Player Spotlight: Calderon/Ford

When Jose Calderon seemingly thrived with the absence of TJ Ford - who usually starts ahead of him - things got so out of control that at some point in late January, some experts were using the word “All-Star” in the same sentences that contained the word “Calderon.”

Ford, he of never-ending injury bug, went down in December, and it allowed Calderon, an incredibly efficient backup point guard, to step in and play unimpeded minutes. His vision went from one-eye-on-court-other-on-bench to two-eyes-on-court. And the results were freaky. As a matter of fact, right now he’s on course to become just the fourth – fourth – player in league history to average at least eight assists while shooting better than 50% from the field and 90% from the line.

The others? Points gods known as Magic, Price and Nash.

Of course, Ford rained on this little Spanish parade by becoming healthy by February. Shame on him. And so Toronto had the “problem” of having two above average PG’s locking horns to see which could get the better part of the 48 minutes they had to share.

And both have struggled… predictably.

Predictably because Ford is trying to successfully come back after a serious injury; Calderon, because he has seen his minutes hacked into with a chainsaw by Coach Sam Mitchell, who has no choice but to play both.

Ford has played 21 games since returning: 9.7 points, 5.0 assists, 19.9 minutes per. Calderon, who has started all 21: 10.6 points, 7.6 dimes, 29.8 minutes, this after averaging 15 points and 10.5 assists in the month of January. So basically, having too much of a good thing, in this instance, is well, a bad thing.

I saw the Raps game in LA two weeks ago, and with Calderon struggling in the second-half, Mitchell went to Ford, who proceeded to carry the Raptors on his back. He scored 28 points – his high since coming back – and looked about as close to Kevin Johnson, circa ’90, as anyone alive. He was in the paint, he was disrupting things, heck, he even tried to dunk on Kobe. (He was fouled, no call). But then there are nights like March 7, against Washington, when Calderon had it going (20 points, nine dimes) and Ford got just 14 minutes.

Isn’t there something wrong with two immensely talented guys competing for minutes that aren’t really there?

Yeah, and while it’s a nice problem to have, just remember that ever-so-rarely they actually play well together. Plus, screwing their minutes around has obviously messed with Calderon, and Ford, the former starter, is adjusting to a new role – that of coming off the bench.

So while it may appear nice that having two of the 15 best PG’s in the game at your disposal sure would be nice, if mishandled, it isn’t beneficial at all.