Stephon Marbury

I've been thinking about the sudden golden age of point guards that we have in the (LOCKED OUT) NBA today and I couldn't help but think back to the man who made this site possible, Stephon Marbury. In the last year, off the top of my head, I can think of three up and coming point guards be compared to Marbury should their careers take a horrible turn for the worse. John Wall. Russell Westbrook. Derrick Rose. All three represent the new generation of point guard. Big, athletic, lightning quick guards who can create shots for themselves and others. Stephon was once that. When he came into the league in the incredible 1996 Draft he seemed like the perfect compliment to KG. Minnesota all of the sudden had the evolutionary point guard who could score, distribute, and space the floor, and the evolutionary big man.

But the point guard position is one of the most clearly defined in all of basketball. Guys who never possessed an iota of Marbury's raw talent far surpassed him at point guard skills because its not just about ability but about a mindset. As a point guard, you have to keep track of every member on your team. If someone is getting disengaged, you get them the ball. If guys are working hard on defense and the boards, reward them by hooking them up for easy baskets. Slow down the tempo when guys are looking winded and push the ball when the other team is running out of steam. Some of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NBA are forgiven for their lapses on defense (Magic Johnson, Steve Nash) and its understandable. Being responsible for the whole offense is a ton of work. Steph racked up a lot of assists over the years, but to a certain degree they were empty calories. He'd hold onto the ball for 18 seconds, looking for an opportunity to score and then as a last resort would toss the ball to an open teammate. Starbury was only a point guard in the sense he brought the ball down the court. No point guard in the history of the game has won by ignoring his teammates needs. Oscar Robertson was the most talented point guard of his era, a guy who by the end of his 5th season was AVERAGING A TRIPLE DOUBLE ON HIS CAREER but alienated his teammates on and off the court. He never won a title until he moved onto Kareem's Bucks team towards the end of his career and took a backseat role. No way Stephon was breaking ground that Big O hadn't.

After every time Steph left a team they improved. Leaving the T'Wolves allowed Garnett to flourish. The Nets swapped him for Jason Kidd and then went to the Finals the next two years. Phoenix traded him to New York which opened the doors for them to sign Nash that offseason and unleash one of the greatest offensive stretches in NBA history that would have produced at least on title if not for their owner's resistance to the luxury tax. Even my pathetic Knicks improved by 9 games the season after we dumped him, even though most of the awful signees of the Isiah era were still on the roster. Hell, even on draft day the Bucks improved by trading him for Ray Allen who was the pick after him.

If NBA history has showed us anything, it's that basketball teams become great by meeting at a cross section of talent and chemistry. When the guy who's in charge of overseeing the offense doesn't pay attention to his teammates then there's no amount of talent in the world that can overcome that and win a title. So pay attention D-Rose. You too Westbrook. And especially you John Wall, because your my favorite. Learn from the Cautionary Tale of Starbury.