Gentry: 'We're just not shooting the ball well'
Published: January 26, 2012 @ 5:13pm
Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry shouts to his team in the third quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011. Oklahoma City won 107-97. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Last season, despite not qualifying for the playoffs, the Suns were 7th in the league in shooting percentage. Phoenix topped the league the prior five years.
That's not happening this season, and head coach Alvin Gentry knows it.
"We're just not shooting the ball well as a team," Gentry told Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 620 Thursday. "It puts so much pressure on our defense that a breakdown here and there, and that's what costs us games. We've got to begin to shoot the ball better and we've got to begin to execute a little bit better."
Alvin Gentry joins Burns and Gambo - 1/26/12 Alternative content |
Shooting is just one of the reasons why the Suns aren't doing a very good job of protecting their home floor. Phoenix is just 3-5 at U.S. Airways Center on the year -- which is the 2nd-worst home mark in the Western Conference. The Suns have dropped three home dates in a row to Cleveland, New Jersey and Toronto -- three teams that aren't exactly setting the world on fire.
"We have to beat those teams at home, because it's very difficult to win on the road," Gentry said. "It's very difficult when you're bringing in Miami or the Lakers or Oklahoma City playing at home, so we have to make sure we're taking care of business when we're playing those teams, and we didn't do that."
After a one-game trip to Portland on Friday night to face the Trail Blazers, the Suns return home Saturday to host the Memphis Grizzlies.
But the Suns will be no strangers to the road in the coming weeks. Phoenix doesn't have a homestand of more than two games until February 19, when they host the Lakers to start a 6-game homestand.
policy>>