Gentry: "Tell Mike D'Antoni he's vindicated!'

[Joe Mama]

OK. Please stop the talk about defeating "an injury depleted team"

Golden State had the best record in the league. They reached the finals playing much more difficult series' than the Cavs and they were by far the better team. I believe they were the better team even if Love and Kyrie were playing. Love and Kyrie are poor defenders and Cleveland's defense is the only thing that kept them in this series at all. Cleveland had its best pg (LeBron) on the floor in this series.

The best player on the planet managed to play out of his mind and help the Cavs pull two games out of this series, but otherwise it wasnt close. GS won going away.

GS and Steve Kerr perfected what DAntoni started. DA had the right idea, but was too stubborn to make the small changes with defense and depth to push it into the mainstream of dominance. There is nothing wrong with Gentry giving a shout-out to DAntoni for his innovation. That does not mean he is praising everything about DAntoni.

I not only think the SSOL style of ball can win championships, it now has, and it will become the dominant style in the future. With the rules changes, big men will primarily be rim protectors and pick and roll partners. A premium is being placed on big men who can shoot.

This isn't opinion. Its fact.

I think we must have been watching two different NBA Finals. I came away much more impressed with Cleveland then I was with Golden State. I thought Golden State was going to sweep, especially when Irving went down. I loved watching that Golden State team play last year except that usually by some point in the third quarter they were just creaming their opponents.

That said, yes they played and Eastern Conference schedule, but didn't the Cleveland Cavaliers have the best record in the league after their big trade? Didn't Cleveland and Golden State split the regular-season record? Didn't Game 1 go into overtime in Golden State with Irving? Sure, he did not help their defense, but he gave Cleveland Cavaliers somebody else who could create some offense to lighten the burden on James.

Golden State had the one blowout, but I thought all the rest of the games were close. Down the stretch I felt like it wasn't even that Cleveland was missing those particular players (their second and third best players… All-Star caliber players). It was that it left them with a very weak bench. They were absolutely gassed in the last few games.

By the way, I would argue that Golden State a more difficult road, but remember that I think every one of their opponents in the playoffs was missing one or two starters. Like I said, I really appreciated the way that Golden State team played. I love Curry. They are second only to San Antonio (I know, sacrilege) in terms of just enjoying the way they play. They had remarkable health and some pretty decent luck along the way.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

D'Antoni is not vindicated at all.

GSW won this year because DA's former boss played a big part in developing two young players (Draymond and Barnes) when D'Antoni infamously once stated he doesn't develop players.

GSW won this year because DA's former boss developed a deep bench when DA would never play more than eight players.

GSW won this year because DA's former boss had a tremendous amount of fortune with injuries vs your standard DA team most likely due to the aforementioned bench thing.

GSW won this year because they implemented systems and plays from not only D'Antoni but other pace and space teams like the early 2000's Mavericks and Kings as well as Miami and San Antonio both of which have won rings playing smaller in the last five years.

I've never seen so much fawning over a guy who basically cost us a championship by refusing to listen to the guy (who is largely criticized here) that just won one in his first year as a head coach. And who's revolutionary system was based on one human being - Steve Nash. That Canadian is the one who should be praised if anyone, the guy most responsible for this title run (Steph Curry) has mimicked his game in so many fashions even before Gentry and Kerr got there.

 

[JustWinBaby]

D'Antoni is not vindicated at all.

GSW won this year because DA's former boss played a big part in developing two young players (Draymond and Barnes) when D'Antoni infamously once stated he doesn't develop players.

GSW won this year because DA's former boss developed a deep bench when DA would never play more than eight players.

GSW won this year because DA's former boss had a tremendous amount of fortune with injuries vs your standard DA team most likely due to the aforementioned bench thing.

GSW won this year because they implemented systems and plays from not only D'Antoni but other pace and space teams like the early 2000's Mavericks and Kings as well as Miami and San Antonio both of which have won rings playing smaller in the last five years.

I've never seen so much fawning over a guy who basically cost us a championship by refusing to listen to the guy (who is largely criticized here) that just won one in his first year as a head coach. And who's revolutionary system was based on one human being - Steve Nash. That Canadian is the one who should be praised if anyone, the guy most responsible for this title run (Steph Curry) has mimicked his game in so many fashions even before Gentry and Kerr got there.

It really is amazing how most everyone want to distort facts to fit their arguments. I know most of you love to blame D'Antoni for most everything that ever went wrong with the Phoenix Suns. That's your choice. He's been gone for I think 7 years now and still gets thrown under the buss for no real reason. It is really hard to understand why.

1. Kerr did not develop Green and Barnes and did not develop that bench in Golden State. Mark Jackson is responsible for developing just about all of those youngsters on the Golden State Roster. Kerr surely came in as a better communicator and along with Gentry developed an offensive system that everyone bought into. The GS GM also has done a fine job in putting together a deep and talented roster that allowed Kerr to play many different ways. Two of Kerr's 7 man playoff roster (Livingston and Barbosa0 were picked up this past off season.This is a team that played very good defense and was a work in progress on the offensive end even with Curry at the controls. This has been a team on the rise for awhile. Kerr did a fine job in making it all work. Hats off to their front office for keeping that group together.

2. Mike D'Antoni did not play his bench - that is just not true. I expect that if he had the bench Kerr had at his disposal the starters would have played fewer minutes and our defense would have been better. Virtually everyone on that GS roster is a good defender. They were good on defense before Kerr got there. As far a minutes go see the breakdown below and advise who MDA should have played more minutes.


14-15.............04/05..............05/06
Ctr - Bogut.......23.6......Amare....36.1......KT.........26.6
PF - Green........31.5......Marion....38.8......Marion...40.3
SF - Barnes.......28.3......Johnson..39.5......Diaw......35.5
SG - Thompson..31.9......QRich ....35.9......Bell........37.5
PG - Curry.........32.7......Nash......34.3....Nash........35.4
Bench
Iggy.................26.9......JJackson..24.9....Barbosa.....27.9
Livingston.........18.8......Jacobsen .19.2....TThomas....24.4
D Lee...............18.4.......Barbosa...17.3... JJones.......23.6
Speights...........15.9.......Hunter.....13.8....E House ....17.5
Barbosa............14.9.......McCarty....12.6....P Burke.....8.2
Ezeli ................11.0.......Voskul .......9.5.....
Holiday.............11.1

IMO 05/06 was really the beginning of the end. We lost BC because Sarver was unwilling to meet his demands which were as I remember minimal especially after earning executive of the year honors the year before. We replaced BC with D'Antoni on feb 06. That was a horrible move and if you want to beat up D'Antoni for being a poor GM I might board your wagon. However I repeat Sarver should never have made him GM.

When you look at the two Suns rosters above I get further infuriated that we did not utilize that #6 pick on Iggy. Our depth would have been dramatically improved along with our defense.

I also remember being disappointed that we did not resign TThomas after the 05/06 success he had in our sytem. I was really looking forward to him alongside a healthy Amare the next season.

Certainly D'Antoni deserves some of the blame for us never winning a championship but I think Robert Sarver and the front office did a piss poor job of providing the depth necessary to win a Championship. We were right there and all we needed was one or two more quality players added to the bench.

We continue to struggle to put together a quality roster and our future is really a big question mark. The one guy that is still here is Robert Sarver.

He dramatically impacted our inability to add the additional pieces when we were good and now has no clue as to how to turn the mess around.

 

[Phrazbit]

Those minute stats for D'Antoni's Suns are very disingenuous. Other than Barbosa and Hunter the rest of the bench didn't even play most nights. They may have "averaged" 13-24 minutes, but they also got a DNP more often than not. Even Barbosa had a long stretch in 05 when he was racking up DNPs in D'Antoni's doghouse.

In the playoffs in 04/05 we ran a 7 man rotation, that essentially became 6 when Johnson got hurt.

It took some digging but I found the stats...

Team bench minutes 2004/2005 season

Mike D's Suns, dead last. And that's despite frequently carrying huge garbage time leads.

http://stats.nba.com/league/team/#!...ular Season&StarterBench=Bench&sort=MIN&dir=1

The following season, after a year where he received heat for not having used his bench, he upped it to 4th to last!

http://stats.nba.com/league/team/#!...ular Season&StarterBench=Bench&sort=MIN&dir=1

2006/2007, back to dead last again in bench minutes:

http://stats.nba.com/league/team/#!...ular Season&StarterBench=Bench&sort=MIN&dir=1

2008, his final season, we were 3rd to last.

http://stats.nba.com/league/team/#!...ular Season&StarterBench=Bench&sort=MIN&dir=1

D'Antoni leaves, the Suns immediately jump waaaaay up in usage of the bench. His new club the Knicks immediately drop to the bottom 5 in bench minutes, where they would stay until D'Antoni got fired.

Any attempt to say D'Antoni played his bench spits in the face of reality. I have no idea how anyone could have watched the Suns back then and come away thinking D'Antoni made any use of his bench. Honestly, it blows my mind that anyone would make the claim.

He didn't. Mike D'Antoni has been consistent in ignoring and not developing his bench. The guy brought an innovative offensive system into the league, no one can deny that, but he was TERRIBLE at all the other aspects of coaching.

He is the NBA's version of Mike Martz.

 

[az jam]

Amazed at the criticism here on D'Antoni. IMO he brought us the most exciting basketball since the Barkley days. Games were sellouts and playoffs every year. Now, we are a dysfunctional organization. Who wants to go and watch the Morris twins commit technical fouls and fight with the coach. Free agents don't want to come here. I'll take the D'Antoni days over what we are now putting on the court. Just my two cents.

 

[GatorAZ]

They're being respectful to Mike D which is nice but he wasn't the first guy to play a small- ball up tempo lineup. Paul Westhead and Don Nelson were the pioneers.

 

[Joe Mama]

It really is amazing how most everyone want to distort facts to fit their arguments. I know most of you love to blame D'Antoni for most everything that ever went wrong with the Phoenix Suns. That's your choice. He's been gone for I think 7 years now and still gets thrown under the buss for no real reason. It is really hard to understand why.

1. Kerr did not develop Green and Barnes and did not develop that bench in Golden State. Mark Jackson is responsible for developing just about all of those youngsters on the Golden State Roster. Kerr surely came in as a better communicator and along with Gentry developed an offensive system that everyone bought into. The GS GM also has done a fine job in putting together a deep and talented roster that allowed Kerr to play many different ways. Two of Kerr's 7 man playoff roster (Livingston and Barbosa0 were picked up this past off season.This is a team that played very good defense and was a work in progress on the offensive end even with Curry at the controls. This has been a team on the rise for awhile. Kerr did a fine job in making it all work. Hats off to their front office for keeping that group together.

2. Mike D'Antoni did not play his bench - that is just not true. I expect that if he had the bench Kerr had at his disposal the starters would have played fewer minutes and our defense would have been better. Virtually everyone on that GS roster is a good defender. They were good on defense before Kerr got there. As far a minutes go see the breakdown below and advise who MDA should have played more minutes.


14-15.............04/05..............05/06
Ctr - Bogut.......23.6......Amare....36.1......KT.........26.6
PF - Green........31.5......Marion....38.8......Marion...40.3
SF - Barnes.......28.3......Johnson..39.5......Diaw......35.5
SG - Thompson..31.9......QRich ....35.9......Bell........37.5
PG - Curry.........32.7......Nash......34.3....Nash........35.4
Bench
Iggy.................26.9......JJackson..24.9....Barbosa.....27.9
Livingston.........18.8......Jacobsen .19.2....TThomas....24.4
D Lee...............18.4.......Barbosa...17.3... JJones.......23.6
Speights...........15.9.......Hunter.....13.8....E House ....17.5
Barbosa............14.9.......McCarty....12.6....P Burke.....8.2
Ezeli ................11.0.......Voskul .......9.5.....
Holiday.............11.1

IMO 05/06 was really the beginning of the end. We lost BC because Sarver was unwilling to meet his demands which were as I remember minimal especially after earning executive of the year honors the year before. We replaced BC with D'Antoni on feb 06. That was a horrible move and if you want to beat up D'Antoni for being a poor GM I might board your wagon. However I repeat Sarver should never have made him GM.

When you look at the two Suns rosters above I get further infuriated that we did not utilize that #6 pick on Iggy. Our depth would have been dramatically improved along with our defense.

I also remember being disappointed that we did not resign TThomas after the 05/06 success he had in our sytem. I was really looking forward to him alongside a healthy Amare the next season.

Certainly D'Antoni deserves some of the blame for us never winning a championship but I think Robert Sarver and the front office did a piss poor job of providing the depth necessary to win a Championship. We were right there and all we needed was one or two more quality players added to the bench.

We continue to struggle to put together a quality roster and our future is really a big question mark. The one guy that is still here is Robert Sarver.

He dramatically impacted our inability to add the additional pieces when we were good and now has no clue as to how to turn the mess around.

I agree with you regarding Steve Kerr. I thought he did a great job, but it's not like he took a bad team and made them great. IIRC their only injury problems gave Green a bigger part which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

You are looking at the wrong minutes. Look at the starters minutes. Those other kind of minutes you play your starters during the playoffs when you don't trust your bench. You're better off just losing a few games if that's what it takes rather than run your starters into the ground for 82 games. The minute Gentry took over we had one of the better benches in the NBA and as I remember it we didn't have the most obvious talent there.

By the way, who was the GM who traded that draft pick that should have been Andre Iguodala or Deng?

Joe

 

[Covert Rain]

Amazed at the criticism here on D'Antoni. IMO he brought us the most exciting basketball since the Barkley days. Games were sellouts and playoffs every year. Now, we are a dysfunctional organization. Who wants to go and watch the Morris twins commit technical fouls and fight with the coach. Free agents don't want to come here. I'll take the D'Antoni days over what we are now putting on the court. Just my two cents.

It's amazing you don't think he deserves every bit of it. If I wanted pure entertainment I would watch wrestling. The goal is a title. Anything short of it has to be viewed as a fail or this franchise will never win one.

 

[sunsfan88]

Props to Gentry for still being able to slam it a little

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/blogs/...iors-practice--is-60-years-old-063717470.html

 

[JustWinBaby]

Amazed at the criticism here on D'Antoni. IMO he brought us the most exciting basketball since the Barkley days. Games were sellouts and playoffs every year. Now, we are a dysfunctional organization. Who wants to go and watch the Morris twins commit technical fouls and fight with the coach. Free agents don't want to come here. I'll take the D'Antoni days over what we are now putting on the court. Just my two cents.

I am amazed as well.

It is hopeless to have a sane discussion regarding D'Antoni. He has been poisoned with bad information by people making up the same incorrect story to fit their argument that somehow has become fact.

The comparisons I did was to point out one fact, he did not have a bench when he was coach in Phoenix, at least not nearly as talented as the one Kerr had this year in GS. That is clear as day when you look at the players Mike had available versus what Kerr had available this year. If any of you think the bench Mike had available was anywhere near as talented as the GS bench was this year, you need help.

The real comparison, most knowledgeable reporters are making, is that Kerr has mentioned several times is that his goal was to play his best 5 players no matter of position. Mike made that proclamation as well. In that first year he did not know who to play. Should he play Johnson or Richardson at the two. He decided to play both and make Amare the center. That is exactly what Kerr did after they were down 2 to 1 versus the Cavs. He basically only played 7 players in the last three games of that series and they are Champions, the biggest guy being 6'7". The 2 guys coming off the bench were guards Barbosa and Livingston. Kerr played his best players.

I know this will be torn apart by the haters, so be it.

The other fact that I have tried to make is that we have only made the playoffs once since Mike has left town. That was the year we went back to his system coached by his lead assistant. That team went the WCF.

AZ Jam as you and I suggest I have no idea why Mike gets so much bad press. Especially with the current state of the Phoenix Suns.

Mike is long gone and we now have unwatchable basketball and players to follow in the Valley of the Sun. I guess that is Mike's fault as well.

 

[Covert Rain]

Hilariously apologetic post. D'Antoni has coached 6 seasons post Nash. Won zero playoff games, posted .420 and .435 win loss record while dismantling defense in both post Nash stops.

I think we all know what we need to know about D'Antoni and his coaching prowess. We did what we did despite D'Antoni and caught a bit of lightning in a bottle. He gets credit for recognizing what he had in Nash and trying to maximize it but the rest of his coaching left a TON to be desired. The fact that we have not done well since he left means squat. If he was still here today we wouldn't still be in the same boat with roster turnover (do to an aging team) etc.

There are plenty of example of coaches being loaded with talent that go somewhere only to be exposed once that talent is no longer around. Westy looked like a world beater for awhile too.

He has been poisoned with bad information by people making up the same incorrect story to fit their argument that somehow has become fact.

Care to back that up? Plenty of us have posted a mountain of evidence using stats and other stuff in the past to back up claims on D'Antoni. Sounds like you just conveniently ignored that stuff and did exactly what you just accused others of doing and "made up" some stuff.

 

[Phrazbit]

I am amazed as well.

It is hopeless to have a sane discussion regarding D'Antoni. He has been poisoned with bad information by people making up the same incorrect story to fit their argument that somehow has become fact.

The comparisons I did was to point out one fact, he did not have a bench when he was coach in Phoenix, at least not nearly as talented as the one Kerr had this year in GS. That is clear as day when you look at the players Mike had available versus what Kerr had available this year. If any of you think the bench Mike had available was anywhere near as talented as the GS bench was this year, you need help.

The real comparison, most knowledgeable reporters are making, is that Kerr has mentioned several times is that his goal was to play his best 5 players no matter of position. Mike made that proclamation as well. In that first year he did not know who to play. Should he play Johnson or Richardson at the two. He decided to play both and make Amare the center. That is exactly what Kerr did after they were down 2 to 1 versus the Cavs. He basically only played 7 players in the last three games of that series and they are Champions, the biggest guy being 6'7". The 2 guys coming off the bench were guards Barbosa and Livingston. Kerr played his best players.

I know this will be torn apart by the haters, so be it.

The other fact that I have tried to make is that we have only made the playoffs once since Mike has left town. That was the year we went back to his system coached by his lead assistant. That team went the WCF.

AZ Jam as you and I suggest I have no idea why Mike gets so much bad press. Especially with the current state of the Phoenix Suns.

Mike is long gone and we now have unwatchable basketball and players to follow in the Valley of the Sun. I guess that is Mike's fault as well.

The stats don't lie. Mike NEVER used his bench. Phoenix, NY, LA, he was consistently in the bottom 5 teams in the league in bench minutes.

No one is claiming we had an amazing bench, but good coaches make use of what they have and its impossible to know if our bench had any quality when Mike would never use them, especially not with any consistency. You can rattle off names and point out how those guys never went onto do anything, but that is true for virtually every bench. They have one or 2 guys who have talent and the rest are there to soak up minutes. And in Mike's case he would even ignore the talented guys on occasion, such as when Barbosa ended up in D'Antoni's dog house and racked up DNPs.

Mike brought an innovative offensive system that changed the league, I won't deny that. But at all the other aspects of coaching he was freaking terrible, and the evidence overwhelmingly backs that up.

 

[JustWinBaby]

Amazing

 

[az jam]

Amazing

Yep, its all Mike's fault.

 

[mojorizen7]

Amazing

Once you pop, you can't stop.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Phrazbit]

Amazing

I don't know what you want me to say. I linked the stats. From 2004/2005 in Phoenix straight to the Lakers Mike D'Antoni's teams were in the bottom 5 in bench usage every single season.

If you want to blame it on the quality of players, fine, but IMO its really far fetched that for nearly a decade and with 3 different franchises this guy couldn't find more than a couple reserves worth putting on the floor per season.

 

[JustWinBaby]

I don't know what you want me to say. I linked the stats. From 2004/2005 in Phoenix straight to the Lakers Mike D'Antoni's teams were in the bottom 5 in bench usage every single season.

If you want to blame it on the quality of players, fine, but IMO its really far fetched that for nearly a decade and with 3 different franchises this guy couldn't find more than a couple reserves worth putting on the floor per season.

Look at the players that were at his disposal in all stops. No just the minutes the bench played.

Most of them could not play in the local YMCA. For god's sake he tried to Make Pat Burke a player and all Burke wanted to do was jack up dumb shots when given and opportunity. Most along with cringed when he used the bench. A lot of fans could not stand James Jones and he was one of our most important subs in the day. I honestly do not remember that the minutes he played the starters every really affecting their play during the season or playoffs. We surely could have used more contributors but our bench was a pretty sad bunch. We had some extremely destructive injuries but none were related to too many minutes, as I remember.

In New York he joined a team dumping payroll at any cost in the attempt to get Lebron in the Summer of 2010. Lebron chose Miami and they overpaid for a broken down Amare. They had good success for awhile with Felton as his PG. He got Shumpert's career off to a great start and got great production from Chandler, Galarnari, Mosgov and Landry Fields. Dolan then traded all of them for Carmelo and Billups. They made the playoffs but I believe both Amare and Billups went down. I think Tony Douglas was the Point guard. Tell me who was left on the bench to play. The next season Mike could no longer coach Melo, who can. He told Dolan to trade Melo or he was gone. Mike left .

In Los Angeles he inherited another mess. I so wish Jackson would have got that job. Unfortunately I think Nash might have convinced Mike to join the Lakers. Nash was injured most of the season and Kobe was not willing to share the spotlight with anyone. Basically Kobe froze out Nash, D'Antoni and Howard. It was Kobe and Gasol against everyone else. Everyone says Howard left because of MIke. I am not buying that. I think he left because he wanted no part of Kobe or Gasol. Take a gander at the bench he had that year as well.

Mike should have never taken either of those jobs.

He should have waited for a spot like Kerr fell into. With that roster I expect MIke would have had similar success this year. If he would got there on the ground floor, when the Warriors acquired Curry and Thompson. They would have been a factor prior to this season. While I think Jackson did a good job of teaching that group how to play defense I think the real key is their GM. He has done a fantastic job in giving Kerr an unbelievably balanced roster. The acquisitons of Iggy, Bogut, Barbosa and Livingston make that team.

What really gets me is how Magic Johnson bashed D'Antoni as the worst coach in Lakers history, after last season. Yet his butt buddy Byron Scott wins 21 games and by all accounts he did a good job.

I miss watching the style of basketball that was played during his time here.

Mike is long gone however the one constant is still here, Robert Sarver.

We suck worse than ever and I blame that entirely on him. I also blame him for not acquiring the additional pieces we could have really used in the day.

I just believe gets far more blame than he deserves.

 

[Phrazbit]

I don't think Mike would have won with the Warriors. Kerr ressurected Livingston and Barbosa from the dead, he gave Marreese Speights 16 minutes a game. These are the exact kind of guys that if they were on Mike D'Antoni's team and never seeing the court they would be characterized as scrubs not worth using. Mike D'Antoni never made adjustments, he would have ran into a team like the Grizzlies and his squad would have gotten bounced as he failed to change anything about his strategy.

I just don't buy that he could go basically his entire coaching career without making use of his bench and it was entirely because he somehow never had a bench worth using. Good coaches make use of what they have on hand, where Mike wouldn't even try to use guys on his bench, even when injuries virtually demanded it, instead he would drop to 7 man rotations, at one point vs the Mavs in the playoffs he dropped to essentially a 6 man squad. Its inexcusable.

The guy revolutionized NBA offense, I won't deny that. The league is switching to a much more attrative brand of basketball and he played a large part in that. But overall as a head coach he was dreadful.

 

[az jam]

Look at the players that were at his disposal in all stops. No just the minutes the bench played.

Most of them could not play in the local YMCA. For god's sake he tried to Make Pat Burke a player and all Burke wanted to do was jack up dumb shots when given and opportunity. Most along with cringed when he used the bench. A lot of fans could not stand James Jones and he was one of our most important subs in the day. I honestly do not remember that the minutes he played the starters every really affecting their play during the season or playoffs. We surely could have used more contributors but our bench was a pretty sad bunch. We had some extremely destructive injuries but none were related to too many minutes, as I remember.

In New York he joined a team dumping payroll at any cost in the attempt to get Lebron in the Summer of 2010. Lebron chose Miami and they overpaid for a broken down Amare. They had good success for awhile with Felton as his PG. He got Shumpert's career off to a great start and got great production from Chandler, Galarnari, Mosgov and Landry Fields. Dolan then traded all of them for Carmelo and Billups. They made the playoffs but I believe both Amare and Billups went down. I think Tony Douglas was the Point guard. Tell me who was left on the bench to play. The next season Mike could no longer coach Melo, who can. He told Dolan to trade Melo or he was gone. Mike left .

In Los Angeles he inherited another mess. I so wish Jackson would have got that job. Unfortunately I think Nash might have convinced Mike to join the Lakers. Nash was injured most of the season and Kobe was not willing to share the spotlight with anyone. Basically Kobe froze out Nash, D'Antoni and Howard. It was Kobe and Gasol against everyone else. Everyone says Howard left because of MIke. I am not buying that. I think he left because he wanted no part of Kobe or Gasol. Take a gander at the bench he had that year as well.

Mike should have never taken either of those jobs.

He should have waited for a spot like Kerr fell into. With that roster I expect MIke would have had similar success this year. If he would got there on the ground floor, when the Warriors acquired Curry and Thompson. They would have been a factor prior to this season. While I think Jackson did a good job of teaching that group how to play defense I think the real key is their GM. He has done a fantastic job in giving Kerr an unbelievably balanced roster. The acquisitons of Iggy, Bogut, Barbosa and Livingston make that team.

What really gets me is how Magic Johnson bashed D'Antoni as the worst coach in Lakers history, after last season. Yet his butt buddy Byron Scott wins 21 games and by all accounts he did a good job.

I miss watching the style of basketball that was played during his time here.

Mike is long gone however the one constant is still here, Robert Sarver.

We suck worse than ever and I blame that entirely on him. I also blame him for not acquiring the additional pieces we could have really used in the day.

I just believe gets far more blame than he deserves.

Excellent update. You are stating the facts on the issues that Mike had in New York and with the Lakers. Additionally, he wanted out of LA after owner Jerry Buss passed away and the chaos that was there with his (Buss) children fighting with each other while trying to run the team.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Mike DAntoni CHOSE not to play his bench. I appreciate what he did here, but his rotation was a choice. He had decent players on the bench, especially on the early years.

 

[Covert Rain]

Amazing

Yes your post is truly amazing. You didn't back up your accusation of fans making stuff up one bit. Not to mention you ignore his track record since he left here. On one hand you accuse fans of putting to much blame on D'Antoni but then you turn around and excuse him for everything. You do see the irony right?

Mike DAntoni CHOSE not to play his bench. I appreciate what he did here, but his rotation was a choice. He had decent players on the bench, especially on the early years.

Not only that but his stubborn refusal to put more emphasis on defense, his inability to make in game adjustments or how about things like going to the same high post pick and roll over and over and over after the other team shut it down repeatedly?!?! The list goes on and on.

 

[JustWinBaby]

Excellent update. You are stating the facts on the issues that Mike had in New York and with the Lakers. Additionally, he wanted out of LA after owner Jerry Buss passed away and the chaos that was there with his (Buss) children fighting with each other while trying to run the team.

Thanks AZ

It is amazing how many folks have blinders on in regards to MDA. His real downfall was going to the Knicks and the Lakers. That should have never happened. If you want to blame him then blame him for leaving. I prefer to blame Sarver due to the toxic environment Sarver has created since he became owner.

It is so obvious who was and is the biggest problem for your Phoenix Suns, Robert Sarver. Somehow the blame for most all or our failures are spun in a different direction. That is the most amazing issue.

All you need to look at is his handling of Steve Kerr. Sarver and Kerr had a relationship going back to U of A. Steve even bought a small piece of the Suns, so he was a part owner. I expected that to be a long lasting relationship that would finally return a championship. Sarver reportedly short changed Kerr on his contract so he left town similar to BC's departure. Kerr was replaced by Babby and he is still around as a consultant. I remember that he was bragging last summer about what a great contract we had just agreed to with the Morris twins. How happy are any of you that they are even on the roster at this point? I would have fired Babby long ago. If you agree differently you really have no clue. Babby has been a disaster. Why in the world is he still around?

What is so hard to understand? Sarver has short changed this franchise on all fronts. He is the problem and has been. When he has spent money he generally has spent it on the wrong players, especially post D'Antoni.

You all can give up trying to change my mind because I am right. MDA had no bench when he was coach of the Suns, Knicks and Lakers. The ownership and state of the franchise at the time he was coach for these teams had more to do with his playing time decisions than anything else.

I expect that if Jerry Buss were still alive Mike would still be the head coach of the Lakers, while being a factor in the Western Conference.

 

[Covert Rain]

It is amazing how many folks have blinders on in regards to MDA. His real downfall was going to the Knicks and the Lakers. That should have never happened. If you want to blame him then blame him for leaving. I prefer to blame Sarver due to the toxic environment Sarver has created since he became owner.

Yes it is amazing. I think you just are wrong about WHO has the blinders on regarding D'Antoni. The proof is in the pudding in regards to his accolades since he left. His downfall wasn't the teams he chose. His ego and sense of self importance was.

It is so obvious who was and is the biggest problem for your Phoenix Suns, Robert Sarver. Somehow the blame for most all or our failures are spun in a different direction. That is the most amazing issue.

Sarver has been a huge problem. No argument there. However, your making stuff up again. Nobody is saying D'Antoni was the main problem. You keep making these claims about fans but can't back any of them up.

What is so hard to understand? Sarver has short changed this franchise on all fronts. He is the problem and has been. When he has spent money he generally has spent it on the wrong players, especially post D'Antoni.

Who is exactly arguing this point? I don't see anybody arguing your points on Sarver. However, you seem to feel that evaluating both Sarver and D'Antoni separately are somehow impossible.

You all can give up trying to change my mind because I am right.

Can't the rest of us say the same about you? You being a huge D'Antoni apologist....even to an irrational level isn't going to change minds either. I guess as long as in your own mind you "FEEL" like your right that's all that matters.

I expect that if Jerry Buss were still alive Mike would still be the head coach of the Lakers, while being a factor in the Western Conference.

Ha! Now that is funny. Care to put a wager on Mike D'Antoni ever being a huge factor in the league ever again?

 

[Phrazbit]

The repeated assertion that over a DECADE Mike NEVER had a bench is absolutely laughable.

 

[Bert]

The Suns were the best/2nd best defensive team under Mike D'Antoni when Kurt Thomas was healthy.

just fyi since you obviously ignore that

I am confused though, didnt sunsfan88 continually cry that Mike D'Antoni style and run and gun does not work?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHO/2006.html

I'm trying to figure out what stat you are looking at during this season where KT played 50+ games and we were the best defensive team in the NBA. Not an attack, just a question.