The NBA Round Table - 2.21.07

After the loss to Portland last week Wizards star Gilbert Arenas and Coach Eddie Jordan got into a war of words through the media. Arenas said things like this happen when you ask an offensive team to concentrate on defense. Is Arenas’ argument legitimate?

Scott: No, not at all. Eddie Jordan wants to win games – and as Don Nelson would know best, you can’t do it strictly relying on offense. In Gilbert’s interview on TNT, he and Charles Barkley got into it a bit when Arenas tried to say that the Magic/Kareem teams of the past were called "Showtime," and strictly focused on offense. Charles quickly put him in his place discussing the solid defensive abilities of all men involved in that era of the Lakers. Arenas has a large misconception of this game, and while he’s a very, very talented guy, he really needs to focus on the game more than his PR at this point. That and Antawn Jamison needs to hurry back, because he’s the true leader of this Wizards team.

Dave: I haven’t followed the coaching situation in Washington that closely, but I can tell you that Fauxstradamus is way off base here. When you’re allowing 106 points per game and your opponents shoot north of 47% it doesn’t matter how much you score... you’re going to lose. Any coach in that situation is going to beg for, and probably demand, some defensive effort.

This is what I hate about trends in the NBA. Each new revolution (like the Phoenix/Dallas one right now) spawns about two-and-a-half great teams and a ton of half-baked imitators. The Suns and Mavericks have been good offensive teams for a while, but they only became great when they started paying attention to the other end and getting those point differentials up. Dallas is 9th in the league in field goal percentage allowed, Phoenix 16th. If the Wizards want to go anywhere they need to recognize the value of stopping someone.

Tom: Gil's comments are for entertainment purposes only. I read those words as a failed attempt to maintain his rep as a flaky, happy-go-lucky scoring assassin. Don't get me wrong, I love Arenas and his game; but, if Gil was serious, then the Wizards' hopes for a playoff run are hurtin' at best.

Dennis: Unless you find yourself guarding Gil one-on-one with absolutely no help defense around you and hear him start to say what will eventually end up being the word, "hibachi," does anyone honestly take what he says seriously? I mean, "serious like a heart attack" serious? Obviously, Arenas is a heck of a player and his blog is pure entertainment. Love it! But, he's totally off-base here.

Ever hear that cliche, "Defense wins championships?" Well, the reason cliches are cliches is because there's some degree of truth in them. Obviously, nowadays there are more high-scoring teams ala the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors. However, there is a big difference in success between these two teams. What is it? The Suns actually play some defense.

Considering the offense tries to get a shot off seven seconds into their possessions, the Suns are obviously going to give up more shot attempts and potentially more points, but they have some very solid defensive players - Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire, and even the League's MVP, Steve Nash. The MVP of the League!

Where you at, Gil Zero?