The question is, is he getting better? Tough to tell, but I do think he's looking better and better in the offense, taking less shots and passing more.
well the term doesn't really represent the meaning. tmac doesn't actually stop the ball from moving... he gets assists and sometimes is a bit too eager to pass. he becomes a ball stopper when he wants to get his shots, but they aren't within the flow of the offense. messing up the offensive flow (even if you are making shots) makes you a ball stopper.
Am I the only one who sees the irony in Charles Barkely accusing another player of being a ball stopper? The NBA invented the freaking 5-second rule because of Charles Barkley!
Actually, I was wrong, the Rockets are giving up 93 ppg, and are on pace to give up 96 points. I still don't understand how that is bad defense. That's actually not that far from what San Antonio holds teams to. The both ppg and shooting percentage.
we give up 93 to a league that probably averages 97 or so and the heat are very bad offensively so we should give up less than 93. and it's not just the points, it's the number of drives and open jumpers the heat have gotten that we don't usually give up. if their non-wade and marion guys didn't suck so much, they'd have over 50. it just hasn't been good, especially the first quarter. like i said, we haven't given up over 90 in 7 straight games, that's the good version of our defense. against the heat, good would be like 78, normal would be 87 or so, and bad would be like 96. for reference, miami has scored more than 96 twice since january 2nd. and one was an OT game against the fastest-paced team in the league, the nuggets.
But not when he's playing the "point forward." Thats why the ball screens and spacing have not only helped Tmac (well, mostly during the early part of the season), but most significantly, the team. Barkley is somewhat true in regards to Tmac's control of the offense sometimes. When he's attacking, something good always happens. But, the offense definitely lags when he decides to chuck jumpers from the elbow. But that also had to do with Yao's prescense in the post, so thats why the spacing has helped towards a more balanced offense.
that's not the problem. all great players are ball stoppers b/c sometimes they do go on their own. kobe is like that every 3 possession. bron is ALWAYS a ball stopper b/c that is his own offense. and melo is a perfect definition of a ball stopper b/c when the ball touches his hands, it'll take 5s for him to make a decision. and you're right, barkley is a beast at being a ball stopper. but he did the same thing with kobe 3 yrs ago and melo 2 yrs ago when he was criticizing them. barkley just looks dumber every time he tries to analyze. just stick with comedy; he's def. great at that.
