Fury wrote:Knicker23 wrote:A 3 guard alignment means Kidd or Iman are guarding a 3... Which considering Kidds slowness i'd guess means Iman will be.. Not sure I see that working all that great.
If JR Smith could do it, Iman Shumpert can. I think Kidd would do find there anyway, as long as it's not LeBron. In doses.
Aren't SF's slower than PG's and SG's? Height and bulk would be the issue at SF playing either Kidd or Shump there. I still I like our chances more often than not though. Most teams in the NBA aren't going to expose the Knicks at SF if we're playing Kidd or Shump there defensively. I'll give a quick look around the league.
Miami: Lebron (obviously an issue)
Indiana: Paul George (he miiight be an issue)
Chicago: Luol Deng (he's an issue regardless who plays him)
Atlanta: Kyle Korver (not a problem for Kidd or Shump)
Milwaukee: Marquis Daniels/Luc Mbah a Moute (not offensive threats)
Boston: Paul Pierce (a threat regardless of who is matched up, but you can put Kidd or Shump on him)
Philadelphia: Evan Turner (I'm sure either Kidd or Shump can guard him)
Toronto: Landry Fields (....)
Orlando: A bunch of no names sharing the SF spot
Detroit: Tayshaun Prince (Shump can take him)
Charlotte: Michael Kidd Gilchrist (Kidd and Shump can both take him)
Cleveland: Alonzo GEe (not much of an offensive threat)
Washington: .... (whoever they have starting, Kidd and Shump can guard)
In the East, the ONLY guys that would be physically imposing on Kidd or Shump are Lebron, Paul George, and Luol Deng, THAT IS IT!
Now let's go to the West....
OKC: Kevin Durant (he'll go off on anyone you put on him, whether it's Melo, Kidd, Shump, Brewer, White, Copeland)
Memphis: Rudy Gay (He plays more out in the perimeter and doesn't play in a physically imposing matter, therefore he's a guy that Shump can guard or even Kidd)
San Antonio: ... (Shump and Kidd can guard anyone they put at SG or SF)
Golden State: Harrison Barnes (doesn't do anything offensively to where Kidd or Shump wouldn't be able to guard him)
Denver: Danilo Gallinari (Like Durant, he's a matchup problem regardless due to his height. You could maybe put Novak on him, but then he'll take it to the hoop against Novak. However, he is not physically imposing on Shumpert)
Utah: ... (none of their guys at SF are major matchup problems for either Shump or Kidd)
Portland: Nicolas Batum (you maybe but James White or Ronnie Brewer if you need someone to physically matchup with him. Even then, we only got one game against the Blazers left right?)
Houston: We already lost to them twice right? Moving on...
Minnesota: Andrei Kirilenko (if he was a matchup problem worth worrying about, I think he would average more than 13.6 ppg)
LA Lakers: Metta World Peace (Lakers don't even take advantage of him at SF how they should. If Kobe let Metta have more shot, Metta would average 16-18 ppg.
Dallas: Shawn Marion (not an offensive threat)
Sacramento: ... (I don't think anyone plays for them at SF that is a threat to either Kidd or Shump)
New Orleans: We just beat them right? Anyways, they do not have threats at SF.
Phoenix: Shump can guard Dudley and Beasley doesn't do anything.
So there you go. Out of all 30 teams in the NBA, the ONLY legitimate threats at SF to start games against us are Lebron James, Paul George, Luol Deng, Kevin Durant, and Nicolas Batum. Those are the only guys that I'd worry about having Shump and Kidd start games against.
Felton, Kidd, and Shump could be the starting PG, SG, and SF's with Melo at PF. If you want to see how every PF matchup in the NBA against Melo, well that's another argument. However, at SG and SF, my argument stands. There are only 5 teams in the entire league where we would struggle starting Felton/Kidd/Shump together.