Marion guarding opposing PGs

[Nash]

in the past few games, you must have noticed that Marion has been asked to guard the opposing PGs, for short periods, if not all the time -- Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Allen Iverson. (I'm going off what I've read on two of those games. I didn't watch them, so correct me if I'm wrong)

That probably has made him less effective at the boards -- its not like he gets in rebounding positions in any case, he just pounces on the ball from wherever he is. Marion has traditionally been made to guard bigger guys, usually PFs, on the opposing team and he's made it clear all along that he doesn't relish the role. Wonder what he thinks of this new role that probably affects his rebound numbers..

But on the bright side, guarding the opposing guards will make it easier for him to get to the other end on the break.

So far, the strategy has worked in two out of three cases. Let's see if the coach tries it today.

Your thoughts?

 

[devilalum]

People that hate Marion as a player are truly stupid. The guy is one of the most versatile players in the league.

Name 3 players that can play effective defence against Tim Duncan one game and Chris Paul the next.

 

[Nash]

People that hate Marion as a player are truly stupid. The guy is one of the most versatile players in the league.

Name 3 players that can play effective defence against Tim Duncan one game and Chris Paul the next.

hey! where did you get the idea that I hate Marion? I was only stating a fact and hoping to hear the opinion of others on this new ploy.
gosh! I was just trying to discuss something. why do you have to flame the post with words like hate and stupid?

 

[Cheesebeef]

Name 3 players that can play effective defence against Tim Duncan one game and Chris Paul the next.

are you actually implying that Marion effectively defenses Tim Duncan?

 

[devilalum]

are you actually implying that Marion effectively defenses Tim Duncan?

Probably better than anybody else on the team.

I don't know that I actually remember him guarding Duncan that much but he does a nice job on Dirk.

Same idea.

 

[devilalum]

hey! where did you get the idea that I hate Marion? I was only stating a fact and hoping to hear the opinion of others on this new ploy.
gosh! I was just trying to discuss something. why do you have to flame the post with words like hate and stupid?

I thought you were giving Marion props and I was just chiming in. I was referring to all the people that annually bash Marion.

 

[Nash]

I thought you were giving Marion props and I was just chiming in. I was referring to all the people that annually bash Marion.

aah! OK.


PS:however I do feel he needs to be treated for 3 pointeritis

 

[BC867]

Is the concept of a Small Forward guarding his opposing Small Forward totally gone from basketball? Or just on a team that doesn't value "D"?

Playing guys out of position doesn't affect just him, it affects everyone else on the floor as well.

Somehow the Suns practice of mismatches hasn't ever made them a strong defensive team.

How I'd love to see a Suns coach operate from a position of strength . . . and stick to it.

I've said it on this board and the preceeding ones I've posted on for years.

I said it when calling in to Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton on KTAR before that. (Who remembers him?)

And d'ya know what? Still not a serious championship contender. They must be doing something wrong.

 

[devilalum]

aah! OK.


PS:however I do feel he needs to be treated for 3 pointeritis

I don't like him shooting 3's either but he must have D'Antoni's blessing. He's either been told to shoot 3's or he has the green light.

 

[Errntknght]

I can't imagine D'A actually likes Marion to shoot threes... but I imagine he lets him continue to do it because of all the good stuff Shawn does...

 

[Nash]

I was going to add to my post last night that Marion would be on the opp PG probably only while Kidd was playing, that anyone could take care of Marcus Williams. But I thought that was kind of stating the obvious.

Being in the BEast, I've watched Williams from his UConn days but did not expect him to blow up like he did last night. He's been struggling to get used to the NBA but last night, we just let him have his way. Both Bell and Marion stood by and watched the show.

I believe this is where the coach steps in. Clearly, Williams had the hot hand last night and if the coach had taken a timeout during one of their runs to ask them to clamp down on D, this might not have happened. I'm sure you recall how their D crowded Nash for much of the 2nd half, not letting him do fancy stuff.

Though L Frank overreacted by clearing out his bench (different issue that it worked), he at least took timeouts during Suns runs to speak to his team. I really want to see DA do that more.

 

[jbeecham]

D'Antoni had 4 different guys (Nash, banks, Marion, Raja) try to guard Williams and no one could stop him. Who else should he have sent out there? Williams wasn't missing and if he did then Hassan Adams cleaned up the miss. They just brought in 2 high energy guys that got on fire and our guys looked tired. We should've been tired because LB isn't playing, James Jones played like crap, Banks didn't play well, and KT was just ok.

Let me clarify on Banks, he had a few nice plays stripping the ball defensively and starting fast breaks, but all of his good plays came when Nash was on the floor. When Nash was on the bench and Banks had to run the offense, he crumbled and the offense went stagnant.

 

[elindholm]

When Nash was on the bench and Banks had to run the offense, he crumbled and the offense went stagnant.

Which is why Nash had to play a whopping 41 minutes in a game that, especially after the first quarter, should have been an easy win.

 

[devilalum]

When Nash was on the bench and Banks had to run the offense, he crumbled and the offense went stagnant.

Which is why Nash had to play a whopping 41 minutes in a game that, especially after the first quarter, should have been an easy win.

There's no problem here. Banks has been a little disappointing so far but Nash's minutes have been reasonable when LB is playing.

 

[elindholm]

There's no problem here. Banks has been a little disappointing so far but Nash's minutes have been reasonable when LB is playing.

I guess, if you consider another career high "reasonable." I don't know whether Nash's postseason physical breakdowns are due to his logging heavy minutes or not. But the hope of most of this board was that he could at least get back down into the low 30s. Instead, he's at 36, even if you restrict it to games in which Barbosa was available.

 

[cly2tw]

I guess, if you consider another career high "reasonable." I don't know whether Nash's postseason physical breakdowns are due to his logging heavy minutes or not. But the hope of most of this board was that he could at least get back down into the low 30s. Instead, he's at 36, even if you restrict it to games in which Barbosa was available.

I hope with Diaw fully back with his confidence and Rose better integrated into the offense, this will change.