Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? My pick is Ron Artest. When motivated, Artest can guard all five positions on the court. Hell, he's 6'7, 260 lbs. He's a ballhawk on defense, and just completely smothers his man. He could probably take on guys like Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Bosh. Not only on defense, but Artest can play all five positions, too. As mentioned before, he sometimes sets up the offense for the Kings even when Mike Bibby is on the floor.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? Ron Artest is a good one.Another guy who comes to mind is Shawn Marion. He doesn't get assigned to pgs really but he guards every other posistion. Bruce Bowen guards a lot of posistions too.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? I really doubt that Artest can play center or guard guys like Howard, but if you saw him do it...I say Marion. He can guard 4 positions and do it very well. He can rebound very well even going against guys much bigger than him, he can steal the ball well, can block shots well and I think he is pretty deserving of the DPOY award this year for the first time even though Bowen could get it since the guys has never won it before...is that true? wow.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? I'll have to go with Shawn Marion. He's got the wingspan, the athletecism, the speed, and the size to defend some of the best the NBA has. We've seen Marion guard big men like Dirk Nowitzki and smaller gaurds like Gilbert Arenas. His natural athletecism and strength gives him the ability to bother anyone on a basketball court. Marion has shown up on defense in the transition for the Suns which has been one of the many keys to the Suns success this year. The Matrix to me is one of the leading candidates for DPOY this year.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Legacy @ Apr 3 2007, 07:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Ron Artest is a good one.Another guy who comes to mind is Shawn Marion. He doesn't get assigned to pgs really but he guards every other posistion. Bruce Bowen guards a lot of posistions too.</div>He guards point guards a lot actually since he did a good job last year against Cassell. He doesn't guard centers though.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ASUFan22 @ Apr 3 2007, 10:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>He guards point guards a lot actually since he did a good job last year against Cassell. He doesn't guard centers though.</div>Well, depends on how you define it. In my opinion it's very hard to classify most players to posistions. (There are obvious ones like Nash and Yao Ming, but for the most part it's very difficult). I'd be willing to call Cassell a 2 guard sometimes and I'd call Dirk a center a little too.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Legacy @ Apr 3 2007, 07:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Well, depends on how you define it. In my opinion it's very hard to classify most players to posistions. (There are obvious ones like Nash and Yao Ming, but for the most part it's very difficult). I'd be willing to call Cassell a 2 guard sometimes and I'd call Dirk a center a little too.</div>The guys who are listed at 1 then and distribute the ball more than the next guard on the team. Not sure how you don't have Cassell as a point though...
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ASUFan22 @ Apr 3 2007, 10:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The guys who are listed at 1 then and distribute the ball more than the next guard on the team. Not sure how you don't have Cassell as a point though...</div>Well, Lebron distributes the ball the most on his team, so does Kobe. Are you saying that they are point guards?I'd consider Cassell a point about 95% of the time but he's a very good off-the-ball scorer and has enough height to play the two guard that I think you could call him a 2 guard. Especailly now that the Clippers have Hart (and had Livingston). It's kind of like Leonardo Barbosa. He handles the ball but most of his points come by him playing the off guard posistion.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? If he's a point 95% of the time then he's a point. And when Marion was guarding him Livingston and Hart weren't on the court with him. LeBron is a SF and I did say a requirement was that person had to be listed at the 1 AND distribute the most and Marion has guarded quite a few of them. The point is he can and has guarded 4 positions well.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ASUFan22 @ Apr 3 2007, 10:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If he's a point 95% of the time then he's a point. And when Marion was guarding him Livingston and Hart weren't on the court with him. LeBron is a SF and I did say a requirement was that person had to be listed at the 1 AND distribute the most and Marion has guarded quite a few of them. The point is he can and has guarded 4 positions well.</div>Ok, I didn't come here to argue with you over specific posistions. If you want to create a new topic. I simply put the most versatile defenders and my list was pretty much the same as yours. :dribble:
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? Speaking of Marion, he's 6'7, quick, and versatile, offensively and defensively. But I think he has a hard time dealing with quick PGs on the defensive end. For example, Marion was assigned to guard Gilbert Arenas a good portion at the end of the game against Washington back in December (Arenas had his way with Phoenix that night, dropping 54). Overall, Marion is a good defender that can guard probably 4 spots, but he most likely can't deal with young, quick PGs.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>I really doubt that Artest can play center or guard guys like Howard, but if you saw him do it...</div>Artest could play center when he needs to.. Ben Wallace, legitimately, is 6'7. He weighs around the same amount of Ron Artest, and plays C full-time for the Chicago Bulls. Dennis Rodman was 6'6, but he guarded many of the opposing team's star big men, such as Karl Malone, Alonzo Mourning, Shaq, etc. Artest is in many ways similar to Rodman, but he has a good vareity of offensive moves, and isn't quite the rebounder Rodman was. By the way, I never said Artest guards guys like Howard, and I never said I've seen him do it. We all know that Howard would punish Artest, offensively.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? Marion is the most versatile as he can guard most 1-4's on any given night, but I feel Ron Artest is the best defender in the league and can guard most 2-4's and a few PG's.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zards @ Apr 3 2007, 11:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Speaking of Marion, he's 6'7, quick, and versatile, offensively and defensively. But I think he has a hard time dealing with quick PGs on the defensive end. For example, Marion was assigned to guard Gilbert Arenas a good portion at the end of the game against Washington back in December (Arenas had his way with Phoenix that night, dropping 54). Overall, Marion is a good defender that can guard probably 4 spots, but he most likely can't deal with young, quick PGs.</div>well that's true. But I believe that great offense always beats great defense. I think that if the offensive level is on par with or greater than the defensive level there is no way the defensive player can stop the offensive player. Look at guys like Kobe and Arenas (and Jordan back in the day) - when they were focused, it didn't mater who was guarding them, because their great offense was always going to beat the other team's great defense.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zards @ Apr 3 2007, 08:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Speaking of Marion, he's 6'7, quick, and versatile, offensively and defensively. But I think he has a hard time dealing with quick PGs on the defensive end. For example, Marion was assigned to guard Gilbert Arenas a good portion at the end of the game against Washington back in December (Arenas had his way with Phoenix that night, dropping 54). Overall, Marion is a good defender that can guard probably 4 spots, but he most likely can't deal with young, quick PGs.</div>Well, you chose Artest. I know for a fact Marion is quicker than Artest so can Artest do any better on quick point guards than Marion?
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zards @ Apr 3 2007, 08:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>But I think he has a hard time dealing with quick PGs on the defensive end. For example, Marion was assigned to guard Gilbert Arenas a good portion at the end of the game against Washington back in December (Arenas had his way with Phoenix that night, dropping 54).</div>Then a few weeks later he shut Arenas down @ Washington :happy0144:
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? I agree with most people, it's definitely Shawn Marion. He's 6'7'', super athletic, he's strong, he's very quick, and he can guard 4 positions. In my mind, no question Shawn Marion is the most versatile defender in the NBA.I think Shane Battier does deserve a mention in this thread, though. He's 6'8'', can guard swingmen and 4's, he's very strong, and he has excellent anticipation skills.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? I'll still take Artest, but Marion isn't that bad.The thing that did it for me is I saw Josh Howard score 29 on him...Josh is a very good player, does everything, but he's not a normal 25+ point scorer, and letting Josh get 29 doesn't help his "best defender" label.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? No Tayshaun Prince mention.He can defend inside and on the perimeter, and his long wingspan block many shots and deny passing lanes.
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? thankyou Sunny D.Tayshaun and Marion are the two most versatile defenders in the leauge.they both play on the ball, are long, hustle, block shots, steal, and get rebounds.Marion is the better one, but Tay is surely up there
Re: The NBA's most versatile defender? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Marvinmartian @ Apr 4 2007, 04:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'll still take Artest, but Marion isn't that bad.The thing that did it for me is I saw Josh Howard score 29 on him...Josh is a very good player, does everything, but he's not a normal 25+ point scorer, and letting Josh get 29 doesn't help his "best defender" label.</div>How much of that came against Marion though? For the majority of the game Marion was defending Dirk with Bell & Diaw taking turns facing Howard.
