The argument is correct when Aron plays against Deron, as later will absolutely defeat Aron. Now it's an old slow fish, totally different.
If AB can not make good pass to Yao. Rockets better trade Yao with a center that is strong in defense in this coming summer. It will be wasting money on Yao who is more effective in offense and AB can not making pass to him. Yao and AB are not good match for Rockets
AB has dramaticlly reduced his no-purpsose dribbling in last two games. That's the key. Offense looked much better that way. And it was very encouraging he actually finished around basket and find open people(even though other guys missed open shots) in game 1. Props to AB for a great game. Let's see if he can keep that up.
AB made many fine passes into Yao last night. Yao and AB are great matches, since its not usually the PG that is making the entry pass into Yao. Its usually Battier or Artest, or heck sometimes Scola. When Aaron is hesitant, he is a bad shooter. He is a bad penetrator. He is just plain bad. But when he is just reacting and doing what comes naturally, he is fine. Great shooter, great penetrator, and a great asset to throw in the mix along with Yao and Artest and company. He passed up a few shots in the first half but seemed to take Adelman's comments at halftime to heart. Much less tentative in the 2nd half. Also, he almost hit two mid court shots in the same quarter. That was incredible.
Can't believe there's still such stupid comment that singles out YOF. What's YOF? Care to define it clearly? When this thread was started, Brooks was dribbling this team out of the playoffs 1st round. It took Yao's direct "beatdown" in the locker room to make him learn. Either you are intentionally mixing the difference, or you really just want to be troll.
I assure you if Brooks didn't pass it to Artest more like he did in the last two games, he'll be canned immediately.
You dont need a definition of YOF. It defines itself. Also, while Yao's comments to Brooks after game 5 had a lot to do with it, it wasnt the only thing. Some was the coaching staff. Some was Aaron seeing things in the game film. Granted its only 2 games since he was aggressive but hesitant(game 5) but his play in game 6 vs Portland and game 1 vs LA seems to be a similarly aggressive yet less hesitant Brooks. And thats a good thing, and exactly what the coaching staff wants him to do. And please, dont go with the troll comments. DD is not a troll, he knows more about basketball than a majority of posters on this board. He sees the bigger picture. Which is why he is angry with the folks who just whine about Yao not getting his touches at teh expense of another player on the team. Game 5 it was warranted but not now.
That's exactly why I was calling out his troll-like behavior. What was wrong with the OP who complained about AB's costly dribbling in Game 5 and earlier games? You can read for yourself, all he did that night was touting and name-calling, and he never admitted it took both AB and others to make his game better, which I'll address as below. Sure AB himself contributed a lot to his better games after Game 5, but don't discount Yao's effort like that. AB has one good quality that I like: he's willing to improve his game and learn. I also believes OP probably likes AB as I do, but if AB didn't pass the ball more to Ron, Shane, and Yao like he did in the past two games, he'd be on bench more than he actually did. The thread was started because of his boneheaded plays in Game 5, and OP has every legitimate reason to blame him. What AB did afterwards in fact proved OP was right: he dribbled less, and let veterans handle the ball more.
Brooks is in his 1st half year as the starter, he will get better with time. He brings a lot to the team.
All I care about is that the Rockets win, I don't care if Yao scores, AB scores, or Matt Bullard suits up and comes in to score. Just win.... Sometimes, Yao will be the focus of the other team's defense and not get very many touches....that is fine, because that means everyone else on the court for the Rockets can make them pay for over committing to our big man. What I don't like, is people making KNEE JERK threads after a bad game, when they don't understand what is going on out there, that Brooks is doing what his coach is telling him to do...attack..attack...attack.... Sometimes, he will get it wrong and shoot to much, but it is a growing process, the guy has 35 total starts....let's not bury him before his career even gets going. I LOVE that Yao took him aside and read him the riot act, that is what good leaders do, and the comments from AB about knowing what Adelman means now, by being aggressive not necessarily being about shooting but about probing the defense means that we have SOMETHING special happening here with this kid. Give him time, he will be a very good starting PG in the NBA......sometimes he will miss Yao on good passes, other times he will pass it to players not looking, it is a growing process, but if he continues to be aggressive and grow, the Rockets will be much better off. The OP and others at the beginning of this thread were overeacting because their favorite player did not get enough touches......and it has been a consistent complaint since Sura, and Rafer, and now Brooks.... Realize that it doesn't matter sometimes, Yao can help the team by being a decoy some games. Just be a Rockets fan....Yao is a MASSIVE part of the team, but he is only one cog....a very important cog, but still just part of the overall team. Root and cheer for the Rockets they are more important collectively than one player getting good stats. And this is coming from a guy who LOVES stats, I wanted Yao to get 20-10 for the season, but he didn't quite get there.....so in reality it doesn't matter....wins are all that matter. DD
The thing that Brooks is learning through the playoffs is how to be more selective. He's learning that he needs to keep himself involved when he is not the focal point in the offense, but then when his opportunities come, he needs to make the most of it. He's like a sports car driver who has only been going full throttle, but is now figuring out that shifting gears at the right moments can actually help to win the race. As a fan, it's been a real joy watching this young PG learning and adding new gears during this playoff run.
You got it badly wrong here. People are more concerned about his non-stop dribbling and his inability to run the offense even if he penetrates, not just his inability to pass the ball to Yao. There was never much complaint about Sura at all, as I remember. And the complain about Rafer is his shooting, never the same with Brooks. That was one great game by Brooks last night, his best game so far in his career I think. Even though he only had two assists with 3 TOs, he played like a true PG, moved ball around, penetrated from baseline to avoid getting blocked, either finished or passed to an open guy. We want AB play as well as he can, but the way he was playing in several games against Blazers, he deserved those bash, just like he deserved praise for last night's game. One game doesn't really change my opinion about AB, I still see more potential in Lowry. That's not Knee-jerk reaction. And expect Lakers to make adjustment on AB, let's see how he handles that.
What Aaron did last night was exactly the way he needs to approach the game. He needs to break down the defense. Not dribble the ball for 20 seconds. Within the flow of the option try to get into the teeth of the defense, then pass out.
Here is why you guys need to give Aaron Brooks time: Link to post game comments from AB "I know what [Rick Adelman] means when he tells me to be aggressive," Brooks said afterward. "It's not about firing off shots. It's about working my way into spaces and breaking the defense down so we have options all over the floor." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- That my friends is the growth of a player getting it.....and he is only going to get better..... Bill Simmons said this about him: Link to Simmons article "I love that Brooks went so late in the 2007 draft. So wait, when you score a ton of points in college, shoot a high percentage and get your shot any time you want, that might translate to success in the NBA? Are we sure?" -------------------------------------------------------------------- It is time for people to wake up, AB has special talent, he just needs TIME to develop it. DD
Simple question: do you honestly think AB did nothing wrong in Game 5, and that all his dumb plays were mere his inability to fulfill his coach's instruction? Don't try to cover your back with these meaningless words, your hatred toward Yao and his fans are undeniable. What's wrong with Yao getting more touches and his fans wanting him to get the touches? What's wrong when OP was concerned with AB's control of game after a bad loss due to AB's dribling too much? What warrants you to behave like a clown and try to ridicule Yao fans to YOFs and criticize them not for the good of Rockets the whole team? You, as an old ID here, didn't get it altogether at all.
Nothing at all, but this is a HOUSTON ROCKETS board, the team should come above all else here. And as I said before, AB struggled in game 5, sure, and you get that with a young player, you have to let them learn. At the end of the day, the TEAM will be better for it..... I don't HATE Yao....are you flipping kidding me? I love the guy......I can't stand people who post about a player when he is actually playing well in other areas of the game....just by being on the floor. And this is NOT the first thread talking about Yao not getting enough touches.....sometimes, teams are going to take Yao out, by doubling him....and that means Yao will not get his touches.......and my point is...WHO CARES? As long as the team wins...Yao is contributing just by being on the floor and opening things up for the entire team. I do not HATE anyone....people feel free to cheer for whatever they like..but this is a HOUSTON ROCKETS board.....it is about the team....more than the individual...Yao gets that...do you? DD
kawins: DD is not a "YOF basher" or whatever. It irritates me that YOF labels are still being used as an ad hominem (it's 2009! not 2003!), but that doesn't mean you should be resorting to labels or personal attacks either. I believe DD genuine believes Brooks is the better option and we should respect that. If you have a problem with his opinion, make specific BASKETBALL arguments like choujie has done. In other words, be nice!
I hate to continue with such debate about Yao fans this and that, after such a great win. DD, I normally like your posts, sometimes over-reacting, but lots of times insightful. I just felt you are a little bit too trigger happy in this thread. As many pointed out millions of times, getting Yao more touches usually results in team wins. But you have to interpret that as Yao fans only want Yao to have great stat line while throwing the team under the bus, like all the fans want Yao to get more touches are just for the sake of Yao getting touches. Does it occur to you, lots of them want the team win, therefore ask the so far most efficient means leading to team win - getting Yao more touches? The cliche is getting old - i don't care who scores, i don't care who gets touch, as long as team win. Technically it's right, but how? Yeah, if Hayes scores 20, we would probably win easily. But how likely for him to score 20? We already know that when Yao gets 20, we normally get a win. I love Hayes, for me to say I prefer Yao to get 20 before we worry about Hayes getting 20, doesn't make me a Yao Only Fan, and/or Hayes hater, but rather from a feasibility point. What's easier? Are there player only fans? Absolutely, there are fans who wants Yao to get great stats, big contract, riding LeBron's or Kobe's joystick, and say screw Houston. But how many are they? How many are you seeing when you have an honest debate with regarding basketball and Rockets team? You are really getting paranoid here. If you can read Chinese, you should really visit some Chinese forums, to see how happy Rockets fans and Yao fans are for the team win, how happy they were for they ended the 12 years drought. You should see how emotionally Rockets fans and Lakers fans are debating about basketball, instead of doing everything to worship Yao. Open your eyes, it's a team game. Yao fans can be and will be transformed to Rockets fans. Dream draw me to become a Rockets fan, should I be banned because I started as a Dream fan instead of a Rockets fan? It seems to be a fashion to label others players only fans. It sometimes goes to a disgusting level, as some posters did in the first round MVP poll thread. I certainly didn't expect you are part of them to stir the pot, especially after such a great statement win. It's really not necessary to pull this Yao Only Fan card. Argue on opinions, no need to second-guess others' motives.
