Coach Daniel Lewis Majerle

The Phoenix Suns puzzle of coaching staff and roster movement is one piece closer to completion. Terry Porter will lead the way. Alvin Gentry will return as an assistant that is familiar with the players. Bill Cartwright and Igor Kokoskov are new faces to the valley and will hopefully turn into pleasant surprises. And then there's Dan Majerle.

Thunder Dan Majerle is a much beloved figure in the Valley of the Suns (soon to be Diamondbacks. Or maybe even Cardinals?). In the past, when folks like Doug & Wolf, on from 5-9 A.M. every weekday on Sports 620 KTAR, mentioned that Eddie Johnson would be a better coach than Majerle, Dan got very offended. I am very willing to say that that little incident probably helped Dan to jump right on the offer when it came.

I like Dan Majerle as a coach. Past experiences have proven that being an analyst, like he has been, and being able to see all of the other teams and coaches and strategies, and having it be your job to criticize a team, especially the one that you will be coaching in the future, really produces good results. He knows what the competition has to offer and hopefully will be able to convey good wisdom and sapience to those on the Phoenix Suns roster.

Being a former NBA player never hurts either. And it's not like he was any sort of a benchwarmer in his hey-day. He was a starter for a couple of years and a role player the rest. He knows what it's like to be in difficult situations and hopefully knows how to help others that find themselves in those situations. I don't remember seeing Dan Majerle ever play. When he was in his prime, I was too young. I wasn't interested in sports when he was earning the veteran salary. However, all I hear is that he was an intense player that fought till the final buzzer. I knew that he was big on the three point shot, but I didn't know that he was a pretty decent defender. That can only help.

Also, Coach Majerle has played in possibly every situation. He's started, been sixth man, been at the end of the rotation. He has played in blowouts, in nail biters, in a "pointless" game in December, and in the NBA Finals. He knows the game inside and out.

Dan Majerle will no doubt help this near desparate team. I realize that I may be eating my words in a few months. But, as of right now this Phoenix Suns team is desparate and Coach Daniel Lewis Majerle is a perfect piece to add to the puzzle.

"Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, and those indomitable Celtics--what a statement they made."

Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers and those indomitable Celtics did exactly what they were supposed to do. Preseason, they were the heavy favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the Finals. That never really changed throughout the season. Losing only 16 of 82 regular season games, the Celtics were expected to sweep right through the inferior 8th seed and possibly even the 2nd round. When they didn't, people started to have doubts. But, the Celtics did ultimately prevail.

The Celtics finally tasted success again. They had been terrible for so long. Danny Ainge had been so afraid to make a big move. Paul Pierce started having thoughts of wanting out. However, after an absolutely dreadful 24-58 '06-'07 season in which the Celtics were called out for tanking games, Danny Ainge had to do something. Even an 18-game losing streak doesn't guarantee the #1 pick as the Celtics got the 5th pick in the draft. Ainge had never had the guts to make a huge move, but now that he was forced to he decided to just go all out. He was able to swing a deal with the Seattle Supersonics that gave the Celtics the 35th pick and Ray Allen, while sending the #5 pick to Seattle.

Unfortunately, though, Paul Pierce still didn't want to be there. He didn't think that Ray Allen would have the ability to turn the team around. So, after about a month of fretting, Kevin McHale agreed to a megadeal. He loses Kevin Garnett and gains Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, and two future first-round picks. Now, with the Big Ticket as a teammate, Paul Pierce wanted to stay. He now saw hope.

Eddie House, Scot Pollard, and James Posey were soon signed and PJ Brown was added midseason. Doc Rivers got the best out of his players. When the Lakers took a 2-1 lead over the Spurs, I said that we would again have an Eastern Conference champion. However, as I thought about this more and more, and I saw the Lakers dismantle the Spurs, I thought that the Lakers would be able to beat either the Celtics or the Pistons. And that's the pick that I stuck with.

Oh, how wrong I was. I underestimated the the hunger of 3 starved veterans. This was as lobsided a 6-game Finals can get. Paul Pierce played the best basketball of his life. He got the Finals MVP. The Celtics proved that they were obviously the best team in basketball this year.

"Cheating" NBA referees

"I'm waiting for you to write about the "cheating" NBA referees have been accused of. After all, that's partly why the Suns couldn't get past those Stinkin' Spurs last year, right?! Let's hear what you have to say!"

I don't know who said that, but the reason the Suns couldn't get past "those Stinkin' Spurs" last year was because of David Stern/Stu Jackson being the jackasses that they are and Mike D'Antoni. From what I remember (and I work a lot of basketball nights (then and now)), the officiating in that series was pretty consistent. And that's all you can ask for: Consistency. Sure, maybe they were consistently bad (Bruce Bowen molesting Steve Nash every time down the floor), but that's what you have to deal with.

As for the David Stern/Stu Jackson factor, well, Boris Diaw in NO WAY should have been suspended for the fifth game of that series. Amare was well on the court and away from the bench during the "altercation", so his suspension is understandable. But Boris Diaw was lightyears away from the fracas. Boris Diaw was as close to that "huge fight" as at least 3 guys on the Spurs bench. The Suns got screwed on this one. The most popular camera angle was right behind the Suns bench, thus giving the whole Spurs team a free pass. It's ridiculous and I hate that they made such a poor decision. The Suns lost Game 5 by 3 (pretty sure). Boris Diaw could have definitely been a game changing addition. The world will never know. What the world does realize is that the winner of that series was going to be champions. People call that series "The Real NBA Finals". The Suns would've dispatched of the Jazz and the Cavaliers just as easily as the Spurs did. Ridiculous.

Concerning Mike D'Antoni, he didn't have his team ready. Steve Nash got hurt in Game 1 (which is a more pivotal game than most people realize) and D'Antoni didn't have anybody ready to step up. It would've taken 3 timeouts just to get the dust off of one of the bench players.

However, there definitely is something wrong with the officiating in the NBA. Game 2 of this year's NBA Finals was heavily in favor of the Celtics free-throw wise. Then, in Game 3, out of the first 24 free-throw attempts, 20 were by a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. David Stern would blow it off as a coincidence. But, Mr. Stern, there are FAR too many repeated occurences for them to all coincidences. After Tim Donaghy came out this new report that Game 6 of the Lakers-Kings was rigged (Which by the video that they show now looks like it. But I wasn't interested enough then to care.), I was watching PTI (Pardon The Interruption) and Tony Kornheiser suggested that the refs should have to answer to the media postgame, just like the coaches and players. I very much agree with that. I also think that the NBA should publicize the alleged punishing refs that make bad calls.

It's all a conspiracy. David Stern may not be involved. The television stations may not be involved. But, there is definitely a circle of refs that are fixing games. Maybe not all together. But, it has to be happening. Coincidences only happen every once in a while.

This is great!

I'm pretty sure that my blogs are being read at an alarming rate. For all of my readers, don't be shy to pass my URL (bballexpert.blogspot.com) onto others that you think would be interested. And, also, don't be afraid to leave a name for me to know you by when you comment as "Anonymous".

Thanks.

Other thoughts on the Terry Porter hire.

I've touched on this before, but Robert Sarver really doesn't know and understand the game of basketball. The Colangelos do. Yet, Sarver found it more prudent to trust his friends (Steve Kerr) rather than a proven mastermind executive (Colangelos). Steve Kerr is now right on track and hiring his friends to the Phoenix Suns staff. He and Terry Porter played together and like each other.

Here is an analogy. Robert Sarver and Steve Kerr are to Phoenix Suns staff as Warren G. Harding was to his Presidental Cabinet. Warren G. Harding (pictured) was elected in 1920. He succeeded Woodrow Wilson, a very strict, very educated, and to the point man. Harding was a lot more easy going and, in fact, he appointed many of his friends from Ohio to his cabinet. When I ran this idea past my mom, she said, "That's what every president does." I am unsure of the validity of this statement. However, whether it be true or not, the friends that Harding appointed were not very educated. They were the guys that he played poker with every Thursday. Warren Harding's presidency went down as a failure.

That's the outcome that I expect with the Phoenix Suns. (I still feel that Mike D'Antoni's time was over when Shawn Marion was put on the street corner with a "Free of Charge" sign taped to his muscular chest. But, I must remind everybody that the downfall of the team started when Sarver bought the team.)

This link takes you to an article written by Marc Stein of ESPN. I thought of this before I read it, but Mr. Stein has more sources working for him.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=Portersuns080607


Special thanks to Janette Kasl.

Terrible Officiating

I had the privilege of being able to view the majority of Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals. As much as I love the game and as highly revered as David Stern is, I am really not liking the officiating in the NBA. Now, I didn't see Game 1, so I may be completely wrong and this may all be perfectly consistent. But, when Kobe Bryant's team is only attempting 10 free throws compared to 38 for the opposition, something is wrong. Kobe Bryant is the type of player that attacks and will pick up fouls. Phil Jackson is the type of coach that disciplines his players so that they won't commit 100 fouls a game.

One incident in particular comes to mind. 1st quarter. Close game. Lakers ball. Kobe Bryant comes off a screen to the right wing with Ray Allen hot on his tail. Kobe stops abrubtly. Ray bumps into him and starts trying to close the passing lane. Kobe tries to give himself a little room by giving Ray a forearm to the chest. (This is perfectly legal and happens ALL the time. Watch any NBA game and you'll see that it isn't a nasty or dirty thing to do.) Ray overreacts and the referee calls an offensive foul on Kobe Bryant. It was his 2nd foul, forcing Phil Jackson to take him out of the game. (The referee pictured is not the one that made the bad call just mentioned. I actually kind of like the one pictured.)

I hate to think that there is a conspiracy in the NBA. But, just because David Stern assigned Joey Crawford to officiate an elimination game for the San Antonio Spurs and Derek Fisher didn't get called for a foul on Brent Barry's last second shot, and because the Grizzlies agreed to just give away Pau Gasol, doesn't mean that the Lakers should be disliked. I shouldn't be judged by other people's poor decisions.

It's also very hard for me to not see a conspiracy in the NBA since I have been an avid Suns fan from the beginning of the '04-'05 season through February 5, 2008. (I now consider myself a very casual Suns fan. They are the easiest to follow being the hometown team and they are providing very good headlines right now.) The Phoenix Suns have had some undebatably terrible things come upon them because of the NBA officials and management.

Anyways, the moral of the story is that if the officiating is going to be horrendous in the NBA Finals, then the NBA is headed in the wrong direction. I propose making me Commissioner. However, I will settle with getting rid of David Stern and Stu Jackson. The grass isn't always greener on the other side, but sometimes that's a chance that you have to take.

Terry Porter

I don't know much about Terry Porter. I don't think he is a good hire or a bad one. I will say that he is probably the best of all the interviewed candidates, being the only one with previous head coaching experience. Being an assistant coach and a head coach in the NBA are two very different monsters. A head coach has to face the media everyday and be savvy and nice to everybody. Assistant coaches never make headlines or get talked about (unless they portray some outrageous behavior). So, that previous experience is important. However, Porter wasn't very impressive in his previous head coaching stint. The Milwaukee Bucks had a very workable roster and are in the Eastern Conference. Yet, he could only yank a .500 record out of it. Then, they lost their promising young point guard, T.J. Ford, and fell into the tank. Porter was fired.

He then went on to be an assistant under Flip Saunders with the Detroit Pistons. That should've proven to be a good experience since the Pistons have been a powerhouse for six years now. But, it will take a lot of work for Porter, or anybody for that matter, to turn around this Phoenix Suns team. Robert Sarver and Steve Kerr have dug this team into an unescapable hole. Mike D'Antoni had a system working and had one more shot at a championship. Steve gets rid of their best defender and teams run all over the Suns. D'Antoni is released as a result.

Now, Terry Porter has a big job in front of him. Getting someone with as big an ego as Shaquille O'Neal has to play 100% every night is not easy. Getting Steve Nash to play solid defense has proven to be impossible. Getting Amare Stoudemire to stop talking trash until he can back it up may never happen. However, he will get a very experienced roster. If he keeps the same starting lineup that D'Antoni had, 4 of his starters will be well over 31 years of age.

Porter is a smart man and was a good role player in his 17 year career. He's as good a man for the job as anybody else that got interviewed. But, he won't be winning championships anytime soon.

How absolutely weak can a person get?

How weak can a person get? I mean, seriously, what gives anybody the right to be idiotic and ignorant just to get free food. A man called in an order yesterday and came in and got it. I was the one to mark the sandwich bags. He came back and had his receipt and two sandwiches with him. He pointed to two specific sandwiches on the receipt and told me that I gave him the wrong sandwiches. Yet, the sandwich bags clearly showed that this man was wrong. So, instead of just giving him free food, I explained to him how he, in fact, did have the correct sandwiches. I stayed calm throughout and would've even explained it once more before showing any kind of suppressed rage. Yet, he insisted on getting free food. So, I asked if he had even opened it up and looked, because doing that would have clearly shown him how wrong he was. His response was, "You know, I'm good friends with Ned. I'll just give him a call." How weak is that? Why can't this guy be educated enough to stop, think it through, and talk it out? It's ridiculous that he tattled on me like my gay nieces and nephews. I just thought that adults didn't do that. I mean, seriously, how weak do you have to be to not be competent enough to use a simple process of elimination to figure out that you're about to make yourself look like an idiot and put someone else's self-esteem down for another good 2 weeks.

Ned called the shop later and told me that I was wrong and I shouldn't have questioned the man. But, I hate that he called Ned. Ned is irrational and refuses to listen to the other side of the story. Brian, on the other hand, would've at least heard me out and then told me that I was wrong.

I hate how everything we learn about always being on time and thinking things through and following the rules never is true. It's ridiculous. There are people that didn't graduate high school and are making more money than I could ever dream of making. I hate this world.