When AB is on the court, if his shot is not falling he does not give the team anything else. Not a lot of assists, doesn't use his speed to draw fouls and get to the FT line, and doesn't play the passing lanes well on D to get steals. This is what I noticed during the season last year. I specifically remember the Knicks game with T-Mac playing. AB's shot was just off that day, but he kept shooting. I was looking for him to do something else, but he never did. I just think this is where he needs to develop. Figure out how to use his speed to impact the game in other areas when that outside shot is not going in. Lowry is not going to settle for the jumper, he will attack the paint and score or get to the line. If not, he kicks it out to the open player. This is what makes them different. I like them both and glad we have them on our team.
How many Lowry v Brooks threads do you guys need in one off-season? Can't you all accept that they are both valuable to the team and it is ultimately irrelevant who starts? Ultimately the one that contributes the most on any given night will get the lion's share of the minutes. Can we please /deadhorse now?
They might not call as many fouls on layups. But they do call charging fouls in the playoffs or late in games. They HAVE TO call something when someone blatantly got hit to the floor. Hayes, Lowry, and Battier got lots of key charging calls late in games. But the most important point of drawing fouls is not just for yourself. It's putting the opponent in penalty early. After that, any of your teammates getting fouled will go to the line. That's the most efficient way to score even for a mediocre 70% ft shooter.
They might not be the greatest individually but together, the Brooks/Lowry combo is something special.
everyone has great points. but maybe they both start. and they move kevin martin to center and yao ming to small foward. speed and length, something like that.
I'm going to have to agree with you there DD. They really do complement each other perfectly. The nba is all about match ups, and though they are very different, I think its an advantage to have two guys capable of starting that also give you two very different looks. Id like someone to tell me who has a better pg situation than us, NOLA withstanding, because of the cp3 fiasco.
Absolutely, he could get better at it, and I hope he does. I'm just not holding my breath. Maybe AB will have put on a bit of muscle and have more confidence on defense this season, as well as more confidence driving to the basket. I certainly hope so. Heck, maybe Kyle will rediscover his midrange game. It's the off-season, so we can dream.
That's because Lowry has no jumpers from the first minute of the season to the last minute of the season. You are comparing a momentarily-shot-not-falling Brooks to a constantly-no-shot-to-fall Lowry.
if you watch the games and don't just look at "assist rates" its pretty easy to see that lowry fits the mold of a traditional pg who sees the floor better and makes better "pg plays"... brooks plays more like a sg with a refined offensive game but doesn't always make the right "pg play"... haven't you heard the old line... "box score doesn't tell the whole story"... watch the games not to mention the rick adelman offense is designed to where no one player is getting all of the assists, its predicated on ball movement so the assist numbers are typically pretty spread out and not a great indicator of a point guards skills i'm not exactly sure who I think should start, with brooks we have one of, if not THE best offensive starting 5's in the game... but on the other hand I don't think its crazy at all to think lowry fits better THIS YEAR in the starting lineup. He would bring some defense to a starting lineup that doesn't really need any more offense. AB would easily be 6th man of the year, he could be our Terry or J.R. Smith, capable of coming off the bench and totally destroying teams.
You don't need muscle to be a great defender, there are not a plethora of PGs our there posting up. AB's quickness advantage will allow him to stay in front of most other team's PGs. Not to mention AB's offensive game wears down the other team's PGs because they have to play him all over the floor too. Look, I like Kyle, but this is backup QB syndrome all over...he is a great change of pace guy to AB, but this team would struggle mightily if Lowry was the starter because teams would not have to guard him on the perimeter. It is what it is....people just disagree, that's ok, they are all just wrong. :grin: When Rick Adelman decides Lowry is the starter, then they will be right, until that time........TOUGH t*tties !!! DD
No, but some muscle helps. If AB can stay in front of most PGs, then why doesn't he? Why isn't he more effective? I'll give you AB wearing out the opposition. Hell, he'd wear me out in a minute or two. I haven't the slightest problem with AB starting. I really don't, unlike some folks who are big Lowry fans. I'm a fan of both guys and their respective roles in Adelman's system. I just wish AB was better on the defensive side and better at driving to the basket and drawing fouls. But hey, he's terrific at what he does well, not just good. One can say the same about Lowry. They're a good pair. If we could improve the position, though, I'd be up for it.
And that's also the same reason that we don't need a "pure" PG. A shooting guard can fit the role just fine. He just needs to take care of the ball and keep the team involved. That's pretty much the situation we are in so why break things? Lowry is awesome but he also plays against the opposing reserves. So it's unknown whether he can excel in the starting position. If AB gets injured for an extended period then he will have the opportunity to prove it. Same way AB proved himself by subbing for Rafer a couple years back.
Because no one can with today's rules, even Lowry is an open door to the basket....he can guard some players, but no one can stay in front of an attacking player...... What Lowry does better is anticipate and take charges, but he is not as good on defense as people around these parts seem to think he is.... Agreed.......and eventually refs stop calling fouls.....we have Kevin, Yao and Kyle that draw a lot of fouls, I think we are gonna be fine. DD
if AB is better than Lowry...then wouldn't he do even better against the opposing reserves than Lowry did? With Lowry you get in the bonus quicker and his main weakness is hidden better with the starters who are all capable offensive players
Lowry is not an open door to the basket, even with today's rules. And he is pretty darn good at D. Even with the change in rules, defense is extremely important.
Not one on one D, he gets blown by all the time, almost all players do these days because the refs allow carrying. It is danged near impossible to guard on the perimeter.....I have the Boston game here on DVR, and Rondo was blowing by both AB and Lowry like they were standing in cement. AB actually played him to a stand still (because of offense) and Lowry was switched to RA and did a great job D'ing up on Ray Allen.....who does not dribble well, by the way. Anyone that is a dribble penetrator in today's NBA can get by just about anyone else, there are no more lock down perimeter defenders...IMO. DD
Here's something to think about... Would all the people who feel AB should still be the starter be so upset if Lowry started, but there minutes were roughly the same as last season(ab~36 & lowry~24). Lowry drawing fouls early in the quarters seems like a better strategy. Then AB can come in and wreak havoc on the opposing reserves AND be in the bonus.
Interesting point, but I don't see Adelman changing starters unless Lowry is destroying AB in practice and rediscovers his midrange game. That's unlikely, IMO. However, I can see Coach A having a quicker hook with AB for exactly the reason you pointed out. We'll just have to wait and see how it plays out.
