is j-rich really a weak defender?

by OaktownWarrior on May 15, 2007 5:47 PM PDT

i've been hearing this thought percolating around GSOM and it is a new idea to me. it might be because i've been listening to most of the games on the radio this year, and play-by-play guys tend not to focus on defense as much, but i guess i always assumed richardson was a decent defender. i mean, he is strong, pretty fast, a dedicated player. why can't he play D?

Zig mentioned that KNBR's guy shared this line on why j-rich is not fully in nellie's favor:

Steinmetz said Monta and J-rich don't play because they aren't doing what he wants on defense

can anyone help me out on this one? what kind of defender is j-rich, as compared to other shooting guards and swingmen around the league?

Poll

on a scale of 1 to 5, how could good of a defender is jason richardson?

5 (shoulda been all-nba defense team)

1 votes

1 (weak as hell)

2 votes

2

9 votes

3

23 votes

4

5 votes

40 votes | Poll has closed

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!

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Comments

Truth be told...

I've been critical of Richardson in the past, but he is constantly giving it his all, and I think his defense is fine. It suffers, as you'd imagine, because he's an undersized forward currently playing against a team with a propensity for knocking guys around. But honestly, I can't find much fault with his defense.

by Zack Vank on May 15, 2007 5:52 PM PDT reply actions

lets put it this way

they can't switch J-rich onto Daron Williams

by Zig on May 15, 2007 11:32 PM PDT up reply actions

Well....

I'd have to say he's about average on a nightly basis. But like any NBA player, when motivated or sparked, he can be a lockdown defender for the moment. It's just his footwork looks kinda off... he's pretty athletic but sometimes he doesn't use it to his advantage on the defensive end. On a scale of 1-5, I'd say 3.5

Marv Albert: "I ain't trippin'!"

by ZombieWarrior on May 15, 2007 5:52 PM PDT reply actions

he's alright

he's been pretty average throughout his career. since he's come back from his hand injury he's stepped it up a bit tho.

by AJC3317 on May 15, 2007 5:54 PM PDT reply actions

a couple more thoughts

sorry for the typo on the poll. i can't edit it, apparently.

also, found another post on the j-rich question, this time by J Rich 4 MVP.

J Rich doesn't play defense or rebound. He is an average defender, I'll give you that. As for rebounding, he is one of the top rebounding guards in the league, that is common knowledge. Don't just type things for the sake of typing them. You end up looking like you don't know what you're talking about, which you don't. Bandwagoners, when things get rough true fans stick with their team, they don't complain about what a player does or doesn't do. You take the good and the bad with every player.

is everyone on board with this analysis?

by OaktownWarrior on May 15, 2007 5:56 PM PDT reply actions

yes

by AJC3317 on May 15, 2007 5:58 PM PDT up reply actions

JRich is an average defender at best...

Again, Richardson is a great guy, don't get me wrong. A good player with some very good shooting performances in the playoffs.

But did you notice he never guarded Deron Williams this series? Or any very difficult offensive perimeter player? They had to hide Richardson on defense, as they hid him all season.

The Warriors have changed around their defensive assignments frequently in these playoffs, but the one constant is that Richardson ends up with the easiest assignment, and Jackson usually ends up with one of the two toughest. You don't think Nelson pays much attention to defense, but he does. Nelson explained the quick yank by saying that he was sick of Richardson's blown defensive assignments.

Since Richardson is pretty much a one-dimensional scorer-no big drives to the hoop for him-he had better do other things if his jumper's not falling. Like play defense. Like move the ball around crisply. Like get to the free-throw line (0 for 0 last night; 0 for 0 in Game 3; 4 for 7 in Game 2; 3 for 3 in Game 1).

That's one way to assess value.

WE "HELLA" BELIEVE!