The finals

[Chaplin]

No, you are right. I'm sure there will be many, many trade rumors involving Shawn Marion this summer. I guess next time someone posts one of those rumors I'll just have to agree with everyone that it sounds great because I wouldn't want to question if it's a real possibility for the suns if it means hurting the feelings of Shawn Marion supporters on the message board. The next time someone posts that they would rather have Shawn Marion than Paul Pierce I won't respond because I may be picking on Marion a little too much.

Joe Mama

You poor guy!

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

However what I liked about Prince's defense on Bryant was his discipline. He did not leave the ground when Kobe pump faked. He stayed right with him. For the most part he stayed in front of Bryant. He had a hand in Kobe Bryant's face whenever he would shoot. This is what I think Shawn Marion needs to work on more than anything. I think he could be a very good defender, but he's got to play more disciplined defense. If he improves there and recovers his jump shot I'll feel whole lot better about his contract.

Joe Mama

The overated bit was added by me I guess (since I share the same thought process).

I agree completely about how Prince stays on his feet. Marion is a good defender primarily because of his athleticism, where Prince has a better idea how to do it.

Although, if Marion was coached by Carlisle and Brown for a year a piece, I would hope he would learn to stay on the ground as well

 

[F-Dog]

BTW I do apologize for bringing up the point about Prince's defense in this thread. If I wanted to talk about it I should have done so in the thread where we were comparing him and Shawn Marion. I'm sorry.

Joe Mama

Yeah, this thread is pretty much dead now. I think we'll have to start another one for game 2.


Regarding Prince, I thought he looked much better on defense in the last series. This series, he's playing Doug Christie-style defense on Kobe, and it's clear that Christie is a significantly quicker player--Kobe had a number of openings to drive that he passed up, many more than he usually sees against Sacramento. Prince made Kobe's quick shots from the perimeter into tough shots, but Kobe was the one forcing those shots in the first place.

I thought that Trenton Hassell did a better job on Kobe than Prince did in game 1, and Prince vs. Bowen is no contest. (Of course, Prince actually made enough shots to stay on the court, so he's ahead of Bowen in that respect.)

Prince was amazing in the Indiana series, though. His defense on Ron Artest was even more impressive if you're comparing him to Marion, because Artest is the sort of physical player that Marion usually has trouble with.


Saying that Marion is a poor defender is wrong, though--you might as well say that Kobe Bryant or Ben Wallace is a poor defender. Each of those three guys is going to get burned repeatedly when trying to defend a good one-on-one player in a clearout or post-up, but so what? At some point, the steals, blocks and DRB add up to the point where they outweigh a defensive player's weakness on the ball, and all three players are well beyond that point.

The key is surrounding those players with guys who play well on the ball--that's one reason a Rasheed Wallace or a Derek Fisher is so important. Joe Johnson seems to be turning into a quality on-ball defender, too, so if the Suns can shore up their rebounding, they can start moving Marion around more, to take advantage of matchups that play to his strengths.

 

[Joe Mama]

Saying that Marion is a poor defender is wrong, though--you might as well say that Kobe Bryant or Ben Wallace is a poor defender. Each of those three guys is going to get burned repeatedly when trying to defend a good one-on-one player in a clearout or post-up, but so what? At some point, the steals, blocks and DRB add up to the point where they outweigh a defensive player's weakness on the ball, and all three players are well beyond that point.

The key is surrounding those players with guys who play well on the ball--that's one reason a Rasheed Wallace or a Derek Fisher is so important. Joe Johnson seems to be turning into a quality on-ball defender, too, so if the Suns can shore up their rebounding, they can start moving Marion around more, to take advantage of matchups that play to his strengths.

I did not say Shawn Marion is a poor defender though. I've never said that he is a poor defender. I've just said that he isn't as good as many people make him out to be or as good as he would appear from his statistics. I'm hoping that Larry Brown and the other Olympic coaches will help him his summer. I'm also hoping that they help Amare Stoudemire. Each of those guys could be very, very good defenders.

Joe Mama

 

[Chaplin]

I'm hoping that Larry Brown and the other Olympic coaches will help him his summer. I'm also hoping that they help Amare Stoudemire. Each of those guys could be very, very good defenders.

Joe Mama

We actually agree on something! Finally!

 

[George O'Brien]

I did not say Shawn Marion is a poor defender though. I've never said that he is a poor defender. I've just said that he isn't as good as many people make him out to be or as good as he would appear from his statistics. I'm hoping that Larry Brown and the other Olympic coaches will help him his summer. I'm also hoping that they help Amare Stoudemire. Each of those guys could be very, very good defenders.

Joe Mama

I couldn't agree more. The combination of the coaching and having to play against strong opponents every day can't help but improve their skills. I can't think of a better summer training schedule.