I am just wondering if JJ could be our point guard. He did a decent job albiet he doesn't handle the ball as well as Steve and Cat. However, JJ knows when to take the open shot and when to pass. What do you guys think?
Maybe. It depends on the who's playing SG and SF. If McGrady lands in our laps, Jackson could easily share PG responsibilites with some combination of McGrady, Nachbar, Brent Barry, or Bobby Sura. IOW, a good combo guard (Snow?) and Jackson are adequate for an inside out game. I like the fact that JJ is also capable of posting up most PG's. However, in the absence of both a SG and SF with handles, I'd not be optimistic.
there are flashes of suspect handles by JJ. but if we had TMac.. i wouldn't mind him being the PG. i think it would work. like how Ron Harper was the PG for the mid nineties bulls.
smoothie, I too question the reason that Cipherous brought up JJ as a possible PG? Kinda of silly. Like asking, "Can Clutch the bear play PG?" Ok, no seriously ... Now, I'm willing to go along with Cipherous and say that JJ does have good over-all skills. And he's not turnover prone. But he would not be my first pick to place a "non-PG" player in the PG position. Just for arguments sake...I'd would rather put Mobley or Nachbar as PG, than JJ. Why? Because both of them could be utilized in that position better than JJ. We need JJ's inside/outside strength. We need JJ outside 3. And to ask him to play PG, while it may work in some instances, there are far better options than JJ (Cat and Nachbar). Playing JJ at PG, would be taking too much away of what he gives to us as a wing player. He's best at that role, not PG. Cat I do see as a setup point, not necessarily as a "pure PG." All we'd need from Cat at point is to bring the ball up, attack down the lane if necessary and dish off if doubled. He's not a "pure PG" either. But he's protects the ball good enough to be a "setup point" but score when needed (like Billups, Troy Hudson or the old Ron Harper). Nachbar, on the other hand I do see as a having "point" skills. But not a guard, but as a point forward. He does have the ability to see the court and create opportunities. Especially on the fast break. He also can also be used to bring the ball up. But where Cat's job ends, Nachbars would start. Nachbar does have very good court vision for spoting opportunities that Cat would not be able to see. Nachbar creates, Cat would not. That's why Cat would be used differently (setup or scoring). All of these would be temporary solutions until we bring in a starting PG (Barry?). But they wouldn't limited us. Cat and Nachbar would always be available to use if needed. It would give us depth in versatility. Not saying that JJ couldn't help either. But I feel that his role is better suited at 2 or 3 roles. Not 1.
Almost any perim player can play the point, but at what cost? JJ as our point would limit our options in the extreme, and make us very vulnerable to the quick press and better man on points. Not a good idea over any extended period.
I agree that JJ has some good all-around skills. But, stick around on Nachbar... Jackson = 11 year veteran Nachbar = 2 year player ...you'll see. Pisssttt....more PT for Boki!
What'ya talking about? JJ did a great job bringing the ball down in many instances throughout the season. Sure, he made a costly turnover in the Laker series, but he has great handles.
Just imagine JJ bringing the ball up court as our PG. Then think about Kobe stealing his pass, running the length of the court for the score then the rockets losing their chance to beat the Lakers. Nuff said.
Not saying I believe JJ should play the point, but using just one play (Kobe's steal) to say that JJ can't play PG is no real argument. Even the greatest PG get stripped at some points in their careers. I think the biggest problem for JJ as a PG is on defense. Plus he is only an average passer, not great. If you just need somebody to bring the ball up, that's one thing (Mobley can do it too). If you want a guy to do real PG things, that is setting up the offense, then he's not the most ideal. The only scenario that it can be a good idea is if Yao becomes a point center. If we run the offense through Yao, in which he makes the decisions in setting up the offense, then JJ bringing the ball across half court and hand it over to Yao is fine. I don't see it happening very soon for Yao.
I dont see Yao becoming a point center, even he has good passing and clearly is team first. Last season the biggest problem in our offense was to figure out a way to consistently get him the ball. If we can't even get him the ball, how can you expect him to be a point center. Once we've got that figured out, we'll fare much better on offense because Yao should be able to knock down shots consistently once his conditioning is good. I fully expect he'll be able to maintain at high energy level for much longer next season.
