I see alot of players working out with the Dream and all for his offensive game. How come no body ever calls up Bruce Bowen to ask him how to teach them how to play better defense? When players work with the dream, does he teach them on to play shot blocking defense too? When I was a young boy my father told me alot about a man from the temple that made really good tea. I recently reached out and contacted him about training me and we've been training for about 3 weeks now. I must say, my tea is very delightful now. Just a thought.
Give me a break. That isn't all he did. You are just a biased hater. He also elbowed people in the stomach, punched them in the back, kicked them in the face and lots of other things. Don't minimize his accomplishments.
Billy Joe Cuthbert is available for sessions http://us.playstation.com/Content/Sites/88/Info/build.swf?varCurrentPlayerId=1
Because 'the Dream' actually happened while Bruce Bowen is just fantasy, a myth, a figment of the NBA's imagination. There is no jersey up there in the rafters in the Spurs arena, that's what they want you to believe. The greatest trick the NBA ever pulled was convincing offensive players that Bruce Bown's defense exists.
What's harder to become, Bruce Bowen or Hakeem Olajuwon? There's your answer. It's like paying to learn to boil an egg well vs making a great Thanksgiving meal.
It's harder to become Hakeem because of his unworldly talent, which for the most part cannot be taught. The only things that can be taught are techniques. In fact, less talented people are usually better teachers because they rely more on techniques than on natural talent. If I were to learn to play defense, I'd learn it from guys like Battier and Hayes, rather than Dwight Howard.
There are/were great players who were students of the games too. Jordan has put many basketball tutorials on youtube and you can tell right away he studied the game inside and out (as a player, cause we know his business and personnel decision making acumens are still suspect). <iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UECvWpSBfU8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Howard is a poor example. He's like the offensive Shaq. Neither are very technical in what they do. Dream's techniques are a much larger component of his overall talent, compared to those two. His ability to learn, not just react, is what took him to an MVP level in this league. He's more than qualified to be a good teacher. It's not like he's out there just telling them to make moves by putting in effort. He can actually break his moves down and explain the rationale behind them. He may have dominated opponents, but he did it by countering a lot of their actions, not just rising over them or going through them. I think you may be confusing being a good teacher with being a good coach. Dream probably wouldn't make a good coach, much like MJ wouldn't. Coaching involves managing multiple personalities at once and for long period of time. However, in a one on one setting, where they are more like a tutor, they'd do well.
I'd say it's probably because it's much easier to improve your offensive ability as opposed to your defensive ability because the offensive player always has the advantage. I say that because you always have the first step on the defender. Also, you can teach post moves and footwork with repetition and time but as far as defensive assignments go, that always changes depending on the player you're guarding. Another thing to keep in mind is not all players have the same lateral quickness which is possibly the most important thing for a defensive player guarding someone one on one.
I don't think that is fair to Shaq. Shaq had amazing footwork for a big dude, which he learned from Dream.
