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Suns: Gut Check Time As Things Heat Up
By Tracy Graven
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Mar 9, 2007, 10:00
Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp ... or what are the NBA Finals for?
As the Phoenix Suns face the next stretch of games that wind down the rest of the season -- 21 more games, it's time for a little soul searching.
Desire alone is not enough. But to lack desire, means to lack a key ingredient to success. Many a talented individual failed because they lacked desire. Many victories have been snatched by the underdog because they wanted it more. So if you desire -- intensely -- and you act upon it, then everything stands within your reach.
How bad do they really want it?
While the Suns are plodding their way through predictable games, laced with predictable rhythms, and final scores that are all but identical lately, teams like the Spurs are winning their 11th straight; holding their home court like the Utah Jazz (who the Suns have failed to defeat three times this season); or closing in on possibly eclipsing the Chicago Bulls' 72-10 season, like the Dallas Mavericks, who have won 16 consecutive.
And who the Suns have yet to master.
How bad do they really want it? Seriously, how bad?
Steve Nash, the team's leader, floor general, and two-time Most Valuable Player, seems to get the notion that the Suns won't be able to do all this work only to walk away with the award for Congeniality.
He wants a championship ... now!
"It's just desire really," says Nash, hoping his words of wisdom reach the right ears in the Suns locker room. "Desire, discipline and commitment. If we commit to the goals we've set and have the desire to keep up with that, If we play like that every night, we'll be fine. But right now for whatever reason it's not important to us."
"I don't think we have a swagger, that pep in our step or whatever," admitted head coach Mike D'Antoni.
Finally, with just over 20 games remaining, the boys in purple and orange are beginning to see what I've seen all season long.
Lucky to be where they are, but not ready to move past the Dallas Mavericks and on to face Detroit or Miami in the NBA Finals.
"I'm pretty tired of coming up here and giving excuses," said an obviously frustrated D'Antoni, after the Suns had to go to overtime to beat a Charlotte team they should have handled with a 125-80 type score. "They are just not focused and not playing hard enough. You can tell by the technicals and having other stuff that we don't need to do."
A person shows what he is by what he does with what he has. D'Antoni has certainly shown he can win, but by the skin of your teeth doesn't always translate into the same W's when the playoffs arrive and everyone takes it to the next level. Do the Phoenix Suns have what it takes to get there?
It's that lack of swagger and that congeniality that will keep them from even possibly advancing out of the first round, especially if they can't master their nemesis, the Mavericks, who have already clinched a playoff spot with their league-best record and spectacular play this season.
Yet the Suns are close enough to see their taillights, only 4½ games back. "I don't think they're out of reach," said an optimistic Nash. "We play them twice. Who knows what happens?"
If they continue to play the way they have since All-Star, the eight wins aside, the future is all to easy to predict.
Try handing the Mavericks the season series every bit as much as they have the Jazz, who could very well be their second round opponent if they make it past the first (what will undoubtedly be) seven-game series.
They play Dallas next Wednesday in Big D and again on April 1st in Phoenix.
One person that is key to their continued success is resurrected center Amare Stoudemire, whose play of late as appeared on numerous sports highlight reels, but also caught the attention of the NBA's officials and sounded their Zero Tolerance alarms, as they did on Wednesday night when Stoudemire got to watch the second half and overtime with the rest of us.
The first came at halftime when Stoudemire gave a rolling ball a love tap with his foot, directing it toward the sidelines for a 15-minute resting place; the second came when, called for a charge on a Bobcats player, instead of complaining and swearing as many other players do (and were doing that night), he turned and walked away, flipping the ball behind him ... which just happened to land on Matt Carroll's bread basket, which can happen when you're sprawled on the floor soaking up the desert sun as long as Carroll was.
"It's not like I'm cursing or using profanity toward them. They are just small-time techs and they really want to crack down on them," Stoudemire said, seemingly understanding the Zero Tolerance policy, though still perplexed why his actions were perceived by veteran officials as they were. "I've heard guys curse at the ref and say all kinds of things to them and don't get a technical. I get a tech for just rolling the basketball. It happens that way. I've got to do a better job of holding my emotions back. I'm such an emotional player my passion comes out at times. It's going to be tough but I can manage."
A manage he'll have to.
Stoudemire has 14 techs -- two more and he faces suspension, which the Suns can ill afford with the Rockets, Mavericks, Pistons and Nuggets on the slate next week (two at home, two away).
Nash may be the official Most Valuable Player in the league's eyes, but it's Stoudemire -- who's playing with the energy, enthusiasm and gleam in his eye that we once saw in the McDonald's All-Star Game (which I've been watching over and over again lately) -- who the team will need to lean on down the stretch.
He needs to be there.
So do Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Shawn Marion, Kurt Thomas, Marcus Banks, James Jones, and even the Fitness Club.
Why not Leandro Barbosa? Because, like Nash and Stoudemire, the kid brings it every night, all but sealing the NBA's Sixth Man Award for the season.
"He's incredible," praises D'Antoni. "Big shots, one after the other. When he misses a three-pointer now, it's like 'What's wrong?' His level of play is way up there. He, like everyone else, does have to make a commitment of being a championship team. We haven't done that recently, which is a little disappointing. but we do have plenty of time to correct it and plenty of time to get all squared."
But, while no one in particular will ever be singled out -- by one another, by the coach, or by this writer -- every one needs to take it up a notch. Maybe four, five or six notches. "I think it's everybody," Nash said, "but obviously some more than others."
Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
The second season is just around the corner. It's no longer "early."
There is no next year.
The time is now.
Too many other teams are hungry -- hungrier than the Suns appear to be.
And they want blood. They don't just want a piece of the pie. They want the whole thing for themselves.
It's time to decide that they want it more than they are afraid of it.
The Suns need to want it more.
The Eyes can be on the Prize, but where's the heart?
"it's reality," notes D'Antoni. "We need to start playing better."
"We need to get a little leaner and meaner and understand that to win a championship is going to take a little bit more dedication."
A shot glass of desire is greater than a pitcher of talent.
So, more than a little then, right?
Let's go with a lot.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_21165.shtml
Pretty good article
By Tracy Graven
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Mar 9, 2007, 10:00
Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp ... or what are the NBA Finals for?
As the Phoenix Suns face the next stretch of games that wind down the rest of the season -- 21 more games, it's time for a little soul searching.
Desire alone is not enough. But to lack desire, means to lack a key ingredient to success. Many a talented individual failed because they lacked desire. Many victories have been snatched by the underdog because they wanted it more. So if you desire -- intensely -- and you act upon it, then everything stands within your reach.
How bad do they really want it?
While the Suns are plodding their way through predictable games, laced with predictable rhythms, and final scores that are all but identical lately, teams like the Spurs are winning their 11th straight; holding their home court like the Utah Jazz (who the Suns have failed to defeat three times this season); or closing in on possibly eclipsing the Chicago Bulls' 72-10 season, like the Dallas Mavericks, who have won 16 consecutive.
And who the Suns have yet to master.
How bad do they really want it? Seriously, how bad?
Steve Nash, the team's leader, floor general, and two-time Most Valuable Player, seems to get the notion that the Suns won't be able to do all this work only to walk away with the award for Congeniality.
He wants a championship ... now!
"It's just desire really," says Nash, hoping his words of wisdom reach the right ears in the Suns locker room. "Desire, discipline and commitment. If we commit to the goals we've set and have the desire to keep up with that, If we play like that every night, we'll be fine. But right now for whatever reason it's not important to us."
"I don't think we have a swagger, that pep in our step or whatever," admitted head coach Mike D'Antoni.
Finally, with just over 20 games remaining, the boys in purple and orange are beginning to see what I've seen all season long.
Lucky to be where they are, but not ready to move past the Dallas Mavericks and on to face Detroit or Miami in the NBA Finals.
"I'm pretty tired of coming up here and giving excuses," said an obviously frustrated D'Antoni, after the Suns had to go to overtime to beat a Charlotte team they should have handled with a 125-80 type score. "They are just not focused and not playing hard enough. You can tell by the technicals and having other stuff that we don't need to do."
A person shows what he is by what he does with what he has. D'Antoni has certainly shown he can win, but by the skin of your teeth doesn't always translate into the same W's when the playoffs arrive and everyone takes it to the next level. Do the Phoenix Suns have what it takes to get there?
It's that lack of swagger and that congeniality that will keep them from even possibly advancing out of the first round, especially if they can't master their nemesis, the Mavericks, who have already clinched a playoff spot with their league-best record and spectacular play this season.
Yet the Suns are close enough to see their taillights, only 4½ games back. "I don't think they're out of reach," said an optimistic Nash. "We play them twice. Who knows what happens?"
If they continue to play the way they have since All-Star, the eight wins aside, the future is all to easy to predict.
Try handing the Mavericks the season series every bit as much as they have the Jazz, who could very well be their second round opponent if they make it past the first (what will undoubtedly be) seven-game series.
They play Dallas next Wednesday in Big D and again on April 1st in Phoenix.
One person that is key to their continued success is resurrected center Amare Stoudemire, whose play of late as appeared on numerous sports highlight reels, but also caught the attention of the NBA's officials and sounded their Zero Tolerance alarms, as they did on Wednesday night when Stoudemire got to watch the second half and overtime with the rest of us.
The first came at halftime when Stoudemire gave a rolling ball a love tap with his foot, directing it toward the sidelines for a 15-minute resting place; the second came when, called for a charge on a Bobcats player, instead of complaining and swearing as many other players do (and were doing that night), he turned and walked away, flipping the ball behind him ... which just happened to land on Matt Carroll's bread basket, which can happen when you're sprawled on the floor soaking up the desert sun as long as Carroll was.
"It's not like I'm cursing or using profanity toward them. They are just small-time techs and they really want to crack down on them," Stoudemire said, seemingly understanding the Zero Tolerance policy, though still perplexed why his actions were perceived by veteran officials as they were. "I've heard guys curse at the ref and say all kinds of things to them and don't get a technical. I get a tech for just rolling the basketball. It happens that way. I've got to do a better job of holding my emotions back. I'm such an emotional player my passion comes out at times. It's going to be tough but I can manage."
A manage he'll have to.
Stoudemire has 14 techs -- two more and he faces suspension, which the Suns can ill afford with the Rockets, Mavericks, Pistons and Nuggets on the slate next week (two at home, two away).
Nash may be the official Most Valuable Player in the league's eyes, but it's Stoudemire -- who's playing with the energy, enthusiasm and gleam in his eye that we once saw in the McDonald's All-Star Game (which I've been watching over and over again lately) -- who the team will need to lean on down the stretch.
He needs to be there.
So do Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Shawn Marion, Kurt Thomas, Marcus Banks, James Jones, and even the Fitness Club.
Why not Leandro Barbosa? Because, like Nash and Stoudemire, the kid brings it every night, all but sealing the NBA's Sixth Man Award for the season.
"He's incredible," praises D'Antoni. "Big shots, one after the other. When he misses a three-pointer now, it's like 'What's wrong?' His level of play is way up there. He, like everyone else, does have to make a commitment of being a championship team. We haven't done that recently, which is a little disappointing. but we do have plenty of time to correct it and plenty of time to get all squared."
But, while no one in particular will ever be singled out -- by one another, by the coach, or by this writer -- every one needs to take it up a notch. Maybe four, five or six notches. "I think it's everybody," Nash said, "but obviously some more than others."
Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
The second season is just around the corner. It's no longer "early."
There is no next year.
The time is now.
Too many other teams are hungry -- hungrier than the Suns appear to be.
And they want blood. They don't just want a piece of the pie. They want the whole thing for themselves.
It's time to decide that they want it more than they are afraid of it.
The Suns need to want it more.
The Eyes can be on the Prize, but where's the heart?
"it's reality," notes D'Antoni. "We need to start playing better."
"We need to get a little leaner and meaner and understand that to win a championship is going to take a little bit more dedication."
A shot glass of desire is greater than a pitcher of talent.
So, more than a little then, right?
Let's go with a lot.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_21165.shtml
Pretty good article
