billyshelby
Well-Known Member
How do you properly utilize a small-ball 4 playing as a wing when his production and disposition changes with the weather, generally can't hit a shot, and has an okay but extremely loose dribble? In the second half of the '09-'10 season when he put together his best string of games since 2005, was that because he was finally being used properly? Just, all of a sudden, Jerry got it... and then he just forgot?
Really, what are his strengths, and how do they fit in to any kind of successful model of a team construct? Being the best jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none still means he's master of none. Especially when he can't stay healthy, and it's anyone's guess who he shows up as on a nightly basis.
Anyway, I'll start with his strengths: really smart, great vision, great passer. And then there's just a blank. Or rather, a TON of things he can do some nights and not others.
And again, last year he was actually worse (or equal-to at best) than in '06-'07. There just weren't any tears and trade demands.
The short answer is post him up. I can probably count the number of times AK posted up the last 5 years on 1 hand. Post up AK against 3's and you can run all sorts of stuff. Look what Atlanta does with Joe Johnson. They love to post him up, run stuff off the ball, and he uses his height and passing ability to make plays. I will never have any idea why AK was not posting 3's. Not as the core offense, but a wrinkle to exploit mismatches.