He needs better quality post and to stop thinking he's the shiet on this board. O snap my bad I thought you guys meant brooksball.
You may be right HP, I did not see a replay of that shot. I do remember Tmac coming down the lane and passing to Brooks as he cut baseline...and Brooks elevating and having it squashed against glass by Duncan. Maybe a midrange shot could have been more effective there. Either way the game should have never gotten to that point, the Rockets led by 10......with 4 minutes to go when TMac took the air out of the ball for the offense. The worst for me was all the Spurs fans wanting to high five me...ugh. (Edit) Found the highlights here is the play, McGrady drives to the lane hits brooks on the baseline cut, Duncan closes it down. Yao was certainly trailing, though I am not sure he could have gotten the pass to him from that angle. The play starts around 1:42. <object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r7DQxkMpBLg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r7DQxkMpBLg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object> DD
The more I think about it, the more I was pissed at Carl Landry, the Spurs were dead and he kept leaving Matt Bonner wide open at the 3pt line...for 2 3pters in a row in the 4th which got the Spurs back in it. Sloppy effort all around....and Brooks may not have been able to get it to Yao but I think Artest is wide open in the opposite corner. DD
i compare Brooks to a mini Mike James, except not as dumb. Their biggest strength is keeping the defense on their toes. I went to the Rockets vs Jazz game and saw Brooks run over picks but not passing to the cutter. Come to think of it, I don't think Brooks ever passes to the cutter/roller when coming off a pick. If he could pass like Chris Paul then he'd be starting right now, but passing is a tough skill to learn. You need IQ and skill. I think he can get it though. I see him make a lot of passes to the perimeter so he doesn't have complete tunnel vision.
Sure he passes to the cutter, it is all a matter of confidence, the more he plays the more he gets comfortable. His numbers as a starter were much better than Rafers......Brooks is coming along fine... By the way, I am in those highlights......across from the camera.... DD
HP, you made a good point. Brooks would be deadly if he could develop the skill of reading the defense while driving to the hoop. (BTW, I don't know why you got sucked into talking with DD about that particular play against SA.) At this point, he doesn't have that skill. I don't think it has anything to do with his height. Short guys like Nash and Stockton see the court as good as taller players like McGrady and Magic. I believe court vision, like shooting touch, is an innate talent that cannot be taught. One can only improve marginally by practice and experience. What I am hoping is that when he gets more acclimated to the NBA game, the game will "slow" down for him and he will see movements clearer. The encouraging thing is that the game does seem slower to him compared to last season, evidenced by his ability to see the seams for driving much better.
Let Brooks do his thing this year while he gains more confidence. He should focus on his passing next season.
Looking at the clip of that game, Brooks actually had three viable options: 1. Slash and flip it through the gap to McGrady. 2. Slash and make a more difficult but viable pass to Yao. 3. Go strong to the basket and make contact with Duncan, getting fouled or finishing after making contact. I don't think any of those decision were terrible and we would all be ecstatic if he finished that drive like he has done on many occasions. I think the best play was actually back to McGrady but it looks like Brooks had already made up his mind. Not the best reading of the defense on Brooks' part. Adelman may also have drawn up a play and asked Brooks to take it to the basket if McGrady got him the ball.
because I love testing my memory. Notice between DD and I we pretty much called that play. My problem is I watch the defense, so remember that angle mostly. DD remembered the offense better than me. Isn't it fun though. I love watching ball with DD live in person; we just don't get the chance much, and when we do, the wings and beer seem to get in the way. haha. Happy New Years DaDakota and Easy back to the play DD, just so you know how my defensive mind-set memory works. Brooks man was guarding a wing player; Brooks started at the wing, not like Head who sits corner. The opp left Brooks to stop TMac. Brooks ending up moving with TMac to the baseline. DD caught that, not me. But did anyone remember that as odd. Why was Brooks wing first. Doesn't that cramp TMac. Was Brooks out of position? I always thought that was planned, as an option Adelman doesn't use for Head or Barry. ie, force the Brooks defender to take TMac and give the left side to Brooks to dart to the rim. It looked planned to me. The behind the basket replay is what made it look to me like the dish to Yao was there, and as someone else said...one more dribble provides the wraparound. I don't know. In the end, I really started this thread to ask a question: Is it just me or does Brooks get caught under the rim with nowhere to go? As in, the scouting report is out on him, maybe. That is, leave your man to stop him, because he is so fast.
To me, it appeared one those instances where the path was maybe a little too clear to the basket. Where Brooks saw nothing but open space in front of him and thought the defense was sagging. When in reality in the NBA defenses close quick on those type of plays, especially players with length and going to the Hall of Fame like Duncan. Brooks has the quickness but doesnt have the length to challenge the defense in the air like that. Speed of the game. Something experience and more minutes would help him get acclilmated with.
Thanks for that clip DaDakota. It looked to me like Brooks made the best choice though. It wasn't a given that Duncan would get to the basket on time. And it looked to me like the potential pass to Yao was riskier. Yao seemed a bit late in making the move to the basket, too.
A great passer would have seen Duncan coming and either faked the layup and dished it in the air to T-Mac or taken one more dribble and wrapped the pass to Yao. I think he probably didn't see Duncan or expect Duncan to be quick enough to get there. That's the problem of court vision. His inability to be aware of player movements when he drives is the one thing that prevents him from being a really good PG.
He has improved his leaping ability <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JFonfI0_exo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JFonfI0_exo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
you think he is 6'0? he is probably closer to 5'10 that's what i always hear from different team's commentators who got to see him in person.
