Has anybody noticed this? More and more teams are going with two small guards on the floor, either starting the game, or at least playing substantial minutes.
I'm not a fan of the Lowry/Tragic backcourt. Primarily because of Tragic's recklessness and inconsistency. George Karl was a big proponent of the undersized backcourt last season, consistently rolling w/ Ty Lawson and Ray Felton down the stretch. He'd occasionally throw J.R. Smith in w/ those two... made for a very entertaining brand of basketball. CP3 and Chauncey form one of the smallest backcourts in the league... problem is, teams like Miami and OKC will exploit that.
The rules make it easier to prevent bigger slower players from penetrating (no illegal D) and more difficult to prevent smaller quicker guards from scoring or getting to the line when they get to the rim.
Please explain how someone shooting 458% from the field with one turnover a game is reckless or inconsistant.
Its a gimmicky tactic. It only works when you have good defensive big men, and even then you'll get abused in the playoffs. Lowry/Brooks, Kidd/Barrea isn't really accurate to include in this category because Lowry and Kidd are good enough to guard SGs. You get problems when you have two small dudes who can't guards SGs (like Curry/Ellis).
Rick Adelman is such a trendsetter I remember the first time I saw Brooks and Lowry on the floor together for the first time, I was like "yo wtf is Adelman doing", and at the end of the game I was like wow, I cant believe that worked.
A few reasons come to mind. Teams are trying to play fast and can get away with it because there are hardly any quality Centers. A lot of teams are playing two PFs as well. So they try counter it by going small. Also, its hard to find well rounded guards with size at the 2. Most of them are ball hogs and dont create for others - Thornton, Young, DeRozan - the new breed. So maybe teams tend to go for two PGs who can score and create. Guys like Evans and Harden are rare. Brandon Roy was a huge huge loss for the NBA.
For a fast-paced team, that is the way to go. A pure pg plus a combo guard. Or they can be both combos for that matter. Twice the slashing power and twice the assist possibility.
They have to be able to defend the 2, like Lowry and Billups other wise you will get abused on defense. You also have to have great help D when the bigger wing player posts up your smaller guard.
