I totally agree, while Brooks can certainly imrove, we are not looking for a pass first set up guy. The Rockets don't need that kind of PG, they need a scoring point, the NBA has changed, the rules have changed, and the way the game is called has changed. Brooks is a scoring PG, he is not someone that will be looked upon to rack up massive assist numbers, and we don't need him to, go look up Mike Bibby's assist numbers for Rick Adelman's Kings for an understanding of what this Rocket team is looking for from Brooks. Different teams have different needs, this one needs a scoring PG like Brooks that can space the floor with the 3 ball. DD
In your opinion, were we truly running Adelman's system last year? Seems to me like he abandoned his normal gameplan and designed our offense to suit our depleted personnel.
That's great. Since you expect Brooks to play like Bibby, do you expect Scola to play like Webber? I really feel bad for Yao. If he's expected to flop as much as Vlade did, he's going to get hurt pretty quickly.
The first unit was disciplined enough to regularily run it. Our offense is routinely initiated with Chuck Hayes in the high post and multiple screens and cuts, looking for holes in the defense. We saw Scola with a lot of isolation plays and Ariza pretending like he was a point guard for whatever reason. Brooks was rarely responsible for setting up the offense or creating looks for others, which is the definition of an asist. Occasionally Brooks would run an iso pick and roll with Scola. The second unit saw an increase in speed and a running system. In the first half of the season, we saw a ton of face up isolation plays for Landry. In the fourth quarter, we would see Lowry playing PG and Brooks playing off the ball in a SG role. The PGs that people are comparing him too are ball dominant PGs whose offensive system is "the PG". Its not comparable, because it is two totally different systems.
IMO, we tried running Adelman's offense at first and we were successful with it. Then opponents started figuring us out. At that point, Brooks became the playmaker/first option for the team. There's a reason he led the team in FGA. Based on your description, it sounds like Brooks would've averaged 6 FGA per game, not 16.
FGA isn't really relative. He has high attempts because he is a scorer and the other people in starting five arent. The overlying point is people are trying to say Brooks is a bad PG because he has low assist numbers. His purpose on this team isnt to create for other people.
If you were to have read the post correctly, you would have seen, In other words...Brooks has the capability to put up 17+ ppg and 8+ apg this year...which IMO, would put him in the class of ELITE PGs. But WILL HE BE ELITE?? That's to be seen...but there will be no surprise if he's mentioned as one of the top PGs in the league next year. If you have K-Mart and Yao for a full year, you don't think AB can pick up at least another 3+ apg dishing to those guys??? With you're logic, Rockets went from #4 to #17 in defensive rating last year because of AB's defense...Do you really think that sort of drop is all on AB?? I think not...
That might be the overlying point, but the underlying point (and I suspect the one that the Rockets realize) is that Brooks is overvalued due to his raw metrics looking good (which appeals to casual fans like DaDakota) and Lowry appears to be the type of player who is conventionally undervalued. Brooks isn't a bad PG, he's just a slightly above average one, certainly not a future franchise player like some would have you believe.
His purpose may not be to create for others, but when they're open, he needs to be able to deliver the ball, and you can't count on him to do that. His court vision is clearly inferior to Lowry's.
Assuming Yao stays healthy, this is nearly impossible. When Yao is on the court, the offense will run through him which means there will be fewer shots for everyone, including Brooks. Also, when Yao is on the court, the pace will decrease. Last year, Brooks was able to put up almost 20 ppg in a faster paced offense as the offense's first option. Do you really think he'll be able to put up 17 ppg in a slower offense with fewer shots?
I dont believe him to be a superstar or a franchise player. Sure we could drive his usage up and he could be the next Rudy Gay or some other wannabe star, but he is a better player than Lowry, a perfect fit next to Yao, and has the exact skillset for what we are doing here.
I dont think that will be the case next year. I can still see an uptempo game, even with Yao on the court. If you can consistently rebound the ball well, he can make an outlet pass to AB and see if they can score quick. If not, they can setup the half-court offense...similar to what the Lakers did with the Kareem. This does not mean that Adelman will elect to put Yao in the Low Post each time down. I highly doubt that the offense will run through Yao as much as it did in the past simply due to preventing further injuries. I can see Yao setting up around 15-17 feet, running pick n roll and pick n pop plays with Brooks because Yao has the capability to knock down the mid-range shot. If he can increase his assists by 1pg after the Martin trade (4.8 apg before Martin, 5.8 after Martin), do you think its impossible that with the addition of Yao, he cant up that by another 2apg? You're basing this judgment on the 36 games he started with Yao 2 years ago?? Since when do you base a players' abilities in 34 games? And since when does the PG have to dump the ball to the center in the post 100% of the time? Last i checked, Battier and Artest were also dumping the ball into Yao in the post...enter Ariza and Martin.
I knew yao would creep in with u. I will make u a sig bet that yao will avg less than 15 ppg and have 10 or less fg atts. What does those numbers mean? Yao is not going to be the focal point and will be just another spoke in the wheel. Those days are over and only a fanboy thinks it not.
Shouldn't someone as big as Yao be able to hold their position, present a big target and catch the ball? Yao has the smallest window for catching a pass for a big man I have ever seen. DD
Yes, someone as big as Yao should absolutely be able to hold their position and present a big target. But the reality is, he can't. The reality is also that he's more important to Les than Brooks is. So you do the math. Glad to see you have some common sense. Yao is the difference between the Rockets being a playoff team and a lottery team so its important to consider how he will mesh with the other players. If the subject of Yao wasn't brought up, then any conclusion you'd make would be incomplete. Obviously Yao won't average 15 ppg/10 fga since his minutes will be greatly reduced. In his last healthy season, he averaged almost 34 mpg and had 19.7 ppg/13.4 fga. Anyways, isn't it a good strategy to exploit mismatches in your favor? Looks to me like Yao has a mismatch against almost everyone he faces. Yao cannot play an uptempo game. He is slow and cannot chase down rebounds. Are you aware that Magic Johnson was a 6'9 point guard who always looked to run the fast break and averaged the same amount of defensive rebounds as Kareem did in the 80's?
Getting Yao the ball has NOTHING to do with the passer. Yao can't hold his position and he has terrible hands.
