What do we hope for from Mike D' ?

[Errntknght]

Yeah, what he said to the press is best forgotten so what kind of things do we hope to see him do? The schedule is tough and we're short handed so we can't reasonably expect to see lots of wins near term. But there are lots of changes that indicate progress...

The first thing I'm going to look for is a significant improvement in our dealing with zones. As a coach in Europe he should have thought about this a good bit already. (I'm not going to worry about the question of why Frank didn't take advantage of it if D'A knew anything.)

Secondly, I want him to change Marion's game. He's been more less of a secondary SG this year and much of last year and I'd like to see that change. I don't think Shawn has the handle or the slick moves in traffic to post up much. As far as I can see that just leaves the baseline and as I've said many times, I think that he's well suited to that. He could be craftier but his physical skills are right. Working the baseline would put him in position for more offensive rebounds, which we'd all applaud, I'm sure.

Another thing I'll be looking for is better execution of our pick and roll. In fact, I'd love to see us run more options off the high screen - including using it as a decoy. When other teams aren't zoning and we set up for that they start altering their whole defense to cope with it. To run it every time we set up for it is playing right into their hands.

Okay, guys the floor is open for constructive ideas!

 

[slinslin]

To be replaced by a real coach as soon as possible.

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by slinslin
To be replaced by a real coach as soon as possible.

Yes, that is exactly the kind of constructive idea he was looking for.

Supposedly D'Antoni does not specialize in defenses, but he has got to do something about it. As bad as their offense has been the last couple games and defense has been even worse. They let some teams that have had a terrible time putting points on the board light them up. I think it starts with getting rid of double teaming every time down the floor. I'm not saying they need to get rid of their scrambling defense altogether, but I don't want to see it on every time on the defensive end.

IMO the offense looked fantastic the last couple games until the opponent went to the zone. That doesn't seem to be the problem.

Joe Mama

 

[slinslin]

If he specialises in offense, will we see his "motion offense" return? That worked out fantastic.

 

[SweetD]

Personal I would like to see the Suns get their hands up on D and stop letting the cutter get to the basket. On Offense I would like to see some double screens with the cutter coming from the weakside of the zone coming across the baseline and forcing the D to move from a zone into man on man.

 

[jbeecham]

Double teaming on defense should only be reserved for the top low post players in the league like Duncan, Garnett, O'neal, etc. I realize that double teaming a bad player can cause a turnover or run down the shot clock like it did against Minnesota when their backup PG was in the game, but eventually teams will find a way to exploit it if you do it every time. Also, the Suns should always play with the fire and intensity like they're down 20+ pts even when they are winning. Go for the Jugular!

Offensively I want to see actual plays run more often instead of everyone standing around the 3pt line waiting for Steph to drive and dish. I want to see guys cutting to the hoop when their man leaves to double team someone else instead of just standing on the 3pt line. I want to see them get better shots closer to the basket and to continue to do that for the entire game. I want to see movement and down screens along the baseline to get guys close shots, especially Shawn and Amare but even our centers could take advantage of this because teams wouldn't expect our centers to be coming off of screens. The opposing teams centers might get into foul trouble by running over our screeners.

 

[Errntknght]

Slinsliln, "If he specialises in offense, will we see his "motion offense" return? That worked out fantastic."

I'm wondering what style of offense D' favors... one article I read said he liked uptempo games with lots of pick and rolls in the half court. That sounds pretty close to what FJ was trying to do this year. Now traditional 'motion' offenses don't use the pick and roll much but, sttill I supoose it's possible the 'motion' last year was Mike's baby... I was pretty sure FJ didn't have much experience with it.

It's funny, back when Ainge went to the motion offense I wondered if it might have been Skiles who talked him into it, knowing Danny would be lost at sea... you know a clever way to undermine the guy who's job you want while appearing to help him. Could we have had two minor league Machiavellis both using the same plot?


Joe, "Supposedly D'Antoni does not specialize in defenses"

This scares me... do we have any coach that knows or cares much about defense - team defense, I mean?

I keep telling myself we can't rush to judgement on our new head coach but I'm getting a queasy feeling. D'Antoni... run and gun... the old Denver regime... the Italian connection with the Colangeli - also partial to the run and gun. Did they bring him here to be groomed as the head coach? Under FJ? Tell me that is too much of a farce...

 

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by slinslin
To be replaced by a real coach as soon as possible.

You mean like Eddie Johnson?

 

[Suns_fan69]

Originally posted by Errntknght
This scares me... do we have any coach that knows or cares much about defense - team defense, I mean?

Well, Skiles was a defensive minded coach (I guess technically he still is) but no one was sad to see him go. Even though defense wins championships, I don't really mind an offensive minded coach as long as he also instills some basic defensive fundamentals. It doesn't have to be complex but as long as they can keep the guys in front of them and clear the boards (2 things that we've been terrible at this year) then I'll be happy.

 

[frdbtr]

I thought that the suns hired Gurgerich (sp?) for his defense. Wasn't he the same guy that created the trapping defenses that made the Sonics famous a few years ago?

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Originally posted by Chaplin
You mean like Eddie Johnson?

Eddie is too valuable in the broadcast booth. Losing his broadcasting flair would be like losing Brenly in the booth, the guys are definitely two of my favorite broadcasters in recent memory.

 

[George O'Brien]

I am convinced the Suns would be better off if they just focused on playing man defense and only doubled low post super stars.

Defense is always about staying between the offensive player and the basket - which means moving their feet and always doubling the ball leaves someone open to cut to to the basket or taken an open jump shot. Trying to double the ball against teams that pass will wear the defenders out pretty quickly.

Another advantage to straight up defense is that if the defender is between his player and the basket, he is in a much better position to block out on the rebound than after trapping or when in a zone. After giving up 19 second chance points to the Hornets, this is no small issue.

 

[JJ Slim]

Originally posted by Chaplin
You mean like Eddie Johnson?

This just backs up your sarcasm. From JC on the Talk to the Suns program the day of the coaching change:

Caller (Mike, Phoenix): The best coach could ever have is Eddie Johnson and I never hear his name brought up.

Colangelo: Eddie’s never coached, think about that. He was a player, he’s now a commentator. He’s never really coached. That’s not to say he might not be an excellent coach, but that’s not where we are as a team. We’re a young team with young talent and you have to really go to a coach who has real experience. We think that D’Antoni, with some NBA experience, but tremendous experience and success over in Europe in a highly competitive league. And I happen to believe is a guy who has a very good feel for the game and I think will be well respected by the players, was the right guy for this situation at this time.

 

[Chaplin]

Boo Yaa!