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This isn't meant to hate on these three, but I think we can all agree there are weaknesses in each of their games. We've talked about their weakesses seperately in dozens of threads, but I think there is reason to discuss the three of them together.
We've theorized about age, laziness, lack of brainpower, lack of experience, bad attitudes and all sorts of reasons neither Curry, Crawford or Robinson perform well on a regular basis and in particular, why none of the three are especially effective on defense. All of the theories put forth probably have at least some merit.
But I see something in all three of them -- something that they all have in common, and something that I think is one of the most significant factors contributing to their struggles.
All three of them hate contact.
Why doesn't Crawford try to draw charges the way Kirk does? Why doesn't he stick to his man on defense like white on rice? Why does he have lapses where he settle for awkward J's instead of taking it to the hole?
ERob is somewhat more willing to drive, but do you ever see him taking a charge or diving after a loose ball or playing physical D?
And he drives when he's open. Rarely will he go into traffic to draw a foul. Compare with Pippen. Or Dupree.
Eddy? The man should be all *** and elbows under the boards, like a 7 foot Karl Malone. Nothing could be further from the truth. He readily admits he's never been in a fight in his life. He doesn't clog the lanes, is not a shot blocker, pound for pound is not an effective rebounder and does not even clog up the lanes anywhere near the way a man his size should. Just compare his willingness to engage in contact with Chandlers.
I think the common denominator is none of the three are willing to get bumped around and in return, none are willing to do any bumping themselves. No wonder Norm is 2 steps away from a straightjacket. That type of thinking is as far from the Sloan/Van Lier way of thinking and playing as you can get.
What I wonder is: can a tolerence of contact be taught or will it always be the inclination of these three to shy away from banging around?
We've theorized about age, laziness, lack of brainpower, lack of experience, bad attitudes and all sorts of reasons neither Curry, Crawford or Robinson perform well on a regular basis and in particular, why none of the three are especially effective on defense. All of the theories put forth probably have at least some merit.
But I see something in all three of them -- something that they all have in common, and something that I think is one of the most significant factors contributing to their struggles.
All three of them hate contact.
Why doesn't Crawford try to draw charges the way Kirk does? Why doesn't he stick to his man on defense like white on rice? Why does he have lapses where he settle for awkward J's instead of taking it to the hole?
ERob is somewhat more willing to drive, but do you ever see him taking a charge or diving after a loose ball or playing physical D?
And he drives when he's open. Rarely will he go into traffic to draw a foul. Compare with Pippen. Or Dupree.
Eddy? The man should be all *** and elbows under the boards, like a 7 foot Karl Malone. Nothing could be further from the truth. He readily admits he's never been in a fight in his life. He doesn't clog the lanes, is not a shot blocker, pound for pound is not an effective rebounder and does not even clog up the lanes anywhere near the way a man his size should. Just compare his willingness to engage in contact with Chandlers.
I think the common denominator is none of the three are willing to get bumped around and in return, none are willing to do any bumping themselves. No wonder Norm is 2 steps away from a straightjacket. That type of thinking is as far from the Sloan/Van Lier way of thinking and playing as you can get.
What I wonder is: can a tolerence of contact be taught or will it always be the inclination of these three to shy away from banging around?
