Originally Posted by Dumars4Ever

I think Linwood was just pointing out that the term "African-American" doesn't exactly make sense when applied to people who aren't American.

Originally Posted by mercury

however shot blocking can also be a weakness... case in point Dalembert (to a lesser extent Darko)

Originally Posted by ahb

Everybody knew that Jasikevicius was old and tremendously slow - that's why wasn't drafted in the first place. He's a winner, good shooter, good passer, etc., but he's not a good enough athlete to succeed in the NBA. I don't think Bird allowed himself to realize just how slow the guy is. And while there have been a number of stereotypical European players who can't play D, that's true of most Americans as well. Most players simply aren't good defenders. To expand your list of "Euros" who play above-average defense by NBA standards: Boris Diaw, Tony Parker, Andris Biedrins, Marko Jaric, Beno Udrih, Viktor Khryapa, Sasha Vujacic, Pau Gasol, and - I don't care what his reputation is, or how soft he is, he's at least a decent defensive player - Peja Stojakovic. And most of the "South American Euros" are pretty good defenders, too: Ginobili, Delfino, Nocioni, Barbosa, Varejao, Najera. Add in the "Chinese Euro", Yao - one of the top defensive centers in the NBA - and I'd say that Europeans play defense in approximately the same ratio to their general population as Americans do. I don't think anybody expected Jasikevicius to be one of those good defenders, although maybe some people didn't think he'd be that bad. But while I think you have a mistaken perception of "Euro talent", you're definitely right about the Euroleague. It's essentially comparable to NCAA basketball, and the defensive attitude is a lot more lax than the NBA - hey, even Mo was an All-Star MVP in the Italian league.

Delk is a

Originally Posted by themicrowave

I see Merc's point. I also see Dlev's point.

I'd still take Bruce Bowen or Ron Ron over a shotblocker like Darko or a steals artist like Larry Hughes.

Gambling is addictive (and harmful). There is something to be said for fundamental and hard nosed defense. The type that doesn't show up on a stat sheet unless you look at the numbers of the man being checked.