In the first game of losing Paul, Suns coach Monty Williams put striker Cameron Johnson in the starting lineup, putting Booker in charge of the team instead of the other two point guards of the starting team, Alfred Payton and Aaron Holliday. Booker eventually delivered 12 assists in the game, leading the team to a big victory over the Thunder. Monti explained his choice after the game: "I don't think I should let the newcomer Aaron bear too much. If you ask him to play the starting point guard directly, he may feel uncomfortable. I'd rather have him step up from the bench and play the kind of basketball he's familiar with. ”
Holliday came off the bench for 25 minutes and made 5-of-5 shooting, effectively scoring 12 points and five assists. He had just moved here from the Washington Wizards two weeks ago, and Monty had a well-thought-out game plan ready for him. He always did his best to take care of everyone. That's why everyone I've been in contact with Monty Williams loves him — and that includes even the NBA head coach's biggest rival, the referee.
Former NBA veteran referee Don Wadden spoke highly of Monty: "Every referee likes a coach like Monty. When referees make blows against his team, he rarely complains excessively. He's a bit like Pat Riley at this point, and when coaches like Monty complain, we think, 'Are we really screwing up something?' ’”
Although for the position of NBA head coach, people like to say "I (my grandmother) can do it", but it is a very complicated thing to be a coach in the NBA - I thought I didn't have to explain this - you have to develop tactics, you have to command on the spot, you have to adjust the rotation of the team, you have to face all kinds of unexpected situations without changing your color. Most importantly, you have to make your players willing to die for you.
In an interview with USA Today last summer, Monty talked about his view of coaching: "Essentially, coaching is about serving others, caring for others, and caring for others. We have Muslims, Mormons, and non-religious people on our coaching staff, and before I say every word, I always think about it, will I offend them? I've been learning to do this, learning from great coaches like Doug Rivers, Nate McMillan and Greg Popovich. In the dressing room, in the big bar, in the training gym, you have to let the players know that you are with them and you love them. ”
Monti was very kind, very humble, and also very honest. If asked a difficult question by a reporter at the press conference, he would honestly answer "I don't know". He would never growl at the players: "Either you listen to me or you get out of here." "I know that some coaches like to use thunder to suppress the dressing room, to maintain their majesty by roaring in communication with players, does Monti's emphasis on service and love of coaching reduce his position in the hearts of the players? The answer is quite the opposite.
When he lowers his position and softens, his players respect and trust him more. DeAndre Ayton now sees Monti as his life mentor: "Every day, every moment, he inspires his team members and instills wisdom in us. He's a real coach, and he's definitely not just a coach. I can ask him anything that has nothing to do with basketball, and he can always answer my questions frankly and wisely. ”
John Woodden once said that a great coach can change the outcome of a game, but a great coach can change a player's life.
The great thing about Monti is that Monty himself never thinks he's smart enough, something he discovered when he was on the bench for the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs also had three future NBA managers on the Spurs at the time, Doug Rivers, Avery Johnson and Winnie Delnigro. While talking to these teammates, Monty quickly realized that he wasn't the smartest person in the world: "You could have foreseen that Doug would be a good manager in the future, Avery could do the same, and Pooh's basketball IQ was also very high." 」 With them, I was a little out of place. My reactions are always half a beat slower, and the feeling of the game is not as sharp as theirs... Thankfully, I learned a lot from them. And the most important of these is not to be self-righteous. ”
Rives, Monty's good friend, considers this a compulsory course for every coach: "Most coaches have problems like this when they first coach. We will do what we think is right, not make things right. We have to learn to compromise and deal with problems more efficiently. Monty was the quickest to grasp this. ”
Many people attribute the sun's success to Paul's arrival. From the timeline, the sun did take off after Paul's arrival, but they didn't know that Paul had chosen Monty to come to Phoenix. Or to take a step back, Monti has built an environment on the Suns where everyone respects, trusts, and inspires each other. That appeals to veterans like Paul and Claude.
In an interview last season, Paul confessed that it was Monty's presence that made him make the decision to come to Phoenix: "Booker is strong, Willie Green is my good brother, but without Monty, I wouldn't go to the Suns. I've known him for a long time, and I know him very well. A lot of people don't know that when I worked with Monty, I used to play 11 wins and 1 loss at the beginning. I know how much he's prepared for success, and I think we're going to be successful with him this time. ”
Even if you elevate your definition of success to the most demanding "win," they're almost successful. They had led the Bucks 2-0 in the Finals. But they didn't win in the end. Last summer, at his Texas farm, Monti repeatedly looked back at every detail of the Finals again and again, and what made him most remorseful was the fourth quarter of the sixth game.
"It was 77-77 at the time. The fourth quarter didn't last long, but I didn't have enough tactics to draw. This feeling of powerlessness still haunts me, drives me away, and lingers in my mind. I know I don't have another chance, but I'll always remember that moment because it will make me grow. ”
He's grown fast enough that it's only his 8th season as head coach and he's only 50 years old. Growing up with him was the sun. From a team with 19 wins to a team that nearly won the title, Monty understood what had prompted this change: "What makes us stronger is continuity, and our main framework has not moved." We don't have Golden State Warriors championship blood, nor have we gone through so many rounds of series tests like the Clippers or Jazz. All we can do is maintain continuity. Our core players have been together in recent years and they have a very deep understanding of our system, the analysis of problems and the way we deal with them, which is the key to our victory. ”
It was continuity that allowed the Suns to play 8-0 in the 2020 Orlando playoffs, it was continuity that allowed the Suns to win the Clippers in the two Western Conference Finals that Paul missed, and it was continuity that allowed the team that had been in the Finals to make a comeback and play the league's first 49-10. This continuity has led more and more good players to come to Phoenix and join the great cause of making the sun rise, and everyone understands that the beginning and maintenance of this story is due to Monty Williams. His intelligence, humility and charisma shaped the Suns' team culture. If you've seen what the Suns players say about him, you know it's not an exaggeration at all. On the contrary, their praise for Monty would be more blushing. If you don't believe me, you can hear what Booker said.
"He's a perfect guy. He understands where we stand as players and he is the foundation of our team and has built the culture of the team for us. Whatever he says, I'm willing to do it. I believe all the Suns players are willing to stick behind him and that's where we're strong. ”
Last year, Monti won the Coaching Association's Coach of the Year awards for outstanding results, but in the NBA's Best Coach voting, he eventually lost to Thibodeau by 11 points, ranking second. Presumably, as the Knicks' speed of light falls this season, he will get many judges' "guilt points" in this year's vote. But we want to conclude by reiterating that even if Monti didn't win the best coach award, he was the best manager in the league over the past two seasons. For quite some time, the Suns he's coached have been the best overall team in the league in the last two seasons, and he doesn't need that trophy to justify his name — the best coach is often there, but Monti's success is unique.
Of course, his own standards of success may be higher than the masses.