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I'd take Tayshaun over Bowen if I was the Spurs. Tay can play multiple positions. If Tony Parker is making stupid decisions the Spurs could put Tayshaun at the point, and he has way more time to get better.
What I'm saying is that he hasn't been even a solid defender for the last two years, and he's nowhere near as good a defender as Bowen is. He was a great defensive player in 03-04, but has been only a shadow of that since Cuban and Colangelo got the league to ban physical perimeter D. Bowen remains effective because of his footwork, intelligence, and quickness, none of which Prince has in abundance.
I'd take Tayshaun over Bowen if I was the Spurs. Tay can play multiple positions. If Tony Parker is making stupid decisions the Spurs could put Tayshaun at the point, and he has way more time to get better.
He's always guarding the other teams best player. He always holds his own.
Even if he's a lesser player than Bowen, he's still a solid defender...better than anyone else we could pick up, and did I mention he's 10 years younger?
I have a trade suggestion:
Oberto, Rasho and Brent for Shaq.
But he's not a lesser player, he's a much better player. Prince has a complete game, he is one of the most complete players in the game. Prince will become a better defender of the years, Bowen wasn't always this good at defense, he developed his defensive prowess. Bowen is an aging two-dimensional player, he plays great defense and can hit wide open threes in the corners. More like 1 1/2 dimensions, for the most part he is a liablility on the offensive end.
No, he's not. He almost always guards exclusively 3s. Believe it or not, the Pistons best perimeter defender, and the one who is switched onto problems when necessary, is Rip Hamilton. Furthermore, Prince simply does not "always hold his own".
The offense argument has merit, as does the age argument; Prince is certainly a more balanced scorer and a decade younger - but please don't pretend that Tayshaun Prince (or Chauncey Billups, his "All-Defensive team" partner in crime) is anything special defensively. Bakrid, Prince will be a better defender at some point in the future than Bowen, but so will LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki - i.e., only because Bruce's legs have fallen off, not because of any particular achievement of their own. The evolution of Prince's defense has been in the opposite direction, and, unlike Bowen, he's not quick or strong enough to become a fantastic defender under the modern rules.
why is this still on the front page?
I was just humoring him. "Even if he's a lesser player"...I wasn't saying he actually is a lesser layer.
Bowen has improved his offense. He has decent mid-range game now...but he is not near Tayshaun offensively. Prince can hit the 3, he go glass with that little baseline J. Most importantly he can get to the rim and finish with authority (i.e facials).
Saying RIP is a good defender is one thing. I'll agree with you, he is.
But calling Tayshaun out for being an average or sub-par defender is ridiculous. The guy's length has always bothered other players, and he can get up to block shots. His feet aren't as quick as Bruce's, but his lengthy and wingspan and knack for making defensive plays more than make up for it.
Not to mention, his offensive game is MUCH better than Bruces. Oh, and the dude is 10 years younger...did I mention that yet?
Age is only a number...Really, is Bruce showing his age? I think he is the best fit player on the NBA. He shows no signs of slowing down...This season, he was the lead vote getter for the 1st All Defense Team, while Ben Wallace was second...even though he got the DPY...
And did you not see the block that Bruce did on Dirk, a seven footer, that literally gave the Spurs even a small chance to try to win the Dallas series...If it weren't for that fantastic block, we would have been done right then...And in Game 7 of the Finals last year, the block on Chauncey's 3...I mean there was still plenty of time for Pistons to win if that 3 had gone in...The point is that as Pop has said on numerous occasions, without Bruce and his one of a kind defense (on different guys, Kobe, Dirk, Chauncey, Iverson, Rip, etc, huge versatility), we would not have won the last two les...Even Kobe now freely admits that Bruce is the best defender on him...
No offense to Prince at all because I think he is a terrific player, but it's defense that wins championships, not offense...Prince is rock solid, but without Bowen, the Spurs defense would crumble...The Spurs players, coach, fans, organization, etc all know that very well...He is just as valuable to us as even Tim or Manu or Tony. People never give him enough credit. The stars that have great offense and shoot high numbers get all the media attention and the fans while the players that have amazing defense never do...And as for Bruce's offense, he said on numerous occasions that the Spurs have a "system" and that he knows his role very well in this system, and that's to be the defensive guy, not offensive guy. It's not that he cannot shoot or does not want to shoot, it's that it's not his role to do that. He can shoot those threes anytime...but his main priority is to make sure someone else does not shoot their shots...
Bowen needs replacement. He aged and is revealed with Sacramento that he could be controlled with athletic in your body players. His era is coming to an end. Even he is fit, he soon will not be a starter. Finley could be a solution for this problem for about 3 years. What then? We will have 2 aged SFs who have tremendous impact.
Age is just a number? Uh, Bowen has to retire eventually. My guess is that won't be 10 years from now...which is about when Tayshaun will probably retire.
It's not about giving him credit. He's a great player. The fact is, he's getting old. Tayshaun brings more to the table offensively, and he's a solid defender. In fact he's known more for his defense and just chipping in on offense when convenient. You don't need to set up plays for him. Much like Bruce is doing now.
That said, this convo's gay. Tayshaun's not coming here anyways. Detroit would be stupid to let him go.
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