NBA Stuff...
Some would call it ironic that the same day I sat down to write critically about Stephon Marbury's play the major NBA headline would be that the Knicks's were contemplating buying out Stephon Marbury's contract. Well I'd first say you're using the word irony improperly, and should really consider investing in a dictionary. Then I would say this makes a lot of sense. I did recently praise Marbury's play after watching the Knicks play the Nuggets. After further evaluation I was somewhat blinded by the Knicks looking like serious playoff contenders for one night and forgot about all the reasons why one should never want Stephon Marbury on their team. I'm not suggesting he's a bad player. I'm not even suggesting that the Knicks won't make the playoffs because of him. The guy is supremely talented. But Marbury, both as a player and a person, has too many warts. He's the NBA's frog prince. And it is because of the warts that it is: ONE, impossible to embrace him as a fan. And TWO, he will never be able to lead a team to the the Finals. The evidence is out there, every team he leaves gets better.
This was the anecdote I was going to share about Marbury before today's headlines...
I recently said that Jamal Crawford was the worst perimeter defender in the NBA. I take that back. After seeing Jameer Nelson, who was shooting under 40% from the field going into the Magic's game against the Knicks, totally dominate Marbury off the dribble like he was Marbury's older brother schooling him in the backyard, I change my vote. If you remember, I gave Marbury a pass for allowing Allen Iverson to run wild against him when the Knicks played the Nuggest, because Iverson may be the toughest cover in the NBA. But Jameer Nelson, who's known mostly as a silky mid to long range shooter, scored lay-ups on the same right handed dribble past Marbury on something like 3 consecutive possessions. That doesn't include the times Marbury, I'm assuming out of laziness, simply refused to contest Nelson's jump shots. I understand Marbury normally has a positive influence offensively, though he's not as much of a plus at times as you'd think. But no matter how well he plays with the ball in his hands, if he's going to lose his match up to the opposing point because he doesn't want to play defense, then his scoring and passing contributions are nullified.
Stephon's lack of effort defensively has a detrimental effect on the entire team. Going back to his game against the Magic, by letting his man continually beat him off the dribble, the Knicks big men were forced to cheat off of Dwight Howard, allowing Howard to find creases for put backs and easy dunks. Howard, who I'll discuss at more length later, was completely befuddled offensively in the first half of the Knicks game. He looked inept! But because Marbury couldn't slow down Nelson at all, Curry and Randolph weren't able to pay Howard the necessary attention.
Dwight Howard
If I were an Orlando Magic fan, I'm not sure if I'd be thrilled with Dwight Howard in his 4th NBA season or a little disappointed.
Every NBA analyst I've ever heard is ecstatic about the kid, and probably rightfully so. His physical attributes, age, and personality make his upside the world. On paper, he looks like the next, logical evolutionary progression of the power forward position. Like a Garnett-Duncan hybrid. He's already one of the best two or three rebounders in the entire NBA, he's an imposing inside presence - both blocking shots and challenging penetrators, and it looks like he'll average 20 poins per game this year. All this and he's 21!
But from my perspective, Howard is now in his 4th NBA season and has ONE post move (a jump hook). He has nothing resembling a jump shot, is a terrible free throw shooter, and is not even close to being a go-to scorer in the half court set. As I alluded to earlier, against the Knicks, the Magic repeatedly attempted to get Howard involved in the offense. At times, he looked completely inept in the post - And that's against the likes of Eddy Curry and Zach Ranolph. He did make a few nice jump hooks and was a beast on the boards and on alley-oop passes. But with the ball in his hands, he still appears miles away from being a scorer you can count on.
So what is Howard's true upside?
Conservatively, I think Dwight Howard will be at the very least the next Alonzo Mourning. Right now, Howard reminds me of a slightly less polished version of Mourning in his prime. Remember, Zo at his peak made an All NBA 1st team appearance, was the premier defensive center in the NBA, and was a very opportunistic scorer with a good post game and a nice 15 foot jump shot. Mourning was a legitimately great player, not a go-to scorer in crunch time or the type of player that would put up points in bunches. Tim Hardaway did that for him. But he was definitely a great center.
Or is Howard the next dominant force?
If Howard continues to grow as a one-on-one defender and combines his freakish athleticism and size with an extensive repertoire of post moves, then he has a chance to be the greatest power forward ever. Could you imagine if a scientist was able Tim Duncan's post-up game with Kevin Garnett's athleticism? That's what Magic fans are hoping for with Dwight Howard. Lme me rephrase that, PRAYING for. That's why he was drafted number one overall over Emeka Okafor.
For now, I'm still not sold on Howard's offensive aptitude reaching meteoric heights. But that doesn't mean he won't be a great, great player. Part of the fun will be waiting to see. I'll check back in next time I see him play.
My 2 favorite NBA occurrence that may only interest me...
(These are pretty irrelevant points)
Drew Gooden vs Carlos Boozer
I was reminded of this while watching the Cavs and Jazz face-off on ESPN.
Gooden and Boozer had the ultimate roll reversal from college to the pros. Think back to the 2001-2002 NCAA basketball season. Drew Gooden at Kansas was considered the top power forward prospect in basketball. His upside was to an athletic scorer and a franchise cornerstone. Carlos Boozer at Duke was a descent scorer but the Blue Devils mostly relied on him to rebound and play defense. His NBA upside was as a workman-like rebounder who could most likely help defend coming off the bench.
In the 2002 NBA draft, Gooden was selected 4th overall. Boozer was the 6th pick of the 2nd round.
Fast-forward to present day. Carlos Boozer might be the 2nd best power forward in the NBA now that Tim Duncan plays mostly as a center. He's good for 20+ points each night and 10+ rebounds. Drew Gooden's a solid starting power forward that isn't asked to score much (averaged around 11 points per game last 2 seasons) and who's main responsibility is to rebound and play defense.
My, my how the tables have turned.
Western Point Guards
During the NBA playoffs every team plays much harder on defense, therefore magnifying the shortcomings of weak defenders. What's so funny about the western conference during the playoffs (and to a slightly lesser extent the regular season) is that there's this group of gifted offensive points guards (Nash, Paul, Williams, Davis, Parker, Harris, Iverson), that can beat their man off the dribble, pretty much at will. They terrorize their opposing defender. But then when they're asked to defend on the other end of the floor, they're equally inept as they are terrific on offense. So Tony Parker will give Deron Williams and the Jazz fits driving to the basket, but then Parker is completely unable to stop Williams when he drives. I think they should just call a cease fire and let the other players battle it out for points.
NCAA Basketball - Must Watch Freshman
Last year, Freshman standouts Kevin Durant, Greg Oden, and Mike Conley Jr. (among others) were exceptional. But this year is the best freshman class I can ever, ever, ever remember. And amazingly, all of the freshman I'm going to alert you of have had huge first games.
OJ Mayo - Guard - USC - 32 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists in his first game against Mercer.
Kevin Love - Forward - UCLA - Averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds through 2 games.
Michael Beasley - Forward - Kansas St. - Averaging 31 points, 19 rebounds, 2 blocks through 2 games.
Eric Gordon - Guard - Indiana - 33 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 7 3-pointers in first game.
Derrick Rose - Guard - Memphis - Averaging 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assist, 2 blocks through 2 games.
Despite having the least gaudy stats, Rose is probably the early favorite to be the number one pick in this year's NBA draft, followed by Beasley. Remember, Rose plays for the #2 ranked Memphis team with a terrific supporting cast and excellent back court mates. You can't expect his numbers to be as provocative as the others.
I'll be following these 5 players along with John Flynn from Syracuse, DeAndre Jordan from Texas A&M, Kyle Singler from Duke, and others. I hope to have a good scouting report of them in the near future.
No comments:
Post a Comment