RE: Point Guards

[John Lyell <Jlyell@concentric.net>]

I have to disagree totally.  This is not college with talent spead over 
thousands of teams, this is the NBA, and unless you have a dominant player 
like Jordan or Olajuwan you need a real point player who can break down 
defenses, control the tempo,  and distribute the ball.

With a running offense you have to have a floor leader who can distribute 
the ball, any scoring you get is additional gravy.  Look at the Lakers with 
Magic, he was the perfect guard to control the tempo and make everyone else 
look better.  His improvement from the outside made him that much more 
deadlier.

If he was a shooter first, and not a good ball handler, penetrator,  or 
passer,  that system would have been nowhere near as efficient.

Another reason you don't see Anthony Epps or Delk really excelling in the 
NBA.


As Alden stated I believe, you can usually tell who will be the successful 
points early in college i.e. Magic, Stockton, Marbury, Kidd, Bibby, etc. 
Maybe it is my memory, but  I can not recall a player who has converted to 
the point position and  really been successful as a floor leader in the 
NBA.








-----Original Message-----
From:	Gregory Hurst [SMTP:gh18@juno.com]
Sent:	Saturday, January 03, 1998 6:25 AM
To:	celtics@igtc.COM
Subject:	Re: Point Guards

I can not remember Pitino ever having a true point guard in his system,
except for  Mark Jackson.  I have said on many occasions that Pitino
system is not based upon a true point guard.  The point guard in this
system has to be a shooter first ( Billy Donovan/ Tony Delk) and a passer
second.  The offense is built on movement to allow one to drive for the
lay up or pass for the three. If Billups was still in College and Boston
needed a point guard who would you want Pitino to draft in next years
draft?
 Furthermore, I agree with theory of getting Stewart instead of Austin.
I think Austin might skip town, because of the beach life in Miami and
head to a warmer climate.  Remember, he played college ball in the state
of Arizona.


Greg
gh18@juno.com
>> Point guards are born, not made.
>
>Mark Jackson didn't set the world on fire when he came into the NBA,
>and
>it's a position he always played.  His only adjustment was to the pro
>game.  I like Kidd a lot and would take him in a second.  I like Nash
>but
>I'm not making a judgement based upon one game against us.  Brevin
>Knight
>has already been injured and is another smurf-sized guard that we
>always
>want to ship out of town.
>
>Cecil
>
>> If the Celtics had a true point guard, they would be absorbing
>> Pitino's system and developing both as individuals and as a team
>much more
>> effectively than they are now.  Just imagine how all those turnovers
>would
>> be turned into layups if Jason Kidd or Brevin Knight or even Steve
>Nash
>> were running the break.
>>
>> Alden
>>
>