So pissed at D'Antoni

[AZZenny]

Quit bagging on Coach D -- he got us this far, and I'm no expert, but if he gets outcoached so damn much, how'd we win so many games the last two years? Yes, Popovich may be a little better coach, but that doesn't mean D'Antoni sucks. I suspect Pop couldn't get nearly as much out of our set of guys as Coach D does.

HE'S not the one who couldn't make about half a dozen layups go IN the basket. He's not the one leaving Ginobli and Bowen too much room. He's not the guy whose threes just haven't been falling in. He's not the guy making careless drives and turnovers. He's not the guy who went onto the Court illegally Monday. He's not the ass who made and enforced a stupid rule.

He's not the guy who lost this game. A couple baskets we absolutely should have made inside, grabbing our own rebounds and still not getting it in -- those could have made all the difference. ALL the difference.

Here's the good news -- Yes, Nash is tired, KT is tired. So is Duncan. We'll have two very fresh, very pissed off guys Friday.

I thought we could hang with the Spurs, maybe win tonight when nearly all you guys were ready to jump off the bridge, having quickly jumped off the bandwagon. I think we have a good shot at a win Friday.

You still underestimate this team.

BY THE WAY -- my ears are ringing, in fact my left ear is gone slightly deaf, and I can't speak above a whisper. WE FANS DID OUR JOB TONIGHT.

 

[ma_falaa_50]

I know that ppl eventualy get tired but Shawn disappeared in the second half which means he was ineffective after 24 minutes of play. 24 minutes is not enough to lose steam. Phx learned from Dallas and decided to play the way that got them there. I think rose would have helped offensively but he is an easy target on defense. Nash was not tired. The team just choked- plain and simple.

 

[az1965]

D'Antoni is a terrible game manager - timeouts, minutes, use of bench.

He lost the game. The guys had no legs in the end you could see, rotation was slow, the shots were off. Don't you believe Nash would nail one of the three or four 3's in the end had he rested a bit? He missed couple of open layups, again a sign of fatigue. We just needed a bucket or two to win this game.

And, yes, not playing KT in the end was a bad decision. Barbosa has been aweful this entire series. Why put him in this critical time?

 

[az1965]

Quit bagging on Coach D -- he got us this far, and I'm no expert, but if he gets outcoached so damn much, how'd we win so many games the last two years? Yes, Popovich may be a little better coach, but that doesn't mean D'Antoni sucks. I suspect Pop couldn't get nearly as much out of our set of guys as Coach D does.

I don't know what to say if you can't see the obvious... This has been a problem with him. Last year Mavs series, same thing happenned. He refused to play the bench. We came out and had leads in almost all of the games but ran out of gas in the fourth quarters.

 

[Nash Attack]

I would have liked to see a little more bench played, it would have helped last night. BUT - the extra 5-10 minutes of gametime for Nash and others will not make much of any difference in Friday nights game. 45 hours of recoup time will be plenty, and they will be as fully rested for game 6 as they would have been playing a few minutes less.

 

[HooverDam]

You know, Mike D did play hoops at the highest level, so if he says an extra 3 minutes of rest isn't going to matter for Nash and others, then I'm inclined to believe him. If anyone here has played NBA ball or high level Euro ball then please speak up and disagree w/ D'Antoni's philosophy, otherwise, I think we may be ignorant about the whole subject.

 

[panfolk]

You know, Mike D did play hoops at the highest level, so if he says an extra 3 minutes of rest isn't going to matter for Nash and others, then I'm inclined to believe him. If anyone here has played NBA ball or high level Euro ball then please speak up and disagree w/ D'Antoni's philosophy, otherwise, I think we may be ignorant about the whole subject.

It's hard to disbelieve your eyes when you watch players that just look and act tired out there. I am ignorant of playing big minutes in sports (I was a scrub when I played) but I pull a lot of 12 hour shifts at work and know my decision making and motor skills take a dive when I'm tired. Nash played about 8 minutes longer than he should have (if LB had a better game this probably wouldn't have been the case).

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Looking back, it probably wasn't the right move. At the time, I was glad that Nash didn't get his customary rest in the 3rd for example. I did want Barbosa out of the game though. He has REALLY struggled this series. I hope people do not get off of his bandwagon after this series is over.

 

[fordronken]

The only thing I think D'Antoni did wrong was not play KT down the stretch. The crazy thing is, I'm saying that because he made us more efficient on offense.

 

[HardBall]

Guys,

You have to understand that there is NO chemistry with Rose, Burke, et al, and our regular rotation. Mike D can't throw those guys in and expect them to gel literally overnight. Look at what happened last night and I don't think you can question his coaching. WE ALMOST WON.

My biggest worry is that we are dog tired for Game 6. I know Amare will rise to the occasion, but that might spell foul trouble. Diaw has no emotions at any time, so who knows what he will do.

I do know that the Spurs are definitely tired.

I still think we win this series.

 

[HooverDam]

It's hard to disbelieve your eyes when you watch players that just look and act tired out there. I am ignorant of playing big minutes in sports (I was a scrub when I played) but I pull a lot of 12 hour shifts at work and know my decision making and motor skills take a dive when I'm tired. Nash played about 8 minutes longer than he should have (if LB had a better game this probably wouldn't have been the case).

Yah,I mean my natural inclination is to want the bench guys to play more as well. For instance, when LB had 4 fouls w/ 2 minutes to go in the third, he quickly picked up a 5th. Why not bring in Banks? He wouldnt have to do anything on offense, but he could cover Parker. You'd have Bell on Manu and Nash on Bowen. Though Im not sure what SA's lineup was at that time, if Parker was on the bench, why not bring in Rose? He could've covered Finley, Bowen or Barry.

Pop did the right thing when he brought in Bonner, this is something D'Antoni probably can get better at, but I'm not going to be too hard on him, because I think he's been a fantastic coach for us and I hope he's around for a long, long time

 

[Hugh D'Man]

The point about fatigue and its mental effect are valid. We played a very sloppy 4th Q.

KT was gassed. He had a stretch where he waved on a perfect bounce pass feed, then a traveling call which should have been another bucket, then he forced one up. D'Ant yanked him then and put Marion on Duncan.

Bell had nothing the whole game. Manu and Finley were getting wide open looks on the arc. where was Raja ? He played very very average with a couple costly TOs. And whats with another late game tech ???

Barblowsa is a shell of himself. His weak ass junk at the rim is getting LUNCHED by TD. A spur is glued to his ass at the 3pt line. Go ahead and drive they say. The kid needs a mid range game.

All said, we fumbled and bumbled that game away. Nobody wanted to shoot in the last 3 minutes.

Calling Dr Amare..... Dr Amare.
Friday night will be big. Very high pucker factor. These guys are not unbeatable.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

We almost won playing 4 on 7. Nash, Marion, KT, and James Jones were the only players that showed up last night. Bell and Barbosa took the night off.

If we had 5 guys playing their hearts out, we win. I am very surprised that Bell was one of the players that had a subpar game.

 

[ajcardfan]

As much as people want to look at the end of the game, the game was equally lost in the first three quarters. The Suns just haven't shot the ball like they are capable of yet. They missed a LOT of open shots, including threes. That's what is frustrating me today.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I would like to hear Coach D's explanation as to why Rose did not get any minutes at all though. Even if he got 4 minutes like Burke, someone could have got a break.

 

[just do it]

I have a feeling that Diaw will really step it up in game 6, Amare is a given to be pissed off to no end but I am sure both of them really feel bad and put this loss on them.

 

[Hugh D'Man]

I can't help but think how Tim Thomas was stepping up this time last yr. Man, we sure need someone who can toss a dagger like that. Bast@rd should have inked up for 1 more yr. That ball was a hot potato late in the game.

 

[Wally]

The only thing I think D'Antoni did wrong was not play KT down the stretch. The crazy thing is, I'm saying that because he made us more efficient on offense.

Ditto
LB was having a bad game & KT was playing well. It was a coaching error to not recognize this at the end of the game.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I can't help but think how Tim Thomas was stepping up this time last yr. Man, we sure need someone who can toss a dagger like that. Bast@rd should have inked up for 1 more yr. That ball was a hot potato late in the game.

Have you not see TT this year? I didn't think that he was in a contract year player, but this year proved that he was.

Consider this. Marcus Banks has shot the ball better this year than Tim Thomas.

 

[Hugh D'Man]

Have you not see TT this year? I didn't think that he was in a contract year player, but this year proved that he was.

Consider this. Marcus Banks has shot the ball better this year than Tim Thomas.

I don't want to debate his production this yr...but he was an assassin for us. A title no one holds on this team.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I don't want to debate his production this yr...but he was an assassin for us. A title no one holds on this team.

So was Eddie House in the first part of the year, want him back?

 

[95pro]

this biggest problem i had in the game and maybe the most important turning point, was the start of the 2nd half.

the suns go inside, dump the ball into duncan. and there's no double team, not even mixing it up. just 1 on 1, and he hits i think 4-5 straight shots, closing the lead.

that was the biggest problem i had. personally(i know most of you would disagree) i think bank should have had 4-8 minutes of playing time. he could have gone in for barbosa's struggling self. he's a lot tougher and a better defender.

just my 2cents.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

this biggest problem i had in the game and maybe the most important turning point, was the start of the 2nd half.

the suns go inside, dump the ball into duncan. and there's no double team, not even mixing it up. just 1 on 1, and he hits i think 4-5 straight shots, closing the lead.

that was the biggest problem i had. personally(i know most of you would disagree) i think bank should have had 4-8 minutes of playing time. he could have gone in for barbosa's struggling self. he's a lot tougher and a better defender.

just my 2cents.

That is a very good point. Duncan hit 5 straight baskets to start the 3rd.

 

[95pro]

and then they start to double him everytime!!! so naturally, duncan adapts and find the open shooters in the 4th quarter...game over.

i guess my point is, just mix it up. keep them guessing. dont let them get into a rythm.

that's what screwed us in the 2nd half, and eventually the game.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

and then they start to double him everytime!!! so naturally, duncan adapts and find the open shooters in the 4th quarter...game over.

i guess my point is, just mix it up. keep them guessing. dont let them get into a rythm.

that's what screwed us in the 2nd half, and eventually the game.

Yep, I'm with you. I wanted the Suns to disguise their double teams and they didn't do as good of a job with it. After Duncan found his rythym to start the 3rd, I knew this game was over.