Dare to be an NBA team giving a lackadaisical defensive performance in front of Stan Van Gundy and prepare to find out.
In one corner, you have the Los Angeles Clippers, coached by Ty Lue and Stan’s brother, defensive specialist Jeff Van Gundy. In the other corner, you have the Phoenix Suns, a failed superteam who has cycled through coaching staffs in recent years to no avail.
And Tuesday night, after watching Kawhi Leonard break down the Suns defense — and by break down we mean walk past it for a dunk, –Stan Van Gundy had enough.
god damn, stan van gundy. pic.twitter.com/PMbAWGSSZF
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 5, 2025
“This is what we’re talking about, this Suns defense is pathetic,” Van Gundy ranted emphatically on the TNT broadcast.
The only thing Van Gundy might hate more than pathetic defense, is NBA players who pathetically flop against good defense. But it wasn’t just the term “pathetic” that stood out as Van Gundy ripped the Suns defense Tuesday night, it was his disgust, the tone in his voice.
Van Gundy was disappointed. If it was up to him, in that moment, the game would have been called right then, everyone could have just packed up and went home. Because if you’re going to play that type of pathetic defense in the NBA, what’s the point of playing at all?
The Suns didn’t think Monty Williams was the best fit at head coach. Frank Vogel wasn’t the answer, and Mike Budenholzer doesn’t appear to be it either. Maybe Phoenix should consider the carousel of head coaches by giving Van Gundy a turn. Although in defense of Budenholzer and the pathetic Suns defense, they did end up beating the Clippers.
