In Suns news today, the coach of one of the Phoenix Suns' biggest competitors at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff bracket during this stretch run sees a lot of one of his former teams in how the Phoenix Suns play.
Per Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle thinks this 2013-14 Phoenix Suns team is a lot like the first Detroit Pistons' team he coached back in 2001-12: '“They have a lot of toughness on their team, they’ve got young guys that have been on some bad teams and they’re tired of getting kicked around,’’ Carlisle said of the Suns. “They play with attitude and they’ve got great guard play.’'
Price was also keen to note that the 2000-01 Detroit Pistons the year before Carlisle finished 32-50 and fifth in the Central Division, turning that around to finish 50-32 and win the Central Division title in the first year under Carlisle -- which is an extremely similar story to what is going on in Phoenix right now.
The Suns finished 25-57 last season and fifth in the Pacific Division. Now they are in the thick of a very interesting and very deep playoff race in the Western Conference.