Yeah, right. Jon Berry hit 4 of 5 shots, he's the best offensive player on earth who ever lived as a rocket. That's some smartass thinking.
I agree with you to a certain degree. I didn't complain when James shot 11 for 15 like last night. He truely was having a hot hand. But 10 for 22 today is not exactly what I'm looking at as a starting PG when we have 2 big time scorers on the team.
what? whats Jon Barry doing making 4 out of 5 shots. damn him, doesnt he know his history, he's a 42 percent shooter. I tell you man, I'm getting tired of these Jon Barrys and Mike James fellas not knowing their history and shooting better than their history says they should. these guys need to start coming back down to earth, they need to know their places. damn glory seekers.
You proved my point here. Even though Barry was hot, he didn't take 20+shots, he knows his role and he knows what he's doing. I don't think Barry would ever take 20 shots on less than 50% shooting.
You will never understand. I know, who cares that there is a thing called the flow of the game which you do not understand. It doesnt matter to you that Brendan Haywood was causing Yao problems in the post, or that Yao's shot was off, or that Yao was on the bench in foul trouble, or that most importantly with the way the game was flowing that Mike James was the second best option tonight when T-Mac saw a strong double team. You have to take all these things into account and understand why the flow of the game caused Mike James to shoot the shots he shot and Barry to shoot the shots he shot and T-mac to shoot the shots he shot. but all this does not matter to you and why should it when you have stats and percentages that prove one thing and one thing only - that you are a confused rookie when it comes to understanding the game of basketball.
These guys are shooting well because they are getting open. If you are open you shoot the ball. If you aren't you pass it. This in no way diminishes Yao's role. He and Tracy command so much attention from the defense that they are allowing these guys to get open. And when James is attacking the basket it makes me happy. And he can hit the three. consistently. one turnover tonight. Where we got killed was at the pf position. Clarence, god bless him, is pretty poor. Howard was pretty bad tonight. That is still our missing link to being a championship team. It sure is nice to have a choice between starting point guards right now. Next year we will have some options as far as power foward goes, but we're stuck with what we have right now. And that's either howard with no rebounding and high turnovers or Clarence who couldn't hit the side of the barn unless it in fact is right in front of him AND can't rebound to save his rather rotund ass. At least he knows which team to which he is supposed to pass the ball...
It doesn't take a genius to figure out Mike James sometimes doesn't run the team like Sura to get teammates involved. Granted, Sura has trouble feeding the post, but Sura has the mentality to set up teammates first before creating shots for himself, not necessarily Yao, but all his teammates. James is a little different, he doesn't run the floor like Sura, doesn't have the true PG mentality so far even though Sura is a natrual SG and he is supposed to be a natural PG. Game flow could be natrual or forced. It doesn't look like too natural for me.
he covered for Yao's weakass performance that's all i can say. as for not getting teammates involved, he's not doing AS an effective job but he does what this team needs 1. PG penetration and 2. hitting open shots.
Jon Barry is not Mike James. They are two different players. But you need to know that Barry, if he had the youth and atheleticism that Mike James has and could get the 22 looks at the basket Mike James had tonight, he would have taken every one of them.
Again, you proved the game flow you are talking about is forced, not natural. That's somewhat like Francis and Marbury or AI. Steve Nash could take more than 22 shots a game if he wants to but he didn't. He knows get his teammates into a rhythm is more important than himself getting the shots because he understands what the real game flow means. For a point guard with 2 big time scorerers on the team, 10 for 22 is not something should be proud of. Had it be 15 for 22 I'd have no problem. 10 for 22 itonight s not exactly "hot" or a natural "game flow" thing.
If i could explain things as well as Mr Rolo and BrockStrapper have maybe you would understand better. Read their posts choukie, they make more sense. don't worry though man, Yao will get in a groove here in awhile and at a much better time for the team as the Rockets head into the playoffs. goodnight and go rockets. sorry for any name calling man, it was all in fun.
OK. If you look at my first post in this thread, you'll know I'm not against James. He's an asset to Rockets. I just feel his style is better for a 6th man role, Sura runs the team better as a PG than him.
Mcgrady is being doubled. Yao is either floundering around in the post unconfident with his nemesis Brenda all over him or he is on the bench and foul trouble cheering his teammates on. You have that and you had Howard and Wesley who started off laying enough bricks to build the hoover dam. The flow went to Mike James tonight. It rushed to him like a waterfall. Like Brock Strapper said, he was open, and had to take those open shots. He was one with the flow tonight.
I only saw 2 bad shoots from him all game. The runner to the baseline in the 2nd (which actually went in) & the late drive into a crowd in the 4th which was very costly. Rox were up 6 or so w/5 minutes or so to play & he drove into a crowd & thru up a quick garbage shot. Other than that all his shots were in perfect flow of the offense. That's all the be expected w/ a new player being asked to make a difference right away.
My first impression of MJ....shoots a lot, dribbles a lot. I've got no problem with going to a guy with the hot hand and taking shots when you're open. And it's too soon to be sure right now, but at first impression MJ looks like he looks for his own shot first, then passes if it's not there. Again, I got no problem if the guy is hot. It just seems to me Sura is a better fit then MJ when he was healthy. I'd rather have 15pts/8assists/8rbds that Sura typically gets then a 25pt/4assist/4rbd night from our PG...not to say that is a typical MJ night, but just using as a contrast.
Mike James is an excellent fit for this team. PGs has always been a problem for the Rockets the past 30 yrs. Some might be good at 1 or 2 things, but weak at others. So far, it does not look like James has any weaknesses. He possesses all PG skills. 1) He has great handle. He goes left as well as right. His crossover is awesome, as good as Steve but he does not use it all the time, he does not use it and stays in 1 place like Steve either. He can create for himself and others. 2) He has good court vision. He had many great assists in the few games he's been here. He not only can find open man but he knows when to zip the pass so it will get to shooter quickly (and not at their show laces either). I don't think Lucas was any better. 3) He can shoot the ball from the outside. His stroke is smooth. When he is open, he takes it without hesitation. Kenny has nothing on him. 4) He is fast, maybe not quite as Barrett but pretty close. There were a couple times on fast break when he beat several defenders to the rack by himself. He can lead a 2v1 or 3v2 as well. 5) He has good size and plays good 1v1 defense. Not many opp can post him up. He knows how to help and still gets back to his man. When we got Steve, I proclaimed Steve the best PG we have ever had until I realized he is an avg outside shooter and turnover prone. I'll go out on a limb again and say James is that PG now.
man, you're such as ass. wtf are u talking about mike james has only been with the Rox 3 games and you're doing the "pass the ball to Yao" thing again??? first, francis, then cuttino, then sura, now mike james. whenever yao plays poorly you blame it on someone else...yao's poor play is attributed to himself only. he needs to stay outta foul trouble , call for the ball, be aggressive. get those offensive boards and get close shots if his jumpers /shots ain't fallin. that's what all the great players do. i'll be honest, i love yao, but try to be frikin' objective for once.
I knew this thread was bound to come up with Mike James' high FGAs in his first 3 games. You cant just look at the Boxscore to see James production and how it is happening. You really have to watch the game to see how those FGAs materialize. The reality is that a surprising number of those FGAs are in the FLOW of the offense either with cuts or he is open for the 3ptr. There are a few times where James has forced a shot but I think that had more to do with the fact he was "on a roll" and felt confident to take that shot. I dont have a problem with that. It is not like he is taking terrible shots on a night when his shooting isnt there. Also, another reason James' FGAs are up is there are times when the lineup is: James/Barry/Bowen/Spoon/Mutombo on the floor. Who is going to score in that lineup? Last night it was James or Barry running around screens and whoever wasnt doing it the other guy was throwing him the ball. Barry and James had no choice but to be the scoring options with that group on the floor. James isnt taking shots away from Yao. Yao is doing it himself by getting into foul trouble. He cant shoot if he isnt on the floor. And his shooting isnt all that great lately even with him on the floor. Also keep in mind, this is only James' 3rd game with the team. Let's give him some time to adjust. He was THROWN into a tough situation where his scoring WAS needed and he had to play the lions share of the PG minutes on a new team with new teammates. There is an adjustment period here. Let's see how James does when Sura comes back and James goes to the bench as our 6th man. Things will level out a bit I bet. In the meantime. ENJOY James' hot shooting! Great stuff!
