Ric Bucher has always liked nothing more than breaking down guards, whether it be on a
playground or on paper. Here he does it for ESPN.com. We call it "On Guards" for obvious reasons. Look for this feature each Monday. Better yet, be on guard for it.
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| R. Strickland |
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| Brandon |
This week's feature guards: The Wolves' Terrell Brandon vs. the Wizards' Rod Strickland.
Both Brandon and Strickland have been mentioned in trade rumors involving
the Knicks this season, which is odd for two reasons -- their games are so
drastically different and they're having considerably different seasons.
On the rise: Terrell Brandon
(16.4 ppg, 7.1 apg, 3.8 rpg, 2.3 stls, .458 FG, .863 FT)
In assessing how they'll continue to improve their team despite the stiff
penalty dropped on them because of the Joe Smith fiasco, the T-Wolves
allegedly felt good enough about Will Avery's potential that they approached
the Knicks about swapping Brandon for Allan Houston. With the trading
deadline approaching, Brandon has given them reason to re-think that over the
last few games by leading Minnesota to a six-game winning streak with a
torrid bit of shooting. For any guard who lives and dies by his pull-up
mid-range jumper, as Brandon does, shooting anything better than 45 percent
is commendable; during the Timberwolves' six-game run, he's shredded the nets
at a 58 percent clip while averaging 21 points and 8.2 assists. Perhaps most
impressive for a 5-11 guy who doesn't drive much is that he's also averaged
4.5 rebounds during that stretch. He's played aggressive defense as well,
collecting 35 picks over the last 10 games. Ballhawking isn't always a sign
of good defense, but with Brandon's size making him susceptible to post-ups
if he doesn't strike early and Kevin Garnett behind him, it's not a bad
tactic.
On the slide: Rod Strickland
(12.6 ppg, 7.4 apg, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 stls, .428 FG, .780 FT)
Strickland's numbers against the Suns -- 8 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds --
suggest with a few more than 22 minutes he might've had a triple-double. But
Rod's standing with Coach Leonard Hamilton and the Wizards has fallen so far
that he was on the bench down the stretch against the Suns. Hamilton opted to
go with Chris Whitney instead against the league's premier point guard, Jason
Kidd -- and it worked for an 89-82 upset -- even though Whitney was giving away
35 pounds and four inches to Kidd. Strickland, who in his prime could run a
team just as efficiently as Kidd, would've been a much better physical
matchup, but his recent scrapes with both Wizards' management and local
police have cost him. If the Wizards don't trade him and Whitney continues to
get the job done, Rod could see limited action. Not being the most dedicated
of practice players, stamina could become a problem, and when he's out of
shape he all too often gets injured. It's a bad spiral, but conditions are
ripe for it happening.
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| George |
This week's guard to watch: The Lakers' Devean George
He was recently activated after spending most of the season on the injured
list. His athleticism could help the Lakers' transition D dramatically
without costing them any perimeter firepower. In his last two games he's
attempted 15 field goals, 11 from beyond the arc, making 4. How well he
progresses could weigh into the Lakers' decision to stick with or let go J.R. Rider.
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ALSO SEE
On Guards (Hunter and E. Strickland), Jan .22
On Guards (Francis and Eisley), Jan. 16
On Guards (McKie and N. Anderson), Jan. 7
On Guards (Rose and McGrady), Dec. 28
On Guards (Bibby and Jackson), Dec. 18
On Guards (Stockton, Blaylock), Nov. 27
On Guards (Nash, A.Miller), Nov. 20
On Guards (Anderson, Billups), Nov. 13
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