Bird looks smart to have built around him when he was still just a guy with great potential. I still question whether he has the personality to lead but the kid definitely has game. He seems to be a similar player to Rashard Lewis.
How high will the Warriors be if they upset the Lakers days after beating the Celtics? It will be a bright spot on an otherwise crappy season for them. 56-51 Lakers at the half.
I was about to POST a Granger thread but I couldn't . Thanks BrooksBall, that was a good shot by Granger. This was also good for the Rockets...
No comparison to Rashard. Granger is a "go to" kind of player who can dominate games. Rashard's skills and athleticism are too limited for him to reach that level. And I'll say this again: The fact Granger has stepped it up so strong AFTER signing his huge contract is a testament to his character. Concerning his personality, Granger isn't the type of guy to kick his teammates in the pants like an MJ or Jason Kidd, etc. In additional to obviously needing more talent, the Pacers still need to add that type of player to their team.
You really think he is THAT much better than Rashard? What do you think are the big differences in their games? I definitely see a lot of similarities. And you consider Lewis unathletic for a 3/4?
AND THE BLAZERS DOWN THE PISTONS! YESSSS!!!! Great game! They sweep the season series. Brandon Roy is back on Saturday.
I think I asked you this before but how many teams are you a fan of? I seem to recall at least 4: Rockets, Blazers, Bulls, Pacers... Who is your #1?
Rashard has weak handles, is stiff and cannot create his own shot on a consistent basis. Granger has him beat on all of these. When Granger is on, no player can stop him. If Rashard is crowded and muscled, he will stop scoring even when his shot is on. Rashard depends on Turkey-Glue & Jameer Nelson to create for him (and to a lesser extent Dwight Howard). Granger needs none of the above and he can still take over a game single-handedly. If you put Rashard on the Pacers, his limitations would become glaringly obvious. He's lucky to be surrounded with players that must be accounted for. I'm not saying Granger is way ahead of Rashard at the moment, but he's a different type of player with a much higher upside. He's younger and is far ahead of Rashard's curve. Right now, he isn't way better; he's just better. The way he's playing this season, if Granger were on a better team with a better record where opponents couldn't key on him so much, the four-letter network would give him a lot more attention.
I need to watch Granger more this season. Last time I watched him consistently was 2 years ago when I had him on my fantasy team. I definitely like the kid and think Bird was wise in gutting out the team and rebuilding around him.
rockets are competing with the blazers for playoff positioning or even a playoff birth.. i wouldnt root for the blazers.. i like teh blazers more than the pistons but any loss that helps rocekets im all for it..
Obviously the Rockets are way out in front as #1. Lived in Houston over 20 years. Right now (because of Brandon Roy), the Blazers are #2. The Bulls (since the late 80s) and Pacers (since the 70s) are my historical teams from yesteryear where I've had a love/hate relationship for a long time. For lots of reasons, I came into this season with my mind made up to completely dump the Bulls. But after watching Derrick Rose's first few games, I changed my mind. The Bulls remain on my radar just because of him. When it comes to watching games, I watch 75+ Rockets games a year and only miss when it's impossible to watch. I watch 75% of Blazers games too. After that, the Cavs, but I don't watch very many complete games because so many are blowouts. After them, it varies a lot between Bulls, Pacers and others. Watching the NBA is one of my hobbies. I don't watch as much as Kelly Dwyer, but probably more than 99% of the people on Clutchfans. In addition to being a Rockets fan, I'm also a huge fan of the NBA itself and of certain players (which causes me to follow their teams also).
That's cool. I was a Bullets fan way back in the day (early 80s) then lost interest in the NBA for many years in favor of NCAA basketball. I moved to Houston in 2002 and became a fan of the Rockets mostly because of Francis, who I followed since his days as a Terp when I was living in Maryland.
Some of the comments in this thread a surprising because I was actually on PacersDigest forums earlier today and they said Granger doesn't have that good handles and that he isn't exactly a good teammate. http://www.pacersdigest.com/apache2-default/forumdisplay.php?f=3 http://www.pacersdigest.com/apache2-default/showthread.php?t=43640
Are you old enough to remember the back-to-back Finals between the Bullets and Sonics in the late 70s? It was before the NBA was popular but I was glued to it. The Big E, Wes Unseld, Jack Sickma, Dennis Johnson, Gus Williams, etc. Great basketball. I also remember the huge upset when Rick Barry and the Warriors swept the Bullets in 1975. GS coach Al Attles was thrown out of one game because he exploded when one of the Bullets players (Riordan?) tried to rough up Ricky Barry to start a fight. Those were the days when the general public didn't pay much attention to the NBA.
I don't go to Pacers forums. The people that watch every Pacers game know more about him than I do. From my observation, Granger looks like he will become an "almost" superstar. I'd still take him over Rashard Lewis. One thing he doesn't do often enough (at least when I watch) is make his teammates better. But his growth since coming into the NBA cannot be denied.
No, I was born in '76. My father used to talk about Gus Williams and the Mahorns (Rick and Jeff) and Wes Unseld. When I started watching them, they sucked. Funny but distasteful story: The first game I went to, Ledell Eckles (sp?) was on the Bullets and was leaning over (hands on knees) while the other team was shooting FTs. His arse was facing our section and everybody saw a big ***** stain through the back of his white shorts. My friend and I nearly pissed our pants (we were like 9 or 10 years old at the time). I apologize to those that were offended by that story. It really was funny at the time.
