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D’Antoni to Suns fans: Booooo!
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SPEAKING HIS MIND: Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said of the Suns crowd: “If they’re going to boo us ... I can boo them.”
Ralph Freso, Tribune
There have been times during his tenure when Suns coach Mike D’Antoni has lashed out with emotional postgame comments about his team or its opponent, only to back away or even apologize in hindsight.
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After chiding the US Airways Center fans Tuesday for their demeanor in two of the first three regular-season home games in the wake of an emotionless win over the Knicks, the coach didn’t back down Wednesday, expanding on his comments to remind Suns fans that 60-win seasons and deep playoff runs aren’t inalienable rights.
D’Antoni said he also wasn’t happy when the fans booed his team in the home opener when they were blitzed 119-98 by the Lakers.
“(I vented about the fans) because the fans deserved it,” said D’Antoni, a day after describing Tuesday’s crowd as “deader than we are” when his team struggled to put away the short-handed Knicks. “If they’re going to boo us, hell, what’s the difference, I can boo them.
“(Tuesday), they didn’t come ready. You have to come every game, you have to bring it … and they didn’t bring it. There was no atmosphere. Everybody — us, them — was just kind of down and blah and there’s not reason to be.”
The Suns have won six of their first eight games — as of Wednesday, only Boston (6-0) and San Antonio (7-1) had better records in the NBA — but the team has had bouts with sluggish play and shooting as it goes through the annual adaptation to D’Antoni’s high-energy, quick-reaction style.
D’Antoni said he understands the fans won’t be satisfied until the team wins an NBA championship, and he shares those sentiments. But after 177 regular-season wins, three straight Pacific Division titles and two trips to the Western Conference finals, he feels the franchise is in the midst of a special run that should be savored as long as it lasts.
The next chance comes tonight, when the Suns host the Chicago Bulls in a nationally televised (TNT) game with an 8:30 p.m. tip-off.
“They’re going to have plenty of time to be able to go into that arena where there is nothing much happening,” said D’Antoni, who took over as Suns coach for the fired Frank Johnson in 2003-04 when the team was 21-40 — the season before Steve Nash rejoined the team.
“Right now, something is happening. So they should enjoy the ride and we should enjoy it … and worry about the championship when it’s time to worry about it.”
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