Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards?

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Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#1 » by Feel_the_Heat15 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:26 pm

They were all really good passers and I'm sure they'd be better PGs than 80% of the starting PGs in the NBA today if they were in their prime.
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#2 » by spikeslovechild » Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:30 pm

Combo guards are more guys who have the size where they should be playing PG but don't have the passing skills.

It's sort of an outdated term because very few teams run their offense completely through their PG anymore.
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#3 » by CoachD » Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:40 pm

Jordan and Kobe were quintessential Shooting Guards. There was nothing combo guard about them.

Wade played more point, but really out of necessity, and the fact that he was seen a little small for the SG spot. In terms of play style, he was a pure SG
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#4 » by Feel_the_Heat15 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:44 pm

CoachD wrote:Jordan and Kobe were quintessential Shooting Guards. There was nothing combo guard about them.

Wade played more point, but really out of necessity, and the fact that he was seen a little small for the SG spot. In terms of play style, he was a pure SG


How was there nothing combo-guard about them when they were capable of playing PG as well as most full-time PGs?
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#5 » by prophet_of_rage » Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:49 pm

Because combo guard like tweener means they aren't really good at one of their jobs. A combo guard is a small scoring guard. A tweener is a guy too big and slow for the small forward, but too small and weak for the power forward.

Jordan and Kobe (and Wade a little) were swingmen (able to swing between positions.)
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#6 » by LKN » Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:56 pm

CoachD wrote:Jordan and Kobe were Shooting Guards. There was nothing combo guard about them.

Wade played more point, but really out of necessity, and the fact that he was seen a little small for the SG spot. In terms of play style, he was a pure SG


This is not true at all.... Reggie Miller and Ray Allen are much better examples of quintessential shooting guards. Kobe and MJ ran the offense quite a bit. MJ was the primary playmaker on the Bulls through the first threepeat (particularly in the playoffs).
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#7 » by CoachD » Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:01 pm

LKN wrote:
CoachD wrote:Jordan and Kobe were Shooting Guards. There was nothing combo guard about them.

Wade played more point, but really out of necessity, and the fact that he was seen a little small for the SG spot. In terms of play style, he was a pure SG


This is not true at all.... Reggie Miller and Ray Allen are much better examples of quintessential shooting guards. Kobe and MJ ran the offense quite a bit. MJ was the primary playmaker on the Bulls through the first threepeat (particularly in the playoffs).


A prototypical shooting guard is SUPPOSED to be able to run plays and handle the offense a little bit. Just as a prototypical SF should. These shooting guards who essentially just shoot, were considered specialists in the old days
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#8 » by LKN » Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:04 pm

CoachD wrote:
LKN wrote:
CoachD wrote:Jordan and Kobe were Shooting Guards. There was nothing combo guard about them.

Wade played more point, but really out of necessity, and the fact that he was seen a little small for the SG spot. In terms of play style, he was a pure SG


This is not true at all.... Reggie Miller and Ray Allen are much better examples of quintessential shooting guards. Kobe and MJ ran the offense quite a bit. MJ was the primary playmaker on the Bulls through the first threepeat (particularly in the playoffs).


A prototypical shooting guard is SUPPOSED to be able to run plays and handle the offense a little bit. Just as a prototypical SF should. These shooting guards who essentially just shoot, were considered specialists in the old days


Yeah maybe it's a terminology thing... to me Reggie Miller comes to mind when I think of the prototypical shooting guard.

MJ and Kobe could easily play the 1, 2 or 3.... they are basically swing men and part of the position-less basket trend that's been accelerating for the past 20-30 years.
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#9 » by TacoLord » Wed Sep 11, 2019 5:06 pm

Can you define what you mean by "combo-guard"?
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#10 » by GOATTatum » Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:02 pm

I always thought a combo guard was point guard but more of a scorer than passer, like I.T. or Jason Terry. Jordan, Kobe, and Wade were more classic shooting guards.
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#11 » by phanman » Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:18 pm

I refer to combo guards as short shooting guards that can't be the primary play maker or PG.
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#12 » by Antinomy » Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:39 pm

spikeslovechild wrote:Combo guards are more guys who have the size where they should be playing PG but don't have the passing skills.

It's sort of an outdated term because very few teams run their offense completely through their PG anymore.


I would think that combo guards are guys that don’t have SG size but have to play there due to their lack of general PG skills.

Guys like:

Jason Terry
Lou Williams
Jerryd Bayless
Flip Murray
Donovan Mitchell
Nick Van Exel
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#13 » by Lalouie » Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:41 pm

Feel_the_Heat15 wrote:They were all really good passers and I'm sure they'd be better PGs than 80% of the starting PGs in the NBA today if they were in their prime.


maybe because facilitating was not their primary function.

i don't think a player is labeled by his skillset, rather, he is labeled by his function within the team. a claim can be made for jerry west and isiah thomas, since they functionally did both apg and ppg
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#14 » by Feel_the_Heat15 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:51 pm

Isn't Dante Exum 6-6 yet considered a combo-guard? Also, I think D'Angelo was considered a combo-guard at one point.
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#15 » by TheHartBreakKid » Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:57 pm

It's semantics really....and we're going to have both sides arguing this pointless discussion as we tend to do;


Combo guards, in general, are referred to players who "played", or more accurately, were listed as playing both point guard and shoot guard positions, something that's arbritrary to begin with. As others have mentioned, those players technically have been smaller players, with an exception like Harden. MJ and Kobe never were listed as a point guard, and Wade only was in his rookie year if I remember correctly. As a result, despite actually playing as the primary ball handlers on their teams for the majority of the careers, they aren't considered combo guards, and because they weren't listed as forwards for the huge majority of their careers, those guys also aren't considered "point forwards" .

It's pretty silly, and these classifications are sort of meaningless, though I suppose they serve a purpose in the broader sense when talking about players like Tyler Johnson or Monta Ellis.


I'm just saying there are a lot of inconsistencies. Lebron and Ben Simmons effectively play the same role on offense, but Ben Simmons is listed as a guard is classified as a point guard, while Lebron is listed as a forward, and is considered a point forward. Marbury and Iverson were very similar players in terms of their mentality and size, but the bigger player, Marbury, is considered a pg because that's what he was listed as while A.I is widely considered a SG. Both these players are good examples of "combo guards" btw.


We just need to heavily tweak the position names imo, or get rid of them all together.
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#16 » by Feel_the_Heat15 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:58 pm

TacoLord wrote:Can you define what you mean by "combo-guard"?


A player that looks like your usual PG or SG but able to facilitate at the PG position and doesn't give up much defensively when playing either guard position.
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#17 » by picc » Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:02 pm

The term we usually use is lead guard.
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#18 » by Feel_the_Heat15 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:12 pm

picc wrote:The term we usually use is lead guard.


Can you have 2 lead-guards in a lineup?
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#19 » by picc » Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:41 pm

Feel_the_Heat15 wrote:
picc wrote:The term we usually use is lead guard.


Can you have 2 lead-guards in a lineup?


I guess so. You could say Harden and Paul were both lead guards. Harden and Westbrook probably will be too.
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Re: Why Don't We Refer To Wade, Kobe and Jordan as Combo-Guards? 

Post#20 » by Johnny Bball » Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:43 pm

Feel_the_Heat15 wrote:
picc wrote:The term we usually use is lead guard.


Can you have 2 lead-guards in a lineup?


Happens all the time....two point guard lineups.

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