On Monday, the Phoenix Suns fired Head Coach Jeff Hornacek after a 14-35 start. The Suns have lost 19 of their last 21 games. Hornacek has been the Head Coach the two seasons.
Hornacek was hired by the Suns on May 29th, 2013 to turn things around. The Suns were 25-57 that year. His first season the Suns were 48-34 but they missed the playoffs by one game. Dallas took the 8th and final playoff spot. Last season the Suns were determined to get back into the NBA playoffs. They fell just short with a record of 39-43, four games behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the 8th and final playoff spot. This year was playoffs or bust for the Suns. They signed center Tyson Chandler in the offseason and were hoping his veteran presence would assist them to be a playoff team. That has yet to happen and they are nine games out of the final playoff spot in the West.
The Suns made changes to the assistant coaches in December. They let go of Mike Longabardi and Jerry Sichting and promoted Earl Watson and Nate Bjorkgren to the bench. This sent a clear message to Hornacek that he needed to turn things around to keep his job. They were 12-20 at that point. It was surprising that Hornacek wasn’t fired then. The Suns must have felt that these modifications would improve them.
The Suns finally had enough. It was time to let Hornacek go. The Suns are playing awful basketball right now. It’s not all Hornacek’s fault. There were too many changes to the organization this season. It’s difficult to coach a basketball team when the assistant coaches change in the middle of the season.
According to ESPN Tyson Chandler said, “I feel like throughout my career I’ve always been placed where I’m supposed to be placed. This definitely has been a tough season, but I feel like there has to be some positives that come out of this.”
The Suns haven’t announced an interim head coach. They will be interviewing assistant coaches Corey Gaines and Earl Watson. The Suns won’t make the playoffs this season. Maybe with an interim head coach they could play better basketball. If they start playing at a higher level, the Suns might keep the interim head coach for next season. This is a sign of rebuilding. The Suns made the right decision firing Jeff Hornacek.
What do you think of the Suns firing Jeff Hornacek?
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