Alright this pisses me off.
In response to my post about AK not knowing anything about the person he's guarding, I got this unsigned neg rep, brilliantly stating;
Other than playing against them for years. Idiot.
Since I don't know who you are, I'll just refer to you as "Waxed Eunuch Pouch" (WEP)
WEP, you're unknowingly proving my point. He plays against these guys his whole career, and he apparently doesn't even take mental notes over the years. You tell me when you see him do something that shows he knows the player he's guarding. In the meantime, I'll cite two specific instances where he didn't know two very well-known players.
1) On 2/3/10 AK kept playing Andre Miller close when he got switched onto him until Deron instructed him in the middle of the game to let Miller shoot long 2s/3s because he's not good at them. Miller's been in the league a long time, and he's always been a poor shooter. This isn't news. Fortunately, AK played an otherwise great game and Miller didn't, but none of that had to do with preparation. It had to do with him feeling good for some reason (the primary determining factor in his play)
2) On 12/8/10 AK guarded Lebron like he was a jump-shooter, going over screens, closing out hard, and not putting his body in position for charges in the lane. Lebron's not a bad shooter, but he's a terror in the lane with any steam behind him. Lebron went off, the Jazz lost, AK looked pitiful. For most people, preparation is the difference between being consistent or not.
WEP, AK doesn't give a **** about winning. From what I can tell, he'd rather the team win, but he doesn't care when they don't. His primary concern is the team involving him but he won't take the extra time to develop his game. I really thought he would come into this year differently, but that was foolish. AK hasn't cared since the Jazz found the model that actually works. He didn't work to become a very important part of that model (at least relative to his previous role and salary) and that's his fault, whether he has a handful of good games every year or not.