[Mr. Versatility]
During Hinrich’s introductory presser at the Verizon Center this past Monday, Chris Marks of Prince George’s Community Television asked him what position he thought would best fit him in DC. Hinrich responded with a laugh:
Well we’re going to figure that out. I don’t know exactly. I probably feel more comfortable playing the one, it’s a little easier. But I feel I’m very capable of playing both positions and I think starting in training camp that’s going to be a challenge, trying to figure out exactly where I fit in and what I need to do to help the team.
This of course begs the question: Where does the Wizards’ factotum fit? (And is he a better PG than a SG?)
I headed over to 82games to find out.
The first metric I looked at was Win%, defined as the chance of winning the Chicago Bulls had with Kirk Hinrich on the floor. During his time in Chicago, Hinrich gave the Bulls a 46.8% chance of winning. Hinrich’s highest Win% was 60.3% in ’06-’07 and his lowest was 30.3% in his rookie season. That number is respectable, but is a cold, indurating indicator that Hinrich is not a gamechanger. To put this statistic in perspective, LeBron James’ career Win% is 67.8%. (His career high is 82.7%; his low is 54.4%.)
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Published in
10-11 season,
kirk hinrich |
3 CommentsTags:
anderson varejao,
chris duhon,
ernie grunfeld,
kirk hinrich,
kyle korver,
lebron james,
monta ellis,
point guard,
ron artest,
shooting guard,
small forward
[Editor's Note: Rashad Mobley has reported on the Wizards with media credentials since the 2008-09 season for Hoops Addict. He occasionally contributes to Truth About It.net, providing excellent analysis and a different perspective from his up-close coverage of the team.]
{flickr/kris247}
I’ll admit I was feeling pretty good about myself going into last night’s Wizards/Jazz game. Prior to the game, Coach Flip Saunders mentioned that Shaun Livingston would get the starting nod over Randy Foye. After Friday night’s loss to the Orlando Magic, I asked Flip about a Livingston over Foye situation, and said he didn’t know–but he didn’t say no, which to me was a strong indication a change was going to be made. And eventually it was.
Based on my observations, Livingston got the Wizards into the offense earlier, he made more decisive passes, and when things broke down, he always seemed to make the right play to navigate his way out of trouble. Plus, Flip never missed a chance to praise Livingston’s “basketball IQ”, and since he is notoriously hard on point guards, it seemed like a good temporary fit. Livingston would start, Foye would channel his frustration over being benched, and regain that missing mojo, and Earl Boykins, being the veteran that he is, would be a threat to come in and drop 14 points in a minute and a half. Sounds like a plan right?
Uh no.
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Shaun Livingston has been through basketball hell, but the point guard just might be the godsend Flip Saunders has been searching the heavens for to lead his team.
The Wizards, as was pretty much expected, lost their third game in as many nights 109-95 to the Orlando Magic on Saturday, but Livingston broke out with his best game (most points with 18 and most assists with eight) since his career-changing knee injury in February 2007 .
Livingston has barely been with the Wizards two weeks and he appears more comfortable running Flip’s offense than anyone else has been all season.
“The biggest thing is he’s got a very high basketball I.Q. He seems to calm everybody down a little bit when he’s on the floor,” said Saunders. “And he’s got great size so when things break down he’s has the ability to back somebody down and get a shot off.”
More and more Saunders is turning to the player in his second consecutive 10-day contract to succeed where Randy Foye and Earl Boykins have fallen short. Down 15-13 to Orlando after a Jameer Nelson free-throw, Livingston took the floor at the 6:30 mark in the first quarter and led the Wizards on a 20-5 run to finish the period. During that time Washington went 9-13 from the field with seven of those baskets being assisted upon while not committing one turnover.
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The battle for Wizards starting shooting guard is crucial. The backup power forward spot almost just as much, especially with Antawn Jamison nursing injury and little to show in terms of front court depth. The backup point guard position, however, is a relatively unheralded story.
The talented and rock-steady Randy Foye is thought by many to be the favorite to spell Gilbert Arenas. Foye is also in the mix to play off the ball some. But, there’s already quite a crowd competing at shooting guard with Mike Miller, DeShawn Stevenson, Nick Young and even Caron Butler factoring in.
And then there’s Mike James. With Javaris Crittenton currently out with a foot injury and an unknown timetable for return, some of the competition at point has been eliminated … or at least postponed. But with two DNPs in five preseason games, is James being given a fair shake?
“The only way you can really assess yourself is by playing … I got two DNPs in preseason,” James said after Friday’s practice. “Whether it’s fair or not, I’m not the coach, so I can’t say. All I can say is the opportunities I have, I gotta take advantage of them, weather they’re short or not.”
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