I think Wesley really lost his shooting touch and shouldn't be the starter anymore. imo, Anderson is our best 2-guard right now and should start. Jon is the best shooter/passer but i don't think he could average more than 24 min. a game so he's best to come off bench. Head, eventhough havn't play a real game yet, showed enough promise to make us believe he's ready to contribute right now maybe even 10min. a game. my ranking: Anderson > Barry > Head = Wesley (slower & can't shoot but defensively better than Head as a 2 guard) Sura'd be back in 2 months and he'd eat up all the back up PG minutes. I think it's better to trade Wesley by the time Sura's back for one more big body for insurance and get Head some play time this season. rotation: Anderson starts at 2 and back up T-Mac for maybe 10min. (28 min. total), Barry 1st off bench (20 min.), Head (10 min.)
Wesley is still da man and I believe JVG will agree with me on this one. Wesley go through these occassional shooting slumps where he doesn't make EVERYTHING that he jacks up. Plus, it's the preseason, give the guy a break. Remember, T-Mac had a sluggish pre-season last year and didn't really shake off the rust until 10 games into the regular season. No, defense wise, I'd still take Wesley over Anderson, Barry, and Head. For some reason, I don't buy into the whole Anderson love affair. He's a great spot up shooter and plays decent D, but I wonder how long his body holds up...
i know JVG'd gonna stick w/ Wesly as the starter. but Wesley's in his shooting slump since last season and coming off a surgury off season won't help. "Anderson a great spot up shooter and plays decent D" isn't that what we expect from our starting 2 guard? and I really think find some PT for Head (10min./game) this season is important for his development. Jon Barry is the perfect fit on this team, as a back-up 2, for one last season. so, sorry Wesley is the odd man out.
As disappointed as I am with Wesley, I still expect his shot to come back soon. He's got great D as well as some impressive passing. When his shot comes back he's gotta start, although at his age his minutes should be limited. Wesley should be getting about 25mpg, Barry should get about 18mpg split between the SG and the SF, and DA should be getting about 25mpg split between the PG and the SG. I expect DA to be the sparkplug off the bench; someone that can change the tempo like Mike James did. He's even got better passing than James, which is a plus. Head has earned some playing time, but to start the season he might just some spot minutes. Eventually, I hope for him to move up to primary PG backup. He'd be great there if he could improve his playmaking a little. Right now he's just making rookie mistakes. With experience those mistakes should disappear.
Wesley will be fine...people are exaggerating his PRESEASON shooting slump...he should be the starter at the 2 because of his experience as a starter with Yao and TMac...it would help with chemistry...I believe his shooting will come around...he's been a great shooter throughout his whole career, and theres no reason to think why that would stop now...Anderson would be perfect off the bench as far as energy and bringing his scoring and defensive versatility off the bench...Barry will be a third-string guard, IMO, who will see maybe 10-15 minutes per strictly because he can shoot and is a veteran who knows the system...but four preseason games is unfair to judge Wesley by, especially when he was successful at the starting 2-guard spot when he came to Houston last season...
SOmething to keep in mind when discussing Wesley's recent shooting woes is that for a shooter, the legs are almost as important as the release. His leg wasnt alright towards the end of last season, hence the need for offseason surgery. Right now...he isnt fully recuperated from that since as you get older it takes longer to fully regain full use of a appendage after surgery. As he gets his legs back into shape, his shot will improve, you can book that. His career averages point to him being a damn good shooter...and you dont just forget how to shoot. His leg problems are what have contributed to both late last season's problems and the rusty start to this one. now, as far as the backup point...at the rate that Luther is playing...it wouldnt surprise me to see him take over primary backup point duties by midseason...or at the very least, sharing backup duties with Sura(if he does manage to come back after this latest round of surgery)
I think Luther Head is a better scorer than Wesley, probably a better shooter too since he's still got his leg. Gradually, I think JVG is gonna give Head more playing time. Eventually Head is gonna replace Wesley.
The rox don't have time to waste on Wesley finding his shot with the talent they have now. imo, the rotation should go DA / Barry Rafer / Head With Wesley getting spot minutes until he plays his way back into the rotation, if he can.
Well, JVG has 2 weeks to decide what he wants to do. I was higher on Head and the DA acquisitions than most, but Wesley was huge for us last year until he was apparently hurt. I'm not a JVG deist as some are here, but among our starters last year I think JVG praised Wesley more than anyone and I respect that. And the boxscore I saw from yesterday's game was Wesley shooting 3-7 which for what he brings is almost perfect for us. Please let the season start, I think many of us (perhaps myself) are just getting goofy.
Got to agree. Head scored a lot of his points when he swung over to SG late in the game in Laredo. DA is at the ready and more experienced.
Something to keep in mind. When deciding which 2 guard to start, I dont think #1 on JVG's list is "shooting." It's "defense." And right now despite Wesley's shooting slump, he still is probably our best defender at the 2 guard spot. Head might come along, but he isnt as crafty as Wesley. And I dont think Anderson is quite as quick as Wesley is, and lateral quickness is a premium right now.
I pretty much agree with one exception, I want to play 5 guards a lot, not just 4. DA should get all the meaningull back-up 3 minutes, we can run our team a lot more seamlessly with him in Tmac's slot than Bowen there. Further, I'd like to keep Tmac's minutes down (maybe 35 or so), and Barry's too (less than 20). There should easily be 15-20 minutes DW's way with 5 guards handling the the 1, 2 and back-up 3. If Sura comes back and is playing well something does have to give then. But Sura like DA can play anywhere from the 1-3.
