A big piece of the puzzle
Suns coach Mike D’Antoni heard the naysayers predict doom for his team after Phoenix acquired Shaquille O’Neal in a trade last month. But the Suns are 10-7 with Shaq in the lineup, and after some early struggles, they’ve won 7 of 8 games coming into tonight’s contest with the Celtics.
D’Antoni isn’t surprised by how any of this went down.
“Our fast break points are up with [Shaq] on the team,” D’Antoni said. “Our defense is obviously up. Our scoring is better. So, usually if you add an MVP-type player, which he is, it takes a while to get him in there, but you’re going to be a better team for it. That’s kind of where we are. But we’re getting better. We’re not totally in sync yet, but we’re pretty good.”
The Suns are currently the sixth seed in the Western Conference, but they’re just 1.5 games out of first. They seem poised for a run deep into the playoffs.
“It’s a feeling that the players think we have a legitimate shot to win a title, so everybody’s a little peppier, a little bit happier with what’s happened,” said D’Antoni.
“I would have figured out a way to work with it,” Rivers said with grin.
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