jasonkyashi.com

i asked kyashi’s permission to go home early 2 days before the USA Greece men’s basketball game, so obviously i am looking forward to catching this game on tv.  partly because this is the latest version of a usa team with nba players, which anyone would agree always dishes out some flashy highlight plays, and partly because i’ve read a lot of comments that jason kidd is already too old to be considered an exceptional player.

catching only the last few minutes of the usa china game, during which kidd is already lounging on the bench, i was determined to get be home in time to see the opening tipoff.  that’s why despite the rain and the deep flood that required me to take a tricycle ride from dapitan/lacson instead of the usual walk to our gate, i was in front of the tv in time to hear the greek national anthem!  and i was comfortably sitted when the game commenced.

to my dismay, kidd was called for 3 fouls less than 2 minutes into the game, and i had to wait for the start of the second half to see him play again.

nevertheless, in the 5 or so minutes he was on court, i can’t figure out how people can conclude that the guy can’t play anymore.  sure he was not as fast as before (as in years years before, since his speed has not really been his forte anymore the past few seasons), and his game not stat-filling, but his basketball iq is still there.  the backboard pass to no one (supposedly to lebron, who did not continue with his trail job) notwithstanding, his passes were still very well placed: an offensive rebound-tap pass for a field goal; a bounce pass inside to melo that resulted to free throw attempts; a bounce pass to kobe to setup a fastbreak dunk. i’m pretty sure neither cp3 nor deron would have thought of those passes. granted, if they were in kidd’s place they could find their own way to get the team to score on those possessions, but probably it would involve extra dribbles, extra fakes, and not as simple as the way kidd handled it.

this, of course, comes from the point of view of a kidd fan.  but after watching most of the game with paul and williams at the helm more than i wanted to, i’ve no doubt my position is valid.

hopefully kidd plays more minutes against spain to validate that.