The fourth game for the Suns, and third for the former North Carolina Basketball player Kendall Marshall, was once again not the best performance for the team, but even if the stats definitely do not reflect it the rookie floor general seems to be improving each game. In a match up where the Phoenix Suns (1-3) lost to the NBA D-League Select (2-2) by fourteen points, with the final tally being 89 to 75, in a game that was played at the Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas, NV. This was once again a game where the box score truly does not tell most of the story of the game.
The 20 year old scored 10 points (4 for 14 ~ 0 for 5 ~ 2 for 2) to go with six assists, three rebounds, three steals and three TOs while having a pts differential of -11 in close to 36 minutes (out of 40) of playing time. And while the shooting is not great, having watched the game you could see that as the game went on Marshall was getting more and more into the groove of the game, which is not the same thing you could say for most of the others on his team. When it said and done the 6’4″ guard can only do so much when around him there is no pure shooters to dish off on a drive or few cutters to find open for an easy basket. In other words, using a cliche, you can be a general all you want, but if you do not have the troops you will never win anything. And while this is not an excuse, since the shooting and turnovers still need to improve, Marshall is looking somewhat better on the court than the stats show.
Marshall is finishing strong tonight. He hit a J when the defender went under, got his third steal & is pushing the pace more.
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) July 21, 2012
Kendall Marshall is still working out the kinks that go from being a star at a place like the North Carolina Basketball program to being a rookie in the National Basketball Association. It can not be easy adjusting from being the one that ran the show for close to two years to the one re learning the show all over again, especially when there is also the pressure that he might be the starting point guard come November. The young point guard has one last game in the Summer League and we will see how he does in that one. Then it will be off to work outs, getting accustomed to a new city and ways of doing things until the pre season begins. For more information about Marshall and all Tar Heels, present and past, make sure to check out isportsweb!
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July 25, 2012
