OT: Marcus Banks WTF?

[PHXfan85]

He made three in a row during our loss to the Hornets, so that's how he got permission to chuck tres. As far as the 8 attempts goes, you really gonna tell someone who is one fire to cool off?

Can't wait to see the Suns/Celtics game.

[Rondo_Fan]

I agree with the comparison of MB to GG. Both are fantastically gifted physically, both lack BBIQ bigtime.

Under those circumstances, you can only play as smart as the team around you plays. Since pg determines how smart the team plays much of the time, a low-BBIQ pg is basically hosed as far as starting long-term in the NBA.

BBIQ can be improved over time, but Banks doesn't seem like a quick learner. Still, you never know.

For the record, I was a Banks fan boy when he first came to the Celtics. Then, well, you know how it goes.

[Cash]

Another Suns fan here. Banks was complete trash last year, and pretty much killed the team every time he stepped on to the court. Heading into this season, there was a lot of talk about how Banks had improved himself, and now D'Antoni would give him another shot. But that didn't really happen until the last 3 games. Banks appears to have really worked on his outside shot since last year. He was shooting 43.8% on threes before the Nuggets game, and now he's up to 21-for-40 for the season. Obviously he won't keep up a 50+% pace, but his stroke looks light-years better than last year.

As for PG skills, D'Antoni quickly recognized that as a problem last year, and that's one of the main reasons he was shut down so quickly. (In fairness to Banks, though, he was held to a fairly unreasonable standard: "Keep things running smoothly while Steve Nash is on the bench.") This year, the Suns have obviously told Banks very strongly that pounding the ball will only get him back to the bench. He's done a much better job of keeping the ball moving, occasionally driving, but mostly being a spot-up shooter. This actually worked really well in the Nuggets game, because the Suns played him with Barbosa, Hill, and Diaw. So there was really no PG on the floor, but 4 guys who can handle the ball and pass at least a little. The offense was run more through the forwards than the guards. Banks played so well in the first half (especially on D against Iverson) that he got some extremely rare burn with Nash on the floor.

So all in all, Banks hasn't developed into a stud PG, but it looks like he may have developed into a productive player. We still need a few more games to go on to tell for sure, though.

[GuyClinch]

Banks BBIQ is light years ahead of GG, IMHO. For starters Banks knows how to play defense. His problem is that he is more of a scoring point - a kind of poor man's Iverson. He can't be Nash light which is what the Suns wanted.

Pete

[Tricky Ricky]

1: When did he crack Pheonix's lineup?
2: When did he have permission to attempt 8 3PT FG attempts?
3: When did he develop the stroke to hit 7 of them?

Will he ever be a player in this league? What was up wityh his performance last night. Looking at his stat line and his 23 points... judging by the 0 assists it looks like he still has no clue how to run an NBA offense.

I dont know but do u remember game 1 of the playoffs he had against Indy in 04? He couldnt miss, I doubt he will ever be a player in the league though.