Passing the Torch

The NBA is a league of young players. Once a player has developed his own style, the eyes of fans tend to shift away from that style and focus on the new, young blood. What fans commonly forget is that, more often than not, the unproven youngsters in this league are simply mirroring the style of a more evolved, mature player. I'd like to quickly steer away from all the playoff races and Greg Oden talk, and just turn my focus towards a few of those developed players and the youngsters that are constantly emulating their styles of play.

Rudy Gay - Shawn Marion
A quick glance at the stat sheet will tell you a vast amount regarding the connection between Gay and Marion: they're both combo-forwards who have the ability to both battle for boards in the paint and step outside and knock down threes. But the relationship between the two goes much further. For one, Marion has always been known as a versatile player on the defensive end, with the ability to guard players ranging from Vince Carter to Marcus Camby. You'd have to be blind not to see the same versatility in Gay. Tilt your head, once more, towards the stats: last season, Marion completed the unnatural feat of blocking 130+ shots and getting 130+ steals in the same season. Although Gay's numbers this year don't compare (he's currently sitting on 71 steals and 74 blocks), he has the burden of a) being a rookie and b) being a virtual no-show in Mike Fratello's tedious system earlier in the season. If you're not convinced, consider this: since being inserted into the starting lineup under coach Tony Barone, Gay's averages have been 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.86 steals and 1.2 blocks. Marion's numbers in his rookie year? 10.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 0.8 steals. Looks like the kid's right on track.

Gerald Green - Jason Richardson
This comparison deals more with special skills than statistics. First of all, both of these players are fantastic dunkers (don't take my word for it, though). Secondly, and this really goes under the radar, they're both fantastic outside shooters. Richardson, an athletic player with a muscular build, certainly has the potential to be a hard worker down low. But why should he? Aside from his play earlier in the season, in which he was playing injured in a number of different places, J-Rich has been hot from beyond the arc this year: 38% from down town since returning while hitting at least one three in all but two games. Considering how many he shoots each night, it's hard to say Richardson hasn't been just as good a shooter as, say, Ray Allen or Kyle Korver. Gerald Green is one of the league's future stars, simple as that. Yes, this is coming out of the mouth of a Celtics fan, but it's also from a person who has seen Green play a number of times. G-Squared has potential oozing from all over his body, and not just with his high-flying acrobatics, but with his shooting. Most Celtic fans know Green as a midrange shooter, which he is, but he can go a lot further out: he's shooting 38.8% from beyond the arc this season, on 3.1 attempts per game. That, combined with his ability to finish at the hole, makes a fantastic NBA player. More specifically, that makes a Jason Richardson.

I hope that you all will appreciate the veterans in this league (Richardson and Marion are hardly "vets", but they certainly qualify as experienced), and understand that the young players' styles, whether offensively or defensively, aren't quite as unique as you might think.