Vernon was one of those guys that got under your skin. Then he complicated matters for the opposing players by trash talking all game, which led to him getting inside their head. You want to see how Maxwell could take out a perimeter player completely out of the picture? Ask Dan Majerle. Before The Suns met rockets in playoffs, Dan was shooting crazy 3 point shots from all over the place. Then he met Vernon. Vernon pretty much stuck with him the entire series in 2 consecutive years and completely took Majerle out of the series. Dan shot a miserable % from the field against Vernon. If he hadnt, most likely Suns would have moved on to the finals. If I have to pick between the two, I would pick Vernon simply because he brings a nasty side which is needed in playoffs. If Kobe tried some of his antics against Maxwell the way he did against Battier, Maxwell would have knocked him out. Which is exactly why Kobe would never dare.
Make no mistake...basketball is a team game and max/shne both benefit from their centers. That said, the question at hand is who is the better one on one defender. The answer is clear to me. Its Vernon by a long shot because he had the same understanding of one on one angles, plus infinitely more athleticism, offensive game, and intimidation. Put it this way...if shan e were covering jordan on those teams, would he have done as well vs jordan as max did? To me, no. I think mj blows by him more often, plus posts him up. Vern was great in post defense and quicker laterally.
Great example. How about Reggie Miller? A top 5 shooter of all time? Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE Date: SUN 01/24/1993 Section: Sports Page: 1 Edition: 3 STAR Rockets pummel Pacers/Maxwell's defense keys 113-100 win By EDDIE SEFKO Staff INDIANAPOLIS -- All it took for the red-hot Rockets to fire up their eighth consecutive victory was Vernon Maxwell putting Indiana's Reggie Miller on ice. The last two times the Rockets had come to Market Square Arena, Miller scored 66 points in two Indiana wins. Saturday night, Maxwell held Miller to his worst scoring night of the season as the Rockets pounded the Pacers 113-100. Miller had only four points on 1-for-12 shooting. The win pushed the Rockets to 22-16, matching their high-water mark for the season. They also were six games over .500 on Dec. 19 when they were 13-7. The Rockets' minister of defense has been -- and will be -- Hakeem Olajuwon. But Maxwell, who is learning he can be as vital to the Rockets on defense as he is offensively, has become an able sidekick to Olajuwon. After Saturday's effort, coach Rudy Tomjanovich said Maxwell should be a contender for the all-defensive team. "I think the guy has got to be considered for the all-defensive team," Tomjanovich said. "He never has an easy night against shooting guards around the league. But he's done the job. "Those guys set so many screens for Miller. He's one of the toughest guys in the league to guard. But Max was just fantastic." Miller had reached double figures in every game this season before Saturday. Never mind that Joe Dumars had 32 points against Maxwell on Thursday. This was a different night, and Maxwell was glued to Miller for 2 1/2 quarters before Pacers coach Bob Hill gave up and sat Miller. Maxwell was happy with his effort. "I feel like the way I'm playing defense, I should be recognized as one of the top defensive guards in the league," Maxwell said. "I'm giving up three or four inches and 15 or 20 pounds every night. "Tonight, the coaches were telling me before the game I had my work cut out for me. "But I put a blanket on him. He didn't get any real good looks at the basket." But Miller said his poor shooting was his doing. He didn't knock Maxwell, but he said fans should not read too much into one night. "If he says he played great defense, that's all right," Miller said. "I just missed shots that I normally make. "This league is like a big ocean with a lot of sharks. The strong survive. The weak get eaten up. "I'm one of the strong. I'm a shooter, and shooters are going to have nights like this. But the good ones bounce back. "Tell Vernon on Feb. 2 in Houston, I'll be looking for him. I owe him one. Olajuwon, who paced the Rockets with 31 points and 15 rebounds, said he thinks Maxwell's defense starts with his ability to intimidate an opponent. "He talks to opponents, plays with their mind," Olajuwon said. Said Miller: "Vernon doesn't talk much trash. He's just crazy." Hey, whatever works. But Kenny Smith said Maxwell's defensive efforts have to be applauded. "I'd say that 99 percent of the guards in the NBA don't like to go against him," Smith said. "There's 1 percent that might rise to the challenge and play better. But the rest of them don't want to see Vernon walk into the gym. "There's three reasons. First, he's physical. Second, he's quick. And third, he's not going to back down from anybody. "You know you're in for a long night." The Pacers were in for a long night almost from the start. The Rockets fell behind 14-8 but outscored the Pacers 21-9 through the rest of the first quarter. When the Rockets jumped out of the second-period gate on a 10-2 run, they took a 39-25 advantage. The Pacers spent the next two quarters spinning their wheels. When Matt Bullard hit a short jumper to start the fourth period, the Rockets were up 86-66. Of course, it wouldn't be a Rockets game without a little suspense at the end. A 10-point spree by the Pacers chopped the Rockets' edge to 90-82 with 6:40 to go. After a timeout, the Rockets worked the ball to Maxwell, who bombed in a 3-pointer. The Rockets' lead never dipped below 11 points the rest of the way. The Pacers, who shot 36 percent in the third quarter, needed a 57-percent fourth quarter just to get up to 44.7 percent for the game. "Our defense did it again," Tomjanovich said. "These guys can score a lot of points on you. But when we needed to tighten up, we did." The Rockets continued to light up the scoreboard. Their offense has been most effective during the eight-game streak.
Tinny, That articles summarily closes this argument. There was nothing shane does that max did not do. But there are many (ironically) intangibles that max had - quickness, intimidation, offensive threat - that shane does not possess.
and lastly very lastly, its arguable that vernon was the second best player on that first championship, him or Otis. probably otis though I will give this to shane, went to look up memphis' team defense stats during his stint, they're pretty good.
If you looked at just covering a superstar like Jordan, then Maxwell gets the edge. But when I think defense, the number one thing that comes to mind is consistency. This is where Battier excels, nobody who it is, he is always putting 100% effort into his D. Can't say the same with Maxwell. There were some nights he just wasn't focused in the game, for whatever the reason. Interesting that the current, healthy, Rockets might have posed difficulty for Chicago on defense, with Battier on Jordan and my favorite matchup with Ron on Pippen. Always good to see Dream highlights. They say that he revolutionized the game and how a center plays basketball forever. But the amazing thing is that since he played, no one comes close to doing what he did. So he really didn't change the center/post position, he was just able to do things that others can't match.
I like articles and videos cause they speak the truth. Oh pictures don't lie either. <!-- LIFE IMAGE 284104 --><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.life.com/embed/index/js"></script><script type="text/javascript">LIFEembedDrawImage(284104);</script>
And for all those bringing in the hand checking excuse.... Maxwell was very much Bruce Bowen like when it comes to defense. Considering that Bruce Bowen has done mighty well with the no hand check rules in place, I think its safe to say that Maxwell would have no problem.
Good points. This is a not really a good comparison, same with artest cause these guys are completely different. Max is strictly a guard, while Battier is a forward. Maxwell you can stick on PGs and SGs. Battier/Ron you can stick on SF, PF, and some SGs, no to PGs A young Michael Jordan is way too quick for Artest and Battier. The older MJ is more of a post player, so that would probably be the better matchup for them. Also, I do agree, the more you make the other player work on defending you, the better. He will tire down playing both sides of the court.
Mad Max was and always will be the real "tru warrier". I'd take Max over Ron Artest or Battier anyday on this team. I really don't believe the guy got the credit that he deserved. In my opinion he was the best Wing defender at that time he just never got the credit because he wasn't on the bulls playing along side Jordan like Pippen did who in my opinion was overrated.
All i know is that Artest would've made Scottie b****in his personal ho. That's real talk. Slow first step, slow pull up j, and no post game. Artest would've Al Capwned that gutless punk.
pietrus hustles and plays good D for the most part, but he falls for fakes too much as you can see. a great defender has to stay discipline. he can still learn.
say what u want about pippen but in his prime, pip was one of the best small forwards in the game. he holds records in steals and assists as a forward and one of the few to record 200 steals and 100 blocks in a season. he's also one the best sf to finish at the break. i hate the bulls but pip was a stud back in the day (not with the rox).
Toss up. Its not as apples to apples comparison as it looks. Battier has 4 inches on Maxwell and can guard bigger players. Maxwell had quicker feet and intimidation and could guard smaller players. The key in "stopping" a player is being trusted enough to single cover them and keep them around or slightly under their numbers, so everyone else can play better D on their man and double team OTHER weaker players. Maxwell single covering Jordan can have Hakeem and Thorpe triple stifle the entire Bulls frontcourt. Horry could guard Pippen and have Kenny Smith help. Battier being trusted to guard Kobe and Lebron enables Yao and company to do work on the others.
Mad Max was a crazy nut job. He was definitely streaky on offense but iirc he was pretty consistent on defense. The thing he does that Battier doesn't do was get inside your head and never get out. He was a lot more intimidating because he would piss you off and get you off your game. I don't know that he would have been any more successful at stopping Kobe other than he would have probably gotten Kobe to take a swing at him. If I had to choose though, I'd take Maxwell any day. He's just more fun to watch, and when he gets hot no one will be able to stop him.
