I agree that AB needs to shoot more. Our PG must be a scoring threat or the paint will become even more crowded and suffocate Yao's post game. AB is not the same as when he took off early in the season. He's lost his confidence and needs to regain it. He also needs to take more midrange shots, not just drives and 3s. I guess this is the downside of having a 2nd year PG as the starter.
Yup, Steve being 6-3 with a 50 inch vertical helped out too. If you mixed Kyle Lowry and Aaron Brooks, And James White, You GOT STEVE!
I dont want a guard thats "Not Rafer = Better", I actually want a good guard. Though about Rafer again, when did Rafer ever shoot 40% in a season for the Rockets? Or shoot 80% from the line anytime ever? Percentage wise Brooks might be closer to Rafer than most guards out there, but Brooks is still the better shot maker. Numbers can lie bu stats show Brooks had a good March: .443 FG%, .380 3pt%, .833 FT, 14.9 PTS, 3.6 ASSTS His strength is more poor man's Steve Francis (nice comparison) than trying to be a copy cat John Stockton. Or dont get pushed around, which I dont think can be helped.
Guys, remember this: whether you like it or not, AB IS our starting pg and is not likely to change this season. Focusing on his shortcomings is not going to help. What I wanted to say is: drive or shoot, he has to score for us. He is not going to win games for us by passing the ball because that's not his forte. But if he scores 15 to 20, add Yao's 20 and Ron's 20, we got a pretty good chance at winning games with out defense.
True. It works for the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors. Oh wait.
i've been saying this all along and im glad someone has finally voiced this point. i don't miss rafer and i support the trade, but the games just prior to rafer's departure, he and rafer developed such a good rapport with the pick n roll. with scola being a good midrange shooter, the rafer-scola pick and roll was pretty much money most of the time.
Aaron Brooks also aren't attacking the basket aggressive like he used to in the beginning of the season. I don't think anybody can stop him from penetrating any time he want. Because teams are honing on YAo, there should be wide open lane inside to attack. I also think that it's harder for Artest to attack the basket just because of Yao inside. When Yao is sitting, Artest should attack that's when things are easy for him.
This is what I see going on as well, but I don't see it as a lack of basketball IQ. It just takes time and a lot of repetition to add new wrinkles to an offense. The question is, though, whether this is the right time to experiment. With a handful of regular season games left and the team fighting for homecourt, is it wise to take players out of their comfort zones? If it looks like it's hurting our chances to win, like it has in the past few games, the fans will be howling for Adelman's head. But if it ends up adding offensive arsenals that will help us win in the playoffs, Adelman will be seen as a damned genius.
You know, if Suns/Nuggets/Mavericks even the Warriors, got the same defense as Rockets, they are elite team for sure.
This thread should be 5 stars, it is right on the mark, AB has to be a threat to score, and he needs to stop defering so much....attack attack attack....look at Wafer, he comes in guns blazing... We need similar aggression from AB. DD
i agree that ab needs to be himself in the game. setting up teammates is not something he's good at. the lakers game was the worst case for him. but even if he's at his best, it's not good enough. we still need a pg or a wing player that has good decision-making, which right now we have none to speak with.
He should be looking for his shots provided he is coming off the bench. If he is the starter, he needs to strike a balance between SG and PG. But man, his pass to Yao is really bad. Bounce pass to Yao is really not working.
Nope, he should be looking to score the ball whether it is by him shooting, or by passing it into Yao, or by driving...he has to stay aggressive, when he plays the role of facilitator, he is a major weakness.....he has to be our version of Tony Parker.... DD
what DD said. He HAS to score to put pressure on the defense and open up room for everyone else. I like it much better when he is scoring vs him trying to be a pure point guard.
he gets his shot but he isn't making them. I seen on multiple times on WIDE open shots that he would miss and layups he would miss and/or has it blocked. What he needs is to go back to the bench. Just telling it how it is...
until there i agree to all of what you said. but ab is not gonna be our or any version of tony parker. parker is a willing and able passer (on top of his scoring ability). ab's scoring ability isn't as good as parker to begin with, and he's a willing passer but with tunnel vision. not sure if his tunnel vision problem can be solved through in-game learning experience. better play him from the bench.
Aaron Brooks should shoot his nuts off and then he will be less ambitious to shoot so much. Aaron should know yao is our no.1 option at the offensive end, Ron is no.2, Aaron himself is just a 3rd option at highest.
Tony Parker was a bad point guard when he first came into the league. Just ask Pops about that. He was a good scorer though. They refer to Brooks being more of a scorer be it penetrating or hitting the 18 foot pull up. And even occasionally drilling the wide open 3 on the kickouts from Yao. I wondered how long it would take for someone to say "look at his FG%, we dont want him shooting that much". Or "not if he takes shot attempts away from Yao." Since he has been a starter(March and a bit of Feb) his numbers are alot better than his overall numbers this year. Dont forget he was in a bad slump to start the season. Brooks is a much better shooter than Rafer Alston. Thats not even up for debate. Quick, who you want shooting 3's this year, Artest?? or Battier??
No aaron needs to warm the bench more. his defense is a big liability, and his offense is simply not adequate to make up for his lack of defense. 40 percent shooters taking more shots than yao and scola??? not passing the ball and ignoring yao ming when yao screams for it??? bench please. lowry!!!
