Spurs Brazil
12-15-2007, 07:10 AM
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-071215-16
Nash On The Next Generation
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)
It started with Deron Williams on Wednesday night. It continues Saturday night on the road against Chris Paul. Then on Monday night, on the road again, Tony Parker awaits.
Forget the chipped tooth for a moment. That's some holiday treatment Steve Nash is getting from the schedule-makers.
As if he wasn't sufficiently aware of how good the NBA's next generation of elite point guards already is, Nash will have seen them all up close -- back-to-back-to-back -- by the time he gets to Dallas for next Wednesday's maiden reunion of the season with his old pal Dirk Nowitzki.
Not that Nash has any protests planned. He even consented to providing a thumbnail scouting report on each member of the much younger trio poised to supplant Nash and Jason Kidd as the game's pre-eminent points. (The two-time MVP didn't believe it, either, until we told him that Parker, after six seasons and three championships, is still only 25 -- not too much older than Williams at 23 and Paul at 22.)
Here's Nash on:
Williams' strengths:
"He's a great player already. Very, very dangerous offensively. He can score from anywhere on the court at a high percentage, but he's also a true point guard with good vision. And he's a competitor."
D-Will's "Jason Kidd with a jump shot" label:
"I know everyone likes to compare him to Jason because they're of similar size and build, but Jason is almost in a class by himself as a pass-first point guard. I think everyone is just different. We might all have some similarities in our games, but that's a somewhat simplistic way to look at it. There's more to it than that."
Trying to guard the bigger Williams:
"I usually do guard him even though he's obviously bigger and stronger. But let's face it: Deron's a difficult matchup for every team in the league. I do all right against him, but a lot of defending point guards in this league is how the bigs handle the pick-and-roll. It's not so much guys going one-on-one. [The bigs] can make all the difference."
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Paul's strengths:
"He's not as accomplished a shooter as Deron, but he's a terrific penetrator and passer and he's able to get to the line from the backcourt. We both penetrate and probe the defense in pretty similar fashion, but I don't get to the line as much as Chris does. And that kind of offsets Deron's shooting advantage. [Paul] also seems to have a knack for getting steals. He gives his team a lot of confidence."
The never-ending debate about who will have the better career, Williams or Paul:
"I'd love to say that it's all the media's fault, but I understand it. Everyone tries to compare players because it's fun. It's the natural thing to do to try to think of something that's similar. Let's say we're talking on the phone and you say something about X and I'll interrupt you and say, 'Oh, you mean sort of like Y?' It's just what we do in life, because we all want to relate to each other. That's kind of how I see it."
Which one has the lead at this point:
"There's nothing in it [between them], really. I don't know how you could pick one. Both are great point guards already."
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Parker's strengths:
"He's the best finisher out of all the point guards. Tremendous quickness, as everyone knows. It seems like he can get to the basket in traffic any time he wants and he's effective going right or left, which obviously makes it tougher for the defense. And now he's improved his jump shot. He's definitely improved it."
The impact of the growing Suns/Spurs rivalry on their individual matchup:
"You'll probably be disappointed to hear this, but there really is no impact. We don't guard each other very often."
Why he regularly checks Williams and Paul but not Parker:
"I imagine that both teams think it's more effective to put a bigger, longer guy on both of us. And there's something to be said for not chasing around the other guy all night when each of us is doing a lot of orchestrating."
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.
Nash On The Next Generation
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)
It started with Deron Williams on Wednesday night. It continues Saturday night on the road against Chris Paul. Then on Monday night, on the road again, Tony Parker awaits.
Forget the chipped tooth for a moment. That's some holiday treatment Steve Nash is getting from the schedule-makers.
As if he wasn't sufficiently aware of how good the NBA's next generation of elite point guards already is, Nash will have seen them all up close -- back-to-back-to-back -- by the time he gets to Dallas for next Wednesday's maiden reunion of the season with his old pal Dirk Nowitzki.
Not that Nash has any protests planned. He even consented to providing a thumbnail scouting report on each member of the much younger trio poised to supplant Nash and Jason Kidd as the game's pre-eminent points. (The two-time MVP didn't believe it, either, until we told him that Parker, after six seasons and three championships, is still only 25 -- not too much older than Williams at 23 and Paul at 22.)
Here's Nash on:
Williams' strengths:
"He's a great player already. Very, very dangerous offensively. He can score from anywhere on the court at a high percentage, but he's also a true point guard with good vision. And he's a competitor."
D-Will's "Jason Kidd with a jump shot" label:
"I know everyone likes to compare him to Jason because they're of similar size and build, but Jason is almost in a class by himself as a pass-first point guard. I think everyone is just different. We might all have some similarities in our games, but that's a somewhat simplistic way to look at it. There's more to it than that."
Trying to guard the bigger Williams:
"I usually do guard him even though he's obviously bigger and stronger. But let's face it: Deron's a difficult matchup for every team in the league. I do all right against him, but a lot of defending point guards in this league is how the bigs handle the pick-and-roll. It's not so much guys going one-on-one. [The bigs] can make all the difference."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul's strengths:
"He's not as accomplished a shooter as Deron, but he's a terrific penetrator and passer and he's able to get to the line from the backcourt. We both penetrate and probe the defense in pretty similar fashion, but I don't get to the line as much as Chris does. And that kind of offsets Deron's shooting advantage. [Paul] also seems to have a knack for getting steals. He gives his team a lot of confidence."
The never-ending debate about who will have the better career, Williams or Paul:
"I'd love to say that it's all the media's fault, but I understand it. Everyone tries to compare players because it's fun. It's the natural thing to do to try to think of something that's similar. Let's say we're talking on the phone and you say something about X and I'll interrupt you and say, 'Oh, you mean sort of like Y?' It's just what we do in life, because we all want to relate to each other. That's kind of how I see it."
Which one has the lead at this point:
"There's nothing in it [between them], really. I don't know how you could pick one. Both are great point guards already."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parker's strengths:
"He's the best finisher out of all the point guards. Tremendous quickness, as everyone knows. It seems like he can get to the basket in traffic any time he wants and he's effective going right or left, which obviously makes it tougher for the defense. And now he's improved his jump shot. He's definitely improved it."
The impact of the growing Suns/Spurs rivalry on their individual matchup:
"You'll probably be disappointed to hear this, but there really is no impact. We don't guard each other very often."
Why he regularly checks Williams and Paul but not Parker:
"I imagine that both teams think it's more effective to put a bigger, longer guy on both of us. And there's something to be said for not chasing around the other guy all night when each of us is doing a lot of orchestrating."
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.