[外電] Sunday Insider: Wolves' top 10 point guards put their ce

看板Timberwolves (明尼蘇達灰狼)作者jerod (KG4MVP)時間19年前 (2007/01/22 00:48)推噓4(4推 0噓 1→)

留言5則, 4人參與討論串1/1

http://www.startribune.com/511/story/948128.html The response was tremendous a couple of weeks ago when we ranked the Wolves' best centers ever, so we're not above pandering all over again to the same 13 people who e-mailed by ranking the top 10 points guards in Minnesota history. What you'll notice rather quickly -- by the dearth of wisecracks, for sure -- is that the depth at point guard has been greater by far over the team's first 18 seasons than it was in the middle. Here is our ranking, from No. 1 to No. 10: 1. Stephon Marbury: He bailed on the Wolves less than three years after he arrived, and has been paying a karmic price ever since, bouncing from team to team and losing record to losing record. He had too much leverage too early in his career, and not nearly enough wisdom to see that whatever short-term monetary gaps existed between his contract and Garnett's would be bridged, several times over, by the rewards of reaching the Finals on repeated tries. Flip Saunders got it right not so long ago when he wondered if, years from now, he and the two players might look at each other over dinner and realize that they screwed up something special. 2. Terrell Brandon: My former colleague Dan Barreiro (wonder whatever happened to him) cursed this guy with the "Ol' Stop-And-Pop" label. Others of us in the media snickered at the "Iron Horse's" uncanny ability to miss games with owwies that other guys gritted through. But as a Plan B, on sudden notice when Marbury turned the screws, and as the prototype point guard for Saunders' controlled offense, Brandon was a perfect fit. He just wasn't Marbury, in style or personality. 3. Sam Cassell: He's the only point guard to wear a Wolves uniform in an All-Star Game, and he drove the club to its greatest success in 2003-04. His mid-range jumper and his yammering still serve him well with the Clippers, but Cassell's unraveling in 2004-05 over his unresolved (in his mind) contract situation dealt a blow to this franchise from which it still is recovering. 4. Terry Porter: The year before Garnett arrived, Winston Garland was the Wolves' primary point guard (with a rookie named Howard Eisley, who would become a solid NBA player, way down the depth chart and prematurely dumped). Porter brought a touch of class, a lot of stability and a world of experience when he signed as a free agent in 1995, and he still had plenty left when the Wolves clumsily pushed him out after the 1998-99 lockout. 5. Pooh Richardson: He was the franchise's initial first-round pick, and a solid starter (15.0 ppg, 8.0 apg) for three seasons. He ranks second in team history in assists (1,973). 6. Chauncey Billups: Finally finding an NBA home, or so it seemed, Billups improved tremendously from his first season (2000-01) to his second with the Wolves. He also was Garnett's best friend when Saunders declined to promise him starter's minutes, enabling Detroit to sign him as a free agent. Mr. Big Shot was the MVP of the 2004 Finals. 7. Bobby Jackson: Another one who got away. The rap on the former Gopher was that he wasn't heady enough to run Minnesota's attack. But this team never has had a better defender at the point, and Jackson did all sorts of little things that help teams win. 8. Micheal Williams: He was a terror at the foul line, hitting an NBA record 97 in a row from March 1993 to November 1993 for a mark that still stands. He also gave Wolves fans a clinic in the meaning and spelling of "plantar fasciitis." 9. Troy Hudson: T-Hud had a career year (14.2 ppg, 5.7 apg) when the Wolves plugged him into Billups' spot in 2002-03, another nice save at the position. It remains his highlight, the last time (thanks to injuries and performance) that he cracked double figures in scoring or shot better than 42 percent. 10. Garland: A punchline no more! The field is thin at this point, and Garland beats out Darrick Martin for the simple reason that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen never reduced Garland to tears on a basketball court. Pay attention tonight It took the Wolves, courtesy of the NBA schedule-makers, 39 games to finally face the Phoenix Suns. But now they'll get the Suns four times in a span of 28 games, which will give Minnesota NBA fans a healthy glimpse of a fascinating, fun and unique Phoenix team. For the Wolves, it could be a little too much prolonged exposure to the Suns, given the Pacific Division leaders' up-and-down style, the depth of their lineup and the fellow with the ball in his hands who makes them go. "[Steve] Nash is the system," Chicago coach Scott Skiles said recently, and Skiles -- a former distributor at the point --should know. "I don't mean to shortchange anybody else, but he's the best basketball player on the face of the earth, in my opinion. I don't think it's even close. "He can shoot the ball. He can go right or left. He can finish right or left. He has a middle game. He has the best vision in the league. He's probably the best-conditioned player in the league. "People may say he's not athletic. What they should say is he's not a great leaper. But everything else athletically he does well. He moves well laterally. He's fast. He has great hand-eye coordination. He pivots on either foot. He has no real offensive weakness. And he is responsible for a style of play. Not many guys are that good. "He's really worked on his game. His game was always good, but he's taken it to another level. He has great command out there. He's a very difficult player to deal with." A variety of sources was used in compiling this report. -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 59.114.196.190