I have a feeling that Riley will like Marcus Banks, because he's a tough, hard-nosed defender that will pressure the ball and harass the opposing guards every night. He is a fairly poor decision maker and isn't someone I can see succeeding in a situation where he is being asked to be a floor general, but I think he can work out in Miami. Wade is the primary ball handler; Marcus won't have that type of responsibility for extended minutes every night. The plus to this is that his shot has vastly improved since he has arrived in Phoenix. When he was in Boston and Minnesota, he was a guy you just really didn't want shooting the ball very often. In limited time this year, he has shown that he can hit the 3 and has a better pull-up jumper than he did earlier in his career. I liked Marcus early on, and defended him for a little over 2 years. Then, he simply let everyone down. Bust? I think so. However, just because he likely won't live up to being the 13th pick in the 03 draft doesn't mean he can't make it anywhere. He is one of the fastest guys in the NBA and is a terrific on-ball defender. Riley went after him hard when he was a free agent 2 years ago, and I think he's going to be fairly pleased with his output in Miami. Your thoughts on Marcus, his fit, and his future?
I think he's going to have similar success playing with Wade that Keyon Dooling had a couple of seasons ago. Those two complimented each other well because Dooling is a shooting guard trapped in a PG body similar to Banks. Without Shaq the Heat can open up the offense more and take advantage of their speed. Wade-Marion-Wright-Banks are all quick and can cover a lot of ground in a hurry. It's going to be interesting to see how the team adjusts and if Riley continues to coach them. Maybe Riley breaks out the old Laker Showtime video tapes and turns the Heat into an uptempo style team?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ Feb 8 2008, 05:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Maybe Riley breaks out the old Laker Showtime video tapes and turns the Heat into an uptempo style team?</div> Yeah that is what Riley eluded to at the press conference today, and Marion/Marcus talked about how they will look to get out and run here as well (and mentioned talking to Riley about it). I think to take advantage of his players' strengths, Riley has to push the tempo, and I think he will.
