i've noticed since K-Mart has been traded that AB is not passing the ball to him often last night's game agaisnt Detroit it was obvious and he did take some tough shots instead of passing to K-Mart! anyone noticed this ? or am i dreaming? if it's true, then what would be the problem?
Just be thankful that Brooks has learned how to pass this year; last year he had no idea how to pass the ball. Hopefully he'll slowly look to pass more than score.
Martin doesn't want the ball late in the game. Every time he got it he just continued passing it around the perimeter. He got plenty of touches
it will take times. I have noticed that as well. interestly enough, I was watching few of Tmac's game (except for the first couple of them). His teammates were not even passing him the ball. He got so few opens, and when he does he just jack them up. I think this has to do with knowing your teammates. I am just worry about making entry pass from AB and Martin.
I think a few times he tried to make a few moves/pump fakes, and when that didnt work he quickly got rid of it. He appears to not be wanting to break down his man off the dribble. Brooks passes fine. His passes to Hill/others were pretty amazing if you noticed.
what about the time brooks almost knocked out martin when he patted him in the back after a good play? I sense trouble....
AB doesn't pass the ball to K-mart after Kevin bricks a few shots. Instead, he'll take it to the hoop if he can. Then, if AB gets double-teamed, he'll pass it out to Martin. Otherwise, they share the ball ok.
I think you are over analyzing it. Martin is scoring more than in Sacramento and getting more opportunities to score than in Sacramento. All that with a pg who doesn't know where Martin likes to get the ball and martin not completely understanding the best place to be to receive it. In Adelmans offense you are supposed to score if you have the opportunity to or pass if you don't. If you see a path to the basket you are expected to drive if you have an open shot you are supposed to shoot. Adelman expects that of all his players not named Chuck. I see less dribbling while teammates are standing around than ever. Yeah AB still dribbles alot but mostly he is trying to get around defenders to find an open shot or open man. Just watch some film from last year and you will see he is light years better at that this year and as a whole the team is light years better than during the Tmac era. Also consider when a team doubles to guard Brooks they rarely double off of martin making him less likely to be open. They will eventually figure more ways to get Martin open like Rip Hamilton but that takes time. So no cause to worry. I only see more improvement on moving the ball in the future and more opportunities for Martin. But considering in the last 6 games martin has averaged 27+ and Brooks 25+ there isn't anything to write about here. Not right now.
There is nothing new here. Brooks is the reincarnation of Stevie Franchise. We are witnessing the reprise of the Franchise and Cat Show.
In the last game, AB didn't pass the rock to Scola twice when the Argentine Assassin was wide open in his favorite spots. Instead, he kept the ball and tried to score himself, missing both times. Does that mean that he has a problem passing to Luis? Of course not. He does it all the time and Scola makes most of those jump shots from the elbow. The problem, if there was one? Brooks making a poor decision. It happens. He's still a young guy and still learning, as well as having to adapt to several new players, two of them moving right into the rotation (Martin and Jeffries). Much ado about nothing, unless we begin to see a pattern that continues. I don't think we will.
I think since Yao has been out Brooks has got zoned into a different mindset. He knows he needs to score for this team to win. It's obvious he isn't the best passer, but I think he passes to KMart fair enough. Plus a lot of times Martin just passes it off after he gets it. He looked a bit hesitant late in our last game. Even though he did take that final three and missed. ....You wanna know someone who wouldn't hesitate to shoot the three?......Ariza. :grin:
I think what people misunderstand is that Adelman's offense doesn't require any one player to force up shots. Anyone that has played organized basketball understands the best shot is an open shot...not a forced shot. What Martin is doing by passing up a shot means that he doesn't have the best look. He gets rid of the ball quickly instead of holding on to the ball for a stretch period of time. Also, in Adelman's offense, a shoot first point gaurd isn't a detriment. I don't mind AB taking the number of shots he is taking as long as they are high percentage shots. 60% of the shots that AB took were off balance and with a person in his face. What he needs to learn is what Martin is doing, which is picking his spots to score and when not to score. That is what makes Martin a super efficient scorer. He never tries to do more than what he knows he can do, whereas Brooks doesn't yet. In a nutshell, Brooks ends up killing the motion offense. Everyone knows how to guard him in the pick and roll since he is too small and doesn't beat the hedger on the pass to the roller. Can't blame Martin for passing up a shot if he doesn't have a good shot. We need to focus on keeping all 5 players involved in the offense, not just brooks trying to dribble through everything. Passes are always faster than dribbles.....
I think AB just wants to show that he can be the man in houston but the fact is that he just isnt clutch. I really dont mind him taking 20-25 shots a game but late in the game id rather have martin go to the basket (which for some reason he doesnt want to right now?) but either or we are in a stage of development so patience is key right now.