I really need all my fellow bbs'ers out here for this one.....i have read and read and read over and over about us wantin mike james back here and for the life of me(in all seriousness, no joke, real talk)can't figure out why...... I really enjoyed mike james here his first stint....but why is every one makin it seem that if we get him we are real contenders all of a sudden....... he was here before with a resonably healthy t-mac and yao the first time and we still flamed in the first round against dallas....WITH MIKE JAMES Also i remember tons of complaining right here that he got caught up in his offense alot of the time and took key shots that t-mac and yao should have been takin.............and he doesn't know how to feed the post, can't pass, doesn't make any teammates better, you get the picture........so why again do we want him back so bad....he would be a great 3rd scorer here no doubt but we all know he has to accept that role and take a back seat to t-mac and yao......can he do that or accept that role(he didn't do the best job of it the first time around).........if so yes, if not we will be back here tearin up our keyboards complaining again come january of next year...so clutch make sure the server gets a boost cause we will all be here goin nuts........ If i only get one reply from my fellow bbs'ers please be the one that helps me understand why we want this guy so bad.....ESPECIALLY AS OUR STARTER......
Never start a Mike James thread without his name in the title. That could of been eight count it eight threads on page one with MJ's name ^stupid
It's pretty simple: 1. We need a 3rd scoring option. Not to mention a guy that can take up the scoring load if Tracy goes down again. 2. James is the best scorer in free agency that we can afford. 3. The league has put in rules that specifically help speedy guys that can take the ball off the dribble. Which James can do. 4. We also need guys that can shoot from three to space the floor for Yao. Which is another thing James can do. 5. We need tough-minded guys that are strong competitors. Else we're stuck with Rafer at the point. (I'll never forget how James absolutely obliterated Alston this year. Rafer put up zero fight and basically had his lunch taken away from him) 6. I'll say it again, but we can actually afford James and he wants to come here. Take a look at free agency and you'll find that we are priced out of pretty much anyone else decent.
There are some folks here wondering the same thing, and wanting him anyway. Part of it is the knowing now what you lost factor. Part of it is the what's left on the market factor. Part of it, for me at least, is the I don't want Dallas to get him, the greedy bastards, factor. It's a reasonable question, and it trips me out a bit, as well. (m_cable giving responses like the one above is unfair!)
I'll keep it short and simple: MJ wasn't the reason we lost to the Mavs. A crippled and creaky Bob Sura and David Wesley combined with having no PF is what did us in. MJ had a couple of very good games. The fact is we relied far too much on Tracy to score because no one else could step up. MJ was also very good on the defensive side. I think Devin Harris still has nightmares about it. If you remember the Mavs series very well, it wasn't a "flame out". The only game that statement could apply to was game 7. I disagree with folks who focus only on game 7 of that series. Another reason to want him back is the Rockets want him back. They clearly know what they are getting. If they want him, you too should want him. More could be said and I'll let other folks chime in.
Well i will tell you it is for the simple fact that he had a breakout year last year! You may not buy the fact that that matters but it does! Because now tmac yao and everyone else know for a fact that he has what it takes and that he deserves all their respect! AND JVG knows that mj needs some plays now cause he can flat out score when givin the chance!
All pros.....are there any cons......not tryin to be mr. negative... The guy wants full MLE Hes 31 and he wants 5 years...so CD and my fellow bbs'ers if you really want and i'm fine if you do.....but he better be exactly what you guys are advertisin because we are STUCK WITH HIM IF NOT........... I don't know but the front office hasn't exactly hit pay dirt the last few years and get a strange.......mo taylor, stromile swift, rafer alston, glen rice, kelvin cato kinda feelin here......... god hope you guys are right....no matter what i am with you guys regardless....hell maybe ya'll are seein somthing i can't see
No it wasn't.... In fact the rockets played better than the Mavs the previous six games. When we won we won by a good margin except for that game that McGrady just went Jordan on those son-b****es The refs screwed us over and somehow Dallas would go on a 20-0 run in the fourth quarter somehow everytime and steal the games.
According to the latest rumors, the talk is more about 3 years. That's what Dallas offered and it doesn't seem like they're budging. And if 5 years was on the table from the Rockets, James would probably be signed already.
I picture Rafer starting so we can establish Yao's dominance at the start of each half, and then MJ coming in for instant offense when Yao is off the floor. That way we can have at least two scorers on the floor at all times. With the versatility of TMAC, Battier, and Novak (Hopefully) we can give defenses a lot of different looks. I can't wait to see teams try to double Yao or TMAC with MJ and Novak lined up at the 3 point line! Unless we upgrade at the 2 in FA, I would like to see Rafer and MJ both see about 35 minutes a game, with Head and Lucas backing up the guard spots. Of course, we can always sign Bogans to have on hand for D if we run into matchup problems with certain bigger 2's. Anyway, the season should be fun.
For one I am not saying if we get James we are a contender!! If we get James we are on the way. We still need at least two more decent players:- We need a starting POWER FORWARD- I think JVG is crazy to think that Battier will be adequate in that position. We need a back up Center as Mutombo was on his last legs towards the end of last season. We could do with a good playmaker to run the point Guard Position. James and Alston are not good playmakers. this playmaker might have to be third in the pecking order or another decent shooter would be very welcome.I have a strange feeling that CD has gotten it into his head that all we need is Mike James.
I see a guy the prime of his career who can create his own shot (20.3ppg), defend his position, shoot the 3 (.442 3P%), can start or come off the bench, and who's improved every year of his career. He's within our price range. He knows the system and the players. He's our best option. There's really no one else out there who fits our team as well as he does.
Really....I like that idea alot better....but don't you think he and his agent are posturin us using the wolves(he's not goin to that sinkin ship, rockets front office keep your poker face ) or cubes down ther in dallas(he won't start there, thats a FACT JACK ).........DON'T YOU THINK IN ALL ACTUALITY THAT MIGHT BE THE ONLY BARGAINING CHIP WE HAVE.......THE STARTING POSITION......everything else is a wash, hell he can ride the pine in style in dallas with a billionaire owner who spoils his players rotten(how about a new bentley coupe with that signing from mr cubes )
Tracy McGrady, Dikembe Mutombo, and Yao Ming are still left over from the team that lost to Dallas in '05. Juwan Howard wasn't there. Chuck Hayes and Steve Novak weren't there. Shane Battier wasn't there. Rafer "Too ******* Underrated Around Here" Alston wasn't there. Luther Head and Keith Bogans weren't either. Instead, a bunch of older (granted, more experienced) players were. Athleticism beat us - it's how Avery's Mavericks work. So, with the benefit of additional depth versatility, switch Wesley/Sura/Barry for Rafer/Luther/Keith and have someone other than Ryan Bowen (Shane Battier) try to guard Dirk. Then watch Tracy, Yao and Mike stick them with dagger after dagger after dagger.
Sounds good......As a matter of fact that sounds GRRRRRRRRRRREATTT!!!! but i will say this, to think that we can handle the mavs at this very moment even if we signed MIKE JAMES is a stretch in my opinion...that team is WAY TO ATHLETIC for us even at this point.....gettin maurice ager in the draft didn't make it any better...the rich got richer...more youth and athletisim.........just frickin sickening
I don't think you give Yao and T-Mac enough credit. McGrady is one of the best there is when he's fully healthy - ESPN aside. But he's quite unselfish and deferential - which comes in handy when trying to utilize Yao's capabilities. Which are astonishing to behold in their own right. Nobody in the NBA has an answer to this - especially if surrounded by anywhere near the right players. I don't care what Dallas or Phoenix or San Antonio or Miami or Atlanta are capable of doing, they all can be outmatched by two of the best at their respective positions functioning cohesively with the right spokes to their wheel. Oh, and Mike James has a fire that can give a team thirsty for an identity just what it wants.
I agree with the original poster when he said that we shouldn't think we are contenders now. We'll be better, that's for sure, but I don't see us dethroning the Mavs, Spurs or even the Suns. The only thing I can see that we have on our side is Yao and Tracy cannot be stopped. No one on any of these teams has the tools to stop the damage caused by our duo and it would be up to our role players to take the load off them. In the playoffs with the Mavs, Yao and Tracy got theirs, and that Yao was no where near as good as the Yao we saw at the end of last season. It was the perimeter's fault. And I think we upgraded. We lost the shooting of JB and the tenacity of Sura and Wesley, but we gained some speed, and some versatility so that the Mavericks can't play Josh Howard at center anymore. I think we'll be good, no doubt. But the chances of winning a championship are slim as long as our PF rotation is how it is right now. (Please Novak be good)
In a way MJ is can be somewhat of an insurance policy if (god forbid) TMac goes down for any number of games this season. Yao had to carry the load by himself and there was no way in hell he could do it with the supporting cast of last season. If he had the scoring ability of one other guard to take his back the Rockets could have pulled away with many of those games especially the close ones. Secondly, most elite teams have 3 good scoring options that are playmakers on the floor. Miami and Dallas were prime examples of that this year. MJ would great coming off the bench and for taking some of the offensive load off Tmac. This is especially crucial in an 82 game grind where TMac can get more rest and more minutes per game as they have been taking a toll on his career. The only knock I have against MJ is that he doesn't have the needed length that the Rox are desperate for at the 2. Bonzi Wells would fit this mold better. But MJ has proven that he can fill up the hoop in a hurry so I am definetley in favor of getting him back.
