Shocker- Phoenix fires Mike D'antoni

[Coach34]

Wonder if they will try to hire Pat Riley? He likes coaching old, veteran teams

 

[dogfan96]

it had been widely speculated that he was gone if they went out in the 1st round or didn't at least push San Antonio to the limit. Avery Johnson probably won't be far behind him in the unemployment line.

 

[Coach34]

shocker was meant in a smartass way. And yes, im sure Avery is right behind him.

 

[seshomoru]

General Managing 101: Handcuff your coach with a horrible trade, then fire him when he doesn't turn **** into gold.

 

[dawgstudent]

I think his window of opportunity closed last year and the Suns knew they weren't getting any farther with the same lineup this year. I like that Kerr tried something. Unfortunately it did not work and with that same lineup as last year, they would have not made the finals.

 

[dogfan96]

and the longer Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire had to share the same lockerroom, the worse it was gonna get. They had to move either Marion or Amare and they took a gamble on Shaq. It didn't work this year but I'm not convinced that it can't still work out.
They have to make a commitment to the defensive end though, although I'm not quite sure how they do that with Steve Nash at the point. He's only getting older and he can't do anything with the likes of Tony Parker, Deron Williams, or Chris Paul.. and those are the guys they're gonna have to beat to get to the championship level. Amare has gotta work on more than just his offensive game every year too. He doesn't defend or rebound nearly as well as he should for a guy with his size and athletic ability.

 

[dawgstudent]

He is scary good.

 

[seshomoru]

He appears to have made that move to simply make a big move in his first year. Yeah, he tried something, but what exactly was he trying to do? "Here you go Mike, this guy in no way fits into the scheme that has won 50 games four years in a row and made it to the conference finals twice. Do what you can with an old, slow, coming off an injury center that can't shoot free throws."

Looking back, the Grant Hill signing wasn't a good move either. It was another aging, oft-injured guy who happened to cut into Diaw's minutes and starting role. Kerr is 0-2, maybe he should stop trying to do something.</p>

 

[seshomoru]

just looking into the future

 

[dogfan96]

although I see him as the kind of guy that would wanna play for one franchise his whole career (or at least try to). I don't think it's gonna work out with Andrew Bynum in LA and it's really a shame because it seemed like he was coming into his own. Two serious knee injuries (one to each knee) will be hard to overcome.

 

[dogfan96]

like I said, either Marion or Amare HAD to go. Marion was really jealous of Amare and his role on the team. That situation was gonna boil over sooner than later. Diaw also needed to be pushed bc he got fat and happy after he got his new contract and he wasn't nearly as good last year as he had been previously. I don't think Kerr made the moves just to make a move. He knew the Marion situation had to be resolved and so he took a gamble on Shaq.

 

[dawgstudent]

[No message]

 

[seshomoru]

There were many other teams that would have taken Marion. Hell, even if he just got draft picks. Minus Marion + no one is greater than minus Marion plus Shaq.

 

[seshomoru]

Ok, not that bad.

 

[dawgstudent]

if he didn't go to State. I still think I can take him one on one.

 

[dogfan96]

they needed to shore up their defensive backboards (and Shaq has done a good job there in limited minutes) and they needed a defensive presence in the middle (Shaq did a good job on Duncan after game 1 where he was saddled with foul trouble the whole game).
However, Shaq doesn't do a good job on the pick and roll.. couple that with Steve Nash not being able to guard any of the better point guards in the West and you have a problem. It was a good move putting Diaw and Hill on Tony Parker but it happened too late and truthfully they can only do a better job than Nash.. but they still can't stop him from getting where he wants to go on the floor. The other problem is hack-a-Shaq, which I hope the league somehow finds a way to stop. The game gets boring when you run offense on one end, then just foul on purpose on the defensive end. I understand the strategy but it makes the game less enjoyable to watch.

 

[seshomoru]

future Grizzlies pick, Brook Lopez. Or is Robin the "good" one? I don't know. What I do know is that we have a potential Shawn Bradley situation less about 5 inches. It's going to be blissfully wretched.

 

[seshomoru]

when he makes his free throws. ****, he's been in the league long enough to not totally suck at them.

 

[Irondawg]

It wasn't a bad move if you look at the series as a whole. The problem is that in games 1 & 5 the Suns struggled with execution in the 4th quarter - mostly b/c SA really picked up their defense. Bowen really kept Nash in check the whole series.

The only problem with Shaq is his free throws and the hack-a-Shaq worked in not only keeping PHX from scoring, but also keeping them from getting any rhythm on the offensive end. I will never for the life of me know how a elite player like Shaq wouldn't be so ashamed at his FT shooting that he would work endlessly on it. To me that says all I need to know about him.

I remember hearing a story that early in Shaq's career, Rick Barry tried to get him to shoot underhanded to force arc and rotation on the ball. Shaq thought he'd look stupid. Honestly I'm not sure how much more stupid that would look that his current FT form.

 

[dogfan96]

I actually watched a few Stanford games and the "good" one is a really good player. He's not gonna be a superstar but I think he'll be a good bet to give you a double-double every night and they both obviously bring size to the party and they play hard. The "other" one should be a good defense, rebounding, energy type role player.

 

[Bulldoghair]

they needed to shore up their defensive backboards (and Shaq has done a good job there in limited minutes) and they needed a defensive presence in the middle (Shaq did a good job on Duncan after game 1 where he was saddled with foul trouble the whole game).
However, Shaq doesn't do a good job on the pick and roll.. couple that with Steve Nash not being able to guard any of the better point guards in the West and you have a problem. It was a good move putting Diaw and Hill on Tony Parker but it happened too late and truthfully they can only do a better job than Nash.. but they still can't stop him from getting where he wants to go on the floor. The other problem is hack-a-Shaq, which I hope the league somehow finds a way to stop. The game gets boring when you run offense on one end, then just foul on purpose on the defensive end. I understand the strategy but it makes the game less enjoyable to watch.

so what the league should start fining shaq because he is such a terrible free throw shooter? or even kick him out?</p>