Lowry had a good game today, but his lack of a consistent jumper is what makes AB not expendable. People forget how effective they were as a tandem last year (AB starting, Lowry coming in being the sparkplug). Our starting lineup has plenty of offensive weapons that really do not need a playmaking point gaurd to set them up. The bench is different however, as Courtney Lee, Chase Budinger, and Jordan Hill are all open court players who thrive with a PG like Lowry. The only negative with AB returning is Ish Smith won't get any burn, which is very unfortunate.
^Agreed. AB is definitely a playmaker, and arguably is just as good at it as Lowry. Lowry is a great backup but people severly overrate his playmaking ability (those who say if he had a jumper we'd have another Chris Paul, Im talking to you).
AB is not a better passer than Lowry. And even if he is AB still does not have the ability to control the tempo, something that both Ish and Lowry are very good at.
Lowry was the guy that was in all the big plays in this game, from the 4th quarter run to the 2nd quarter run.
You will continue to think what you wish to think and I will continue to believe what I know is the truth. AB is a great scorer, but a third rate playmaker at best. His non-existent court vision and general team offense stupidity simply does not allow him to be a playmaker.
You are wrong. AB is a fine playmaker was averaging 7 assists per game before he got injured. And part of playmaking is creating for yourself...... Kyle played well tonight and has been ok but he needs people to make shots around him, sometimes you need to be able to make your own shot. Tell you what I know though...you are wrong. DD
I could be a cheeky ass and say that Rockets have a better record with AB out and Lowry starting, but given the fact that I don't believe in small sample sizes and Lowry has hardly proved himself yet, I will only say, "Watch and learn DD!"
This is so simple I don't understand why it is so hard for people to understand. AB has skills that can be utilized in the half-court: - He can run the the PnR decently because he has a dangerous shot and good passing skills. - He can isolate whoever is guarding him and get his own shot when plays break down and the shotclock winds down. - He can spot up and play off our post-up players (Scola and maybe Yao) and space the floor exceptionally well (especially because he has the most range out of any PG in the NBA, accurate out to 27-28 feet) Lowry has skills that are suited for a more up-tempo lineup: - He pushes the ball up the court extremely fast, and also rebounds well for a PG. - He lacks a jumpshot which can be exploited in the half-court set - He expends tons of energy on defense being a pest/pushing the ball, which suits a backup more than a 40 mpg starter. - Is an excellent passer on the break, good passer in the half-court set. Now look at these skill sets and look at our lineups and it is painfully clear where Lowry belongs. Our starters consists of players that can thrive in Adelman's offensive system. Scola and Yao can play the high-post, which Martin and AB playing off them (Or AB running the occasional PnR). Our bench consists of guys that excel in the OPEN COURT (Courtney Lee, Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill). You pair those three with Lowry and you have an excellent up-tempo bench to balance out or half-court based starting lineup.
Lowry deferring to the hot man down the stretch is one good way of controlling the tempo. We took advantage of our momentum, and killed the Laker's momentum. That itself is controlling the tempo of the game. Lowry took advantage of the momentum by deferring to Battier every single time. In fact, down the stretch, none of our players were jacking up wild shots, at least not the ones without the hot hands. When we have the hot hands, Lowry always gets the ball to the hot hands. You cannot say the same for AB, we've seen time and time again AB will look for his shot first before looking for the hot man.
Also, the assists that AB dishes are standard passes that any NBA PG should be able to make. Lowry was dishing those passes since last season and you are talking about AB being anything decent? He NEEDS to make those passes if he wants to sniff the PG role.
Horse****.....AB has made many very good passes and so has Kyle the only difference is that AB shoots more and doesn't pass as much, they are about equal in passing abilities. Ish is better than them both. DD
Standard passes? So you are gonna discredit AB's assists because they are standard passes? Kyle Lowry makes standard passes. See what I did there?
AB isn't a good defender but his defense is not nearly enough to bench him. If that was the case we would play Courtney Lee (who is a legit GREAT defender, not a solid one like Kyle) over Kevin Martin. It isn't so much that AB is bad on defense it is that he is inconsistent. Last season he had games where he completely outplayed Deron Williams on both ends, and some nights he lets Steve Blake hit crucial 3's. And lets be honest, Kyle has been lit up plenty of times this season by good PG's. Sometimes good offense is hard to defend.
Lowry is a better defender than Lee. AB is ranked last in defense in the NBA according to defensive +/-, that's a lot worse than just inconsistent.
Saying Brooks and Lowry are about equal in passing ability is like saying Lowry is about as good of a 3 point shooter as Brooks. Lowry's vision and passing a far ahead of Brooks, not saying Lowry is "Nash-like" but he is loads better than Brooks who has never been one to primarily distribute the ball since....well since never Brooks has always been a scorer going back to his days at Oregon.
