I've noticed Rick had put Alston and James together in the game for a few minutes almost every game. Why not try Alston Francis?
James is living the good life of late. He shoots 2-10, gets no assists in 20 minutes (which is more indicative of his play this year than the first two games), and Rafer shoots 5-13 with 7 assists and 2 TOs and guess who gets dumped on? But neither of them is the answer at PG, and neither is Francis, who has yet to show a pulse on the court in, what, 1 1/2, 2 years? But given that what we need in a PG is someone who is quick, can shoot and can create, I don't know why we don't give Brooks a look. It's not like the PG play is so stellar that we can't afford to cut into Alston's and James' minutes even more.
Honestly, I just don't know what people around here expected from Mike James. So far, he looks exactly like he looked the last go round here. He's a shoot first, pass later PG who's really a shooting guard (and a volume shooter at that) in a point guard body. Rafer is Rafer and that's enough said. Anyone who is banking on SF3 to magically step on the court and make a difference is setting themselves for a huge disappointment. Brooks has everything you'd possibly want in a PG except for height and I fear that his size will be the one thing that prevents him from making a real difference on the court.
too sad to admit the James part is correct, if he keeps the FG% in the future he would be totally a disaster in many ways,he is supposed to do his job much in a similar pattern with Jason Terry/Manu/or Eddie House is enough, but he is acting like brainless. For Steve, the worst and the best lie together, we don't know what's happening between RA and him b/c we don't know the inside info, all I can say is he just can't be worse...... For Brooks, hopes he can keep the positive mentality and learn more.
After 9 games, I've pinpointed the problem with Mike James. His horrendous shooting lies with 2 things: 1. He has the green light to shoot when he comes off the bench. Adelman thinks him a Bobby Jackson. Well, newsflash, Bobby Jackson is a gunner, but Bobby Jackson is a smart gunner. He doesn't drive in and get trapped in impossible situations where he has to take a bad shot falling away, hands over his head with on a bigger defender all over him, which has virtually no chance of going in. Mike James is given too much leeway. Yes, we want him to come in and provide offense, but not by doing things that he thinks he can do, but being apparent that he CAN'T do. His head is bigger than the sum of his skills. 2. His jumpshot is broke. This one is rather serious. I've noticed that there is a noticeable difference in his shot now, compared to the last 2 effective seasons he had when he played for us in '04-'05, and when he tore it up in Toronto the following year. Look at this vid of his highlights from '05-'06. Specifically, focus on his jumpshot. <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p5sy8DpWavo&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p5sy8DpWavo&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> Notice how he gets GREAT balance on his jumpers. He's generating power from both feet, his follow-through is fast and smooth, and his shots get alot of backspin and arc, and go clean through the net most of the time. Now watch this vid of him from the Jazz game this year. <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GF1gqMEx3dQ&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GF1gqMEx3dQ&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> He hits 3 jumpers, 2 of them 3s. There is one at the 1:51 mark. Watch his legs and his lift. There is one thing particularly wrong with it. Notice how he takes an extra step forward to put his right foot far ahead of his left which he didn't do before a couple of seasons back. Then watch how his legs are spaced. The front leg is a little too far in front of his back leg. The back leg in particular, drags behind the front leg on his shot, which he then brings together after he jumps. This affects his shot because he's generating unequal power from his legs, and when the back leg drags like that, he's actually getting more power off the right leg than the left, which is the wrong foot. Consequently, he has to use more arm to get that ridiculous arc on his shot. Thats why so far this season, many of his shots rattle in rather than going straight through with great rotation like how he used to hit them. In particular, remember the Bucks game where he banked in that 3. That was all arm on that, and you can clearly see him step forward a whole step when he shot that. It's at the 6:06 mark I believe. Another thing is that it throws off his balance. I don't have the exact stats and footage to prove that, but the games I've watched, his misses were generally long, and they go off the rim hard. That happens when you're stepping forward on your shot, and having to drag that back leg in front doesn't help in killing the forward momentum. The reason why I say his leg stance affects his shot is because I had that problem for awhile too, when I would step forward on my spot-up Js, and it really affected my shot. Try this yourself, shoot a jumper with both feet shoulder-width, right just slightly ahead of the left. Next, try shooting a J stepping forward with the right foot 3/4 to almost a whole step in front of the left. You get FAR more lift and balance with the former. With the latter, you probably have to compensate more with your arm as you're not getting equal power from both legs.
I thin he's relied on the pull-up too much. He needs to either spot up or drive. I don't really think he's taken too many shots or shut other people out of the offense, but he's def. missed too many.
True ... and Mike James wasn't as effective as he was in the first two... was he? If Mike James shoots like Rafer Alston, he's Rafer Alston. I don't know what would make people think it's "bias" for me, Sam or anyone else. Mike James has been shooing miserably the last 7 games... he deserves his share of the blame. What kills me is those who think Rafer Alston doesn't deserve his share when he shoots this badly the last 161 games, or that Mike James shooting 47% and 44% from long range doesn't help us. Between James and Rafer that is almost 19 shots a game so far ... The "point guard shooting can't hurt us" schtick is officially dead. It can, it has, it will again. They have to get this turned around. Now, I do think James will get going because his career suggests to me that he will... but he has been bad, no doubt.
Could someone provide a comparison of our PGs defensively? My impression is that while Rafer and MJ aren't great, Stevie and Brooks will be worse. Or perhaps each one would defend different styles of guards better? It's just as important to consider as their offensive abilities.
I don't know if the coach told him to shoot or what. He is definitely not looking to pass. I am not one of the people who've been saying he's a ballhog. He doesn't have the court vision of a great passer. But he's decent. But in the last few games, I noticed that most of the time when he got the ball, he's looking to create for himself. Only when he couldn't shake the defender after dribbling around would he look up and pass. He's looking awfully like Francis (without the athletic talent) right now. I am very disappointed. Even Luther Head has more assists per 48 minutes than he does. That's not a good sign. I agree with you that he needs to spot up more. He needs to give up the ball earlier and spot up, wait for it to come to him rather than try to beat his defender 1 on 1.
Absolutely agree. It looks like he's got blinders on the second he gets the ball. He basically drive into traffic and takes the lowest percentage shot possible. He's also done this w/ Tmac & Yao on the court at the same time.
