Bordow: D’Antoni’s stubbornness could be his undoing

Behind his smile, light-hearted nature and self-deprecating jokes, Mike D’Antoni is as stubborn a coach as you’ll find in the NBA.

That self confidence often serves him well. He believed in his system when few others in the NBA would be gutsy enough to try it, and the Suns were rewarded with three straight Pacific Division titles and back-to-back appearances in the Western Conference Finals.

But D’Antoni can also fall victim to his beliefs.

Take this first-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs, for example.

San Antonio, which made 45 percent of its shots in the regular season, is shooting 49.4 percent from the field through the first two games. Since the first half of Game 1, when they scored 40 points, the Spurs have hit 52 percent of their shots.

Yet what did D’Antoni say Thursday?

“I don’t think our defense is causing us to lose right now,” he said. “It’s our offense.”

That has been a familiar refrain during D’Antoni’s coaching tenure. The Suns’ success or failure, everything they do, depends on those 24 seconds or less when they have the ball.

Now, it’s only fair to point out that the Suns don’t have the personnel to be a great defensive team. Steve Nash is a poor on-the-ball defender, Shaquille O’Neal and Amaré Stoudemire are not great help defenders, and Raja Bell, supposedly Phoenix’s best defensive player, can’t cover Manu Ginobili.

To that extent, D’Antoni is playing to his strengths when he focuses on Phoenix’s offense.

But that’s no excuse for the lack of defensive adjustments he’s made in this series.

Case in point: On the Spurs’ final possession of the first quarter of Game 2, Ginobili walked the ball upcourt. He had just made a jump shot to cut Phoenix’s lead to 10, and Tim Duncan and Tony Parker were on the bench taking a rest.

The smart move: Run a second defender at Ginobili and force him to give the ball up. Instead, the Suns stayed in their man-to-man defense and Ginobili casually made a 3-pointer over Bell with one second left in the quarter.

That’s just one example.

Why hasn’t Phoenix trapped Parker or Ginobili when they have the ball? Doesn’t it make more sense to have Bruce Bowen, who hasn’t scored a point in the first two games, shoot a 3-pointer — even if he’s wide open — than have Parker or Ginobili stroll into the lane for layups?

D’Antoni’s hesitance to make adjustments on the fly is in complete contrast to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. After Stoudemire scored 25 points against Kurt Thomas in the first half of Game 1, Popovich switched Duncan onto Stoudemire at the start of the second half.

Stoudemire didn’t score a point in the third quarter.

Obviously, Popovich has more options because, in Duncan and Bowen, he has two superior defenders. And D’Antoni is hamstrung because Grant Hill is hobbled and can’t cover Parker in the fourth quarter, as he did in the regular season.

But if what the Suns are doing isn’t working, isn’t it incumbent upon D’Antoni to try something — anything — besides the occasional 2-3 zone?

You better believe Suns general manager Steve Kerr and assistant general manager Vinny del Negro notice the lack of defensive adjustments. They played for Popovich in San Antonio. They know what kind of a strategist he is, and how the Spurs always seem to play better in the second half, after Popovich has changed his tactics.

They’re also aware that Popovich gives his bench players extended minutes in the regular season so they can be productive in the postseason.

D’Antoni, on the other hand, rarely extends his rotation beyond eight players. As a result, he has little confidence rookie guard D.J. Strawberry might have some success against Parker or Ginobili, even though the Suns have raved about Strawberry’s defense since training camp.

Given Kerr and Del Negro’s admiration of Popovich — and the fact neither Kerr nor owner Robert Sarver would guarantee D’Antoni’s return next season — it’s reasonable to assume D’Antoni’s job is on the line should the Suns lose this series.

I hope that’s not the case.

D’Antoni is one of the nicest guys in the business. He makes my job easy, and I’m all for that.

But the NBA is a harsh league.

And if D’Antoni isn’t willing to make any adjustments, the Suns may make one for him.

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Listen to Scott Bordow every Monday at 2:25 p.m. on The Fan (1060 AM) with Bob Kemp.