The Head Coach

[Covert Rain]

Gentry has been put in a position to bake bread without an oven.

You first have to assume Gentry is a chef at all. I say he is a fry cook telling all his friends he is a chef. What he did last season is take a pre-cooked meal and reheated it.

SpongeBob called and he wants his spatula back.

 

[Chaplin]

You first have to assume Gentry is a chef at all. I say he is a fry cook telling all his friends he is a chef. What he did last season is take a pre-cooked meal and reheated it.

SpongeBob called and he wants his spatula back.

So let me get this straight, you give NO credit to Gentry for last season, and ALL the credit for this season? How does that make any sense?

 

[mojorizen7]

Half of what your saying is true. However, Gentry was hired because he knows the D'Antoni system and the philosophy. However, we brought in 3 guys from another team who have decent defensive numbers yet we are using the same system.

That is coaching.

I hate to say it but I backup what Barkley said. What is the point of bringing in defensive minded guys if you don't change the system at all to utilize their skills?

Now Gentry is making alot of bonehead lineup decisions that baffle just about everybody in the NBA.

That is coaching.

You bring Larry Brown in here, I bet this team plays better defense INSTANTLY. Not that I think we have enough talent to win a title just because of a guy like Larry Brown. As you stated part of the problem is our roster.

If we want this team to change philosophy and start in a new direction with a focus on defense......

Gentry is not that guy.

Bingo x 2
I voted to keep Gentry thru this season then look elsewhere. Of course thats based upon my neverending hope that someone.....somewhere will finally decide that enough is enough and change the culture here.

There was the Scott Skiles experiment that lasted 3 years. People forget that we did make the playoffs 2 out of those 3 years(including beating the "then" defending champion S.A. Spurs in the 1st rd) and Skiles finished with a .595 record here.....it takes time to change the culture of a franchise and a fanbase.

Then there was the Porter fiasco. I will never argue that Porter was a good HC,but i will argue that he never had a chance here. Trying to instill a defensive culture with a Nash-lead team is just dumb. Sorry,but it is.

I like Gentry(he was the perfect choice to try and blend D'Antoni's flawed system into a hybrid system that actually tried to stop people on D),and IMO he's shown he's got head coaching ability,but he's leading a Gutcheck-trainwreck at this point.

 

[AzStevenCal]

So let me get this straight, you give NO credit to Gentry for last season, and ALL the credit for this season? How does that make any sense?

That contrasts well with my position. I think he gets too much credit for last season and deserves very little of the credit (blame) for this season.

Steve

 

[desertdawg]

You first have to assume Gentry is a chef at all. I say he is a fry cook telling all his friends he is a chef. What he did last season is take a pre-cooked meal and reheated it.

SpongeBob called and he wants his spatula back.

THIS! Can't touch this.

 

[sunsfan88]

A "source" just confirmed that Gentry decides the starting lineup by drawing names out of a hat.

Only Nash & Hill are default starters, the "source" reported.

 

[sunsfan88]

So let me get this straight, you give NO credit to Gentry for last season, and ALL the credit for this season? How does that make any sense?

Last season's success had more to do with teams not knowing how to guard Frye, Lopez's emergence, and Amare playing at an unbelievable level. But now teams have figured it out. Its not that hard anymore.

You put a guard on Frye because he doesnt post up even when thw guy guarding him is half his size. Problem solved.

You get rough with RoLo and boom Lopez gives up. Plus the pressure of being the only true inside player. Problem solved.

No Amare. Problem solved.

And to stop the bench, you make Dragic play bad. To make Dragic play bad, you full-court press him. Problem solved.

Gentry's hate for Gortat, love affair with Frye and his use of putting 20lb players as centers has really turned me against him. I think firing him would be the first step to success.

 

[Hoop Head]

Does he have a great roster no, but as a coach he is suppose to be able to juggle and maximize the talents of his players. Our offense is and will remain whatever Nash wants to run until Nash is gone, all he really needs to worry about is defensive situations and he can't figure out to play at least one big, even Frye would have been something, against a team with to bigs on the floor.

Nash, Carter, and Hill are too old to run SSOL and he thought he could beat D'Antoni playing that style without even one big on the floor, when DA had 2.

 

[Errntknght]

I'm sure it will surprise no one that I think there's no point of keeping Gentry around. Either he's an idiot or the FO totally ignored him when it came to bringing in players during the offseason, neither of which indicates a worthwhile head coach. To top it off, he had a good thing going with the second unit last year and didn't realize the value it had. Since the units D was the best thing about them, pfissing it away strongly suggests he has no defensive acumen.

Keep him until the end of the season when there should be many more candidates to look at. But I sure hate to think of this FO hiring a head coach any time of year.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm sure it will surprise no one that I think there's no point of keeping Gentry around. Either he's an idiot or the FO totally ignored him when it came to bringing in players during the offseason, neither of which indicates a worthwhile head coach. To top it off, he had a good thing going with the second unit last year and didn't realize the value it had. Since the units D was the best thing about them, pfissing it away strongly suggests he has no defensive acumen.

Keep him until the end of the season when there should be many more candidates to look at. But I sure hate to think of this FO hiring a head coach any time of year.

There is nothing wrong with Gentry as HC as I see it. He has no leverage in regard to player personnel. Sarver and the Suns FO have already scrambled player personnel twice. The second unit sorely misses Amundson's defense combined with Dudley. Dragic and Frye also played well with the second unit. I don't think Gentry is calling the moves but he is stuck with coaching whatever Sarver collects. Blaming the HC is an easy out. IMO, put the blame on Sarver or the Suns new FO.

 

[Covert Rain]

So let me get this straight, you give NO credit to Gentry for last season, and ALL the credit for this season? How does that make any sense?

No...actually I give him very little credit for last year and think he is getting exposed this year. There was more talent on the team last year and therefore much tougher to screw it up.

Also, I have said that I think it's partially Gentry's fault and the other part the roster. I thought I made that pretty clear. However, this team still has some talent on it and should be playing better then it is. That is why I think Gentry is getting exposed.

 

[Mainstreet]

No...actually I give him very little credit for last year and think he is getting exposed this year. There was more talent on the team last year and therefore much tougher to screw it up.

Also, I have said that I think it's partially Gentry's fault and the other part the roster. I thought I made that pretty clear. However, this team still has some talent on it and should be playing better then it is. That is why I think Gentry is getting exposed.

Or no Amare, no Amundson and no JRich plus a pile of role players Sarver collects and then put the blame on Genty??? Even an excellent HC would be struggling.

 

[Covert Rain]

Or no Amare, no Amundson and no JRich plus a pile of role players Sarver collects and then put the bame on Genty??? Even an excellent HC would be struggling.

No doubt. But a competent head coach wouldn't be playing lineups like has a serious case of Schizophrenia. Not to mention, I have seen tons of teams adjust their "style" when making trades. The Suns have taken 3 players with good defensive #'s and said basically "do it our way". I personally don't think he knows what the hell he is doing or he is in full panic mode. Either way...he is not doing a good job of coaching.

 

[Mainstreet]

No doubt. But a competent head coach wouldn't be playing lineups like has a serious case of Schizophrenia. Not to mention, I have seen tons of teams adjust their "style" when making trades. The Suns have taken 3 players with good defensive #'s and said basically "do it our way". I personally don't think he knows what the hell he is doing or he is in full panic mode. Either way...he is not doing a good job of coaching.

I bet most fans across the country look at Phoenix without Amare as they look at the Cavaliers without Lebron.

 

[Covert Rain]

I bet most fans across the country look at Phoenix without Amare as they look at the Cavaliers without Lebron.

I disagree. The impact is much less severe. People still almost universally feel Nash is a Star (maybe fading) in this league and one of the best at his position. The Suns still have talent and a star in this league on the roster. Lebron was the Cavs.

They have only 8 wins. There is no comparison. Nobody left on that team was the best of anything. Not to mention that people across the league have been saying the past few weeks that the Suns are underachieving and I agree. I knew the Suns would struggle when they didn't replace Amare. I called it. However, I didn't think things would be this bad. IMO, Gentry is not getting the most out of the players he has on this roster.

 

[sunsfan88]

We need to get a HC that will DEMAND a say in managment things. A coach should be asked what he thinks of the players before the trade happens.

But apparetly Sarver does do this. Genty said last week on the radio that he was the one that wanted to bring Turkoglu here.

And why does he hate Gortat so much? The whole entire world knows he's the better center yet he doesnt start. If I knew any better I'd think Gentry is racist to Polish people.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Many very good coaches are poor gm's. Gentry should be judged on what he does with the personnel he has. This team needs a fo that has the ability to make good decisions.

Colangelo was roundly criticized on this board and elsewhere for overpaying to keep his own free agents. Now we are seeing what the opposite practice really looks like. Make no mistake, Colangelo would have shelled out the dough to keep Amare. Kerr wanted to do the same thing. I believe that was the primary reason why he left.

I don't think the problem is that Sarver is cheap. Its that he does not know what is valuable and what is not. He overpays for mediocrity.

 

[AfroSuns]

. If I knew any better I'd think Gentry is racist to Polish people.

Wow! you get that from him not playing one polish player on the team, who is decent on defense but horrible on offense.
Folks here are just full of smart deductions.

 

[chickenhead]

I would add a fourth poll option: keep him through the season, and let him go only as part of a major overhaul.

I like Gentry: I think last season showed what a better fit he is than Porter, and about as good as D'Antoni likely would have been given the roster changes. But I would be open to a clean slate as well, though I have little faith in it happening...

 

[SirStefan32]

I don't think the problem is that Sarver is cheap. Its that he does not know what is valuable and what is not. He overpays for mediocrity.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[jibikao]

There is nothing wrong with Gentry as HC as I see it. He has no leverage in regard to player personnel. Sarver and the Suns FO have already scrambled player personnel twice. The second unit sorely misses Amundson's defense combined with Dudley. Dragic and Frye also played well with the second unit. I don't think Gentry is calling the moves but he is stuck with coaching whatever Sarver collects. Blaming the HC is an easy out. IMO, put the blame on Sarver or the Suns new FO.

Was Amundson's defense that good? I've seen a lot of highlights of him getting rebounds and blocking shots. I know he is undersized but he seems to play hard. Why did Suns let him go? It's not like he is very expensive?

I didn't know this team misses Barbosa's offense in 2nd unit?

Well, hopefully Gentry can stick with his plan because neither the first or second units are good.

 

[Rab]

I think Gentry as coach is fine. You can't expect the same results when management continually changes players. You lose the best big you've had since Barkley, overload your roster with similar wing players, trade away your only reliable scorer, and I'd say the team is par for the course on where it should be.

Remember it was Gentry who developed a bench last year. It was Gentry who let our young guys play through mistakes. It was Gentry who wasn't afraid to play bench players over starters in key moments late in games. I don't know who really could coach this team right now and make them successful. Coaches like Pops and Phil just don't exist in bunches.

He doesn't have much to work with, and I think that's the reality we have to face. We're all looking to blame someone, but I don't think Gentry deserves much of the blame. You have Steve, and a bunch of roll players outside of Grant who is having a great year.

Your expectations are too high. Take a reality pill and realize that the team is NOT GOOD. No coach could change the course. And if by chance they make a run here, the tune will soon change regarding Gentry.

 

[DeAnna]

In regard to Childress starting, the pregame announcers covered it on FSAZ. It was all about DA and Gentry playing a game of one-upmanship with the starting lineup.

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

 

[BC867]

In regard to Childress starting, the pregame announcers covered it on FSAZ. It was all about DA and Gentry playing a game of one-upmanship with the starting lineup.

is there such as word as one-downmanship?

 

[Mainstreet]

Was Amundson's defense that good? I've seen a lot of highlights of him getting rebounds and blocking shots. I know he is undersized but he seems to play hard. Why did Suns let him go? It's not like he is very expensive?

I'm not a stat person but Amundson was pure hustle and contested everything. Also he knew his strength and played inside grabbing rebounds, putting back garbage baskets and getting out on the break. He was particularly effective on defense with the second unit with Dudley and Dragic. I think Sarver decided Amundson was not worth the money he would command as a FA and went a different direction. However, Amundson signed for a very reasonable contract with GS. IMO, Sarver was too stubborn to re-sign Amundson thinking Warrick, Turkoglu and Frye could replace him although he wanted to remain in Phoenix. Amundson was more of a PF than the above and needed considering Amare's departure.

I didn't know this team misses Barbosa's offense in 2nd unit?

It was reported Barbosa wanted to be traded and he was part of the Turkoglu trade.

Well, hopefully Gentry can stick with his plan because neither the first or second units are good.

Gentry has his hands full with all the player movement occurring before and during the season. The Suns chemistry has been hampered or destroyed as a result. As some posters have suggested, I think Gentry is trying to restore team chemistry by trying different combination of players.