Nice Suns Notes Article today

[Chaplin]

D'Antoni heaps accolades on ex-European players


Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 21, 2003 12:00 AM


Mike D'Antoni is a big fan of Houston forward Bostjan Nachbar, who played for him in Italy.

"That's my boy," he said. "He's very talented athletically.

"It's funny, the year before I got there, he was on the end of the bench, played maybe a minute a game.

"I get there and put him in the starting lineup, and he gets drafted 15th. Now he walks around wanting to hug me."

So does Denver's Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who was drafted fifth after that same Italian League championship season.

But Nachbar was the more advanced player, D'Antoni said.

"He's very good offensively," he said. "Big hands; athletically he's super, great kid, works hard. Streak shooter a little bit. Good shooter; he just needs confidence."

It isn't uncommon for young players to get buried at the end of the bench, as Nachbar was, in Europe.

"They're tough over there if you get on the wrong side of them," D'Antoni said of European coaches. "They have the hammer over there. And he was young.

"I asked the old coaching staff when I took over, I said, 'What do you think about him?'

"They said, 'Well, you know, he thinks he's better than he is.'

"I saw him play and I said, 'Well, no kidding. He is better. He's a lot better than ya'll think he is.' "






If the shoe fits


Amare Stoudemire has been wearing a protective boot on his sprained left ankle, and he was given clearance Saturday to stop wearing it. That was both good and bad news.

"I have to get my left shoes," Stoudemire said as he flipped open a cellphone.

The club left after the game for games in Los Angeles and Seattle and Stoudemire had packed only his right shoes.


Little money


D'Antoni has quickly developed confidence in rookie Leandro Barbosa.

"Every time he shoots, I think it's going in," D'Antoni said. "When he locks that sucker in, it's money.

"He's got a big heart and he'll play hard. I just don't want to throw him into a situation that isn't good because it's too important to keep his confidence up."

 

[Chaplin]

Couple cool things here.

1) D'Antoni is really sounding like a great guy--he's got the personality of Frank, but seems to be able to manage a game a whole lot better.

2) Barbosa looks like he might get a steady 10-12 minutes a game now--that's nice to hear.

3) Amare is accompanying the team on their road trip--I always think it's cool when injured star players accompany the team on the road. Chris Webber does it too.

 

[slinslin]

"He's very talented athletically ; athletically he's super"

Compared to D'Antoni or what?

Nachbar is one of the worst athletes in the NBA.

Amare is a great kid. He also accompanied the summer league team when he was injured.

 

[DaFlogger]

Originally posted by slinslin
"He's very talented athletically ; athletically he's super"

Compared to D'Antoni or what?

Nachbar is one of the worst athletes in the NBA.


Dude, it's the happy holiday season, lighten up!!! You don't want to find a piece of coal in your stocking do you?

Happy Holiday's

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by DaFlogger

Originally posted by slinslin
"He's very talented athletically ; athletically he's super"

Compared to D'Antoni or what?

Nachbar is one of the worst athletes in the NBA.


Dude, it's the happy holiday season, lighten up!!! You don't want to find a piece of coal in your stocking do you?

Happy Holiday's

Seems to me he already has--last week.

 

[George O'Brien]

Barbosa's Shooting

I love what Barbosa brings on defense. He is more disruptive than Bo was and is a much greater offensive threat.

So far he is averaging 46.2% from the field, but only 31.8% for three's and a dismal 50% from the line. He is averaging 3.6 ppg in only 7.9 minutes (this translates to almost 16 ppg at 35 minutes). This is especially impressive considering that it is mostly following turnovers.

I think he is going to become a really player. He just needs more experience.

 

[slinslin]

Barbosa has attempted a total of 4 freethrows so far.

Not saying his defense is as good as Payton's was but the way he is moving on defense somehow reminds me of Payton.

When Gary Payton came into the league it took him some time to become a really good player but guess who was teaching him? Right, Rim Grguric (sp?).

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by slinslin
Rim Grguric (sp?).

TIM Grgurich

 

[Joe Mama]

It's kind of a little thing, but I love the way Barbosa slips between screens and picks. He's sleek. I know it's early, but the Phoenix Suns did a wonderful job in last year's draft.

Joe Mama

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Originally posted by Chaplin
Couple cool things here.

1) D'Antoni is really sounding like a great guy--he's got the personality of Frank, but seems to be able to manage a game a whole lot better.

My dad met D'Antoni last year when they went to PCH over Xmas. He said he was a really nice guy. Actually, he said Frank Johnson was one of the nicest, most respectful men he has ever met from professional sports. He actually gets to meet most of the Arizona athletes, and said that Frank was definitely one of his favorites.

He said Barbosa was hillarious when he was there. Just always smiling and kind of bouncing around. Since he still doesn't speak english very well, most of the times he spoke you just had to laugh.

It is really cool how the suns go down to PCH every year. The kids really do love it. Actually, everyone who gets to see them come in enjoys it. He says it is usually all they talk about for the next week, and a lot of rooms are decked out in suns gear for the next few weeks.

 

[dyle_ph1]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
It's kind of a little thing, but I love the way Barbosa slips between screens and picks. He's sleek. I know it's early, but the Phoenix Suns did a wonderful job in last year's draft.

Joe Mama

That and the way he comes out of nowhere to get open court steals.

 

[George O'Brien]

Barbosa all but came out of no-where last spring when he put his name in for the draft. Coming from Brazil without international experience, he was basically unknown. When he made the rounds for try outs, he blew everyone away with his quckness, leaping ability, and huge wing span. Everyone said he had a very strange shooting style, but the ball somehow goes in.

The reason he dropped to the bottom of the first round was that he lacked the experience as a point guard to take over a team. The teams that were shopping for point guards needed someone who could contribute immediately.

Sometimes scouting reports are screwed up. (Nobody seemed to know that Zarko is a very good shooter because he was not used that way in Serbia). But so far, Barbosa has lived up to the hype that had him listed as a possible lottery pick at one point.

 

[Joe Mama]

Don't forget that teams supposedly were worried about Barbosa's English. They were saying it is very important for a point guard to be able to speak to his teammates.

Joe Mama

 

[SirStefan32]

I see Barbosa as a shooting guard more than a point guard, especially if Marbury or Penny are in the game.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by SirStefan32
I see Barbosa as a shooting guard more than a point guard, especially if Marbury or Penny are in the game.

It certainly looks that way.