In February 2009, an NBA head coach was fired at midseason, putting Alvin Gentry in a familiar position: Trying to make the best out of a bad situation. For the third time in his NBA coaching career, Gentry was asked to take over a team – this time it was the Phoenix Suns – that had decided to get rid of its head coach and needed Gentry to pick up the pieces.
With the benefit of hindsight, what happened next was a turning point in Gentry’s coaching career – and a sign of things to come in the NBA.