Phoenix Suns 2010-11 Media Guide - NBA Media Central

Season Review 81-82
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Review81-82
Review81-82
Season
RECORD
The Suns were dealt a crippling blow just days before the season
opened when guard Walter Davis suffered a fractured elbow in the final 46-36
preseason game. Kyle Macy joined Dennis Johnson, Alvan Adams, Truck
Robinson and Jeff Cook in the Suns’ opening night starting lineup. Seeking the right
combinations and the proper chemistry, 1981-82 became a season of constant change and
experimentation as Head Coach John MacLeod utilized 21 different starting units.
Alvin Scott supplanted Cook in the starting lineup and later in the season Scott was
supplanted by Adams, who shifted from his normal center position to allow Rich Kelley
into the starting lineup. Davis began his comeback in late December, but it became clear
his elbow, still joined by surgical tension wires and screws, would keep him from reaching
top form. He was used in a sixth man role most of the year.
With a month remaining in the season, the Suns found themselves embroiled in a heated
Western Conference playoff race. The Suns finished the regular season with a 46-36 mark,
good enough for third place in the NBA Pacific Division and a playoff berth. Phoenix
opened postseason play by defeating Denver, 2-1, in a hard-fought series, winning the
deciding game on the Nuggets’ home court. In the Western Conference Semifinals, however,
the Suns ran into a L.A. Lakers juggernaut and were swept by the Lakers (4-0) who went on
to sweep San Antonio, then defeated Philadelphia to win the NBA Championship. Johnson
was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and was the lone Suns representative at the
midseason All-Star Game in New Jersey.
FRONT ROW: Assistant Coach John Wetzel, Dudley Bradley, Kyle Macy, Trainer Joe Proski (kneeling),
Head Coach John MacLeod, Dennis Johnson, Walter Davis, Assistant Coach Al Bianchi.
BACK ROW: Leonard Robinson, Craig Dykema, Alvan Adams, Larry Nance, Rich Kelley, Jeff Cook, Alvin Scott,
Joel Kramer.