Outside the Box: Hedo and Kidd
Posted by at 2nd July, 2009
With free agency heating up, contenders are looking for one (or more) piece(s) to the championship puzzle. I by no means believe I have the answer to such a fickle riddle, but I can offer a fresh look at how to utilize two players I particularly enjoy watching.
Hedo Turkoglu:
The elusive epitome of the point forward concept, and I propose the following line-up structure to enhance this rare talent. First of all, credit to TrueHoop, I read an article about how to better contain the speedy guards (CP3, Parker, Rose, etc.) that basically boiled down to the conclusion that speed vs. speed just doesn’t cut it. The better option was to match up a long, athletic wingman on the speedsters, playing off of them slightly, and using the length factor to disrupt the plethora of driving and passing lanes that they can create. Before you stop reading and throw a rebuttal, I’m not saying match Hedo on the points, that’s just silly. What I am saying is that the following lineup could work wonders (I’m Mavs biased, so this is the off the top of the head example):
Hedo
Wright
Howard
Dirk
Ericka
Now, Howard, being (when healthy and focused) one of the better defenders in the league, would not be exploited on the defensive end if he were to match up with the points, and in fact could wreak havoc with his range in passing lanes. This allows Turkoglu to initiate the offense as the point forward, and generates a severe mismatch for the opposing point; remember, the NBA is a game of match-ups. This could also work with Outlaw/Batum in Portland, which is (despite my chagrin as a Mavs fan) his likely destination.
Jason Kidd:
This same matchup philosophy can be applied to Jason Kidd as well (which is the more likely Maverick). As Kidd has aged, everyone is so quick to point out that he is too slow to keep up on D, and he’s a washed-up waste of free agent money. I beg to differ, in his escalating age he has developed what I like to refer to as Old Man game. [Old Man game: When a player seems to lose the edge in speed/quickness and overall athleticism, they compensate with gained strength and veteran craftiness.) This old man strength coupled with his height as a PG and his basketball IQ make him a great fit to match up with the 2’s in the league. Assuming the Mavericks example again with a line-up of:
Kidd
Wright
Howard
Dirk
Ericka
It stands to reason that Wright could adequately match up with the 3, Howard can again assume his role as an unconventional look to the opposing PG, and Kidd can match up with the 2 (which he is much better suited to do now). On the other end, Kidd doesn’t quite give the same mismatch nightmare as the Hedo example, but if he would use his size and acquire one go to post move, he could present a problem, while at the same time not being exploited as often on the other end.
Again, I’m not claiming this is the way to go about winning a title, I just think it’s an unconventional solution that could make the scouts thing twice when analyzing how to approach your team, plus I do honestly believe it’s the best use of these two player’s talent sets. (Which is what the goal is, right?) Also, I’m enamored with the whole point forward concept, and I personally want to see these types of mismatch chess moves be deployed more often, it makes the games even more entertaining.
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