I wanted to get an overall consensus on the deadline deal. I know alot of people were upset and didn't think Lowry and Brooks could hold down the fort. From my perspective, with this combo you get the best of both worlds. A scorer and shooter in Brooks and a defensive hard nosed take it right back at you player in Lowry. Let's focus on Lowry though, He has a good midrange J that he has been hitting consistanly since he has arrived to Houston 50% from the field for a point guard is Very high considering he doesn't take alot of 3's which mean he does alot of operating inside the arc for a 6'0 is very good. Most of his number are on par along with minutes played in Memphis. 21.9 MPG in Mem. and 21.3 in Hou. 7.6 PPG in Memphis and 7.5 in Hou. 41.2% from the field in Mem. and 50% in Hou. I know alot of us have been dying to see a point guard take the ball to the basket, since Francis, Actually i see alot of Francis tendacies when lowry does go to the backet IE... Tucking the ball like a football. Lowry has a +9.28 efficiency rate. He also is Averaging 3.5 APG is on par with his Career AVG. He obviously is a very decent passer but decision making will still have to get better but he is young and very talented and has alot to improve upon. To include his 3pt shots, Good Form and release, will become a better shooter but needs to become muscle memory. Lowry along with Wafer and Landry, pack some punch of the bench. A totally different style than the first group. I can see Lowry being vocal with his teammates but not too much with the 1st group, maybe because he is young and new to the team but he definetly has leadership qualities. I am so happy for this young man to get a chance here, morey again with another great move. what more can you say? Opinions?
Giving the chance and good coaching, he will turn out to be a really good player. Not all-star but something tier 3 like Bibby, Hindrich, Andre Miller etc.
Lowry to me is like a young and up in coming Andre Miller. Good ball handler and playmaking ability but can not shoot. I think he is like Andre Barrett but he is actually getting playing time.
I've seen quite a few people on this board clamoring for lowery to get a look as the starter and have Aaron come of the bench. I think that this will eventually happen at some point next season. The more Lowery improves and becomes more comfortable with his current teammates the better I see him doing. I know he's shooting about 50% from the field but If he can really focus on his range and become a respectable 3 point shooter he could have a long career here in Houston. I think both point guards really compliment each other well. Also, if Im not mistaken, isn't Lowery the youngest player on this team? I mean think about that, He still has a great oppurtunity here to make that "Jump." I could see him avg 12-14pts. 7.5a and 4.5rbs. in a few years if he gets the min and keeps working on his game. He already has a very efficient game and plays within his limitations. Now he just has to push those limitations to maximize his talent.
he missed on his drives and FT's at Utah this week, but i like the fact that he takes it in there. i love his fast breaks, his vision, and he seems to finish most of the those tough drives with some nice layups. this recent utah game was an anomaly. i wish he were better about keeping his dribble alive and have even fewer mistakes when passing the ball into yao, but i'm very pleased with the trade.
obviously grizzlies got robbed again in that trade, that's a fair deal for rockets though. Rafer was born in 76 and his age will definitely draw back his speed and quickness which he relies on. It's not a bad trade for rockets anyway.
He's much better than Skip, especially when you take a look at his age and his contract, it really becomes a no-brainer... Great move by Morey, yet again.
I see a lot of good in this kid, I just don't see him being a Rocket very long. He's really good, but my beef is he and Brooks together don't make a good point guard. I think AB still needs a veteran to show him the ropes. Lowry is an OK backup, but there are time's I'd rather have Barry running the point over Kyle. As my Karma points dictate, it's a good road but it's early, in fact a little to early to tell...
The best thing about Lowry is how he compliments Brooks. I dont think Lowry is better than Brooks nor should he start, but he brings a completely different game that makes up for Aaron's weaknesses. While not a lockdown defender, Lowry is really really physical which is something that Brooks just can't be. I think this really helps against some of the other PG's in the West. Also, even though Lowry isn't perceived as being as quick or as fast as Brooks, he definitely seems to play faster and really push the pace. At times this style of play can really help the Rockets. (see next to last game @ Jazz) where Lowry basically brought the team back by himself. I also think Lowry is a better passer in the open court so more fast breaks are converted with him leading. Of course this also can lead to bad results (like the last game against the Jazz) The problem is Lowry's limitations offensively in a half court offense. He is a bad 3 point shooter, and isnt really effective in breaking his man down off the dribble in the half court. Obviously with Yao, Houston is primarily going to be a half court offensive team and 3 point shooting is necessary to prevent Yao from being double teamed every time he touches the ball. Also with Shane and Ron starting, the Rockets need someone at the PG spot who can drive to the hoop and I feel Brooks is way superior to Lowry at doing this in the half court. I really dont think that Lowry will ever learn how to shoot the 3 ball (he has been a bad 3 shooter for 3 years now) and therefore I dont think he will ever start for the Rockets, but I think he will be a REALLY good bench player who occasionally plays 30 mins a game when Brooks struggles. I really do like the tandem the Rockets have and think that the combo of the 2 is a pretty strong.
Lowry is the future PG of the rockets. So far only game that he was out of control was the Jazz game, otherwise we were winning when he was on the floor. Lowry need practice his 3 point jump this summer, and comes back as a better player. When you see J. Kidd shot the 3 ball well, stop say he will ever learn something. Brooks is a good player too, but not a PG.
He needs to improve his jumpshot. If he could hit those mid-to-long range jumpshots on a more consistent basis, I think it would be a no-brainer at who the starting PG should be. I know that I have been defending Aaron Brooks a lot lately, but that is because I feel that he is the better PG for us RIGHT NOW. Personally, Lowry should be the PG of the future.
I remember the Battier trade, so many people were saying 'Well, we should have at least got Lowery thrown into the deal too' or something like that. Heheheh Wish granted. Chances are, Lowry might be a big part of this team for a lot longer than Battier, if for no other reason that their relative ages. Best thing I can say about the kid is, I have not once said to myself 'Hey, I sure wish we had Rafer back.' I am not a Rafer hater, so that just goes to show you, the deal was a good one. I think next year we will really begin to see this Rockets team dominate from the beginning of the season, wind up with a Cleveland-like record at the end of the season. (how weird is THAT to say??) And these young guys are going to be among the main reasons why. The future looks very bright, not to mention the present ain't too shabby either.
Lowry is a stud with his ability to penetrate and defend but all 3 of those guys that you mentioned have a pretty nice stroke. Andre Miller is tier 2 at worst. Bibby in his prime was tier 2 borderline tier 1 as well. Hinrich is not that good but Lowry still has a ways to go to turn out anywhere near as good as Miller/Bibby.
I like both of them. Brooks definitely gave DWill problems on the offensive side of the court. DWill was having to chase, chase, chase and get help on him at times. And Lowry was out of control, especially playing alongside Wafer. Would have been interesting to me if they had flipped roles for that game and Lowry played with the starters. I think the Brevin Knight - Aaron Brooks would have favored Brooks a whole lot more. Knight is a smaller/quicker point. I think Lowry would have provided better defense against DWill than Aaron did. The problem with Lowry is if he is going to play with the starters, you've got to have 4 guys with him that can spread and shoot. I like Lowry/Yao together on the PnR and PnP. Scola and Landry are proving to be decent enough jump shooters. And of course, Artest and Battier can put it up although Battier has been off for much of the year. That is why it has worked so well with Lowry and Wafer for the most part. Wafer has the ability to shoot the J and he gets a lot of action off Lowry's penetration. The problem against the Jazz was the combo of both of them forcing the action was too much. When Lowry wasn't forcing, Wafer was, and Utah had the defensive answer and offensive response because Wafer can't defend. What is going to determine our PGs fate is what happens to McGrady. If McGrady isn't going to move and cut off the ball, if he has to have the dribble, then we are best served with Brooks playing alongside of him because Brooks is the better shooter. If McGrady isn't gong to be here next year, and we either trade him for a shooter, or we go with the lineup of Artest and Battier, then Lowry should get a look with them with Lowry being the primary ball handler and Artest backing off the handle and becoming a spot up/post up player that receives and shoots/passes or only takes one or two dribbles to make something happen. When Adelman finally gets it through to Artest's brain that the team is best with the ball in the hands of the PG and he is best served playing off the ball, then both PGs will look a whole lot better. I like the combo. Doesn't matter which one starts. What matters is Adelman being able to determine quickly where the better matchup lies and taking advantage of it. Brooks is just as fast if not faster than Lowry. He's not as strong or bull headed. But he would be just as effective offensively with the 2nd unit and maybe even more so as he would be able to concentrate on scoring more, which is his natural strong suite. And I like Lowry's defense against the opposing team's starting PG and his strength in the half court sets to get the ball to the basket and get the foul. I think Lowry would actually be more effective in half court sets with the first unit, going to the rim. His combination of quickness and strength is going to stand out more when he makes those drives to the basket in the half court game then when he is driving full court and giving the transition defenders a chance to use their length against him more when he goes to the rim.
