How can Nash defend Westbrook, Paul, Parker, Lawson

mambasager · Post #1 » by **mambasager** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 12:10 pm

His D has been a disaster, completely exposed by Lillard last night. I'm wondering how he will defend other elite point guards in western conference like Westbrook, Paul, Parker, Lawson. It will be ugly...

kobe808lak · Post #2 » by **kobe808lak** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 1:13 pm

There isn't anyone in the league that can play 1v1 D against those guys, it is all about team D.

They have a long way to go.

Kobean · Post #3 » by **Kobean** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 1:18 pm

kobe808lak wrote:There isn't anyone in the league that can play 1v1 D against those guys, it is all about team D.

They have a long way to go.

J the Drafter · Post #4 » by **J the Drafter** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 2:11 pm

The Lakers will probably have to hide Nash on the shooting guards of those teams and hope he can handle the wing better than the point. Alternatively they may decide to bring him off the bench as a sixth man.

Peregrine01 · Post #5 » by **Peregrine01** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 2:57 pm

mambasager wrote:His D has been a disaster, completely exposed by Lillard last night. I'm wondering how he will defend other elite point guards in western conference like Westbrook, Paul, Parker, Lawson. It will be ugly...

Were you just looking at box scores? Lillard was 3/10 with 4 assists in the first half. He really went off in the second half when Nash wasn't even playing. Fact is, the whole team got lit up. Matthews had 23 points on 7/11 shooting, why doesn't anyone criticize Kobe's defense? Or Artest, whose man Batum went off for 26 on 9/16 shooting?

Good defense HAS to be a team effort. Stop singling out Nash when his defense is FAR from the key reason why the Laker's defense is so bad.

TruSkool · Post #6 » by **TruSkool** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 3:22 pm

if mike brown was smart enough to run a better offense, the real question would be who guards steve nash

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #7 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 3:45 pm

No, Nash cannot. He didn't defend those guys particularly well with Phoenix, either.

I don't think the offense is the problem as much as the Laker perimeter defense is, TruSkool.

MWP is no longer quick enough to defend PGs. Barnes and Sessions were quicker than Nash or MWP. They also saved Kobe from doing a lot of chasing on the perimeter. Nash can't chase and Kobe needs to conserve energy for offense. He is still a beast scorer, but I don't think Bryant can lock down defensively as long or as well as he has over the years. With age there is a bit of fall off defensively with Kobe IMO.

Nash can't defend those speedy PGs and that is problematic for the Lakers because he's not the only one a step slower. I might be in the minority, however, and feel Nash will adapt and do well enough in the offense. When Arenas was a Wizard, he did well in Eddie Jordan's offense because the coach let Gil freelance.

Nash will find his niche offensively, but defense isn't his forte.

Dr Aki · Post #8 » by **Dr Aki** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 4:17 pm

he can't

but he can shoot more and average 15/9 and actually appear to play a role instead of run what mike brown wants

-Spyda- · Post #9 » by **-Spyda-** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 6:06 pm

He can't lol

Mass Rig · Post #10 » by **Mass Rig** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 6:57 pm

Nash is moving quite well laterally. I was quite surprised, actually. Facing bigger guards is going to be the real problem, Mayo was killing him on the switches the other night.

Kobe System · Post #11 » by **Kobe System** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 7:16 pm

TruSkool wrote:if mike brown was smart enough to run a better offense, the real question would be who guards steve nash

Alienware · Post #12 » by **Alienware** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 7:25 pm

He can't, but that's part of the reason why Dwight is there.

The Prodigy · Post #13 » by **The Prodigy** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 8:24 pm

The fact that Nash plays terrible defense should not come as a surprise to anyone. The hope is that his offense makes up for it as it has in the past and that Dwight can protect the rim when opposing PG's blow by him.

Anklebreaker702 · Post #14 » by **Anklebreaker702** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 10:35 pm

Actually from what I've seen in the 1st 2 games he hasn't been that bad. It's been more of the other guys making shots & the help defense has been atrocious.

Anklebreaker702 · Post #15 » by **Anklebreaker702** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 11:06 pm

Alienware wrote:He can't, but that's part of the reason why Dwight is there.

Partly & only partly. I told you guys before the trade happened that Dwight wasn't the magic elixir. I've seen just as many easy lay UPS as I did when Drew was here. That's not a knock on Dwight. It's the fact that no matter how good you are, without proper help defense your skill & athleticism can only get you so far

Anklebreaker702 · Post #16 » by **Anklebreaker702** » Thu Nov 1, 2012 11:09 pm

Aki wrote:he can't

but he can shoot more and average 15/9 and actually appear to play a role instead of run what mike brown wants

This is the absolute truth, I'm getting sick of Brown

Jordan-esque · Post #17 » by **Jordan-esque** » Fri Nov 2, 2012 7:38 am

It's not like Parker can defend CP3 and vice-versa.

I wouldn't be surprised if Westbrook himself can't even defend Westbrook! :beer:

Jajwanda · Post #18 » by **Jajwanda** » Fri Nov 2, 2012 6:29 pm

The problem isn't so much Nash, he can only do so much. You need a fast-footed PF and Pau is not that guy. If you could trade him for Millsap, it's problem solved.

Move Metta and Pau mid-season together for Marvin Williams-Millsap and you'd be set.

amares goggles · Post #19 » by **amares goggles** » Sat Nov 3, 2012 2:10 am

Nash gets bad rap. As a suns fan who has actually watched him in hundreds of game, He's not as bad of a defender than you think.

I'm gonna go hide under a rock now.

The Prodigy · Post #20 » by **The Prodigy** » Sun Nov 4, 2012 8:34 pm

Jajwanda wrote:The problem isn't so much Nash, he can only do so much. You need a fast-footed PF and Pau is not that guy. If you could trade him for Millsap, it's problem solved.

Move Metta and Pau mid-season together for Marvin Williams-Millsap and you'd be set.

You do know the other team has to agree to the trade right? Why does Utah do this? If they trade Millsap it won't be for another big who also happens to be older. They already have plenty of PF/C's. Plus Metta has negative trade value at this point.