I hope my fellow Suns fans can forgive me for being quite antagonistic towards Mike D'Antoni in the last few days, even before the commencement of the monumental Western Conference Semifinal series versus the venerable San Antonio Spurs. After all, my sentiments of anger and confusion towards the former NBA Coach of the Year served the dual purpose of dampening the positive aura shrouding the squad after a resounding quarterfinal victory over the hated Lakers, while also introducing negative feelings, always simmering below the surface within a typical Suns fan when these two squads meet, prior to the first tip of the forthcoming semifinal series. Alas, obviously, I am hardly an important figure within the Suns' fan cabal, but I (in a typical manifestation of the Freudian concept of "Super Ego") nevertheless believe, that my knowledge of basketball allows my feelings on the Suns to be representative of the entire fan constituency. Nevertheless, I have to offer my sincere apologies for prematurely staining the Suns mood.
But, realistically, how can you blame me for being pessimistic about the forthcoming series? In everyday life, I am a cynic, admittedly one of an undue nature at certain times. However, if one deliberates on the recent clashes between Phoenix and San Antonio, from both a quantitative and qualitative perspective, the bleak picture that emerges generally engenders an outlook that is closely aligned with mine.
So, given the fact that the Suns have compiled an ignominious 4-11 record during the Nash era, playoffs sadly included, ( that's the quantitative part) coupled with numerous instances of Suns players admitting in interviews that San Antonio "demoralizes" them because the Spurs are the only squad that impedes, successfully, the Suns' patented style (and there is a qualitative example), I was rightfully incensed after D'Antoni started to shoot off his mouth in the days leading up to Sunday's Game 1.
His comments, for those of you unfamiliar, and I am essentially paraphrasing here, were something to the effect of "We (the Suns) know we have far more talent individually than Popovich's squad, they just happen to play better as a team presently."
Wow. This is the one instance where the Suns coach does not need to serve up, on a silver platter, some bulletin board material for the opponent. Sure, he tries to backtrack slightly by throwing San Antonio the proverbial bone with the "They are a better team presently" comment, but the damage had already been done. Frankly, that attempt to offer San Antonio the olive branch came across as decidedly disingenuous. Furthermore, though the Spurs' poise and unflappable demeanor in pressurized situations is already renowned, they are hardly immune to provocation at the hands of the opposing coach. Therein lies the genius of the Spurs: they are impervious to rattle (except maybe during the waning moments of regulation during Game 7 of the 2006 West Semifinals against Dallas), while simultaneously adroit enough to utilize any provocation from the opponent as positive motivation.
Fast forward to early Tuesday evening, hours before Game 2 is set to tip from US Airways center. Combine D'Antoni's idiotic prognostications about the talent disparity between the two teams before the series begun with his inexplicable schematic errors in judgement in the Game 1 defeat (benching Kurt Thomas for large swaths of the game, placing Steve Nash on the whirling dervish Tony Parker to begin the third quarter), and needless to say, I was quite incensed with the Suns coach.
Then, finally, a mere four hours later after Game 2, not only did the Suns players perhaps finally hurdle that seemingly insurmountable obstacle known as the San Antonio Spurs, but almost as importantly, so did their beleaguered coach.
D'Antoni, particularly in the last three years, has compiled an illustrious resume at the helm of the Suns. He has won a Coach of the Year, been the subject of a bestselling expose penned by a respected writer, and generally attributed to be the architect of a fast-paced, exciting brand of basketball that has reinvigorated both the NBA's diverse fan base, but also the disparate group of companies that sponsor basketball on television.
Despite this, D'Antoni has yet to ascend to the immortal echelon reserved for coaches who have led their teams to a championship. The San Antonio Spurs are largely responsible for this prominent deficiency in Mike's curriculum vitae, if you will, to this point. Yes, the Dallas Mavericks were responsible for eliminating Nash's gang in 2006. But, as team insiders will verify, this squad, through the myriad of injuries to Bell, Thomas, and Amare coupled with exhausting 7 game series versus the Clippers and Lakers, was essentially facing perilously long odds, regardless of their opponent in the 2006 Western Conference finals.
In reality, San Antonio has been the defensive monolith that has impeded the Suns championship aspirations, particularly during the run n' gun era instituted by D'Antoni in his three year tenure in Phoenix. Starting with the 2005 demolition, in a series where the lone Suns win was achieved only after a highly questionable non-goaltending call against Amare with precious seconds remaining, the Spurs' have been the proverbial thorn in the Suns' side. (no really bad pun intended, I promise) The Spurs, though known for their defensive prowess, have countered the Suns offensive onslaught, as evidenced by their 111 point performance in Game 1 of this series, throughout the years, and that has been the main reason for their 12-5 record against Phoenix in the Nash era. Furthermore, D'Antoni had largely been responsible for the Suns ineffectiveness, with his fundamental refusal to alter the Suns' game plan to rebut the litany of adjustments Popovich has made time and time again.
Then came Tuesday night.
By finally quelling his own personal hubris, which manifested itself in a painfully obvious way when he petulantly refused to pull James Jones' from the starting lineup despite his ineffectiveness, D'Antoni may have finally realized that his patented frenetic, awe-inducing style is not above reproach, or at the very least, alteration. In stifling his ego through inserting defensive stalwart Kurt Thomas in to the starting lineup, even at the expense of offensive fluidity, D'Antoni has shown signs that he is finally cognizant of the necessity of adjustments en route to a title chase.
Certainly, the bold move by the Suns boss has yet to atone for his rigidity in past playoff series. However, for at least the 48 minutes of perfect basketball (on both ends of the floor) played by Phoenix on Tuesday night, Mike D'Antoni has proven that he is beholden to the best interests of the team, not those that conform with furthering his quintessential basketball philosophy.
Coming up next, a look at the performance of Suns' players as we head to Game 3 on Saturday night.
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