Monday night marked former Suns coach Mike D'Antoni's first return to Phoenix since leaving for The Big Apple to coach the Knicks. Based on the reception he received -- a standing ovation that went on through all of the Knicks player introductions -- the distance has not made him any less the apple of Suns fan's eye.
It usually takes a championship to buy real estate in the heart and minds of a team's local fan base, everyone else is just renting space. But there are exceptions for those who show an earnest love and passion for the game; in such cased that love is reciprocated regardless of whether a player or coach wins The Big One for ol' [insert your city here]. They are simply respected and admired for how they go about their business.
This appears to be the case for D'Antoni and Phoenix. During the five years of his "7-Seconds-or-Less" era the Suns became an NBA powerhouse, broke records, and point guard Steve Nash won back-to-back MVP awards. But they were never able to run their way out of the Western Conference, let alone into an NBA championship. After the last couple seasons of frustration -- and no defense -- many raised questions about whether D'Antoni's system was good enough to run with the big boys, but not good enough to win. Those questions remain.
What is not in question, however, are the feelings expressed by his former players and fans alike; to hear the raves from guys like Nash prior to the game should warm Knicks fans hearts, even as they suffer a relatively inconsequential 111-103 loss.
In fact, New York has already gotten to see some of D'Antoni's character via his handling of the very sensitive Stephon Marbury drama. When the chips have been down, i.e. player injuries, Mike has stuck to his guns, and the players seem to have drawn confidence from the irrevocable trust in his core rotation. So even though the Knicks are currently a sub-.500 team, the temperature around the team is a whole lot sunnier when compared to last year.
For a team that's obviously still a ways from even thinking about a championship, it's helpful to at least have a good guy you can root for leading the troops into battle, whether the war is winnable or not.
