wow, i was beginning to think that only sam and choujie were posting on this thread. MJ as the rockets starting PG? is he actually the perfect fit? no i dont think so. we're all thinking MJ because he's the most obvious choice, but do we need a scorer like that when we already have bonzi (im going to give him at least half a month to get back). i have my doubts about him running the team, because it seems that he is not so much a pg as he is a scoring guard. he's like a less athletic, not as talented gilbert arenas, but do we really need that here? i feel like we need a solid distributor, (rafer is not helping his cause) who makes his wide open shots, (again rafer is not helping his cause). while MJ could certainly do the shooting part, hopefully within the context of the offense, im not sold on his ability to run a team. while we could feasibly get him before the trade deadline if minny gives up on him (foye seems to be doing better), i cant help but wonder if he'll actually do more harm than good here, given his venomous feelings towards the rockets management
make that 43% after 20 pts, 8-14 (3-5) and 6 assists tonight. He has rallied with two big games (in not a ton of minutes) after a mediocre game vs. Houston to start the week. And meanwhile we are forced to celebrate Rafer's improvement in managing to make 2 three pointers in game while only having to take 5 instead of 15.
I'm 100% with you Sam (though in fairness to Rafer, he was 3-6 ... official box score still has not corrected itself). Unless my math is wrong, Mike James is now at 44.2% from the field, 44.4% from three-point range and over 86% from the free throw line. He has only taken 45 threes so far compared to 103 for Rafer, but if you had these efficient shooting percentages out of Rafer on the same attempts all the way around, you're looking at an extra 24 points from threes, 4 points on twos and 7 points on free throws over the first 16 games -- an average of 2.2 points more per game. Meanwhile, James and Rafer currently have identical assist-to-turnover ratios. However, I'm sure someone will say the Rockets are 11-5, or that Rafer's uncanny ability to will the team to victory as he stands alone at the elbow awaiting a three-point attempt while McGrady runs the offense more than makes up for the extra offense on the same amount of shots. As for James, I have a lot of confidence that he is an excellent player and the right fit here, so I prefer to see him struggle with the T-Wolves. I'm getting worried now that James is playing himself out of the Houston potential bargain bin ... we needed him to be a bad fit in Minnesota. Even if they opt to trade him, he could play his value up too high (if he keeps this up).
I agree completely that James is the right fit in Houston. The problem is I have a really hard time seeing it happen. Why would Minnesota even be interested in trading him in the first place? McCants is out indefinitely, Foye still lacks adequete playmaking skills and Jaric is a shaky playmaker on top of that. There's Troy Hudson, who is a combo guard with a giant lean towards the #2 that does little ball handling anyways. All that really leaves is James and Ricky Davis as the team's primary playmakers. James makes less, plays more, shoots better and plays better defense than Jaric or Hudson. The only way I could see us pulling off any deja vu bargain deal is if two things happened. First, as you mentioned, his production would have to trail off big time. Second, Minnesota would have to acquire an adequete replacement otherwise I see no logic in moving James. Minnesota needs him right now. Now, if we're talking an Alston-James deal, just show me where to sign. Otherwise I think we might be dreaming at the thoughts of an MJ-Houston sequel.
Bottom line is that the Rockets are 11-5, and Rafer Alston has been clutch. If they had Mike James, his selfishness, inability to pass, and ball hogging jumpshots would all be to the detriment of the team. Rafer Alston's passing is the key to this offense, and that's something that Mike James doesn't know how to do at all. Besides, Rafer is the greatest defender of all time. James is probably not going to be on the block until Minny totally crashes out of playoff contention, which probably will happen around All-Star break. But while on the subject of ex Rockets, how about Tyronne Lue? He has a career 39.2% on 3pters. He shot 45.7% from behind the arc last year, good for 2nd in the League. And this year Lue is shooting 42.0% from 3pt land. If you check his hotzones, he seems to be a very good jumpshooter, and since Hawks signed Claxton, Lue could be dealt for the right price. My list of possibly attainable players to go after to improve the team: Rashard Lewis Mike James Tyronne Lue Derek Fisher James Jones Mo Pete
