Mike James Bball IQ

That's exactly what he was like in Toronto. There would be a certain mechanism in his head that would tell him to get his 15 shots a game, without regard for whether the team would lose or not. It was one of the reasons most Toronto fans loathed him and didn't want him back despite a superb statistical season. Especially with the game down the wire, James would not look to passing to anyone else, Bosh included, and just dribble around at the top of the key before forcing up a three-pointer.

 

Can this team handle two Steve Francises?

 

this is why he's best off the bench. to be some energy... some extra scoring.. a spark plug. he's a good scorer, but hardly a leader. a great 6th man. Rafer seems like he'll be our starter (I KNOW it seems like I'm jumping on a bandwagon, but this is a different rafer. this is a rafer that has been pushed into a corner due to publicity and trader etc. He's emerged as a different player) and this same principal goes towards francis. He'll be a great heat check off the bench. same with bonzi, though I expect bonzi to score a little more consistantly, but maybe not in the huge bunches that james and francis can. What I love about this team is we basically have 3 heat check guys off the bench in addition to the talent we have in the first unit. it's great.

 

He has always played with a chip on his shoulder and an attitude about shooting the ball.

I think he shoots too much, but if he makes em, we can't really complain, right?

I mean shots going in from the PG position, that is a novelty we have not enjoyed in years.

DD

 

My thoughts exactly. He just jacks up shots. He needs limited minutes and by the end of the season hopefuly AB will be getting his minutes. that is my guess.

 

I'm not worried about Mike James. We didn't have ANYBODY like that off the bench last year and desperately needed his energy. I think he is more of a team player than Francis, and a better shooter.

I think the biggest question for this team right now is who is going to get the backup 2 minutes. SF or Head? I think it's SF's job to lose, but it seems like he's losing it. With the way Head has been impressing the coaching staff though, I wouldn't mind if Steve had to earn his PT.

 

Rafer is the best PG. what else?

 

In the current lineup of Rockets, James will not get more shoot like in Toronto. Only Yao and T-mac have the right to take the ball in their mind. IMO, He knew what he should do beside two all-star players.

 

Why would you expect Scola's man to be right in Mike James's face and Mike James to miss? Mike James may not be able to create well for others, but he is very good at creating a shot for himself.

Most likely in this scenario, the defense collapses inside keeping Scola from having a true mismatch.

 

sometimes its good to have a player who's not afraid to shoot. i'd much rather have mike james take an ill-advised shot, than to watch francis make a horrible entry pass or hold onto the ball too long. as long as it goes in there is no problem. you take the good with the bad. i'll take mike james' shot creating and great on-ball defense with his sometimes wacky shots, just like i'll take rafer's great passing and decision making with his horrible shooting.

 

With an admitted like for James on the court, a neutrality for Francis and a dislke of Rafer...I have a totally unique and individualistic view of the entire evaluation process.

The Rockets have the luxury of not worrying about whether Mike James can stay in front of TJ Ford....they have at least 2 other defensive 1on1 options. That's that true beauty of this team that most won't recognize until the All Star break.

The Rockets were already a playoff caliber team and via good timing and good fortune have added 4 players (James, Francis, Wells and Scola) that all play with passion and are essentially fearless on the court.

When you've added the level of depth that the Rockets have, it's almost pointless to quibble about a few warts on any one player. Roll the ball onto the court, let them run and see who's having the best game...when you've got depth...you've got options.

 

Why we see what happens several games into the regular season before we debate whether James and Francis are going to be selfish, etc. Both guys had a pretty humbling experience last year...let's see what effect that happens.

Personally, seeing James hit a floater in the lane the other day was pretty exciting. Haven't seen a PG hit a floater in a loooonnnnggg time.

 

What do you expect from Mike James? That's why I awalys believe Rafter fits Yao and Tmac better together, James is better coming off bench to provide extra scoring.

 

what worries me is seeing SF3 James and Bonzi all in at the same time.. I foresee tension between the 3... All of them like to take many shots..

 

Can this team handle one Steve Francis??

 

now if he will just learn to camp out beyond the arc and wait for the pass instead of shooting it within the first 10 seconds of the shot clock without any other player touching the ball... that would be sweet.

picking that particular season to bring up his assist numbers is extremely convenient as it is obviously a statistical anomaly if you look at his year by year averages. In other words, he never came close to that before and probably won't again. Throw in the over 2.5 turnovers a game and things don't look quite as peachy even in his absolute best year. What's your over/under for Mike James assists this year I wonder? I do admit it. I find it hilarious. Especially as that particular year Rafer averaged 6.7 assists per game.

spin is a wonderful thang...

 

I've said it before and i'll say it again: Mike James will be our best PG this year.

I'm not going to go into some lengthy analysis to support why I feel that way (I believe Clutch and Gator said it all), but let's not confuse the fact that he plays with a chip on his shoulder and his desire to win with being a careless, selfish ball hog.

He's going to be drawing Jason Terry comparisons before the season is over.

 

News Flash...Van Gundy's no longer the coach and standing flat-footed at the arc was the reason last years' team couldn't beat the Jazz in the playoffs. Or few above .500 WC teams in the regular season.

The absolute single and largest problem with the VG Rockets was standing around at the arc and NOT being able to get your own shot. Fortunately, the Rockets' management saw fit to address this in every player they added.