It should take him a while to get back into things. He should start playing better soon or at least i sure hope he does!
Besides his shooting being off I think he would perform much bettr if he stayed on the outside and just worked to find open spots. This wouild also require our Point Guards to PASS the ball to him when he gets open. He is at present being ignored about 1/3 of the time.
Originally, I wanted to bash JJ but JJ was playing good in last few games. His last 5 games in Dec (Statwise) were actually better than the overall month of Dec. JJ is also playing very long minutes per game and helping to get rebounds. So, appreciate his effort (Praise of the Week Post??). Pike's FG% in last 5 games (.286) in Dec actually was worse than the whole month of Dec (.388). He needs to nail those shots. I don't think Rox should actively set screens for Pike as he is not our first few scoring options. With Yao being doubled and with SF's improving PG skills, Pike already has good open looks to shot. Our inside-out game will benefit from his improvement. Imagine if Pike could be Steve Kerr of Game 6 that nailed 3 pters again and again. Well....who will be Bash of Next Week? hahaha
Pike is a bench guy. He comes in when Mobley gets his rest which is around the end of the 1st quarter. It's at this point that Yao is usually on the bench with his 1st rest. I would much rather have Pike be the starter with the Yao in there so the Rockets can utilize those kick outs better. Pike is a matador on defense, but the Yao, Cato, and JJ will be in there. That automatically creates a safety net. Mobley and Maurice will be the 1st guys off the bench which allows for ample bench scoring from 2 guys who can create their own shots.
pike has some good shooting abilites but he doesn't run that good, i would rather have JJ start, and then have boki come in just like he did before getting benched.
If Pike was to start, why replace Cat with JJ? Cat is a much better player and I don't think he'd be effective coming off the bench.
maybe cause he cant get in a rythm....during the sonics game when he was starting to heat up, JVG took him out and put in JJ, who hadnt made a shot yet.
Pike is 7-15 from 3-point range in his last 3 games...what are yall complaining about? 36 percent will only go up since he was at 33 percent about a week ago...I expect him to be around 40% on 3s around early February...
