I was near courtside last night watching J-Rich torch the Warriors for 30 through 3 quarters and all but 2 were when Monta was supposed to be guarding him. I say "supposed" because at least a 1/3 of the time Monta was nowhere to be found because Monta did not know where his man was. On at least 6 times in the first half, Monta went for the steal (trying to go around to the front from the back and poke the ball away) and left J-Rich with a free path to the hoop for an easy 2. Monta got lucky one time (when he was guarding Grant Hill) because Monta again went for the steal, Hill rose for the dunk but Tolliver got the monster block (right in front of me.) Other times, Monta lingers in the backcourt trying for a stupid steal after a missed shot and there goes JRich the other way downcourt for a free look (which he buries), or Monta is standing straight upright watching the ball and there goes his man backdoor. How many times do you see Monta getting back on D pointing a finger (to his man who has beat him upcourt) saying "get mine"? In person, Monta is the worst kind of a defender, a lazy, uninterested, guy going for the steal and then leaving his teammates in jeopardy to cover for his mistake. Its that bad.
It stinks because Nelson encourages the steal, which is really traditionally bad defense. You can't focus on both the passing lanes and keeping in front of your man unless you're an excellent defender who can predict/understand players' tendencies. So you have to stick with one. And if you do go for steals, you want to have good weak-side defenders on your team, which we don't have.
It's odd to me that a player can even make it in the NBA if all he's good for is scoring. Everyone has learned D, why don't they use it?
I forgot to mention, believe it or not, there was a strong defender on the floor last night, Anthony Tolliver. He did an awesome job on Stoudamire for 3 quarters (the 3rd particularly). He stayed in front of Stoudamire and forced him baseline. Stoudamire made some outstanding shots, guess that's why he was 1st Team All-NBA.
Yeah, Tolliver was awesome, he did it all -- scoring from inside and outside, rebounding, assisting, and defending. I'm not saying ditch Anthony Randolph or that we've found our power forward of the future, but what more can you ask of this guy?
I think the great defenders are those guys who can switch from man to passing lane on a dime. Usually, they stay in front of their man and suddenly they play the passing lane and are able to get a steal and get quickly into transition. I rather see a coach teach defense of staying in front of their man. Those players are the tougher defenders and one needs a screen to shake them off. I think Curry has the tools to become a defender like this if he works on it. What Monta does are for guys who end up playing matador defense.
Monta actually shows up on D from time to time, which baffles me. If he'd bring it every night, the guy would be an all-star. That's the part that he doesn't get. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll ever get it.
It's hard to do it on both ends for 40 minutes. Part of the reason why Monta has been able to play 42 minutes a night is because he's allowed to play phantom defense and sneak along the perimeter for steals. It's much easier than constantly staying with your man, fighting through screens, and putting a body on someone (who's usually got Monta by a few inches and at least 20 pounds) when they get on the block. He does it, but not consistently. If he did, he'd have to slow down on offense.
I was hard on Monta before, but now I have no complaints about him. He does everything he possibly can. I understand that everything he possibly can doesn't involve passing the ball instead of shooting, but hey, he's a "scorer."
If Russell Westbrook plays tough D, so should Monta. No excuses. It's probably more effort and technique than bball IQ. You can be a combo guard scorer with defense in mind. Just gotta know the footwork, clues on how to read the offense, and just effort.
