Suns interim head coach Earl Watson joined Arizona Sports’ Doug & Wolf Tuesday for his weekly radio show, and his steadfast theme to coaching remained unchanged: Accountability.
“Everyone has to look in the mirror and realize one thing: the only letters that matter on any team, on any business, are the letters of that team – not the letters on the back of your jersey,” Watson said. “You have to play for one purpose, and that’s the Phoenix Suns.”
Indeed, the team has made noticeable progress since Watson took over. This was, perhaps, best exemplified in the Suns’ impressive play in a loss against the Thunder on Monday. The Suns shot 50.7 percent (37-of-73) from the field while posting a higher field goal percentage than Oklahoma City.
Phoenix also scored a second quarter season-high 38 points (prev. 35 twice), which is tied for their fourth-most points in any quarter this season.
“We have to pound the rock as a group,” Watson said. “The entire team from the staff to the management, to the video guys – we all have to have one purpose, one movement. As we pursue uplifting the Suns tradition – because we aren’t creating it; it’s already there – we have to uplift it.
“As we do that, everything else will fall into place.”
Watson said he feels the team has taken a collective step in the right direction in terms of effort (diving for loose balls, sharing the ball, etc.), and that bodes well for the team moving forward.
“As you go around the town, when people ask you have many points you’re averaging, that means you’re on a losing team,” Watson said about his goal for the squad. “When they tell you, ‘Way to play; keep winning,’ that means you’re on a winning team.
“We want to make the city proud.”
Listen to the entire interview below: