The Head Coach

[Mainstreet]

is there such as word as one-downmanship?

This was the most competitive part of the game.

 

[Mainstreet]

That was my thought also - that Gentry was doing it just to mess with D'Antoni.

I think it was mutual. Sadly the teacher (DA) smashed the student (Gentry) after the game started.

 

[Chaplin]

Amundson wasn't a great defensive player, but his key attribute in that area was that he was feisty and could get under players' skins, i.e. Zach Randolph. He still was a bit undersized. Again, it was his energy that was his advantage, not any specific skill.

 

[mojorizen7]

Amundson was an offensive liability(which was only magnified in the eyes of our "basketball people" when it became clear that Amare and his points were leaving town)....thats why Lou wasn't brought back.

I cant say for sure but its probably the same reason why Gortat isn't starting.

Its too bad because Lou could've helped this team.....but thats the culture here, so he's was an expendable afterthought.....unlike Channing Frye who the Suns just couldn't fathom parting ways with.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Amundson was an offensive liability(which was only magnified in the eyes of our "basketball people" when it became clear that Amare and his points were leaving town)....thats why Lou wasn't brought back.

I cant say for sure but its probably the same reason why Gortat isn't starting.

Its too bad because Lou could've helped this team.....but thats the culture here, so he's was an expendable afterthought.....unlike Channing Frye who the Suns just couldn't fathom parting ways with.

I would have kept Frye and Amundson. However, even if Lou had stayed healthy I don't see him making much of a difference on this squad. This is just a bad collection of pieces.

BTW, feel free to point out that I stole part of your sig line (and improved it, I might add).

Steve

 

[BC867]

I am glad to see that the eighteen votes to keep Gentry for the long haul are greater than the eleven for the other two categories combined.

There isn't a Coach in the game who could make a winner out of these unbalanced teams that the owner has foisted on him (twice this season alone).

Unless, of course, this were LaLa Land and his girlfriend is the owner's daughter.

 

[dodie53]

rebuild!
rebuild!

 

[mojorizen7]

I would have kept Frye and Amundson. However, even if Lou had stayed healthy I don't see him making much of a difference on this squad. This is just a bad collection of pieces.

I hear ya,im not trying to say that the absence of one Lou Amundson has wrecked this team,nor would we all be singing Kumbaya to the tune of a winning team.....its just hard for me to watch a team that sorely lacks in the areas that Lou brought on a nightly basis. We agree im sure.

BTW, feel free to point out that I stole part of your sig line (and improved it, I might add).

Steve

Actually, you just had more balls than me to include him with the other three guys
Lopez showed me quite alot in stretches last year playing next to a legit PF who could score in the paint and demand attention. He's not rugged enough for my taste but thats why i included Gortat.

I mean,who DOESN'T look like crap on this team right now?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Lopez showed me quite alot in stretches last year playing next to a legit PF who could score in the paint and demand attention. He's not rugged enough for my taste but thats why i included Gortat.

Neither Lopez nor Gortat have won me over but there's a reason every idiot spouts the "you can't teach height" mantra. With our history of big guys I think we'd be foolish to give up on either of them until we've proven beyond a shadow of doubt that they can't possibly learn to play this game.

Gortat is wierd. I've never seen a big guy like him before. He's physical until he gets to the hoop and then he goes all dainty. I've seen big guys that play a finesse style before but I've never seen dainty. It's like seeing some monster of a man open his mouth and talk like Urkel - you just don't expect it.

I'd like to see us move Nash, Hill and Carter. Then, we can start Goran, Childress, Dudley, Gortat and Lopez and see what happens. We'll lose a lot of games but we'll get some answers and right now, we need that more than we do a useless win or 10.

Steve

 

[sunsfan88]

^^^ Jared Dudley and Steve Nash.

And when he gets the minutes, even Gortat.

 

[mojorizen7]

Neither Lopez nor Gortat have won me over but there's a reason every idiot spouts the "you can't teach height" mantra. With our history of big guys I think we'd be foolish to give up on either of them until we've proven beyond a shadow of doubt that they can't possibly learn to play this game.

Gortat is wierd. I've never seen a big guy like him before. He's physical until he gets to the hoop and then he goes all dainty. I've seen big guys that play a finesse style before but I've never seen dainty. It's like seeing some monster of a man open his mouth and talk like Urkel - you just don't expect it.

I'd like to see us move Nash, Hill and Carter. Then, we can start Goran, Childress, Dudley, Gortat and Lopez and see what happens. We'll lose a lot of games but we'll get some answers and right now, we need that more than we do a useless win or 10.

Steve

I agree with your choice of keepers(at least initially).
This franchise could use a good,clean forest fire anyway. Is that what your saying? More like a Planet Orange supernova is whatinsayinyouknowwhatimsayin'?

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And hey,IF we can land another legit PF(in the next 2 yrs) who can play on both ends Gortat wont need to go the basket to score.

I just dont buy the mentality(which i've heard alot about in here) that says you cant have even ONE offensive liability on the court among 5 guys who can score. BS

I say its the reverse. Thats why championship teams bring a guy off the bench that does nothing but score points....even if he's a defensive liability.The Suns seem stuck in an alternate universe where you put 5 guys on the court who can score,among them ONE guy who can work on both ends(Dudley/Hill/Marion/KT/AC Green....oops i skipped a decade or two).
Its insane IMO.

Meh...

 

[Budden]

There is a television show called "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" that airs weeknights on comedy central. As the title suggests, Jon Stewart has been the focal point of the show for as long as it's been on the air - which is more than a decade - and he is a really funny comedian and a great personality to fit the "anchor" role for his comically tilted quasi-news show. In the model of the traditional half-hour nightly news show, The Daily Show features Stewart for the majority of the half-hour, but it also has other comedians to fill the role of the correspondent/field reporter. Over time, this show has sort of developed into a launching pad for the more gifted comedians who have been cast in this field reporter type spot, and a lot of people who got their first real break on The Daily Show have been able to showcase their comedic abilities on the show on a national platform, and many have gone on to have extremely successful careers: Stephen Colbert, Steve Carrell, Ed Helms, Rob Corddry, Lewis Black, Dave Attel, John Oliver, even John Hodgman (the guy who used to play "I'm a PC" character on those Mac commercials alongside Justin Long) really established their careers on Jon Stewart's show. These people hadn't had national exposure before joining the Daily Show cast, but they've all followed a similar path (albeit to different degrees), which is basically this: join the cast, work his way into the regular nightly lineup, gain more and more popularity, and then when they each established themselves as the best co-stars on the series, they get an offer to do something bigger and better. Steve Carrell is the star of "The Office", Stephen Colbert has his own show "The Colbert Report", Rob Corddry has been in a bunch of movies, etc. Yet, The Daily Show has been able to be consistently funny either by a) finding new talent to replace guys like Carrell and Colbert, or even b) having stretches of time where the show is more focused on Stewart.

That model has seemed to work well for the Daily Show. When people leave for more lucrative/leading roles, they don't leave because they feel like Jon Stewart is a camera-hog; rather, a great career opportunity comes along and everyone sorta feels like, "hey, that guy's earned the opportunity, and we wish him well!"

Steve Nash has been the Suns' Jon Stewart. Now, other than Steve Nash, let's all take a second to think about who has been the Suns' best player, starting with the most recent: Jason Richardson - in my mind he was an all-star before being traded; before him? Amar'e Stoudemire, who's MVP-caliber play in the second half of last season showed that he was capable of staring on his own show (even though he wanted to stay here, but the Suns had the opportunity to snatch up Warrick and Childress instead); before that? Shaquille O'neal; and even though he was never our best player (except for the half-season after Marbury and Penny were traded for a bunch of expiring Europeans), Joe Johnson played himself into a nice new contract.

So, by all means, blame Alvin Gentry for the team being 5 games under .500. I understand where you're coming from. I mean, heck, it makes sense: Shaq was averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds, and the team missed the playoffs. After Shaq graduated and left the team with Phx getting nothing in return, the team won 54 games and went to the Western Conference Finals; then, this past summer, Amar'e graduated and left the Suns with nothing in return, which gave J. Rich the spotlight; J. Rich graduated, so he was shipped away for the MVP (Marcin, Vince, Peaches). We've lost so much talent and gotten so little in return, we should be challenging the 1996 Chicago Bulls for that 72-win record. Either that, or perhaps Gentry had something to do with the team's success last season...

 

[AzStevenCal]

I agree with your choice of keepers(at least initially).
This franchise could use a good,clean forest fire anyway. Is that what your saying? More like a Planet Orange supernova is whatinsayinyouknowwhatimsayin'?

You must be registered for see images attach

I just dont buy the mentality(which i've heard alot about in here) that says you cant have even ONE offensive liability on the court among 5 guys who can score. BS

I say its the reverse. Thats why championship teams bring a guy off the bench that does nothing but score points....even if he's a defensive liability.The Suns seem stuck in an alternate universe where you put 5 guys on the court who can score,among them ONE guy who can work on both ends(Dudley/Hill/Marion/KT/AC Green....oops i skipped a decade or two).

Never channel Shawn Marion, it will mess with your head. But yeah, someone grab a torch. YouknowwhatI'msaying, gotta run, my toons are on.

I think if you're a jump shooting team that you probably do need all 5 guys to be offensive threats. You certainly don't if you're a more traditional team or if you have an unstoppable force. Unfortunately, we're not a traditional team, we don't have an unstoppable force and we still can't put a defensive unit on the floor that's worth a damn.

I know you don't care for the Dantoni style but I actually think it could have won, even in the playoffs, if they had just developed a tiny bit of defense. All they needed was the ability to get a stop in a crucial situation, they didn't need to be able to lock down the opponent all game. Now, though, I think the pendulum has swung back to the physical side and we need to compete in that market. Make the trades and bring Larry Brown in as a consultant to teach these guys how to play D, as a team.

Steve

 

[chickenhead]

The Daily Show was originally Craig Kilborn's vehicle, btw, though he bolted for movies and Stewart made it more successful. I feel like there's a sports team comparison there somewhere...

 

[AzStevenCal]

The Daily Show was originally Craig Kilborn's vehicle, btw, though he bolted for movies and Stewart made it more successful. I feel like there's a sports team comparison there somewhere...

You're right, Kilborn hosted it for the first couple of years. Before that, he was an ESPN anchor for 3 or 4 years. Stewart made much more out of the show than Kilborn ever did. I can't think of a good sports team comparison, especially one that fits the Suns board other than viewing Stewart as Colangelo and praying that Sarver will be like Kilborn - gone after a couple of years.

Steve