Will Marion Guard Kidd?

If you guys have been following the past few games, you must have noticed that Marion has been asked to guard the opposing PGs, for short periods, if not all the time -- Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Allen Iverson.

That probably has made him less effective at the boards -- its not like he gets in rebounding positions in any case, he just pounces on the ball from wherever he is. Marion has traditionally been made to guard bigger guys (Odom, Dirk), usually PFs, on the opposing team and he's made it clear all along that he doesn't relish the role. Wonder what he thinks of this new role that probably affects his rebound numbers..But on the bright side, guarding the opposing PGs will make it easier for him to get to the other end on the break.

So far, the strategy has worked in two out of three cases. Let's see if the coach tries it today.

Some kind of Monster

I've mentioned in a previous post that Emeka Okafor is on my team in a 30 team fantasy league. He's been an absolute beast on the defensive end so far, and had yet another wild night out. This time it was against the Mavericks.

This was his line for the night: 22 Pts, 13 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 8 Blk

read, analyze, appreciate.

D'Antoni's coaching - strictly average?

Charley Rosen of FOX Sports rated the top NBA head coaches and I had to scroll all the way down the page to find D'Antoni! Maybe its my purple sunglasses but I expected D'Antoni to be atleast in the top 5. He was after all, voted Coach of the Year in 2004-05 - his first full year as NBA head coach. But well Rosen disagrees and he has his reasons, which I will get to shortly.

A quick rundown of his list:

Phi Beta Kappa - Phil Jackson, Greg Poppovich, Pat Riley

Dean's List - Jerry Sloan

Honor Roll - Rick Carlisle, Bernie Bickerstaff, Avery Johnson

Among the Elite - Lawrence Frank, Eddie Jordan, Eric Musselman, Flip Saunders, Byron Scott, Scott Skiles

A Cut Above - Mike Fratello, George Karl, Nate McMillan

Strictly Average - Mike Brown, Mike Casey, Mike D'Antoni, Mike Dunleavy, Brian Hill, Bob, Hill, Sam Mitchell, Don Nelson, Doc Rivers, Terry Stotts, Jeff Van Gundy, Mike Woodson

On Probation - Isiah Thomas

On the Verge of Flunking - Maurice Cheeks

His reason for D'Antoni's low rating -

"Is only interested in half of the game. The wrong half."

Well, can't really argue with his first sentence, but the second one? So long as the 'half' that Coach is interested in is good enough to take the Suns to back to back WCF, I will have to STRONGLY DISAGREE.
I guess its damn good to be 'wrong' in Rosen's books ;)

Back to the Suns style, Coach D'Antoni has pledged to not joke about defense this season. He has also promised to play a faster offense and better defense. Interesting combination there, though they're often pretty much mutually exclusive.

What do you say to this guys : Let's give him 10 games to get his D in place.
We don't see defense, we drop the D from his name. Hell! at least it makes typing his name easier ;)
You listening, Coach Antoni?