Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 29, 2012 16:39:33 GMT -5
NBA's five most potent duos
These tandems are great, but they make each other and teammates better
Originally Published: October 25, 2012
By David Thorpe | ESPN Insider
18
118
LeBron James, Dwyane WadeSteve Dykes/US PresswireLeBron James and Dwyane Wade are dynamic players who also complement each other's skills.
It is every general manager's dream to field a team flush with "blue-chip" talent, hoping for that magic combination of great chemistry and star players that leads to championship rings. And the NBA is full of amazing combinations of players who put up big numbers for their teams night after night.
Webster's defines dynamic as "marked by usually continuous and productive activity." No duo exemplifies this definition better than the Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Both are amazingly productive and competitive scorers.
However, the special teams in the league don't feature duos who are only dynamic, but ones who are also complementary or "mutually supplying each other's lack" or "forming a balanced whole."
General managers have to find starters and reserves that best form their team's balanced whole. And when he finds a special pair of players, the biggest challenge is keeping them together. Think back to the Orlando Magic's Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard or the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler. If kept together to develop chemistry with like-minded teammates, these potent duos are the catalysts for success.
Today there are very few of these examples, but here's a look at the five most potent duos in the league:
1. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade
I still recall with a chuckle the many commentators who felt these two players were redundant of each other. In reality, they are the best example of what we are trying to explain here. James and Wade are supreme players by themselves, but together they are able to elevate their individual games to another level.
Wade is the killer scorer, the man who does not fear any time or score situation. The fact is, he has never been a great defender, saving his energy most of the time for the offensive end. And he always wanted the ball in his hands.
Enter LeBron James. It was James who most helped inspire Wade to be a playmaking defender and someone who better identified himself on that end of the court. James' skills as a passer enable Wade to score off the ball, making him one of the top slashers now, with or without the ball. James' talent also forced Wade to recognize that he was now the second-best player on his team. That recognition is what put the Heat over the top. Had James not been a great teammate, his addition to the Heat could have been disastrous.
Likewise, Wade has impacted James. James has always wanted to play with a killer scorer like Wade so he could showcase his complete all-around game. However, James' scoring talent is elite, but so are Wade's abilities as a passer. So Wade can set up James to score just as easily James can for Wade. James also is the game's best wing defender, but even he is challenged to make some of the incredible defensive plays that Wade pulls off, keeping James razor sharp.
Together they push each other to be spectacular, and importantly, they pick each other up after failure. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are considered by most to be the best complementary wing players in NBA history, but Wade and James might have a chance to equal their status.
2. Dwight Howard and Steve Nash/Pau Gasol/Kobe Bryant
Yes, the Lakers now feature three potent combinations on one team, thanks to adding the game's best center this offseason. Howard owns the paint and rarely strays from it on offense, so he needs perimeter players who can pass and shoot. He's also not a fluid scorer like Al Jefferson or Amar'e Stoudemire, and can be most effective when he is surrounded by someone like that. In Nash and Gasol, he has two of the best passers in the game today, each of whom also has very good shooting range.
I'd hazard a guess that two of the most frequent basketball actions we'll see in the NBA this year will be the Nash/Howard high pick-and-roll, as well as the high-low post to post pass from Gasol to Howard. Nash's ability to orchestrate a consistent fast break helps take advantage of Howard's rim-to-rim speed, and Howard gives Nash perhaps the best transition target he has ever played with.
Bryant helps Howard in a different way. Though Bryant is an excellent post feeder (especially late in possessions), his competitiveness and basketball IQ should rapidly bring Howard to the highest level of play he has ever achieved. Howard can be silly, and as we know, silly is not something Bryant does. All three of them will help Howard on offense a great deal, and in turn Howard's presence inside will have the same effect on them. On defense, it's a different story. Howard's dominating presence makes all three far better.
[+] EnlargeManu Ginobili and Tony Parker
D. Clarke Evans/Getty ImagesGinobili and Parker have developed a unique chemistry.
3. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili
It is easy to forget just how special this combination is, since it has been a few years since their most recent title. Parker, the incredible paint scorer and one of the world's best pick-and-roll players, is not a gifted passer; he's solid but far from special. And he has never been a reliable outside shooter.
Ginobili, though, is one of the most natural playmaking off-guards in the game, with strong deep shooting skills capable of changing a game and a series. Parker can cut up a defense with his penetration skills, while Ginobili pragmatically pulls a defense apart in every action the Spurs run.
Each would be a lesser player without the other, as Ginobili's feel for the game rarely gets in the way of Parker's rim attacks. And Parker can carry his team through long stretches of the game on offense in large part due to Ginobili's ability to stretch the defense.
4. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah
Rose is the cool scorer, almost unguardable off the dribble, rising to MVP heights. Yet, he is a reluctant superstar, happy with letting his actions speak for him. In the NBA, though, winning teams need more from one star, and Chicago gets that from Noah.
Noah learned how to be a rock star from his dad -- former tennis star Yannick Noah -- and loves that role, which allows Rose to stay in the shadows off the court while destroying people on it. But Noah is also close to the best passing center in the game, which helps make up for Rose's average passing skills.
Rebounding and defense are also huge strengths for Noah, and when combined with Rose's ability to score and effectively control the ball throughout a game, they form the nucleus of what has been perhaps the NBA's best team the past two regular seasons.
5. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett
This might surprise you, but these guys have complemented each other more over the past five seasons than any of the previously mentioned tandems. In the past, Pierce has been the cold-blooded scorer while Garnett was the monster defender and uber-competitor.
But over the past few seasons their roles have changed, in part because of what they do for each other. Garnett was dominant through much of the playoffs last season, fiercely demanding the ball in the paint and then finishing the job. But Pierce has learned to be a fierce fighter on defense and hits the glass when his team needs a jolt of extra energy and lift. Each can still do what they have always done, but the years of playing together has helped each other develop new skills and make their tandem far more formidable than it was when they first joined forces.
Duos to watch as they mature and develop together include: James Harden/Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams/Brook Lopez, Chris Paul/Blake Griffin, Ricky Rubio/Kevin Love, Tyson Chandler/Carmelo Anthony.
