duncan228
02-28-2009, 10:06 PM
NBA's highly combustible parts (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/NBAs_highly_combustible_parts.html)
Mike Monroe - Express-News
Ask any coach to rank the most important factors that make up a championship-caliber NBA team, and right after size, talent and athleticism, team chemistry is apt to be next on the list.
Just as the wrong combination of chemicals in a high school lab sometimes can produce hydrogen sulfide, which smells like a rotten egg, the wrong combination of players can produce a noxious result.
The Celtics’ decision to sign Stephon Marbury brings the issue of team chemistry into question. Nobody questions Marbury’s skill set. It is what he has done to the chemistry of every team for which he has played that makes Boston’s decision a gamble.
The prevailing theory: that Marbury will be so thrilled about being part of a championship-contending team, he will be on his best behavior, doing everything he can to fit in with the defending champions. Supposedly, his acceptance will include playing limited minutes behind Rajon Rondo without pouting.
Marbury’s history suggests he is capable of ruining any team’s chemistry, but he is not alone. Here is a list of the NBA’s most unstable elements: All-Star talent players notable as much, or more, for the failures of the teams on which they played as for their abilities.
Stephon Marbury, Celtics
During his 12 seasons, Marbury has demanded the Timberwolves trade him because he didn’t like being the team’s second option behind Kevin Garnett. He’s feuded with nearly every coach for whom he has played and famously refused to suit up for a game this season for the Knicks, resulting in a suspension. Marbury believes he is capable of leading any team to victory, yet he has never experienced a series victory in the playoffs.
Tracy McGrady, Rockets
McGrady is a perennial All-Star who went into this season with a career scoring average of 22.4. Despite his status as one of the league’s premier scorers, McGrady has yet to win a playoff series. He is widely believed to have given up on the Magic in his final season in Orlando, sitting out the final weeks of the season with an injury many questioned. The most recent example of his anti-team behavior: announcing he would have season-ending surgery before telling the Rockets’ coaches.
Baron Davis, Warriors
Unlike Marbury and McGrady, Davis has experienced some success in the playoffs. In fact, he was the Warriors’ MVP when they upset the Mavericks in the first round of the 2007 playoffs. Davis’ reputation as a chemistry killer began in New Orleans, when he feuded with management, including Byron Scott, and missed most of the 2004-05 season with a back injury that many around the team questioned. He virtually forced the Hornets to trade him to the Warriors in a one-sided deal for Dale Davis and Speedy Claxton. This season, he has openly feuded with coach Mike Dunleavy on a Clippers team that is one of the NBA’s worst.
J.R. Smith, Nuggets
Nobody questions Smith’s athleticism and his offensive skills, but his behavior, on and off the court, has been highly questionable. He was one of the offenders in a brawl in New York in the 2006-07 season that resulted in multiple suspensions. He got 10 games. Later that same season, Nuggets coach George Karl virtually suspended Smith for the final two games of the Nuggets’ playoff series with the Spurs, benching him after some questionable play on the court.
Mike Monroe - Express-News
Ask any coach to rank the most important factors that make up a championship-caliber NBA team, and right after size, talent and athleticism, team chemistry is apt to be next on the list.
Just as the wrong combination of chemicals in a high school lab sometimes can produce hydrogen sulfide, which smells like a rotten egg, the wrong combination of players can produce a noxious result.
The Celtics’ decision to sign Stephon Marbury brings the issue of team chemistry into question. Nobody questions Marbury’s skill set. It is what he has done to the chemistry of every team for which he has played that makes Boston’s decision a gamble.
The prevailing theory: that Marbury will be so thrilled about being part of a championship-contending team, he will be on his best behavior, doing everything he can to fit in with the defending champions. Supposedly, his acceptance will include playing limited minutes behind Rajon Rondo without pouting.
Marbury’s history suggests he is capable of ruining any team’s chemistry, but he is not alone. Here is a list of the NBA’s most unstable elements: All-Star talent players notable as much, or more, for the failures of the teams on which they played as for their abilities.
Stephon Marbury, Celtics
During his 12 seasons, Marbury has demanded the Timberwolves trade him because he didn’t like being the team’s second option behind Kevin Garnett. He’s feuded with nearly every coach for whom he has played and famously refused to suit up for a game this season for the Knicks, resulting in a suspension. Marbury believes he is capable of leading any team to victory, yet he has never experienced a series victory in the playoffs.
Tracy McGrady, Rockets
McGrady is a perennial All-Star who went into this season with a career scoring average of 22.4. Despite his status as one of the league’s premier scorers, McGrady has yet to win a playoff series. He is widely believed to have given up on the Magic in his final season in Orlando, sitting out the final weeks of the season with an injury many questioned. The most recent example of his anti-team behavior: announcing he would have season-ending surgery before telling the Rockets’ coaches.
Baron Davis, Warriors
Unlike Marbury and McGrady, Davis has experienced some success in the playoffs. In fact, he was the Warriors’ MVP when they upset the Mavericks in the first round of the 2007 playoffs. Davis’ reputation as a chemistry killer began in New Orleans, when he feuded with management, including Byron Scott, and missed most of the 2004-05 season with a back injury that many around the team questioned. He virtually forced the Hornets to trade him to the Warriors in a one-sided deal for Dale Davis and Speedy Claxton. This season, he has openly feuded with coach Mike Dunleavy on a Clippers team that is one of the NBA’s worst.
J.R. Smith, Nuggets
Nobody questions Smith’s athleticism and his offensive skills, but his behavior, on and off the court, has been highly questionable. He was one of the offenders in a brawl in New York in the 2006-07 season that resulted in multiple suspensions. He got 10 games. Later that same season, Nuggets coach George Karl virtually suspended Smith for the final two games of the Nuggets’ playoff series with the Spurs, benching him after some questionable play on the court.