I have faith that he will be able to do it.... If Jason Kidd could improve his range I know that anyone can do it.
It's not going to happen with the man crash Adelman has on Brooks. From the way they spoke about the trade you can tell Morey really traded Lowery for upgrade, while Adelman is more about getting rid of Rafer so his boy can start.
Lowry is very smooth and controlled. He never seems rattled and from what I've seen lately, makes very few mistakes.
You right about that cause he was yelling a Wafer alot. I like this kid. He doesn't let anyone run him off the floor
The form on Lowry's outside shot looks nice. I bet we'll be pleasantly surprised by his 3-pt % over his career here-- and I hope it will be a long one! I like Aaron, too; he'll continue to develop. I really like the speed lineup, with both of them on the floor.
with everyone raving about lowry. I like to remind everyone about the pick and roll that AB and Scola is developing. Its just sweet watching those.
The one thing I like about Lowry is when he drives he finishes even with contract. Rafer was inconsistent at this. Brooks gets blocked a lot. Lowry finishes.
it was just off the top of my head. and a couple of them were trying to beat the buzzer... god, i just figured how much i am favoring lowry over brooks now..
I DO NOT WANT LOWRY TO DEVELOP A 3 POINT SHOT. For once, I disagree with you DD. Here is what happens when Lowry is in the game, even in half court. The other players know he isn't going to take the 3. So, they start moving like crazy, setting the screen at the top to give him a step. They move, move, move because they know they have to and they know they will get a pass for a shot if they are open. They create the space for him to drive with their picks and screens. He penetrates, and either gets the layup, foul, or a great pass to an open teammate. That is what I want to see. And as much as I like Brooks, and I really like Brooks a lot, Brooks will eventually go to the bench, unless he takes this same approach and makes penetrating and getting to the rim his FIRST priority and shooting the 3 point shot a last priority. Since McGrady is not playing, we have to have a playmaker whose primary job it is to get in the paint and get an open shot in the paint area for himself or a nice open shot from somewhere for a teammate. When Lowry is in there, everybody else KNOWS this is his game. They know he ain't gonna dribble around and settle for a jumper. They KNOW he is looking to PENETRATE at all times. That FORCES the other players to MOVE and do their job to get open. Brooks has the ability to do that but because of the RAFER mindset, he hasn't seen this as his job. He has been influenced by Rafer who was influenced by playing alongside McGrady. In a McGrady/Rafer or whoever backcourt, McGrady is the far dominant playmaker and the pg is more of a 3 point shooter. That is why I felt when Rafer was here that Brooks was the better fit in a McGrady backcourt, because Brooks is a superior distance shooter along with having the quicks to get past his man for the finish. However, with a McGradyless backcourt, we have to understand that we've got to have a penetrator first and foremost and the most logical penetrators we have left on the roster with McGrady gone are the point guards. So, who is the better combination of a penetrator, finisher, passer, Brooks or Lowry? Well, I say it is Lowry right now and I think it will prove to be Lowry because Lowry is a better finisher and a slightly better passer. Now, I do think that Brooks has great penetrating ability. And I think Brooks is a good finisher, much better than Rafer. But I do not think Brooks is as good a finisher as Lowry. And Brooks is a decent enough passer. But it sure appears to me that Lowry is a better passer. Brooks could help himself and Adelman could help Brooks by telling Brooks and the team that Brooks has to penetrate and not shoot the J unless as a last resort. In other words, Brooks needs to play his own personal game inside-out instead of outside-in. I don't know if that role definition has been made yet. Lowry's role definition is automatic. He has established consistently that he is a penetrator/finisher/disher first and foremost. And he's durn good at it, even coming to a team and being here less than a month. I do not want Lowry to develop his 3 point shot because I do not want him to disturb his focus from penetration. I don't care if he is a 25% 3 point shooter if he is only taking 1 3 point shot or less per game and he is getting a 3/1 A/TO ratio and everybody else's 3 point shooting percentages are going up because he is getting them wide open looks off his penetration.
Ideally lowry develops his 3 pt shot but doesnt take 3s and plays to his natural strengths. only reason why I want Lowry to develop the 3 is to have that threat there. When teams double off of him he can be a threat to pump fake or drive by the player closing out. certainly I do not want him jacking up 4-6 threes a game like Rafer did. I think if he improves enough to shoot 1-2 a game that would be sufficient to keep a threat out there. not going to happen this season maybe not even next season...it really depends on how much work he puts in the off season. but i like this kid, i like this kid a lot I was hoping we'd get him in the battier trade
I'm in exactly the same spot. Huge Brooks fan, but Lowry has consistently looked to penetrate and set up his teammates while Brooks recently has looked tenative.
I agree with all of your points. The kid definitely has higher bball IQ than Brooks, as much as I like Aaron. Just one minor question though, is the kid a bit overweight? I'm sure I'm not alone on this 'cause even the Chinese commentators on CCTV called him the "little fat boy", affectionally of course. lol
He's thick, but that's a good thing. It allows him to defend taller guards. And he can finish after drawing contact/fouls. I really, really like his game and how it meshes with what the Rockets are trying to do. He's remarkably consistent for a rookie and he can be relied on to spell Brooks when AB is having an off night. The Rockets are very, very close now I think. If they can trade McGrady away during the off season and acquire some upper tier talent that can plug into the system the sky's the limit.
If everyone stays healthy.......... even with McGrady gone this year, we are going to give somebody hell in the playoffs. I am convinced we are going to the 2nd round if everybody is healthy. And if we don't make it past the 2nd round, I think whoever we meet in the 2nd round is going to have hell with us. This team is so much better without Rafer it ain't even funny. Those that don't see it yet, they will. Just watch.
I see what you're trying to say, but he still needs an outside shot to keep defenses honest, especially in the playoffs. It *is* possible to develop a great outside shot while keeping a focus on penetration. See: Chris Paul. I don't really think that his shooting weakness is necessarily the reason why there is more motion from the bench players -- it might be an incentive, but the bench has generally done a lot more moving, cutting and reacting all season long, and especially so when Yao is not on the court. The difference now is that we have a point guard who has a superior ability to find the open man and make great assists on that bench. In my opinion, Lowry can become a top flight point guard if he actually develops a consistent outside shot. And his shooting is underrated already -- I cringe every time I hear the Rockets announcers talk about how his shooting is his weakness -- Lowry is probably the best midrange shooter on this team RIGHT NOW, and it's not a recent development in his game. His weakness is 3 point shooting, but inside the arc, he's pretty much nails. He has great form on his shot. It's not going to be hard to take his range outside the arc -- one offseason of practice would probably do the trick.
I agree. Developing a respectable 3-point shot will give defensive players one more thing to worry about in defending him. I think Lowry should be the starter, and AB should be the sparkplug off the bench. My reasons include: 1) He has great court presence and seems to run the team better. This should only get better as he develops more comfort with his new teammates. 2) I really like his chemistry with Yao. He does a better job of feeding the ball into the post, and he can also find Yao well on the pick-and-roll. 3) His other advantage over AB is defense, and as much as I appreciate the more potent offense the Rockets have been showing lately, lockdown defense is gonna be their ticket to playoff success this year, espceially when we have to go up against the likes of Chris Paul, Tony Parker, and Deron Williams. That being said, regardless of who is starting, Adelman can always play matchups or go with the hot hand in the 4th quarter.
