IZTOK ON KIDD'S DEFENSIVE SYSTEM AND THE ROSTER

[michaeltex]

Heres what I think:  I think posters are looking for reasons to bitch.  I dont think Luka is anywhere near a sloth/dangerously out of shape.  I agree that Luka should look into a professional diet...but I dont care if that makes him lose weight or not.   I agree that a lighter Luka would maybe help his reactions and movement on defense...but is the give and take him being less effective in the paint on offense or securing less rebounds because he is getting bodied?  I dont know.  What I do know is...constantly complaining about Luka's weight is a waste of time.  Hes fine

I might add that Luka's game, even his drives to the basket, are never and have never been at lightning speed. In fact his playing pace has been commmented on many times. Something to the tune of "Luka never gets hurried, but is amazingly effective doing it at his pace" implying that he operates slower than many PG contemporaries. But he's not and never has been a typical PG. Instead he's this amalgam of size, dexterity and vision that is unique. 


Instead of focusing on his weight, maybe the focus should be on getting teammates to hit shots to keep defenses honest and reduce the double teams he sees. If that happens, then all the talk about his conditioning, weight, +/-, etc. goes away and we get back to enjoying one of the generational talents in the league.

FWIW, look at the 2006 Finals. Apart from the DWade calls, MIA was running everybody at Dirk to take the ball out of his hands and make someone else beat them. Contrast to 2011 and JET/Marion/DSteve/Chandler proved to MIA that they couldn't be ignored and kept the defense honest and allowed DAL and Dirk to do their thing.