Pick and Roll: Is Terry Porter the Right Man for the Job?

Before someone actually start a “Fire Terry Porter” Campaign, this week, Mark from the Black Jesus Disciples (fresh off his first Suns podcast) and I decided to have a little discussion on Coach Porter (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) trying to figure out if he’s indeed the right man for the Suns job. Without further ado, here’s this week Pick and Roll.

Steve Fan: The Suns are not playing good basketball this season. They have lost to almost every good team they faced while failing to impress in any aspect of the game. I just realized, thanks to ESPN.com, that “Phoenix has been outscored by an average of 12.9 points in its eight losses this season“. Does it mean that once the Suns get behind more or less they quit? Possibly, as I refuse to think they’re that bad.

Mark: The above number…dear Lord.  Consider my mind blown. If this Suns team is quitting on him, Coach Porter is not taking it lightly. I love that he called them a bunch of lolligaggers and put them in their place the other day, even if I’m not so sure he’s the right man for the job.

Steve Fan: All-Stars Nash, Hill and Stoudemire are unhappy and you can’t win with 3/5 of your starters in that kind of mood. Shaq, who early in the season had openly embraced the new system while OFTEN putting up a “work in progress” sign, has stopped doing that over the last couple of weeks. The Suns have the worst turnover differential in the League and things aren’t getting any better.

Mark: Let’s hope Nash’s flu-like symptoms don’t spread like wildfire through the locker room, as things will only get worse.  The last thing this team needs is guys missing more time and messing with their already shaky continuity.

As for Shaq, whatever happened to the “Amare Stoudemire Project” he was the self-proclaimed foreman of last year?

Steve Fan: Phoenix is putting a great emphasis on defense, but it’s not going to work with 3/5 of your starters (Nash, Shaq and STAT) being unable, for technical, physical or attitudinal reasons, to play solid NBA defense. Talking defense is one thing, playing it is totally different.

Mark: Especially when the team’s best player does most of the talking about defense without actually playing it, looking disinterested and puzzled most of the time.

Steve Fan: The point, in my opinion, comes down to this: The Suns are a good, talented, high-profile group of players, many of whom had successful All Star careers (despite missing the final piece of the puzzle). They have been assembled to play Coach D type of basketball and had a lot of fun doing it over the previous 3 years. Now you’re asking them to change the way they conceive the game. I won’t discuss here whether it’s right or no, that’s not the point here. It’s a big change and you need a proven leader to guide that, someone that a Grant Hill or a Steve Nash could believe in. This change management effort had to be put in the hands of a high profile experienced leader: Think Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, Greg Popovich, Coach K someone like that, so to speak. Choosing a low-profile coach, with unexperienced assistants, was wrong in the first place and, in case you missed it, the team is quitting on him.

Mark: You make a good point in regards to needing a respected coach who can point to past success, but that guy wasn’t available when the Coach D soap opera went down.  Maybe Larry Brown was, I’d have to look it up, but if you think the team is quitting on Coach Porter, they may very well have killed Brown by this point. Changing coaches and philosphy is tough, yes, and while Coach Porter could no doubt be doing a better job, the team really does need to shut up and play. 

Steve Fan: It’s not Coach Porter’s fault, it’s the original Steve Kerr plan that is flawed. The new system has been imposed by the front office, it’s an “artificial construction”, so to speak. While it’s entirely possible Steve Kerr was actually sent to the Valley by secret agent Popovich to destroy the Suns, there are plenty of worrying signs in Phoenix, and I believe Coach Porter is not the answer. Of course it’s not going to happen soon, maybe not until the end of the year, since the departure of Porter will mean the premature end of the Steve Kerr era as well.

Mark: As the change was made by the front office, don’t expect to see Coach Porter go anywhere.  Like it or not, this new philosophy is here to stay.  If changes are to be made, it will be with the personnel, not the coaching staff.

It’s a brave new world, and it stinks.

Steve Fan: I agree 100 percent. I think I’m missing Mike D’Antoni, just a bit, maybe. Thanks Mark.

Yours truly, Steve Fan

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