http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/129076
Previewing the new-look Suns
Jerry Brown
More than two weeks into training camp, rookie guard Goran Dragic was still having trouble getting the Suns into their half-court offense quickly enough. Dribbling at the top of the key during one such moment of indecision, Dragic suddenly felt two palms on his left shoulder, shoving him suggestively to the right.
"The first time, it was a surprise," Dragic said. "Now, I am ready for it."
For four-plus years, Mike D'Antoni usually watched practice from the same place he watched games - on the sidelines, arms folded, using the same words but different inflections to hand out praise and admonishment.
In contrast, Porter rarely leaves the court. Players run around him to complete drills, and sometimes it looks like the offense or defense is playing 6-on-5 depending on his emphasis at the moment.
"Mike was a general blueprint kind of guy," Suns guard Raja Bell said. "As long as you were with the program, he laid it out and you thought your way through things. If you had a question, he'd answer it, but otherwise it was on you to make it work.
"Terry has more of a vision of what he wants his stuff to look like. He knows what he wants, and he's not going to let things stray too far from that. He's definitely more hands-on with his teaching."
A NEW LOOKIN MANY WAYS
Even with a roster that shouts "offense" and was more than content to give up a basket for a chance to get one, Porter is determined to morph the Suns into a flexible and responsible team.
He wants a unit that can count on getting defensive stops, execute successful plays in the half-court and win games even when its shots aren't falling. He wants a rotation where second-unit players will fight for playing time and even a starting assignment, and enough depth that foul trouble won't dictate a back-down in ferocity.
"When you look at good teams, that second unit is always motivating or pushing the first guys, keeping them sharp in practice and not letting them slip. That's very important," Porter said. "On all the good teams I've been on, sometimes that's the key. Those veterans won't have a chance to slip. Every day, they've got to come ready, because they've got somebody young going at them and attacking them."
That's a departure from the D'Antoni era, when the top seven played "starter's minutes" and short practices left little time for bench players to make an impression on teammates or coaches.
Bell has played for taskmasters like Jerry Sloan and Larry Brown and players' coaches like D'Antoni and Don Nelson. After a month of playing for Porter, he sees the possibility of a happy medium.
"Jerry and L.B. had their way. Period," Bell said. "Nellie and Mike are more kind of 'Let's see what you do when you're out there. If it looks good to me, you can keep doing it.'
"Terry is kind of in the middle. I can see some freedom coming, but only after you're doing what he wants. We're running after we get a (defensive) stop ... that kind of thing. And because he had a long and fruitful career, he understands what veteran players know, what they need and when they aren't giving him what he wants."
CHANGE WAS COMING
Coaching change or not, the Suns were already evolving and had waved the white flag when it came to the "seven seconds or less" style of basketball. Last February's trade for Shaquille O'Neal that sent away Shawn Marion - next to Steve Nash, the poster child for the run-and-gun Suns - forced the Suns to think in terms of conventional weapons over guerilla tactics.
The offseason additions of Matt Barnes, Robin Lopez and Louis Amundson brought more energy, defense and toughness to fit general manager Steve Kerr's vision and the marching orders of his new coach.
But it will still be up to the holdover core - Bell, Nash, O'Neal, Amaré Stoudemire, Grant Hill, Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw - to make the changes work during a regular season that will feature plenty of trial and error, which is a dangerous blueprint in an ultra-tough Western Conference that only got stronger in the offseason.
"There's going to be a lot of trial and error, but we can't afford to have any strategies other than trying to win every game possible," Nash said. "We can't chalk up the first 10 games to 'finding ourselves,' because we have to find a way to win five or six or eight of them while we're fine-tuning."
ADJUSTING TO THE VALLEY
While his team is adjusting, Porter said his adjustment to Arizona has gone well. Even though he spent most of his playing and coaching days in cold-weather cities - from Portland to Minneapolis to Milwaukee to Detroit - Porter calls himself a warm-weather guy. And he and his wife, Suzie, are enjoying the Valley's laid-back lifestyle and copious restaurant choices.
Fans will see an animated coach on the sidelines. Porter began the preseason seated, but finished it on his toes and engaging in steady dialogue with the referees. He made it through eight exhibition games without trouble, but doesn't expect that streak to last long when the point guard in him takes over.
When asked if he would have under or over five technical fouls, he laughed and said, "Five in a season? Over. Way over.
"You have to make sure your point gets across, and sometimes regular language doesn't work. I don't get personal. But I get direct. I don't mince words."
That will fit in fine with his new fan base.
Unlike his first head-coaching gig with the Bucks, where a .500 season was cause for celebration, Porter knows the expectation from "Planet Orange" is to win playoff series and even scores. The first questions at his introductory press conference came from Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, asking if (1) the Suns would win an NBA title this year or (2) at least beat the hated San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs.
Porter feels the Spurs owe him one, as well. San Antonio has won four of the last 10 NBA titles, including the year before (1999) and the year after (2003) he ended his 17-year playing career with three seasons as a Spur. Porter made it to the playoffs 16 times and played in 124 postseason games, including the NBA Finals in Portland (1990 and 1992), but never won it all.
"I can understand the fans' venom toward San Antonio and the Lakers. I played in the West long enough to know what the Spurs and the Lakers have been. They want what I want (to win a championship), so let's hope we all get there together."
