F-Dog, "I don't like the McKey comparison, either--McKey had famously tiny hands, which prevented him from being much of a factor with the ball. He was basically a catch-and-shoot player on offense, while Diaw is everything but."
Catch-and-shoot? That's not my recollection of him. Certainly not in the style of Rex, Reggie and Rip... maybe set shots now and then. On the other hand I have to agree that he didn't have Diaw's ability to drive and dish. What I remember is him suddenly appearing in open spaces relatively close to the basket and manuevering, using at most one dribble, to get a good shot. Staying cool and collected. That's what I see in Boris that reminds me of Derrick.
Tony Kukoc might be a better comparison if Diaw hones his long range shooting. Or that German fellow... his name eludes me at the moment. Earlier than Kukoc... 6'10ish, good passer and driver. Faster afoot than Boris.
F-Dog, "Big men who can shoot threes (like Marion) are very valuable indeed--for example, the Suns' half-court offense last year was based on the spacing that Marion at PF provides. There's room for argument with this, but the big-shot NBA stat-heads are on my side here."
Oh good, if the stat-heads are on your side, I'm pretty sure I'm right! I hated the Suns half court offense last year - too much reliance on 3 point shots and too static. I watched every game as they ran off 62 wins so how could I not like it? Just what I said all year, it wouldn't hold up in the playoffs and then it would be too late to change it. The playoffs come and two teams take us out of our offense... and guess who wasn't surprised - though I was bit surprised Dallas was one of the teams. I was partially wrong, of course - thanks to Nash's heroics we survived changing our offense in the Dallas series. But I'm stubborn, I'd bet against it happening again.
I should amend that a little, I'm okay with 3's in transition unless the half court offense is perking. When it is, it seems like a missed three kills the momentum. Uncle Cliffie had a real knack for those momentum killers...
Why do I single out Marion instead of Jones, Bell, Nash or Barbosa? For a number of reasons but mainly because he can be more effective close in than they can - though I'll probably get around to Bell after I study his game for a while. In his first couple of years with the team Shawn didn't shoot from 3 point range and he was more effective, IMO, than he has been since he started. In truth it isn't that he shoots an occasional 3 pointer that bugs me, it's that once he started shooting them he started to hang out on the perimeter all the time. I'm afraid he'll start exhibiting that behavior again - there is considerable evidence he doesn't relish the contact that accompanies inside play.
Nash and Barbosa use the three to force defenders to play up on them which, in turn, improves their chances of driving by them and getting to the hoop for high percentage shots and drawing fouls. Shawn doesn't get high percentage shots when he does drive and he is most careful not to get fouled, so you can rule out that way of gaining from shooting them.
Another reason I pick on Shawn is that he has never shot 3's well in the playoffs and particularly not in the clutch. (If Q had returned this year I'd have been dead set against him shooting threes, too, because of his miserable performance in the playoffs.)
My last two reasons have names - Bruce Bowen and Tayshun Prince. The road to the title runs through those two guys teams and they are not going to let Shawn have many, if any, uncontested threes - the only kind he can make.
I'm not saying Shawn is dumb for making the three point shot a big part of his arsenal - from his point of view he works hard on defense and he runs his butt off up and down the floor to good effect so why shouldn't he take it a little easy in the half court offense, if he can keep his scoring average up by shooting lots of threes? It allows him to play more minutes and maybe have a longer career. All of those things guarantee him huge paychecks and, like it or not, that's how nearly all players measure their success until they get to the end of their careers and have not won a title.
My point of view is quite different - I'm glad to see Shawn get adequately compensated for his play but I could care less if he's among the most highly paid players or makes the all-star team. I want him to devote his efforts to developing and using the part of his game that is going to be most effective at the critical junctures of the season. So about all I can do is keep applauding his inside play and hope he misses all his three point attempts - and gives up on them.
