Sure he can bust up slower mediocre guys, but will he do anything against good defensive guards with size? In the end, Aaron Brooks is a specialist, not the future star some seem to think he is.
Alston's defense is overrated. Westbrook probably burned him too at some point. I'd have to watch again to verify that. I saw Earl Watson get open easily on a number of plays, too. He's just a poor shooter. Either way, Alston gets burned on a regular basis on the perimeter. With no hand-checking, quick guards can burn even the best defensive PGs. Brooks may not be starting material but not for the reasons you stated.
Russell Westbrook might be the fastest, most athletic little man in the game today. Aaron won't see match ups like that but a couple of times a month, maybe.
He also did a good job on Paul the other night. I remember Deron Williams twice late in a playoff game tearing right through Alston as if he wasn't even there. Most guards can get by the first line of defense. That's why interior defense is so critical and why the Celtics are such a good team.
i don't think he was dominated. even if he was, i wouldn't be surprised. though scouts, coaches and gm's make mistakes every year in the draft, there is a reason why one is early 1st round pick and the other is late 1st round (or a 2nd rounder for that matter). brooks has the potential to be a decent starting pg. but he's not ready yet. i'm not saying there's anything wrong with his scoring mentality, but his play-making and decision-making ability is almost a mia right now.
When tuned in Rafer plays smart defense. He gave Westbrook space, forced him to shoot. Westbrook looks like a football player on the court with his speed and power.
You can learn to play smart defense with experience. You can't learn good shooting form and how to penetrate after your 30 and approaching the end of your career.
Brooks made some tough shots on offense tonight. He struggled on defense a little but he wasn't dominated.
Brooks struggles against guys that are almost as quick as him that have size. Like Deron and tonight Westbrook. I was surprised to see him defend Paul so well last game.
So scoring 14 points on 35% shooting is now dominant? Wow the standard of domination has really lowered.
Westbrook's scoring broken down: 14 total points (5-14 shooting, 3 TOs), only 2 reb and 2 ast in 28 min 2 points in the 1st half when he played mostly against Brooks 4 points against Alston early in the 2nd half (2 straight baskets) 2 points off FTs after Barry fouled him 2 points off a TO by Barry 2 points off FTs after Hayes fouled him That's 12 of his 14 points. Brooks stole the ball from Westbrook once. WestBrooks stole it from him twice. His other 3 steals came against Barry, Artest and Yao. Brooks didn't have a great game: 8 pts (2-5 fg, 4-4 ft), 4 ast, 3 to in 20 min... but he certainly didn't get dominated by Westbrook. If anything, Westbrook owned Alston and others just as much, if not more, than Brooks. This thread fails.
Boom, exactly right. Hes only a soph, he barely got any playing time last year, and to do so well this year, no one expected it. Once he can actually utilize his speed on the defensive end, only then will he be more balanced of a player. However, you cant put Brooks and a player like D. Williams in the same class. Deron, CP3, and other elite PGs like Baron Davis are 8 out of 10 times gonna have their way with any other PG in the league.
it's tough for a 5'11 guy to dominate every night... if his jumper is not falling... he's in trouble it's like having a slightly taller earl boykins on the team he is the perfect spark off the bench
Hah. I've made my share of stupid threads and this one goes in that category. He probably made that statement based on or two plays he selectively remembered instead of checking the facts. Westbrook did just as much damage against Alston as Brooks and Brooks had to cover him for more time. I know there are Alston lovers here, and others that can't accept that a 6' point guard can play defense as good as a 6'2 point guard, but facts are facts. Brooks did not get dominated by Westbrook.
