No, I really think we will need his energy in the second unit to spell Ward...And on the other hand...He really pushed the ball. I didnt even have time to complain about his play making becuz he was only doing the right things.
I have to admit, when we got Lue in the trade I was upset. I thought of him as some type of throw in. After watching the game last night, I'm glad we got him. He brings so much energy off the bench, and he did look better than Ward "last night". I won't jump the gun and say he is better after one game, but he sure was all over the place. Some might say Ward was better, but he was in with the starting unit and Lue wasn't..
all these talks bout ward's got the leadership and veteran experience is fine and dandy, but one thing for sure is ward's still gotta produce on the floor. Whether it's hitting an outside j, a 3, penetrate, or dish a couple of assists, ward's gotta do something. Based on last night's game, he's still struggling with his shots, didnt get any assists, and just looked a step slower than lue. Not sure if it's cause he's still unfamiliar with the offense, but ward's gotta played better than last night if he wants to remain a starter. On da flip side, lue's performance was decent at best, made some nice shots, but still need to work on setting people up with open shots, which usually will translate to assist.
You know Matt Maloney is 33 now... so he should fit the more mature Rockets. He can hit the three and has plenty of experience passing to a big man and a big shooting guard. He's probably even still on the Rockets payroll.
Neither is saying he played well in garbage time... but the fact that these statements are concerning the 12th man on the roster, it is a good sign for the team's depth/
I'd like to see Ward start and have Lue come off the bench to play a majority of the minutes(including end of quarter, end of game situations, except in certain matchups). Kinda like it used to be with EG and MoT. Lue is more beneficial to the team when they need more offense because some of Juwan, Tmac, JJ, or Yao are on the bench.
Speaking of Gaines.. That was some really weird basketball playing he was doing out there.. Was that the Spaz Playground Style, or what? Jitter-jitter-stutter-jitter-SPAZ-jitter-BOUNCE PASS!! He looks pretty quick, but , from anyone who has seen him play extensively in college.. was this guy schooled in the fundamentals of the game? If so, was that what that was last night? And if not, then I don't think JVG spends the time/effort necessary when he has other viable alternatives.. Here's hoping..
Is it? If you ask me, it's sort of arguing whether Bill Wennington or Luc Longley should have started. They're both at similar playing abilities...neither is really that good, and that's why we're arguing. It's not really about having options. I still think we need to find a better PG.
By all means. Have at it. Bring us Hinrich while your at it. Anways, my point was that it's great that both are good PGs. That's quite diffrent than everybody unanimously saying, "Start Ward! Lue sucks!" Know what I mean?
After watching Lue last night, wow, Moochie is a poor man's Lue. He was impressive. Some say they saw hesitation and bit of indecision, man I didn't see that all, I saw a man who was going north and south instead of east and west, a little guy who was energetic and seemed to have a good court sense out there. I was real impressed with him. There was no silliness out there with Lue or Ward. Professional gentleman with the ball in their hands. The whole team was smooth. No awkward motion out there and that had a lot to do with Lue and Ward who were running things nicely out there.
I suppose I can agree with that...Better that they're both decent than one being decent and the other being terrible.
Lue should come of the bench as a spark. Bottom line. That is exactly what he is. It would work out great.
Just an average point guard of any vintage will be a huge improvement over the last five years. Bring the ball down quick, set up a play quick, make a decision quick, make the timely pass quick, stay out of twenty four second clock, don't turn the ball over, big improvement.
You put that kind of weak PG on the Rockets instead of Francis these past 5 years, and you see wins about as much as the Clippers and Hawks see wins. This season it's a completely different story...
With Ming and TMac the Rockets don't need an All Star "showtime" guard, just do the basics and we will be better off than the last few years. You'll see.
I agree, but the 5 years before that a PG that just does the basics would of been just another weakness.
Ward actually impressed me last night. Maybe it is just because he did a good job of taking care of the ball and didn't dilly dally, but he played pretty well defensively (much better than I thought he was now capable) and, as someone else mentioned, got the ball in the scorers hands. He will be fine as a starter and Lue will be fine off the bench for 20 minutes or so.
I'd even go as far as to say that Mobley, MoT and Cato (w/a good PG) would have given us a decent record. Vintage/non-all-star PG doesn't mean he "sucks." But rather a PG that is not super athletic and scores 10-12ppg. For example, someone like Eric Snow or Damon Jones. Those guys are not super-duper-flashy-all-stars. They are just good, "vintage" PGs that don't turn the ball over and can run a TEAM! I repeat, TEAM! Now the record is besides the point if you don't have a star (Yao/McGrady) to carry your team over the hump. But what you do get w/this team is a solid unit (the foundation) that don't turn the ball over very much, plays a team game, and can play off of each others strengths and weaknesses. Cat and MoT would have better seasons. The addition of a "vintage" PG would help greatly. Cat/MoT's hard-work (on the offense and defense) would NOT go to waste on needless turnovers. Turnovers have away of just "giving points to the opposition." And with those turnovers substantially lowered, the team wouldn't have to struggle trying to get those points back. Think of it like this. The Rockets have a 92 - 89 lead in the 4th. There's 3:30 left on the clock. The chance of a turnover with a guy like Snow or Jones running the PG duties is low. Thus the chances of "giving up points" in order to "hold the lead" would be much less. Contrast that with a PG that turns the ball over a lot (or has a tendency of high turnovers). This has a huge effect on the outcome of the game (who wins, who looses).
