Phoenix Suns: Jeff Hornacek Showing Coaching Mettle
Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek is showing his coaching mettle
As Jeff Hornacek stomped his feet in frustration on the Phoenix Suns sideline, I had to ask myself — why is a guy who is so reserved and in control essentially doing his best Lindsey Hunter impression? I had never seen Hornacek as demonstrative and upset on the sideline at any point in his tenure as Suns head coach.
Hornacek picked up a technical foul early in the first quarter as well, when he blasted an official for not calling a foul on the Golden State Warriors’ starting center Andrew Bogut — which would have been a huge plus for the Suns.
Naturally, I had to ask him about it during the post-game press conference.
"“We haven’t played well since the Spurs game. It was all about effort. I was trying to get them fired up a little bit.”"
Well played, coach. When you’re screaming at your players non-stop (see: Hunter, Lindsey) they eventually learn to tune out. When you’re so stoic it appears as if you’re watching a different game, they don’t get that motivational push. The key is to find that middle ground, which coach Hornacek did last night.
The Suns were playing as sloppy as they had all year, amassing 20 turnovers by the end of the third quarter. They were looking like a team that was lost defensively, struggling to stay with one of the world’s best shooters in Stephen Curry. It seemed that every trip down (on both ends), Hornacek was barking instructions, pulling players to the sideline and doing his best to get them to respond.
Then, something special happened. Isaiah Thomas got the message. P.J. Tucker got the message. Gerald Green got the message.
The Suns outscored the weary and undermanned Warriors 36-16 in the final frame — with Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Markieff Morris on the bench. Three of the top four scorers from the 2013-14 surprise squad didn’t step foot on the floor, except to cheer on their teammates and high-five before timeouts.
Hornacek didn’t press. He didn’t feel the need to satiate his stars’ thirsts for playing time. When I asked him about his rotations in the fourth quarter, his answer was simple:
“We wanted to get Dragic back in there, but every time we looked up, we were extending the lead.”
This kind of game can pay massive dividends for the Suns down the line, as they don’t have to burn out their starters. There will be plenty of opportunities for Bledsoe, Dragic and company to log big minutes as they make another push to secure their first playoff spot since 2009-10.
The players were fine with it too. Goran told me after the game that he and Markieff were sitting on the bench, soaking it all up. This Suns team has that family feel (doesn’t hurt that there’s two sets of family) and they seem to enjoy watching their brothers (literally and figuratively) excel as much as the enjoy excelling themselves.
One last terrific sign of Hornacek’s continuing maturity as a coach — in the Suns six previous games, he had been imploring them to push the pace. If you watched him on the sideline, you’d have thought he was waving his team in from third base. There wasn’t any of that last night. Sure, he was upset about some botched plays and positioning, but he understood that the reason for pushing the pace didn’t apply last night.
The Suns and Warriors combined for 37.1 fast break points per game heading into last night’s tilt, accounting for the top two spots in the NBA. Total fast break points last night? Just 14 combined. Through the first three quarters, there were just six fast break points scored.
Coach Hornacek talked about that after the game and made mention of how similar the teams are. He mentioned that there could be 7 or 8 guards out there at a time and since both teams try to wear their opponents down and beat them down the court, it was essentially a stalemate for most of the game.
Although I feel like Hornacek should have won the Coach of the Year last season, it’s become obvious that he’s becoming an even better coach as time goes by. He’ll have his opportunity to earn that accolade — and for good reason — he’s one helluva coach.