<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (philsmith75 @ Mar 24 2008, 12:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Monta is a great addition to the W's; for a 2nd round pick too. But he's not in Williams' or Paul's class simply because he does not make those around him better like the other two. Martin is a scorer but he's not a one man fast break like Ellis nor can he create his shoot with the shot clock winding down like Monta's doing these days. Monta goes after rebounds in traffic and is doing a better job passing and getting assists and limiting the TOs. The defense is horrible though. How he lets Anthony Johnson, the big version too, get to the rim for a layup is mind boggling. Steals does not mean good D. The W's get away with that type of D because they are so good on offense. Its just too bad that they cannot expend the same amount of focus and energy on man to man D and rebounding that they do on gambling for steals.</div> I totally agree with Phil and Run, especially his D. He's got all the tools to be a great ballhawk defender, but he gambles. His playmaking isn't near the level of a top point guard because he lacks vocal leadership abilities and experience like Sjax and Baron have. Maybe that will be unlocked someday once he gets more mentally mature. I think the guy more underrated than Ellis is Sjax. I wish Sjax could have made the all-star team. The West all-stars didn't have a backup small forward this season and Brandon Roy does not count as a SF in terms of length. I mean we talk about Ellis, but Sjax is our team's best shooter and he does all the stuff that we wanted Dunleavy to do on offense, plus he D's it up unlike Ellis. Gotta wonder why Sjax is overshadowed a lot. No love for the thugs, I guess. But he's our thug.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Custodianrules2 @ Mar 24 2008, 09:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I totally agree with Phil and Run, especially his D. He's got all the tools to be a great ballhawk defender, but he gambles.</div> I think he gambles because he's just not strong enough to physically stay with anyone. I'd say that he's playing the best possible defense that his tools allow him to as of now. A couple years from now, his legs will fill out a bit, but he simply is too light to fight through a screen or chest bump with the majority of guards in the league.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CohanHater @ Mar 26 2008, 06:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Custodianrules2 @ Mar 24 2008, 09:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I totally agree with Phil and Run, especially his D. He's got all the tools to be a great ballhawk defender, but he gambles.</div> I think he gambles because he's just not strong enough to physically stay with anyone. I'd say that he's playing the best possible defense that his tools allow him to as of now. A couple years from now, his legs will fill out a bit, but he simply is too light to fight through a screen or chest bump with the majority of guards in the league. </div> IMO the area he struggles with most is chasing guys who move well off the ball. He is constantly getting caught in screens and out-witted by the offensive player. He does try here but for some reason hes just horrible at fighting through screens, deciding when to go over or under screens, keeping with his man off the ball, etc. His on-ball defense isn't too bad. He regularly beats his man to the spot and draws legit charges, gets steals, he does get scored on somewhat often but hes not a major liability one-on-one unless hes at a height/weight disadvantage.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Mar 26 2008, 06:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CohanHater @ Mar 26 2008, 06:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Custodianrules2 @ Mar 24 2008, 09:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I totally agree with Phil and Run, especially his D. He's got all the tools to be a great ballhawk defender, but he gambles.</div> I think he gambles because he's just not strong enough to physically stay with anyone. I'd say that he's playing the best possible defense that his tools allow him to as of now. A couple years from now, his legs will fill out a bit, but he simply is too light to fight through a screen or chest bump with the majority of guards in the league. </div> IMO the area he struggles with most is chasing guys who move well off the ball. He is constantly getting caught in screens and out-witted by the offensive player. He does try here but for some reason hes just horrible at fighting through screens, deciding when to go over or under screens, keeping with his man off the ball, etc. His on-ball defense isn't too bad. He regularly beats his man to the spot and draws legit charges, gets steals, he does get scored on somewhat often but hes not a major liability one-on-one unless hes at a height/weight disadvantage. </div> It's probably a product of what CH was saying. He isn't strong enough to fight through screens. As for getting out-witted, it's probably lack of decision-making ability in the area of defense, but he'll learn eventually.
I agree with all of the above. Monta's man defense is pretty good because it solely relies on his physical ability. His defensive awareness is awful but that should get better with experience. And you wonder why he's always getting flattened by opponents' screens...
This sums it up pretty nicely http://theblowtorch.blogspot.com/2008/03/n...ta-defense.html And for the people who think he has good man to man defense.. Would you EVER want him to be the guy guarding a potential game-winning shot in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter? Yeah no..
