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Hornacek went from averaging 14.1 points in his first postseason to 18.6 in his second one. He started 140 playoff games in his career while the 14 Suns, minus the technical membership of Emeka Okafor, have156 playoff bench appearances among them.
“When you experience something new, it sticks with you,” Hornacek said. “If we make it, these guys are going to realize the level that it goes to. Some of these guys know that, but all don’t, especially the young ones. You don’t want to go in the playoffs and get swept. Sometimes, that doesn’t do much either. It’s all part of building the confidence for the long term.”
Dragic hears all the time from European coaches about how players in the NBA coast through the regular season and try hard in the playoffs. He said that is an exaggeration but does not deny how the adrenaline of postseason moments brings out more skills and effort.
When it ends, there is a hunger for more for all but one team. There is more self-reflection about what it would take to get over the next hump.
“It just shows them what to work for,” Frye said. “You can emphasize whatever you want about the playoffs, but they’ve never been in that atmosphere. It also shows them what they need to work on. Because in the playoffs, teams are like, ‘OK, so-
FSAZ/KTAR-AM (620), KPKX-FM (98.7). Pistons update: Detroit (25-42) has lost 13 of its past 16 games, including three in a row after Wednesday’s 118-109 loss at Denver. The Pistons were missing Andre Drummond, who suffered a neck injury in the first quarter of Saturday’s home loss to Indiana and will be re-examined today to determine his availability. The Pistons’ top scorers do so inefficiently. Josh Smith averages 16.6 points on 41.7 percent shooting while Brandon Jennings averages 16.2 points on 37.7 percent shooting. Detroit ranks fourth-worst in the NBA for scoring defense (103.9 points allowed per game) and opponent field-goal percentage (46.7). Go to suns.azcentral.com for live game updates, weekly chats and the latest news from the team. and-so does not like to take two dribbles left. We are going to make him take two dribbles left every time.’ Every single possession is huge.” “I never knew if he would coach at this level. I could see him coaching his kids. He coached me as a rookie and second-year player when we were together in Utah. A very smart guy, and I thought he liked being around guys who were smart like himself. He could challenge you. He was competitive. He’s put his guys in a position to have success. He understood the game when we were in Utah together.” — Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn, on Suns coach Jeff Hornacek “It made all of us angry.” — Suns guard Goran Dragic, on claims the Suns were tanking and last-place preseason predictions The Suns will play four games in four cities over six days, starting with tonight’s home game against Detroit. The Suns then have a three-game trip that begins with a Sunday day game at Minnesota and a Monday night game at Atlanta — the team’s second consecutive week with back-to-back games like that. Four of the next six opponents have losing records, and the two winning teams — Minnesota and Washington — are barely above .500.