[sike]

Originally Posted by dude1394

I don't think you are giving nearly enough credit to spacing, knowing the other players tendencies and funneling him to the right spot.

Don't assume that bc I don't think of Marion as a top 10 BBall IQ guy that I don't respect him as a good defender now and a phenomenal defender in his prime. I think he almost always gives maximum effort (hugely significant) and that for most of his career he has almost certainly been the better athlete than his opponent on a night in and night out basis.

If you want to say understanding defensive "spacing" is about intelligence, I'm ok with that. But we cannot separate Marion's career defensive success from his outstanding physical attributes. Personally I see his overall success as a defender more to do with his physical ability and personal drive (a career of playing w a chip on his shoulder) than his mental mastery of defensive theory.

And don't misunderstand me, I'm mostly reacting to the claim that Marion could be a top 10 BBall IQ guy...which just struck me as incredible seeing all the other players we could list.