
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Talk to the Coach
Posted: Jan. 8, 2004
Head Coach Mike D’Antoni returned home from one of the most memorable road trips in Suns history and chatted with KTAR’s Dave Burns on the 620 Sportsline’s weekly “Talk to the Coach” program. The coach discussed the return to Phoenix of Antonio McDyess, the play of Leandro Barbosa and the overall result of Monday’s monumental trade.
Dave Burns: I bet you were never as glad to see your front door and your bedroom and your living room as you probably were when you got back from one of the longest, coldest, most miserable road trips in the history of the NBA, I’m guessing.
Mike D’Antoni: It was an interesting road trip, for sure. We started out with a two-game winning streak with hopes of trying to make something out of the season and then the (Stephon) Marbury and (Penny) Hardaway trade went down. Things got a little wild after that, but we’re ready to go again here (Friday) night.
Burns: How did you keep the guys head together and in the game? I know you didn’t win a game on the road trip, but just to try and keep everybody on the track, given everything that was going on with your team this past week.
D’Antoni: That’s on them. They did a great job of focusing, and we kind of kicked two games away. I thought we should have beaten Chicago and Milwaukee; we played well enough. We’re having stretches where we’re not quite as a unit. It’s kind of something to be expected but it’s not something we except and we want to get better at it. That’s on them, they did a good job. They’re focused and the practices have been good, and I’m pretty excited about the possibilities we have the rest of the season.
Burns: Now how do you start incorporating these new guys into the system. Is there enough time to be able to do that or is everything on the fly from here on out?
D’Antoni: We have some time coming up. After the game (Friday) night we have three practice days before we play Denver at home on Tuesday. That will be a pretty good time when we can practice and get things together and look a little bit better. Having (Antonio) McDyess and (Howard) Eisley and (Maciej) Lampe understanding what we want and how we’re defending and some of the plays. We also are getting (Zarko) Cabarkapa back. He’ll be back (Friday) night playing. Hopefully (Amaré) Stoudemire will be back either Tuesday or right around there. We have a chance to get these guys playing and get everybody ready.
Burns: In the loss to Milwaukee (Wednesday) night with those guys on the floor, was it controlled chaos? I mean, they had no practice time, is that right?
D’Antoni: No, they showed up in the afternoon about 3, 3:30. We got McDyess out of bed to take the early bus so we could go over a couple of plays that he and Eisley learned. These are great guys and they really wanted to play. I didn’t think we would get them until we got to Phoenix, but they insisted on coming up and playing and being with the team, and since they were there they might as well play.
Burns: So was it more improvisation than anything else with those two on the floor?
D’Antoni: We just tried to do one simple thing, most of it. You saw, we had periods where Howard was dribbling around with the ball not really knowing what to do because we didn’t have anything to do. It put him in not the greatest situation in the world. We were playing pretty well for a long time. We had that bad stretch in the third quarter and we kind of let it slip away. Today’s practice was super. They came in there enthused and we had a two hour practice that was one of our best all year, and we’re just pretty excited to get started.
Burns: Antonio McDyess. I want to spend the next couple of minutes talking about him a little bit. I’m curious at being his coach now; you were his coach before, how far off is he? How close is he to what he once was before the devastating knee injuries he’s had the last couple of years?
D’Antoni: He hasn’t really played for two years and he’s only a couple of months out from starting over again, maybe even just a month he’s been playing. He’s a long ways away from what he was when he was younger and 100 percent healthy. It just depends on Mother Nature a little bit. We have four months to evaluate everything and for him to get his confidence here and play through his troubles, and then we’ll decide, and he’ll decide, at the end of the year what’s going on. We’re excited to have him. He’s a great person. He had 14 points and 11 rebounds the other night with New York. With us, he kind of ran out of gas a little bit (and) had some foul problems. But I think he’ll play pretty well. Hopefully he’ll play great. We have time and we’ll nurture him through this. We have a great medical staff that will try to get him as close to 100 percent as possible. He needs some work. He needs Mother Nature to help his knee out a little bit. He’s still relatively young and he has a lot of desire. He wants to do this.
Burns: You just can’t help but wonder, after so much damage that was done to such a part of his body that’s so essential to his game. I remember his days with the Suns and before the injuries took place, (he was) such an explosive player. For a man that size, the speed and the ability to get to the basket, you can’t help but wonder if it’s ever really going to be possible to ever really truly get all of that back.
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every Phoenix Suns game.
D’Antoni: I wouldn’t think that would be realistic. Probably not. But I think he still has some juice in him. He showed today in practice he still has some stuff. He’s a lot more mature now and hopefully his game is a little bit better and he understands he’s going to have to play a little bit cunning and not rely only on his physical attributes. But again, we’ll see how much gas he has left in his tank. I’m pretty optimistic about it. Just being around him and Amaré Stoudemire being around such a nice person, it can’t be anything but a positive influence.
Burns: You were his coach up in Denver for a brief spell. Do you worry about the fan reaction? I know he’s been kind of a source for animosity for a lot of the Suns fans these last few years every time he’s walked back into the building wearing somebody else’s colors. Now that he’s wearing your colors, do you worry a little bit about what that’s going to be like initially tomorrow night?
D’Antoni: It’s kind of out our hands. We’re not going to worry about it. I’d feel bad if that did happen because he’s such a nice person. The choices that you make in life, you make for a thousand reasons. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they’re bad choices. He’s a very good person and he’s going to try his best to whatever he can to help the Suns.
Burns: One of the things that just jumps off of the page since the Stephon Marbury trade of a couple of days ago is the play of Leandro Barbosa. (Wednesday), 16 points, six turnovers. (He had) a big game in the first after you guys dealt Stephon Marbury. Is this just a matter of playing time? What have you seen out of Barbosa in the two games since he’s gotten the bulk of playing time that he has?
D’Antoni: He’s surprised us a little bit. Twenty-seven points against Chicago, and even last he had 14 points in the first half. We knew he could play. It was just a matter of time. We knew that four months of the season would really help his game. I think he can continue to do this. He had six turnovers (Wednesday) night and the call was just to be a little cautious in the second half and I don’t think he was aggressive coming off pick-and-rolls. But it’s a learning process that he’ll go through, and he’ll get much better at it. We’re excited about his future. We think he could be a very good player, if not a great player soon, and he’s going to be a big part of this. That’s one of the reasons that we’re excited about the deal. We think with him and other guys, we’re going to be in good shape.
Burns: How do you envision the playing time with him and Eisley at the point?
D’Antoni: I was talking to Howard today, just telling him about his role and everything. We want to make sure that Leandro Barbosa matures and becomes a very good point guard in this league. Does he start all the time? I don’t know. Right now, he’s going start; he’s playing really well and we’re going to keep it like it is. Does he fall back underneath Eisley? Could be. I don’t for see that; I hope not. I hope he just takes off and keeps playing well, but we’re going to do everything we can to get Barbosa to the level that we feel is his potential. Now Eisley wants to be a big part, we’re not going to ignore him. We like him as a steady person that can help us immediately. He’s got a lot of experience and he will play his role, and he will play a lot of minutes. I think everything’s going to be kind of drawn to make sure that one, isn’t thrown to the wolves, and two, that we can help him realize his potential.
Burns: What kind of restrictions on Zarko (Friday) night?
D’Antoni: I don’t think there are any. He’s cleared to play. He can go as many minutes that he wants. He’s in shape because he’s been running. He might get hit on it. It might be a little sore; it might be a little weak. I don’t know how his shot will be affected by it. Just mentally, being out six weeks is going to take a toll. He’ll have some rust spots and we’ll try to help him through it, but he’s going to play, and he’s going to play the rest of the season and he’s going to be a big part of this. We’ll just have to nurture him along a little bit in the beginning.
Burns: What were you starting to see out of him before that injury?
D’Antoni: He was finally gaining some confidence. After the hernia operation he had in preseason – he missed about a month and all of preseason – we threw him right in against San Antonio our first game. I think he lost the ball down the stretch that compromised our win there. So he lost a little confidence and was just getting back into form and just getting to play well when he broke his wrist. He is a terrific, terrific basketball player. (He) needs some strength, needs some seasoning, needs some maturity, but this guy knows how to play. He can pass as seven feet, he runs the floor, he’s always active, he can some play some (small forward), some (power forward). He’s just terrific.
Caller (Ken, Phoenix): I think it was a great trade. I know it shocked a lot of people, but anytime you can get that much in return for a six-foot player in the NBA, I think it’s a flat-out steal. I just want to talk about the upcoming draft. I know you’ve been so busy and haven’t done that much scouting or anything, but the best player out of this year’s draft is big Al Jefferson, the high schooler. The man is a flat-out animal.
D’Antoni: If he’s that good, he might be a No. 1 or No. 2 pick. I just hope we’re not that low. Let’s win a lot of games and then draw the right ping-pong ball. Let’s look at it that way.
Burns: I know you want to keep the atmosphere around the organization and around the guys as positive as you possibly can. Has that been a challenge for you? Because this trade, everything about it says, “You know what? It’s just not happened this year.” How do you keep that negativity from infiltrating that room and that court?
D’Antoni: Well, we’ve got to start winning. Winning cures everything. Like last night, we’re coming from the road trip and we’re on the plane, just sitting up with the coaches. Barbosa’s watching the game, talking with one coach about his play, then we had Shawn Marion’s up with another coach talking about his play, then we had Jake Voskuhl with another coach looking at his game. And Lampe’s up there just watching the whole scene. That didn’t happen before. There were a lot of expectations and things were going bad. It’s hard for a player to blame himself, so they were either blaming each other or us and it was a negative. Now that is lifted and people are stepping out and taking responsibility and they understand where we can go if we do it right. We’re just trying to lay a foundation on how want to play and I think the fans will respond if they give these kids a chance, and I do think the wins will follow. Hopefully, we’re not too far off. I don’t know that for sure because we are young and with Sacramento coming in (Friday) night we have a lot of question marks. I do know that the energy and the concentration and the will is there. If you lay that foundation, you’re going to eventually be successful.
Burns: Maciej Lampe, how much and when can we expect to see him in the rotation any time?
D’Antoni: I don’t know yet. We’re talking about a kid that should be in high school. His practice today – we didn’t know much about him – we had a couple of our players, especially Barbosa, look at him and say, “Oh my God, what is this?” This guy’s 6-11½, 275, great skill; shoots three, behind his back dribble, down between his legs, throwing passes like you wouldn’t believe. I thought he’d go on the injured list and maybe in a couple of years, we’ll see what happens, but after today’s practice… We have three more practices and we’ll see what happens, but hopefully we can use him.
SUNS WEB SITE
Posted: Jan. 8, 2004
Head Coach Mike D’Antoni returned home from one of the most memorable road trips in Suns history and chatted with KTAR’s Dave Burns on the 620 Sportsline’s weekly “Talk to the Coach” program. The coach discussed the return to Phoenix of Antonio McDyess, the play of Leandro Barbosa and the overall result of Monday’s monumental trade.
Dave Burns: I bet you were never as glad to see your front door and your bedroom and your living room as you probably were when you got back from one of the longest, coldest, most miserable road trips in the history of the NBA, I’m guessing.
Mike D’Antoni: It was an interesting road trip, for sure. We started out with a two-game winning streak with hopes of trying to make something out of the season and then the (Stephon) Marbury and (Penny) Hardaway trade went down. Things got a little wild after that, but we’re ready to go again here (Friday) night.
Burns: How did you keep the guys head together and in the game? I know you didn’t win a game on the road trip, but just to try and keep everybody on the track, given everything that was going on with your team this past week.
D’Antoni: That’s on them. They did a great job of focusing, and we kind of kicked two games away. I thought we should have beaten Chicago and Milwaukee; we played well enough. We’re having stretches where we’re not quite as a unit. It’s kind of something to be expected but it’s not something we except and we want to get better at it. That’s on them, they did a good job. They’re focused and the practices have been good, and I’m pretty excited about the possibilities we have the rest of the season.
Burns: Now how do you start incorporating these new guys into the system. Is there enough time to be able to do that or is everything on the fly from here on out?
D’Antoni: We have some time coming up. After the game (Friday) night we have three practice days before we play Denver at home on Tuesday. That will be a pretty good time when we can practice and get things together and look a little bit better. Having (Antonio) McDyess and (Howard) Eisley and (Maciej) Lampe understanding what we want and how we’re defending and some of the plays. We also are getting (Zarko) Cabarkapa back. He’ll be back (Friday) night playing. Hopefully (Amaré) Stoudemire will be back either Tuesday or right around there. We have a chance to get these guys playing and get everybody ready.
Burns: In the loss to Milwaukee (Wednesday) night with those guys on the floor, was it controlled chaos? I mean, they had no practice time, is that right?
D’Antoni: No, they showed up in the afternoon about 3, 3:30. We got McDyess out of bed to take the early bus so we could go over a couple of plays that he and Eisley learned. These are great guys and they really wanted to play. I didn’t think we would get them until we got to Phoenix, but they insisted on coming up and playing and being with the team, and since they were there they might as well play.
Burns: So was it more improvisation than anything else with those two on the floor?
D’Antoni: We just tried to do one simple thing, most of it. You saw, we had periods where Howard was dribbling around with the ball not really knowing what to do because we didn’t have anything to do. It put him in not the greatest situation in the world. We were playing pretty well for a long time. We had that bad stretch in the third quarter and we kind of let it slip away. Today’s practice was super. They came in there enthused and we had a two hour practice that was one of our best all year, and we’re just pretty excited to get started.
Burns: Antonio McDyess. I want to spend the next couple of minutes talking about him a little bit. I’m curious at being his coach now; you were his coach before, how far off is he? How close is he to what he once was before the devastating knee injuries he’s had the last couple of years?
D’Antoni: He hasn’t really played for two years and he’s only a couple of months out from starting over again, maybe even just a month he’s been playing. He’s a long ways away from what he was when he was younger and 100 percent healthy. It just depends on Mother Nature a little bit. We have four months to evaluate everything and for him to get his confidence here and play through his troubles, and then we’ll decide, and he’ll decide, at the end of the year what’s going on. We’re excited to have him. He’s a great person. He had 14 points and 11 rebounds the other night with New York. With us, he kind of ran out of gas a little bit (and) had some foul problems. But I think he’ll play pretty well. Hopefully he’ll play great. We have time and we’ll nurture him through this. We have a great medical staff that will try to get him as close to 100 percent as possible. He needs some work. He needs Mother Nature to help his knee out a little bit. He’s still relatively young and he has a lot of desire. He wants to do this.
Burns: You just can’t help but wonder, after so much damage that was done to such a part of his body that’s so essential to his game. I remember his days with the Suns and before the injuries took place, (he was) such an explosive player. For a man that size, the speed and the ability to get to the basket, you can’t help but wonder if it’s ever really going to be possible to ever really truly get all of that back.
Tune in to 620 KTAR to catch each and
every Phoenix Suns game.
D’Antoni: I wouldn’t think that would be realistic. Probably not. But I think he still has some juice in him. He showed today in practice he still has some stuff. He’s a lot more mature now and hopefully his game is a little bit better and he understands he’s going to have to play a little bit cunning and not rely only on his physical attributes. But again, we’ll see how much gas he has left in his tank. I’m pretty optimistic about it. Just being around him and Amaré Stoudemire being around such a nice person, it can’t be anything but a positive influence.
Burns: You were his coach up in Denver for a brief spell. Do you worry about the fan reaction? I know he’s been kind of a source for animosity for a lot of the Suns fans these last few years every time he’s walked back into the building wearing somebody else’s colors. Now that he’s wearing your colors, do you worry a little bit about what that’s going to be like initially tomorrow night?
D’Antoni: It’s kind of out our hands. We’re not going to worry about it. I’d feel bad if that did happen because he’s such a nice person. The choices that you make in life, you make for a thousand reasons. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they’re bad choices. He’s a very good person and he’s going to try his best to whatever he can to help the Suns.
Burns: One of the things that just jumps off of the page since the Stephon Marbury trade of a couple of days ago is the play of Leandro Barbosa. (Wednesday), 16 points, six turnovers. (He had) a big game in the first after you guys dealt Stephon Marbury. Is this just a matter of playing time? What have you seen out of Barbosa in the two games since he’s gotten the bulk of playing time that he has?
D’Antoni: He’s surprised us a little bit. Twenty-seven points against Chicago, and even last he had 14 points in the first half. We knew he could play. It was just a matter of time. We knew that four months of the season would really help his game. I think he can continue to do this. He had six turnovers (Wednesday) night and the call was just to be a little cautious in the second half and I don’t think he was aggressive coming off pick-and-rolls. But it’s a learning process that he’ll go through, and he’ll get much better at it. We’re excited about his future. We think he could be a very good player, if not a great player soon, and he’s going to be a big part of this. That’s one of the reasons that we’re excited about the deal. We think with him and other guys, we’re going to be in good shape.
Burns: How do you envision the playing time with him and Eisley at the point?
D’Antoni: I was talking to Howard today, just telling him about his role and everything. We want to make sure that Leandro Barbosa matures and becomes a very good point guard in this league. Does he start all the time? I don’t know. Right now, he’s going start; he’s playing really well and we’re going to keep it like it is. Does he fall back underneath Eisley? Could be. I don’t for see that; I hope not. I hope he just takes off and keeps playing well, but we’re going to do everything we can to get Barbosa to the level that we feel is his potential. Now Eisley wants to be a big part, we’re not going to ignore him. We like him as a steady person that can help us immediately. He’s got a lot of experience and he will play his role, and he will play a lot of minutes. I think everything’s going to be kind of drawn to make sure that one, isn’t thrown to the wolves, and two, that we can help him realize his potential.
Burns: What kind of restrictions on Zarko (Friday) night?
D’Antoni: I don’t think there are any. He’s cleared to play. He can go as many minutes that he wants. He’s in shape because he’s been running. He might get hit on it. It might be a little sore; it might be a little weak. I don’t know how his shot will be affected by it. Just mentally, being out six weeks is going to take a toll. He’ll have some rust spots and we’ll try to help him through it, but he’s going to play, and he’s going to play the rest of the season and he’s going to be a big part of this. We’ll just have to nurture him along a little bit in the beginning.
Burns: What were you starting to see out of him before that injury?
D’Antoni: He was finally gaining some confidence. After the hernia operation he had in preseason – he missed about a month and all of preseason – we threw him right in against San Antonio our first game. I think he lost the ball down the stretch that compromised our win there. So he lost a little confidence and was just getting back into form and just getting to play well when he broke his wrist. He is a terrific, terrific basketball player. (He) needs some strength, needs some seasoning, needs some maturity, but this guy knows how to play. He can pass as seven feet, he runs the floor, he’s always active, he can some play some (small forward), some (power forward). He’s just terrific.
Caller (Ken, Phoenix): I think it was a great trade. I know it shocked a lot of people, but anytime you can get that much in return for a six-foot player in the NBA, I think it’s a flat-out steal. I just want to talk about the upcoming draft. I know you’ve been so busy and haven’t done that much scouting or anything, but the best player out of this year’s draft is big Al Jefferson, the high schooler. The man is a flat-out animal.
D’Antoni: If he’s that good, he might be a No. 1 or No. 2 pick. I just hope we’re not that low. Let’s win a lot of games and then draw the right ping-pong ball. Let’s look at it that way.
Burns: I know you want to keep the atmosphere around the organization and around the guys as positive as you possibly can. Has that been a challenge for you? Because this trade, everything about it says, “You know what? It’s just not happened this year.” How do you keep that negativity from infiltrating that room and that court?
D’Antoni: Well, we’ve got to start winning. Winning cures everything. Like last night, we’re coming from the road trip and we’re on the plane, just sitting up with the coaches. Barbosa’s watching the game, talking with one coach about his play, then we had Shawn Marion’s up with another coach talking about his play, then we had Jake Voskuhl with another coach looking at his game. And Lampe’s up there just watching the whole scene. That didn’t happen before. There were a lot of expectations and things were going bad. It’s hard for a player to blame himself, so they were either blaming each other or us and it was a negative. Now that is lifted and people are stepping out and taking responsibility and they understand where we can go if we do it right. We’re just trying to lay a foundation on how want to play and I think the fans will respond if they give these kids a chance, and I do think the wins will follow. Hopefully, we’re not too far off. I don’t know that for sure because we are young and with Sacramento coming in (Friday) night we have a lot of question marks. I do know that the energy and the concentration and the will is there. If you lay that foundation, you’re going to eventually be successful.
Burns: Maciej Lampe, how much and when can we expect to see him in the rotation any time?
D’Antoni: I don’t know yet. We’re talking about a kid that should be in high school. His practice today – we didn’t know much about him – we had a couple of our players, especially Barbosa, look at him and say, “Oh my God, what is this?” This guy’s 6-11½, 275, great skill; shoots three, behind his back dribble, down between his legs, throwing passes like you wouldn’t believe. I thought he’d go on the injured list and maybe in a couple of years, we’ll see what happens, but after today’s practice… We have three more practices and we’ll see what happens, but hopefully we can use him.
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