Re: Chauncey vs Marcus

[Kim Malo <kimmalo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 11:39 AM 11/4/2003, David A Wickerham wrote:
> I think this is a valid question, and I'll try my review from 
> memory.  Chauncey could always shoot the ball and play great defense.  He 
> was also deadly from the free throw line.  What he  couldn't do was get a 
> shot for himself or any of his teammates.  He had a disconcerting habit of 
> leaving his feet without having a clear idea of what he intended to 
> do.  This led to lots of turnovers and put him securely in the Pitino 
> doghouse.  After he left us, he went through 3 or 4 teams before landing 
> with the Pistons.  I still don't think he is a point guard, but he has 
> managed to minmize his deficiencies, and there will always be a place in 
> this league for a guy who can shoot the rock and play lock down defense.
>
> Marcus is a much better ball handler and has the speed and quickness to 
> get his own shot.  So far he hasn't shown he can finish that shot and that 
> is troubling.  Dee Brown never learned to finish, and the same fate could 
> befall Marcus.  His other problem is that he tends to dominate the 
> ball.  often, we see him dribbling away 18 seconds of the 24 second clock 
> before initiating an offense.  This is the area he can really improve 
> in.  All rookie PGs come into the league used to being their teams' first 
> option, and the good ones like Gary Payton grow out of it.  Here's hoping 
> Banks is willing to learn.
>
> Bottom line, Chauncey was a slightly better defender and a much better 
> shooter of open jump shots in his rookie year.  Marcus has the better (and 
> unteachable) physical skills.  He is quicker, faster, and has a much 
> better handle.  If he learns how to initiate the offense, he could be a 
> servicable starter by next year and has long term stardom 
> potential.  Please note that I'm not saying he will be a star, only that 
> he has the physical gifts to become one.
>
> If Alex Wang is still lurking on the list, I'd love to here his take on 
> this comparison.

Not Alex, but I'll bite. Your point about Chauncey's tendency to leave his 
feet is absolutely dead on. And was a big problem because it was continual, 
not just an occasional lapse. And I agree about the problems with creating 
a shot for others. Also a very valid point about his taking some time and a 
few teams to develop into the player he is today. I'm less sure I agree 
about his being a better defender. He's a bigger player and so tougher to 
post up, and better than a lot of rookies, but he got beaten badly a lot too.

As to the Marcus/Dee comparison, I don't think that one's fair to Marcus 
for one big reason. Dee clearly disliked and avoided contact, something 
that became even more pronounced after his knee blow out (even though that 
was in the open court with no one around at practice). THAT's why he never 
made proper use of his hops and speed in learning to take it to the hoop 
and finish. Not saying he's an EWill banger, but I've seen no sign of 
similar shunning of contact on the part of Marcus. I think it's pure 
learning curve there, and that it will happen. Although it leads to the 
other reason I wish we had more of a crafty veteran PG on roster that 
almost never gets mentioned - to provide someone to mentor Marcus as he 
played against him in practice. Playing against a really smart classic PG 
who could walk him through what he did wrong in practice would teach him a 
lot more faster.

In fairness, they both also came out of school as a primary offensive 
option who handled the ball a lot on their teams vs classic PG distributor 
in college, with Marcus the one who played closest to PG there from what I 
understand - not a big college hoops fan so didn't see him much. I suspect 
Marcus's biggest problem is accustoming himself to personal failure and not 
always being the best athlete on the floor, which was probably usually 
enough before this. While I think part of the problem on the list is we've 
suddenly ratcheted our expectations higher because of getting out of the 
same old rut and seeing what change CAN bring (if things work out). We 
should have expected a couple of months adjustment just because of the 
number and types of changes, but then they went and looked so good from 
that firat game after the AW deal that expectations got a bit unreal. 
Remember when Kendrick was almost universally considered a couple year 
project who wouldn't play at all this season vs the Obie MUST find minutes 
for him that's more common now. What was that, all of a couple of months back?

Kim

Kim