The Grizzlies have claimed former Central High School combo guard Lester Hudson off waivers in a conservative attempt to bolster the team’s mediocre bench scoring. Sure, Hudson, an alumnus of Southwest TN Community College and Tennessee-Martin, provides the Grizzlies with a local playground legend whose Cinderella journey to the NBA is heartwarming to the Memphis faithful, but what exactly does Hudson potentially bring to the Grizzlies’ bench besides his Bluff City roots? Where does he fit in and could his arrival signal a pending trade? I’m going to take a deep look into the logic behind the Hudson pick-up from a coaching standpoint.

Equipped with solid measurables, Hudson is a sturdily-built athlete whose creative scoring abilities compare favorably to established NBA scorers like Ronald “Flip” Murray and Randy Foye. With his streetballish crossover moves, explosive first step, and excellent body control and strength, Hudson penetrates into the lane and either explodes to the front of the rim and finishes through contact or locates his open teammate left open by the collapsing defense using his solid playmaking skills and decision-making.

Coaching point: a strong driver with good vision and decision-making skills is worth his weight in gold because…

1. In a zone defense, drivers penetrate gaps and spaces unoccupied by defenders (i.e., in the 3-2 zone = middle and corners, in 2-3 zone = free throw line extended, middle). The key to scoring against a zone is to get the ball into these gaps by driving, passing, or overloading the zone (preferably the middle of the zone), forcing the defense to react and causing defenders, for a split second, to leave their matchups, as they are magnetized to the driver and collapse on him.

2. In both man to man and zone defense, a driver beats his man off the dribble, forcing the weak-side post defender to rotate to cut off the driver. In order to help, he leaves his own man, and another teammate must rotate to defend the original help defender’s man. Rotations don’t always happen fast enough to cover everybody and when defenders rotate to help, defensive matchups are temporarily disrupted; dump-offs to big men and kick-outs to shooters become available.

Hudson, as well as creating offense for others with his crafty ball-handling skills, can create his own shot while taking and making difficult mid-range jumpers; his range also extends to the NBA three-point arc.

Hudson is also a relentless on-ball defender and ball hawk in the passing lanes that fits Lionel Hollins’ aggressive defensive style. Even more importantly, Hudson is a flat-out competitor.

I know I make Hudson sound like a superstar, but I certainly have some reservations about his acquisition as well. Hudson plays at his best with the ball in his hands, and I have my doubts as to how well he can play off the ball. Let’s face it. Besides his short tenure in the Celts, he’s been his team’s best player, thus he was able to attract attention with his prolific scoring in the Ohio Valley Conference. Prolific scoring = ball-dominant. According to Ron Tillery of the Commercial Appeal, the Grizzlies had their reservations about acquiring Hudson because of the presence of Marcus Williams. Both guards stand about 6-3 and play their best with the ball in their hands. That duplicity makes me a little nervous- that is if the Grizzlies choose to keep Williams. (See, “In Search of a Scoring Punch”, Trade 2, http://3sob.com/archives/46-january-2010/853-in-search-of-a-scoring-punch)

Lastly, let’s discuss where Hudson could possibly fit in the Grizzlies’ rotation. Obviously if the Grizzlies choose to move Marcus Williams, Hudson could fill the role of a 3rd ball-handling guard, as clearly in my opinion, Jamaal Tinsley has shown he has both the poise and floor generalship of a solid veteran back-up point guard. (See my article, “The Role of a Back-up Point Guard”, http://3sob.com/archives/41-august-2009/609-the-role-of-the-back-up-point-guard)

With Williams on the roster, the Grizzlies could slide Hudson at the two-guard, between Tinsley and Sam Young, in relief of the offensively inept DeMarre Carroll. To some extent, Hudson could be a cheap, low-risk attempt to bring in an offensive-minded combo guard in the mold of what Allen Iverson was supposed to provide. Hudson, in limited minutes, would be an interesting fit alongside Young, forming a 1-2 scoring punch of two drivers playing off one another’s penetrating abilities with Hudson also capable of hitting the outside shot.

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