Combo Guards

[jeebs9]

I was reading this wonderful article and wanted to share with you guys. And ask the question who is your favorite combo guard. And what makes him a "combo guard" in the first place.

http://nbadraft.net/evolution-and-anatomy-combo-guard

I'll throw it out there right now my favorite combo is Dwayne Wade. He's a bit undersize for a SG. And plays a lot bigger than PG. One of my favorite things about him is that he mixes is up down low with the bigs. Not the best shot blocking guard of all time (that honor goes to MJ). But he is a close second.

But while we also are on the subject. Does anyone feel Allen Iverson is a combo guard?

[Bull_Market]

Re: Combo Guards

Nice read, id have to go with Monta Ellis here. Getting the nod over Steph Curry & James Harden. I omit R. Westbook for the simple fact that hes a cyborg and a anomaly in this discussion.

Monta knows how to finish around the basket and can score in many different ways, a good rebounder for his size, not to mention hes a savage in the steals department. If only he could improve his decision making. Otherwise, this boy can play.

I consider A.I. to be a combo guard, Eric Snow ran the team while A.I. did his thing. A.I. could handle PG duties but that wasnt where his strength lies. Playing off the ball on both ends was his forte, he probably could be considered the best combo guard ever.

[AlexBrady]

Re: Combo Guards

You see alot of these combo guards now because its easier to get into the paint and the focus of everyone's offense is high screen/rolls. These guys are usually dynamic scorers who need max ball time to make a difference. Poor defense and shot selection is also featured in their gameplan. Guys like Penny Hardaway, Monta Ellis, Stephon Marbury, Allen Iverson, Jason Terry, and Jamal Crawford come to mind here.

Allen Iverson was an incredible scorer for a little man. However, he dominated the ball and he made it impossible to run a Championship offense. On defense, he freelanced and gambled for steals which is why he had to be surrounded by defensive aces like Eric Snow, Aaron McKie, George Lynch, Tyrone Hill, and Dikembe Mutombo. In truth, Iverson was totally ineffective without the ball in his hands.

Dwyane Wade certainly rates among the best shooting guards of all time. His powerhouse penetrations, kick-out passes, and periodic defensive chops make him a total winner. Even though Wade is 'only' 6-4, he is a 220 pound powerhouse.

In defense of guards, its best to play contain defense and not gamble for rips and blocks. When the guard's gamble fails, it results in a 5 on 4 advantage and a probable foul pinned on a big guy. The best that a defensive guard can do is make the opponent turn his back to the offense (Dennis Johnson's specialty).

My personal favorite is Kirk Hinrich. This guy can penetrate and pitch, bang big time jumpers from the outlands, and move without the ball. Not to be underestimated are his tricky change of pace and stop-and-go moves. On defense, he is tough and relentless.

[jeebs9]

Re: Combo Guards

I never really consider Kirk Hinrich a combo guard. He has played point guard through out his whole career. Yes he has and can play off the ball. But he's most effective pacing and managing. I don't think he started playing off the ball SG until Rose got on the Bulls. Besides that he's always been a PG. But that's just my opinion.

[wwharton]

Re: Combo Guards

I never really consider Kirk Hinrich a combo guard. He has played point guard through out his whole career. Yes he has and can play off the ball. But he's most effective pacing and managing. I don't think he started playing off the ball SG until Rose got on the Bulls. Besides that he's always been a PG. But that's just my opinion.

Yeah, I'm not considering Steve Kerr, John Paxson or even Derek Fisher combo guards so I can't call Hinrick one... and he's better than all of them at actually playing PG.

[Bull_Market]

Re: Combo Guards

Yeah, I'm not considering Steve Kerr, John Paxson or even Derek Fisher combo guards so I can't call Hinrick one... and he's better than all of them at actually playing PG.

Agreed, Kerr, Pax, & Fish were/are spot up jump shooters, id just call them ”guards”. Hinrich is ok, but i can think of 50 guys, some Forwards, that i would consider combo guards before Captain Kirk.

[24]

Re: Combo Guards

Penny Hardaway.

[DukeC]

Re: Combo Guards

Certainly Pete Maravich and Oscar Robertson deserve to be in the conversation as all time great Combo's?

Steve Francis is a combo.

I would consider guys like Baron Davis, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Deron Williams, Isiah Thomas (Knick) and Stephon Marbury as scoring PG's rather than combo's. They can all distribute the ball fairly well and have tremendous vision. Yet, they score because it's much easier to set up teammates after having the defense focus on them and they don't generally have offensively gifted teammates. And, they score at an efficient rate (minus Marbury and BD)

[ItsOrangeBaby]

Re: Combo Guards

I'm not too sure if a good amount of people would consider T-Mac as a combo guard due to the fact he spent most of his career as a small forward, but he had has seasons where he was primarily a point guard or shooting guard for a team. I guess you could kind of throw Joe Johnson into that same boat as well, but I guess I would need to go with Penny if Tracy does not count.

[Dice]

Re: Combo Guards

Good article.

My all-time personal favorite combo guard is Joe Dumars. He to me was the ideal combo guard for his time. He typically played the point when Isiah Thomas got a breather. He was also a guard that could, and was willing, to play off the ball and get to spots and hit those clutch jumpers. Dumars was also a defensive specialist who could guard 1's and 2's.

There definitely was other combo guards that was better than Dumars but Dumars had the moxie to take on the role. Typically, combo guards has the ability to score and distribute but they want to do one over the other. Dumars seemed like he just preferred to do both. That's why his numbers aren't as gaudy as other hall of fame guards. He could have been a 25 ppg scorer OR he could have dished out 9-10 apg. But he just played his role and filled in where it was needed.

[Crossover1]

Re: Combo Guards

The Answer. Any questions?

[Kashanova]

Re: Combo Guards

I love combo guards but I don't really think they work to well in the nba

Iverson, Penny sure worked but there have been many combo guards that have failed..

I feel like the term combo guard is used a lot for undersized shooting guards. Guys who should be a PG but don't have PG skills and are too short to play the 2 in the NBA. There have been numerous examples of this and they usually don't work in the nba. Guys like Dajuan Wagner, Troy Bell, Steve Francis, and Salim Stoudamire for example

[Bull_Market]

Re: Combo Guards

I love combo guards but I don't really think they work to well in the nba

Iverson, Penny sure worked but there have been many combo guards that have failed..

I feel like the term combo guard is used a lot for undersized shooting guards. Guys who should be a PG but don't have PG skills and are too short to play the 2 in the NBA. There have been numerous examples of this and they usually don't work in the nba. Guys like Dajuan Wagner, Troy Bell, Steve Francis, and Salim Stoudamire for example

In defense of Wagner, its pretty hard to comeback after having your colon removed. Just saying, not a bust to me, just unfortunate circumstances. So i cant say he failed per se.

Haseem Thabeet & Joe Alexander come to mind when i think of failure.

[aloncho11]

Re: Combo Guards

Yeah, I'm not considering Steve Kerr, John Paxson or even Derek Fisher combo guards so I can't call Hinrick one... and he's better than all of them at actually playing PG.

All of them qualify for tweens don't they?

[chance]

Re: Combo Guards

Steve Francis' name does not belong anywhere near those other three