Martin though does not create off the dribble, to be successful especially late in games, you have to be able to hit a shot that you created yourself. Aaron Brooks is the only one on the team right now with that ability... DD
I semi-agree with this. AB definitely showed the ability to hit the big shot late in games. But it was also Aaron's team when KMart arrived. We only had him for half a season, so he did not get many opportunities to take the big shots when Aaron was having an off night. I cannot knock Martin's ability to create of the dribble, however. He shoots a lot of free throws and scores a lot of points. He will be a key aspect, as you eluded to earlier, with all of the shooters around Yao. Not only will he be able to hit the open jumper, but he will be able to keep the defenses honest when they front Yao as he can drive past them and take the ball to the rack.
DD is right on this one. Martin although not a spot up shooter, seems to force more (low %) shots when he is asked to create off the dribble. I have a gut feeling Martin will be used as bait, at least by the deadline. Love his game though, but I think they coop a bigger star with this kid.
Maybe Mike Wells actually meant to write "Lowry is the kind of pass-first point guard we don't need." That's the only way I can make sense of his statement.
What a coincedence, I have a gut feeling you have no clue what you're talking about. Also, the word you were looking for is "coup".
to be fair lowry isnt really a pass first PG, hes more of an intangibles PG who relies on his defense and hustle, while occasionally making a nice pass. jordan farmar is a more natural PG, but we havnt seen his passing abilities much since he plays in the triangle
You don't really need a true point guard in the triangle offense who dominates the ball. Its how Smush Parker was a 2 year starter with the Lakers. Especially with a 2 guard like Kobe who can handle the ball like a point. Derek Fisher was a freaking 2 guard in Utah, and Shannon Brown has even less point guard skills than Fisher.
i dont know if i'd label lowry as a pass first guy, but he is a facilitator. He probes the defense and yes, he attacks if he can. However, he's very good at setting up an offense and being the guy to get everything going. Maybe i havent watch farmar all that much but when i have seen him, he isnt near the facilitator that lowry is. Typically, he will make an initial pass and spot up for 3s. He doesnt put pressure on the defense near as much as lowry.
Are you saying Farmar is a better point guard than lowry? Or are you saying Farmar is a better passer than lowry. If you are saying either of those, you sir, are wrong. sorry. Lowry is probably top 10 passer in the league. i will try and come up with guys that are better passers than lowry, in no order. And by being a great passer, my definition would be: having a great court vision, threading the needle, making the smart pass, setting up your teammate by letting them receive the pass in the best spot possible for the situation, and doing something before the pass to set up the pass (if that makes sense) lebron paul deron williams nash rondo kidd wade? i cant even come up with 9 guys in front of lowry im not saying lowry is on the same playing level as these guys but i think these are the only guys in the nba that can PASS better than lowry.
Time will tell...and im pretty sure I do know what im talking about. Also, thanks for letting me know I missed a "u". Ur cool.
Yes, clearly it had nothing to do with Sam being a rookie, or Rudy being a player's coach who felt loyalty to Smith Kenny's 3pt shooting was an important asset, but if you remember Sam was often the one finishing the game. Obviously there is more than one way to construct a winning team. It isn't so much that Lowry would be better than Brooks, but that if the only rotation player you have to trade for Bosh is Brooks, then Lowry is a pretty good option to fill the void. The Warriors have Curry who was a better 3pt shooter than Brooks last year, and really our backcourt defense for the 2nd half of last year WAS like the Warriors. Score a lot and give up a lot. So I'm not really sure what point you are trying to make there, but it's probably because you are operating at such a higher level of basketball understanding than me It's certainly a nice luxury to have a knock down shooter at the PG position, but necessary? Not really. Signed Rondo, Tony Parker, Avery Johnson, even Derek Fisher this year (34.8%) who was comparable to Rafer's 34.5%. Besides if you think shooting is ALL you need from your PG you could try and pick up a Steve Blake or Luke Ridnour type to fill the void. Kind of how they sagged off Tony Parker when they gave the ball to Duncan? Clearly that was impossible for the Spurs to over come Avery Johnson shot freaking 8% from 3pt range the year he won a ring with Duncan and Robinson, but they found a way to over come that. Rondo is basicly just as bad as Lowry. It's certainly a disadvantage if your PG can't shoot from outside, but not as insurmountable as you seem to be making it out to be. Clearly you don't watch as much basketball as you think you know, or you would see how many PG's over the last decade have won championships or played in the finals without being consistent three point shooters. But to jog your memory lets look at the starting PG's on both sides of the finals teams since the 98-99 season and their 3pt % for the season and see how many were below 36%: 98-99 Avery Johnson (Spurs) 8.3% Charlie Ward (Knicks) 35.6% 99-00 Derek Fisher (Lakers) 31.3% Mark Jackson (Pacers) 40.3% 00-01 Derek Fisher (Lakers) 39.7% Eric Snow (76ers) 11.1 % 01-02 Derek Fisher (Lakers) 41.3% Jason Kidd (Nets) 32.1% 02-03 Tony Parker (Spurs) 33.7% Jason Kidd (Nets) 34.1% 03-04 Chauncey Billups (Pistons) 38.8% Derek Fisher (Lakers) 29.1% 04-05 Tony Parker (Spurs) 27.6% Chauncey Billups (Pistons) 42.6% 05-06 Jason Williams (Heat) 37.2% Jason Terry (Mavericks) 41.1% 06-07 Larry Hughes (Cavs) 33.3% Tony Parker (Spurs) 39.5% 07-08 Rajon Rondo (Celtics) 26.3% Derek Fisher (Lakers) 40.6% 08-09 Derek Fisher (Lakers) 39.7% Rafer Alston (Magic) 31.7% 10-11 Derek Fisher (Lakers) 34.8% Rajon Rondo (Celtics) 21.3% 14 out of 24 of the starting finals PG's over that 12 year stretch... Is it ideal to have a good shooter? Absolutely. But if you think Brooks with the roster we have now has a better chance of winning a championship than Bosh and Lowry plus what ever PG we could pick up then we will just have to agree to disagree.
