Mike D'Antoni and Steve Kerr

[slinslin]

Is anyone else still questioning Steve Kerr and crying for Mike D'Antoni?

Mike D'Antoni is the most overrated clown that ever coached this team and in my opinion held back the team. He had more talent than Gentry and never got a 100% out of them, played defense, used the bench or developed young guys.

Thank god we got rid off the growing cancer that Mike D'Antoni was. To top it off he declared one of the top 5 PGs in the NBA not good enough for us because he wasn't a good shooter coming into the league and instead signed Marcus Banks.

 

[slinslin]

And a shout out to the overrated choker who lives in his artificial dream world in which he is a go-to guy maximum player, Shawn Marion.

Bell and Diaw are not missed the least either. What a joy to have a SG who can actually do something on offense except standing around the 3pt line. And to top it off we got a better bigger version of Bell that can also rebound the ball in Dudley.

 

[ninous26]

I always liked, and still like pringles. I like Gentry more because he looks like a black Joker.

 

[HooverDam]

Why do you have to bring this crap up? Cant we just enjoy the wins. This Spurs team is vastly inferior in every way to the teams D'Antoni couldn't get past, so to think just because this Suns team is up 3-0 on a team that has "Spurs" on their unis makes them way better than Mike D's teams is pretty silly.

 

[slinslin]

Why do you have to bring this crap up? Cant we just enjoy the wins. This Spurs team is vastly inferior in every way to the teams D'Antoni couldn't get past, so to think just because this Suns team is up 3-0 on a team that has "Spurs" on their unis makes them way better than Mike D's teams is pretty silly.

Yeah right they are inferior now that we pretty much beat them but before they were called a favorite to win the title after they beat the Mavs?

They are better than Mike D'Antonis team by a lot.

They have a bench, they have developed young guys, they keep leads, and show mental toughness to battle back when things go wrong.

Mike D'Antoni is simply a joke. He never had success in Denver or New York and did not have any success here until he got a roster full of talent that I could have coached.

Mike D'Antoni out of timeouts would draw up plays for one the biggest chokers in playoff history to get a much needed basket.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Why do you have to bring this crap up? Cant we just enjoy the wins. This Spurs team is vastly inferior in every way to the teams D'Antoni couldn't get past, so to think just because this Suns team is up 3-0 on a team that has "Spurs" on their unis makes them way better than Mike D's teams is pretty silly.

i'd say he's probably bringing this up for the same reason you kept bringing up how great DA was after he left and we sucked last year... because people like being right.

And as far as this spurs team being castly inferior... well so is this Suns team and we're STILL kicking their ass.

Just admit it... you were WRONG about DA's "genius". We're just as successful without him as we were with him and without Nash, he's just as AWFUL as he's ALWAYS been.

 

[mojorizen7]

Why do you have to bring this crap up? .

Because with every playoff victory that this scrappy,deeper,defensively AWARE, more versatile team chalks up....the more exposed D'Antoni becomes as a one-trick show pony fraud of an NBA head coach.

I've said it before and i'll say it again...in 5 yrs D'Umbtoni will be coaching in Europe where he belongs.

This SUNS team would spank DA's 7 man rotation in a 7 game series.
I was wrong about thinking that blowing this team up last summer was the way to go. I'm man enough to admit that now....however, i was always right about one thing(well, two things actually)....this team was never going to win anything important until they committed to playing defense and going after the rebounds.....and the other is that D'Antoni was absolutely clueless beyond April.

 

[Mainstreet]

Why do you have to bring this crap up? Cant we just enjoy the wins. This Spurs team is vastly inferior in every way to the teams D'Antoni couldn't get past, so to think just because this Suns team is up 3-0 on a team that has "Spurs" on their unis makes them way better than Mike D's teams is pretty silly.

I don't know why the haters have to hate. DA and BC were the primary reason the Suns even have Nash. Gentry is proving to be a great coach, but he learned a lot from DA. See Porter as HC who ignored the Suns offensive style. In many articles Gentry still gives DA credit. I wonder who selected Gentry as an assistant coach for the Suns? Gentry kept the winning elements of the Suns offense, preached defense and added an element of team chemistry by giving minutes to the entire roster. Yes, Gentry has improved the Suns but I will not bash DA for not winning a championship after four great seasons.

Can't we just enjoy winning?

 

[Bert]

I had as much fun as anyone in the DA days, I really had a lot of fun with that team but honestly, Pringles lost me with this quote.

"I'm not in the business of developing rookies."

I just thought that was ignorant and arrogant. Regardless, all things in our past have lead us here so I'm as thankful to him as I was to Denny Green when the Cards went to the Super Bowl.

In other words, I have no animosity towards anyone tonight, just happy for Suns nation!

GO SUNS!

 

[slinslin]

I don't know why the haters have to hate. DA and BC were the primary reason the Suns even have Nash. Gentry is proving to be a great coach, but he learned a lot from DA. See Porter as HC who ignored the Suns offensive style. In many articles Gentry still gives DA credit. I wonder who selected Gentry as an assistant coach for the Suns? Gentry kept the winning elements of the Suns offense, preached defense and added an element of team chemistry by giving minutes to the entire roster. Yes, Gentry has improved the Suns but I will not bash DA for not winning a championship after four great seasons.

Can't we just enjoy winning?

Gentry is doing what Kerr asks him to do. Start playing defense and develop a bench. Something D'Antoni would not and ultimately lead to him being gone.

What had DA to do with getting Nash? Nothing. Sarver and Amare recruited Nash. D'Antoni was an absolute nobody when we got Nash.

 

[mojorizen7]

I don't know why the haters have to hate. DA and BC were the primary reason the Suns even have Nash. Gentry is proving to be a great coach, but he learned a lot from DA. See Porter as HC who ignored the Suns offensive style. In many articles Gentry still gives DA credit. I wonder who selected Gentry as an assistant coach for the Suns? Gentry kept the winning elements of the Suns offense, preached defense and added an element of team chemistry by giving minutes to the entire roster. Yes, Gentry has improved the Suns but I will not bash DA for not winning a championship after four great seasons.

Can't we just enjoy winning?

He's been exposed my friend. For some of us its almost bittersweet watching the success of this team(almost....but not really).

D'Antoni had the opportunity to win championships here, but his stubborn ignorance seriously impeded those chances. I don't know how that can be argued at this point watching this current team blossom into winners with virtually the same core of players and similiar philosophy.

I know there are DA fans here still. Thats okay, but i felt he cost us at least one title and maybe two. Call me a hater all you want,DA was and is overrated. Gentry has completely EXPOSED him as such.

 

[Mainstreet]

Because with every playoff victory that this scrappy,deeper,defensively AWARE, more versatile team chalks up....the more exposed D'Antoni becomes as a one-trick show pony fraud of an NBA head coach.

I've said it before and i'll say it again...in 5 yrs D'Umbtoni will be coaching in Europe where he belongs.

This SUNS team would spank DA's 7 man rotation in a 7 game series.
I was wrong about thinking that blowing this team up last summer was the way to go. I'm man enough to admit that now....however, i was always right about one thing(well, two things actually)....this team was never going to win anything important until they committed to playing defense and going after the rebounds.....and the other is that D'Antoni was absolutely clueless beyond April.

Can't you live in the present and be happy? At least you don't bash Nash as much as you used too. I guess you will never give DA any credit for developing an offensive style of pushing the ball and spreading the court which made the Suns very successful for four seasons. Gentry still uses DA's style although the Suns are certainly not SSOL anymore. The whole thing about Gentry is that he moved the Suns successfully beyond that era with many of the same players.

 

[mojorizen7]

Can't you live in the present and be happy? At least you don't bash Nash as much as you used too. I guess you will never give DA any credit for developing an offensive style of pushing the ball and spreading the court which made the Suns very successful for four seasons. Gentry still uses DA's style although the Suns are certainly not SSOL anymore. The whole thing about Gentry is that he moved the Suns successfully beyond that era with many of the same players.

You should see the smile on my face Mainstreet

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[hsandhu]

I don't know why the haters have to hate. DA and BC were the primary reason the Suns even have Nash. Gentry is proving to be a great coach, but he learned a lot from DA. See Porter as HC who ignored the Suns offensive style. In many articles Gentry still gives DA credit. I wonder who selected Gentry as an assistant coach for the Suns? Gentry kept the winning elements of the Suns offense, preached defense and added an element of team chemistry by giving minutes to the entire roster. Yes, Gentry has improved the Suns but I will not bash DA for not winning a championship after four great seasons.

Can't we just enjoy winning?

People are going off on mike because he had so much talent . If D'Antoni wasn't such a stubborn fool the suns would have gotten a title.

 

[Mainstreet]

Gentry is doing what Kerr asks him to do. Start playing defense and develop a bench. Something D'Antoni would not and ultimately lead to him being gone.

What had DA to do with getting Nash? Nothing. Sarver and Amare recruited Nash. D'Antoni was an absolute nobody when we got Nash.

Absolutely. This proves my point. As I recall, DA needed a special PG to run his system so the Suns cherry picked Nash for the job. This is the first step that was a critical for the Suns to run SSOL.... so I don't know how you can now say that DA was not part of the equation. Now think if DA had a PG like Nash to run his system in NY.

No doubt Gentry has exceeded my expectations as a HC. I really like what he has done with the Suns.

 

[Mainstreet]

People are going off on mike because he had so much talent . If D'Antoni wasn't such a stubborn fool the suns would have gotten a title.

You should really think twice before calling someone (DA) a "fool" when the evidence doesn't support it.

 

[TheHopToad]

IMO Steve Kerr is looking better and better with each passing day. Some of the moves he made didn't look so good initially, like Lopez and Dragic, but it appears his initial confidence in these guys is paying off big-time.

And I thought trading Raja Bell and Doris Biaw for J-Rich and Dudley was a good trade at the time and it has turned out to be almost as big of a steal as the Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown deal was for the Lakers.

The biggest thing I give Kerr credit for is realizing that he went from one extreme to the other when he replaced DA with Terry Porter, who tried to force players into a system that didn't match their skills. A lot of GM's would have been hard headed and insisted on sticking with the coach and demanded that the players adjust, but Kerr had the courage to realize that it wasn't going to work and he needed a coach that would not totally abandon the system that was in place, but would merely take the best components of SSOL and compliment it with defensive concepts and bench development. Genty is the perfect coach for this team and his style is a hybrid of all of the great coaches he has studied under in his career.

I didn't have much hope for this team at the beginning of the year, but shockingly this is the best I have felt about a Suns team since the Barkley years.

 

[Tyler]

You should really think twice before calling someone (DA) a "fool" when the evidence doesn't support it.

Mike is that you?????

 

[Chaplin]

Mostly I agree that Mike D's teams were entertaining as hell and there was one year we could have been title bound. But that team, while talented, doesn't have the cohesiveness we're seeing right now.

And frankly, whether you liked D'Antoni or not, I'm tired of everyone bringing him up all the time. It's a killjoy when you're just trying to enjoy what was a spectacular win and series.

 

[Michael]

Although I'm happy we have Gentry coaching Phoenix, I'm still grateful for having had D'Antoni. The current success is still based on his high- tempo offense, and without him Nash wouldn't be the player he is today.
Moreover, those years were incredibly successful seasons, and not winning a title wasn't his fault exclusively. There were things he could not control.

As for Marion, sure his attitude off the court was annoying, but calling him a choker is still wrong. He only 'choked' against the Spurs; partly as a result of the way our offense was set up. Watch the Conference Semi Finals against the Clippers in 2006 and reconsider.

I have no idea why Bell is brought up here. I have the highest respect for the guy! The trade was good, but I enjoyed Bell on this team every game.

 

[mojorizen7]

IMO Steve Kerr is looking better and better with each passing day. Some of the moves he made didn't look so good initially, like Lopez and Dragic, but it appears his initial confidence in these guys is paying off big-time.

And I thought trading Raja Bell and Doris Biaw for J-Rich and Dudley was a good trade at the time and it has turned out to be almost as big of a steal as the Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown deal was for the Lakers.

The biggest thing I give Kerr credit for is realizing that he went from one extreme to the other when he replaced DA with Terry Porter, who tried to force players into a system that didn't match their skills. A lot of GM's would have been hard headed and insisted on sticking with the coach and demanded that the players adjust, but Kerr had the courage to realize that it wasn't going to work and he needed a coach that would not totally abandon the system that was in place, but would merely take the best components of SSOL and compliment it with defensive concepts and bench development. Genty is the perfect coach for this team and his style is a hybrid of all of the great coaches he has studied under in his career.

I didn't have much hope for this team at the beginning of the year, but shockingly this is the best I have felt about a Suns team since the Barkley years.

Excellent post Toad.

 

[cly2tw]

I had as much fun as anyone in the DA days, I really had a lot of fun with that team but honestly, Pringles lost me with this quote.

"I'm not in the business of developing rookies."

I just thought that was ignorant and arrogant. Regardless, all things in our past have lead us here so I'm as thankful to him as I was to Denny Green when the Cards went to the Super Bowl.

In other words, I have no animosity towards anyone tonight, just happy for Suns nation!

GO SUNS!

Not only rookies, he wasn't able to develop anybody's game and make them better players skill-wise. With his gimmcry scheme and Nash's brilliant passes, his "system" could make players appear better on stats. And many mistake it as making players around them better. Amare could have be like he is now 4-5 years ago, had we had Gentry or other fundamentally sound coaches teaching and working him to improve fundamentals. Instead, DA was content with exploiting Amare or Marion's natural athletic talents, for regular season records. Wasted time for the Suns franchise, other than being flashy for 5 years.

 

[Tyler]

Maybe if we could bring this guy back from the dead everybody would be happy. If you dont know who he is, look up Suns history.

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[Roca Dolla]

totally agree mike d'antoni is the biggest joke that ever coached!

 

[Griffin]

Gentry has been phenomenal at getting this team to play at the level they are playing at now. He got them to enjoy playing defense without sacrificing any of our offensive explosiveness. He helped build incredible chemistry. But could he have the same success with prior Suns teams? Imo, probably not quite.

The players who have been most affected by Gentry's coaching style have not been here during DA years. Dudley, Frye, Amundson, Dragic and Lopez have given this team levels of depth that I haven't seen on a Suns team in decades. I just don't see Gentry having similar success with the likes of Banks, House, Rose, Jacobsen, Marks or Burke. There's a reason why a lot of our past bench players are either out of the league already or warming benches for other teams. People keep saying how we had so much talent in the past, but that was mostly constrained to our top 5 or 6 players. We never really had much talent beyond that until now.

Ultimately, I strongly believe, as I always had, that it is the players that win and lose games, not coaches. Does anyone really believe we would be in the position we are now had we not had our second unit the whole season? And btw, even though we haven't beaten the Spurs with DA we had been to the Western conference finals, twice, even one year without Amare. How can people not consider that an accomplishment?

And you know what the sad part is? If the Suns don't win a title this season, a few years from now the same people who now blame DA for all our past failures will look at this season and consider it a failure too, and then blame Gentry for it. It's just the way it works.