Best PG Rotation in the NBA?
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:42 am
Around 2 years ago, the Raptors had a trio of Juan Dixon, Jose Calderon, and TJ Ford at the point. When Ford was in, they got a lot of penetration and assists, etc. He was easily the most important of the PGs. Jose Calderon was very effective against bench defenses, he would penetrate very often, and when he wasn't wheeling and dealing, he was just being a steady guard who ran some sets. His defense wasn't all that great, but not many bench guards really made him pay for, either. Juan Dixon was a clear step below the other two, and for the most part he mainly just played backup 2 in small-ball. Inconsistent as hell, but when he was on, watch out, guy just couldn't miss. Those Raptors were not a great team, probably not even good, but they did win 47 games and at the time thier bench which didn't really have great players, was considered a top 5 or so bench - guys like Kris Humphries and Bargnani really fed off of Jose's ability to minimize the dropoff from the starters. What's more, having 2 effective PGs meant that if one struggled, the minutes could be adjusted so the one having a good game would give better play.
This PG rotation kind of reminds me of that one. Except...a hell of a lot better:
You've got Rondo, who's making a case for being a borderline all-star, who's a definite impact player. We've seen this season that he's a player that gives other teams headaches. However we've seen at other points in the season that when Rondo struggles, the team does in fact struggle because a struggling Rondo is a flawed basketball player. He's the most valuable PG on the team, but there's games, or more specifically, certain teams against which he does get exposed to an extent.
What we saw today is that while Steph was a limited player as a team leader, as a 6th man he's very damn effective. He can penetrate, handle, and even stick the open jumper (which is a bit of a change of pace from Rondo, with Starbury's ability to shoot, you can probably run more KG post-ups when he returns and not have that be foiled so easily). While probably he lacks some of the skills and athleticism to be an upper-tier starter at this point in his career, lest we forget, he is a former all star who's around the same age as the big 3. Off the bench, his ability to create plays for guys like Powe, Big Baby and House could contribute to what was earlier this year a brutal bench becoming the best bench in the NBA (and that's without a 3pt shooting wing)! And if Doc's rotations are such that Pierce or Ray is always on the floor, then you've always got a deadly 3pt shooter at a wing position playing beside him, taking advantage of his penetration. That also means that those extra 4 minutes pierce plays beside Steph, he can coast offensively a lot more than he would have beside House, where he was essentially point-forward.
Finally you've got house. We all know that he's not a PG and that he's hot-and-cold. But playing beside Steph at the 2 makes him all the more effective, and what's more, it'll be easier to not get hurt by him having a bad game come playoff time - because you can bench him without a severe dropoff. Also, he's yet another change of pace - his ability to spread the floor and hit the 3 is probably a lot better than anyone on the team not named Ray Allen. Defensively, a lineup of Steph and House at the 2 and 1 isn't great, but against benches (and the smaller cavs' backcourt), it'll probably not hurt too much.
It looks like adding stephon marbury has done more than just give the team a decent backup - it makes the entire BENCH better. Steph had 5 assists today, and they were generally great assists, and the team made a run or two while he was on the court. On december 25th the Celtics lost to the Lakers, not because the starters were outplayed, but because the bench was out played. On June 25th the same thing will happen, only to the other team.
This PG rotation kind of reminds me of that one. Except...a hell of a lot better:
You've got Rondo, who's making a case for being a borderline all-star, who's a definite impact player. We've seen this season that he's a player that gives other teams headaches. However we've seen at other points in the season that when Rondo struggles, the team does in fact struggle because a struggling Rondo is a flawed basketball player. He's the most valuable PG on the team, but there's games, or more specifically, certain teams against which he does get exposed to an extent.
What we saw today is that while Steph was a limited player as a team leader, as a 6th man he's very damn effective. He can penetrate, handle, and even stick the open jumper (which is a bit of a change of pace from Rondo, with Starbury's ability to shoot, you can probably run more KG post-ups when he returns and not have that be foiled so easily). While probably he lacks some of the skills and athleticism to be an upper-tier starter at this point in his career, lest we forget, he is a former all star who's around the same age as the big 3. Off the bench, his ability to create plays for guys like Powe, Big Baby and House could contribute to what was earlier this year a brutal bench becoming the best bench in the NBA (and that's without a 3pt shooting wing)! And if Doc's rotations are such that Pierce or Ray is always on the floor, then you've always got a deadly 3pt shooter at a wing position playing beside him, taking advantage of his penetration. That also means that those extra 4 minutes pierce plays beside Steph, he can coast offensively a lot more than he would have beside House, where he was essentially point-forward.
Finally you've got house. We all know that he's not a PG and that he's hot-and-cold. But playing beside Steph at the 2 makes him all the more effective, and what's more, it'll be easier to not get hurt by him having a bad game come playoff time - because you can bench him without a severe dropoff. Also, he's yet another change of pace - his ability to spread the floor and hit the 3 is probably a lot better than anyone on the team not named Ray Allen. Defensively, a lineup of Steph and House at the 2 and 1 isn't great, but against benches (and the smaller cavs' backcourt), it'll probably not hurt too much.
It looks like adding stephon marbury has done more than just give the team a decent backup - it makes the entire BENCH better. Steph had 5 assists today, and they were generally great assists, and the team made a run or two while he was on the court. On december 25th the Celtics lost to the Lakers, not because the starters were outplayed, but because the bench was out played. On June 25th the same thing will happen, only to the other team.
