Drew is playing well now... he's obviously capable of being a quality back-up. Bryce didn't get much playing time at all last year, so this is, to an extent, his true rookie year. As he develops, he'll get even better. FACE IT: this isn't our year. I think the Rockets can be a good team, but they're not going to win a championship. So, why should we trade our backup point guard for years to come for a player, like Harper, who only has one year left? We shouldn't. I understand that many hear think that a player like Harper would help Francis "ease" into the league, and while I think this might be true to an extent, I don't think it's worth the cost, especially since he seems to be progressing so rapidly. Let's stay young, and prepare for the future. This year is but a preview of things to come!
Drew's trade value is increasing also and seeing we have needs at the 3,I like that. Besides,don't you see him as more of an undersized 2?He sure is starting to remind me of a poor man's Hornacek and that's a compliment.I can't believe I just said that seeing as I detest him and the rest of the Jazz.Horny was an allstar though and has game.If Bryce KEEPS ON getting better and better then maybe there is a spot here,but if he is to be a point then he needs to be somewhere else.He'll not get many minutes behind a healthy Stevie and we have a big need for that aforementioned 3. HH
Last night, Bibby and Price drove on Drew at will. Bibby is one thing, but Price is an all together different matter. For the first half the Grizzlies were shoting over 60% from the filed thanks in a large part to Drew (and Big Sexy who was letting Othello getting the ball way too deep in the paint).
Just a quick response to No Worries--Bibby only scored 2 points off of Drew in the first half. After Drew came out of the game midway through the 2nd quarter, Bibby scored another 5. So, obviously any driving that Bibby was doing on Drew was unsuccessful. Besides, Drew outplayed Bibby & Price combined (i.e. same amount of pts., better shooting %, more 3-pters., 5 less turnovers, comparable assists). Let's remember that Drew has started only 3 times and outplayed the point guard on the other team in each of those starts. Once Francis comes back, the only thing that Drew has to do is outplay the opposing team's back-up point guard!
Great post Indy. Finally someone who posts the facts and not their feelings. Great job. Drew has done very well as of late and is a good back up to Francis.
Indy: thank's for pointing that out. There's a difference between driving, and driving effectively. If Drew can force them to move in a direction that prevents them from getting a clear shot... they can drive past him all they want. Now, I realize this occasionally may create shots for other players, but not as much as one might think. Often, players who drive ineffectively seem to run out of room. BTW, I think more players are looking bad defensively w/the new rules.
I can't stand Drew but to be honest guys the guy hasn't given me anything to be mad about as of late, the kid is hitting all his shots and is actualy hitting mostly the right guys on offense. To say he is a liability on D would be an understatement but I'll tell you what he is playing 1,000,000 x better than the Wiz so really we can't be complaing right now. All this talk about Derek Harper is ridiculous the guy couldn't even get any Pt at LA last year who had only that Garbage @ss Derek Fisher and Tyron Lue. The guy is 100 years old and has nothing left in the tank, can you say Sedalle Threat part deux? If we were going to make a trade for a quality backup Pg i would want Derek Martin out of Sac or Sherm the worm Douglas. If you are unsure of how I feel of Drew lookup my past posts, I said the kid had no talent and I still beleive that but at least hes playing well right now. ------------------ "We need to fockass".....Dream back in the day [This message has been edited by Scarface (edited December 07, 1999).]
First of all, I was AT the game last night. I do know that the Grizzlies shot about 60% from the field in the first half. I did not say that Bibby or Price scored on Drew at will; I said that they drove on him at will. The main responsibility of a point guard is to get the offense working. When it is working at a 60% clip, one would have to say that Bibby and Price were doing a bang up job. And they did this job primarily against Drew. Are these enough facts for you? [This message has been edited by No Worries (edited December 07, 1999).]
Right now we don't need the guy. Our season has not been as successful as I thought it would be. I figured the team would at least be in fourth place in the West at this point. I figured we would need Harper's precense for the playoff run only, basically. He would be here for that one final run with Barkley. Well, it looks like we won't be making that final run. Even if we do make the playoffs, we won't win a championship this year. It would be a waste to bring in Harper at this point. If the Rockets are indeed turning it around, maybe we can bring him in early next year. He'll be available. I think Francis and Drew are doing very well, and they could be playing together for many years. Of course, Francis will be playing 40+ minutes. I don't think trading Drew would help us any right now. What other options are there, anyway? Would the Pistons be willing to take on a 2nd rounder, seeing that no one (as far as I know) has shown too much interest in Harper? ------------------ Francis+Charles+Dream-Pippen= Rockets 2000 NBA Champions
I am not sure about this but I heard Drew made another dumbass move in the last game, he tried to save a loose ball, knocked it out of bounds, then found out that the ball was last touched by the Grizzlies and should had been Houston's ball. Is this true? Sounds like we got another Shawn Marion. [This message has been edited by Finalfantasy (edited December 07, 1999).]
no...i sure didn't see that. there was one time that the ball was going out and i think he let it go out (i'm not sure if he would have been able to save it anyway) but he "let" it go out cuz he thought the grizzlies had last touched it but they gave it to the grizz...and what do you mean "another" dumbass move? he has a LOW turn-over rate...i don't see why ppl seem to think he makes a bunch of dumbass decisions...if anything its steve francis who makes quite a few stupid decisions each game, not bryce
if anything its steve francis who makes quite a few stupid decisions each game, not bryce Well Francis does do turnovers and some bad decisions. But he is a rookie , so give the CHAMP a break. Drew has been playing well lately, BUT he makes the worst decisions. First... When the rockets are up by like 8 or 9 with a 3 minutes left. Drew RUNS THE FASTEST he can up the floor and does something dumb. If the game is close and rockets are down or its tied. Drew walks slowly up the floor, not knowing what is going on. Drew is not a bad player. He can shoot and all but I dont like it when he plays the 4th. All I got to say is who cares... Francis is back tomorrow against PHILLY! I can see that hop he does while coming up the floor or those quick ass crossovers or those nice dunks.
Drew is actually a smart player from what I have seen, but his ability may not be all as much as Francis, yet. This season he looks more confident and has better ball control that last season. I think Francis has rubbed off on him. He's holding his own right now. I personally don't think we should trade him, this is not our year to win a championship. Let's keep him, he still looks worthwhile. At least until we can get something better. ------------------ "Not NOW, Cato!!!" -Kevin Calabro, Sonics Commentator
I don't think it's fair to merely judge a PG's defensive performance based on the other team's offensive efficiency rather than his counterparts points and assists. Last year, GP was a wonderful player, but his team had mediocre offensive efficiency. To say that Drew is responsible for that offensive efficiency ratio is to claim that it is the PG's job to disrupt the other team's offense EVERY time down... what do you want? 10 steals per game? Once the ball is out of Bibby's hands, there's not much Drew can do.
No Worries, I understand what you are saying about the 60% shooting and Bibby/Price being able to get the offense going. However, if you look at the statistics, they don't lie. Houston was winning when Drew left the game midway through the 2nd quarter; however, at halftime, the Rocks were down by 4! Therefore, a large percentage of those shots were made after Bryce went out of the game. Besides, I don't care if the opposing team shoots 75% as long as we are winning!
haven said I don't think it's fair to merely judge a PG's defensive performance based on the other team's offensive efficiency rather than his counterparts points and assists. I can not completely agree. For example, suppose Bibby drives the lane forcing the remaining four Rockets defenders to shift leaving some Grizzly open. Bibby make the pass to the open guy but only get the assist if the guy takes and makes the shot. If the open man make an additional pass that leads to an easier score, the original open man get the assist. The whole Grizzly play works because Bibby has forced the Rockets to scramble on D, which is predicated by Drew's ole D. Indy said Houston was winning when Drew left the game midway through the 2nd quarter ... Grizzly mounted their fourth comeback when Drew, the White Glove, was in there. But this was an unrelated event, since Shareef was taking the game over single handed. The point I trying to make here is that one can not make a direct correlation between lead changes and the presence of the White Glove.
Say yes as part of a three way deal to bring us a 3 also..DH should have been a Rocket 4yrs. ago. Don't give up on this year.You might be pleasantly surprised....Great future and the potential for a great present.
Cool, I'd agree with that HH: I think that while a few trades w/present success in mind might take us to the conference finals with a few breaks, I just don't think we have the talent to go all the way this year... wait for Francis, Mobley, Drew, Rogers, Cato, and Thomas to get some playing time and develop... see? Too many new players.
