My dad always said that he thinks Marbury would be better player as a SG because of his quickness and that he isnt a pure point guard anyway.
He isn't a pure point guard and I think he'll score wonderfully as a 2. Sure, his defense is woefully inept no matter where you put him, but Larry Brown will improve that. I know LB is not a magic potion who makes bad defenders into good ones, but his system has cut down on defensive lapses in the backcourt everywhere he's gone, and I strongly doubt that will change now. He will probably acquire a big PG with a defensive game at some point, but look for Larry to lay a foundation this year anyway. He's not competing for a title, just like he didn't in his first year in Philly, but he'll be laying plenty of groundwork. I would love to see Marbury excel in this role, and I really think he'll get the chance. It's really up to Larry how many touches he is to get, and how many points he will be allowed to score. If he tries to run the offense from the 2, this could get ugly, but if he accepts diminished touches and tries to score off set plays, as Larry will want him to, then he may score more than he ever has. If he can play off his team's offense, the way Rip did in Detroit, he would excel beyond our wildest dreams (nightmares), and finally be able to laugh a little at the end of the year, rather than fantasize about being the game's best point guard or most talented player. LB is going to need more to work with down low, but he may or may not be able to adjust the bodies he has to make up for mistakes up top.
I don't think his scoring is going to be a problem with him moving to the off-guard. Size is an issue, but LB could make it work. The main concern is who we start at PG. I just don't want a shoot-first PG, but it seems like that's the road we're taking. I'm just scared knowing that most NCAA teams are going to rebound better than us.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ignignot:</div><div class="quote_post">He isn't a pure point guard and I think he'll score wonderfully as a 2. Sure, his defense is woefully inept no matter where you put him, but Larry Brown will improve that. I know LB is not a magic potion who makes bad defenders into good ones, but his system has cut down on defensive lapses in the backcourt everywhere he's gone, and I strongly doubt that will change now. He will probably acquire a big PG with a defensive game at some point, but look for Larry to lay a foundation this year anyway. He's not competing for a title, just like he didn't in his first year in Philly, but he'll be laying plenty of groundwork. I would love to see Marbury excel in this role, and I really think he'll get the chance. It's really up to Larry how many touches he is to get, and how many points he will be allowed to score. If he tries to run the offense from the 2, this could get ugly, but if he accepts diminished touches and tries to score off set plays, as Larry will want him to, then he may score more than he ever has. If he can play off his team's offense, the way Rip did in Detroit, he would excel beyond our wildest dreams (nightmares), and finally be able to laugh a little at the end of the year, rather than fantasize about being the game's best point guard or most talented player. LB is going to need more to work with down low, but he may or may not be able to adjust the bodies he has to make up for mistakes up top.</div> Exactly. Dead-on. Larry is simply putting down his plans, getting ready to develop his team. And what you see first off when looking at the Knicks is a jam in the back-court. Marbury is a scorer, it's that simple. His passing is really not even PG-style, if you can understand what I mean. It's more like his passes are either lucky to the open man, or the play was just set up for him to pass. He really is much more of a 2G who has been trapped in the 1-position throughout his career, and now Larry is putting him where he belongs. I want to see Crawford at the 1, we saw a bit of him last year - it seems to make more sense. I look forward to watching Larry experiment, and I love his first change.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Knicks Analyst:</div><div class="quote_post">Exactly. Dead-on. Larry is simply putting down his plans, getting ready to develop his team. And what you see first off when looking at the Knicks is a jam in the back-court. Marbury is a scorer, it's that simple. His passing is really not even PG-style, if you can understand what I mean. It's more like his passes are either lucky to the open man, or the play was just set up for him to pass. He really is much more of a 2G who has been trapped in the 1-position throughout his career, and now Larry is putting him where he belongs. I want to see Crawford at the 1, we saw a bit of him last year - it seems to make more sense. I look forward to watching Larry experiment, and I love his first change. </div> I would definitely like to see what Larry Brown gets out of Jamal Crawford. It's probably going to be some marked improvement. I know it sounds crazy, but he could make a tenacious defender out of this man. He has yet to play for a defensive-minded (READ: talented) coach, and I think LB will light a fire under him. Crawford at the 1 is a great idea in theory, it's up to Crawford to pull it off in practice. "We talkin' 'bout practice."
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ignignot:</div><div class="quote_post">I would definitely like to see what Larry Brown gets out of Jamal Crawford. It's probably going to be some marked improvement. I know it sounds crazy, but he could make a tenacious defender out of this man. He has yet to play for a defensive-minded (READ: talented) coach, and I think LB will light a fire under him. Crawford at the 1 is a great idea in theory, it's up to Crawford to pull it off in practice. "We talkin' 'bout practice."</div> Bingo. Look what he did for Billups. I'll say that Billups was just about...awful defensively before Brown stepped in. Brown can get anyone to play defense. Does anyone really think that Billups will be as good under Flip as he was under Brown? No chance. Brown can do whatever he wants with this team, I would never doubt him. You're right, Iggy. It's all about practice.
Also, when you consider Brown saying: "If you don't play defense, you won't play", it will encourage everyone to play.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting VinKanaddy:</div><div class="quote_post">Jaric isn't a true PG, he's more of a shooting guard turned into a combo guard. Jamal Crawford > Marco Jaric.</div> Jaric is a combo guard, but he's one that can actually play PG. He's not a selfish player and is not looking to score, he's looking to set up his teammates, and pass the ball, so in that essence, you could say he is a true PG. As a PG, Jaric > Jamal Crawford by a lot. Wasn't Shape being hassled by someone before for saying Marbury should be moved to SG <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Bingo. Look what he did for Billups. I'll say that Billups was just about...awful defensively before Brown stepped in. Brown can get anyone to play defense. Does anyone really think that Billups will be as good under Flip as he was under Brown? No chance. Brown can do whatever he wants with this team, I would never doubt him. You're right, Iggy. It's all about practice.</div> Billups was never a bad defender, he was always average, and he's still average, but the help defenders in Detroit can make anyone a level better on defense than they were before. Billups went from average to good, Rip from below average to average, and Tayshaun from good to very good.
Marbury's attitude is definitely encouraging. If he keeps this up, his game will become more deadly and the team will benefit from it as well. I'm curious about what Brown will do with Crawford. He has all the tools to be a good PG, and I think Brown's the best person to try and get the best out of him.
