Oct 19, 2013
Alright people, we’re back. Now it’s time to take a look at the small forward position.
For a minute I thought about saving the ideal small forward for last but I decided to go in order of position. We now have reached one of the most important positions in basketball. The small forward also known as the glue guy, the one who holds everything together.
The ideal small forward can do it all.
The skillsets features: floor spacing offense, lockdown wing defense, rebounding
Floor Spacing Offense: There is nothing worse than a wing player without a jumper (ex. Tony Allen, Gerald Wallace, etc). On offense you want to be able to space the floor, so ideally your small forward can shoot the 3. He doesn’t have to be lethal but he needs a reliable jump shot to keep defenses honest. He doesn’t have to be an elite off the dribble talent but a little bit drive gave would be great. The ideal small forward should be spacing the floor but can get buckets to if needed.
Lockdown Wing Defender: Unlike the point guard and shooting guard, the small forward needs to be an elite defender. The ideal small forward is your best defender on the wing and routinely guards the opponents best player. He doesn’t need help defense, he can keep his man in front of him. He’s either forcing his man to pass or take a very difficult shot. At the same time he switches when needed, and can get his hands on some steals. The ideal small forward will play top notch defense, and win you a lot of games because their defensive presence.
Rebounding: Now here’s an element that I haven’t touched on yet, and it’s funny because this is one of the most important aspects of the game. Not much rebounding is expected of the guards but the small forward is likely your 3rd biggest player on the floor, so he needs to crash the board. The small forward should be very active on the glass and take pride in grabbing the loose ball from midair. Even though the ideal small forward is playing a lot on the perimeter, they still have a responsibility to go for the rebound almost every play. This guy should be able to slide over to power forward in a small ball lineup and remain a force on the glass. The ideal small forward should average around 5 to 7 rebounds a game.
Now I could of easily picked LeBron James here but he could be the ideal player at every position if he wanted too. I thought about using Chandler Parsons but then I figured exactly who this is.
The ideal small forward in the NBA: Kwahi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Check back soon for the ideal power forward.
Everick Davis Jr.
Was good though, it's me Everick Davis Jr. Born and raised in Portsmouth Virginia, I'm currently a senior at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. I watch every sport (not so much golf) but I am huge on the NBA. My favorite players right now are J.R. Smith, Russell Westbrook & Nick Young. Drinking beer and watching sports is my favorite past time and I do it year round! I used to play basketball on the regular until everyone else kept growing and I still stood at 5'6. So that's when I channeled my efforts into becoming the next Stephen A Smith or anything close to that. I currently write for "The Carolinian" newspaper in Greensboro, NC and intern for http://theurbantwist.com/ Random Fact about me, I love anime, my favorite one is One Piece! Second random fact, I got beatz! check me out http://www.reverbnation.com/ielabs
