HT: 6-0 | WT: 165 | AGE: 24 | YR: 4
By Kevin Loughery
Special to ESPN.com
Stephon Marbury could eventually become a better all-around guard than Allen Iverson, but not by playing the style he is now. Early in the season, Iverson has played better basketball than Marbury.
Iverson started off slowly, struggling the first three games of the season, all on the road. But when the 76ers returned home, Iverson had big game after big game. That's the sign of a tremendous offensive player. Michael Jordan rarely had two bad games in a row. When it happened, he would react with a stretch of great games. That's what Iverson has done, scoring 30-plus points in the next five games, four of them Philadelphia wins.
This season Marbury has seemingly gotten stronger going to the basket. But there may be no better athlete in the NBA than Iverson. He has such tremendous quickness, both moving with the ball and getting off the floor for his shot. He gets an edge over Marbury in terms of explosiveness. The only NBA player who plays somewhat like Iverson is Tim Hardaway, but without the quickness and explosiveness.
Although Marbury will contend for the scoring title this year, Iverson should repeat as the scoring champion because of how Philadelphia is structured as a team. Almost the entire 76ers' offense is geared toward Iverson. The other players have accepted it and are more role players comfortable with Iverson's scoring.
In New Jersey, Marbury plays with Keith Van Horn and Kerry Kittles. For the Nets to be successful, Marbury will have to play more like a legitimate point guard and dish the ball off more. As a passer, Marbury can see the floor a little bit better than Iverson, but so far his assists are down and he is taking too many shots.
Marbury is a great talent and has a chance to become more a pure guard than Iverson. The big difference, however, between Iverson and Marbury is that the 76ers use Iverson more as a two-guard than a point guard. Eric Snow handles the ball 70-80 percent of the time as the 76ers' point guard, while Marbury has the ball all the time for New Jersey. Larry Brown made a great move when he shifted Iverson to the two-guard to take advantage of his scoring ability.
Meanwhile, Marbury has taken more scoring responsibilities with the ball as a point guard, which can cause problems. When a player has the ball a majority of the time in an offensive set and then shoots, the teammates become reluctant to accept that approach. The Nets may have to eventually use Elliot Perry or Sherman Douglas more at the point to let Marbury play the two-guard and get away from the ball more like Iverson.
On top of everything, Iverson is an outstanding competitor and has shown he can carry a basketball team, something Marbury has yet to prove.
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HT: 6-2 | WT: 180 | AGE: 22 | YR: 4
By Dr. Jack Ramsay
Special to ESPN.com
Stephon Marbury is an explosive player -- fast and quick and very hard to defend. He can penetrate and get to the basket better than Iverson, who is also lightning quick. Iverson may be the most explosive player in the NBA, but based on sheer penetration, Marbury may have a slight edge.
Iverson is better at taking a burst, getting to any spot on the floor he wants, and then pulling up and shooting with nice touch on the ball. He can fade from the defender and maintain great control of his dribble. But for just a blast to the basket, Marbury can get there with the same degree of quickness and more effectively.
I spoke to Marbury last year during the NBA playoffs. I had just heard about the new rules and was talking to him during a radio game in New York. I asked him if he had heard about the new rules. When he said he hadn't, I told him, "They can't check you. They can't put a hand or forearm on you at the edges." He said, "Really? I'm going to get 40 (points) and 20 (assists)."
Obviously, Marbury hasn't done that yet. He is scoring more (27.3 points per game), but has only three more assists than turnovers -- not good statistics for a point guard -- and is not shooting more than 40 percent from the field. With all Marbury's skills, things aren't turning out well. He had a decent game against Charlotte, with 31 points and eight assists, but he also had eight turnovers.
With career averages of 18.2 points and 8.3 assists per game, Marbury can score and pass, but he needs to get control of his game. The real value of the point guard is to create plays for himself and his team, and to do it under control. Turnovers are devastating for the point guard, and his inconsistent play is one of the reasons the Nets are struggling.
I still think Marbury is one of the top two or three point guards in the NBA. He wants to win and has great confidence in his game, but he has to harness it better than he's doing. With his skills, Marbury is more like the prototype point guard, just not the way he is playing. Isiah Thomas had the same problem when he first entered the league. Like Marbury, he could score anytime he wanted, but the other four players ended up standing around watching him. It wasn't until later in his career that he finally used his skills more to get his teammates points and less to get his own.
Skill-wise, Marbury is near the top of list among all guards. Performance-wise, I'd rate him lower -- but that's after only eight games. He has plenty of time and ability to turn things around. He just needs to make better decisions and get the ball to his teammates.
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