You might have had a point if 3-point shooting was the only thing Jackson brought to the table. But, it isn't. He shoots, he creates offensive opportunities, he defends, he does a bit of everything on the court. Even when his shot is off, he's still an asset on the court. Last night he shot 30% from three-point-land. Considering the team was shooting 45% from 2-point area, and considering the extra point from that distance, his 3-point shooting was precisely as effective points-wise as the team's shooting inside the arc. So, I don't feel like his shooting was particularly wasteful (besides the fact that McGrady should have had 100 attempts last night the way he was shooting). More generally, shooting 38% makes him a solid 3-point threat, judged from the NBA at large where there are plenty of bombers who get wide-open looks all the time.
He creates and defends? Is this one of those "keep repeating something long enough and eventually people will believe it is the truth"? He doesn't shut anyone down defensively and as I previously mentioned, he is a lazy passer who turns the ball over, or wastes passes to open guys by making them reach for the ball, preventing a smooth catch and shoot. I do think he is a leader on the team, but he sure ain't all that.
Good post. there is no one else other than T-Mac or Yao that should be taking more shots that JJ anyways. On good teams like the Spurs, Mavs, Kings, etc. he would be the 6th or 7th best player (at best). He is clearly our 3td best player and plays with more heart and intensity than most of our other players. However, if a good offer came for him (like JJ and future pick for Nene) then i would trade him. But other than that there is no reason to cut or bench him.
i mostly like what Jimmy brings to the team, but don't think he should be anywhere near 40 minutes a game.... my biggest complaint is the defensive end, the thing with Mobes leaving is we now see how much Cat's speed covered for Jimmy's ageing legs last season and how much this effects his defense..... right now (although i was hoping for it earlier) speed and rebounding are big issues for us for that reason i'd take a punt on starting Boki and having Jimmy play a similiar role to what he did in his last year with Sacball.. ie backing up the 2 and 3 and giving us a big scoring punch off the bench, his minutes would probably be still over 25 and close to 30 and in all likelihood he would probably finish games, but i'd love to see Boki start and get 15-20 minutes a game nevertheless he certainly has played harder than anyone else on the team this season and also pretty smart
Boki doesn't play because he fouls too much. It is like he doesn't understand that the other team gets to shoot FTs or something. If Boki could play some semblence of defense without fouling his man, then he would be a servicable starting 3 for us. Right now, he is a DQ waiting to happen.
As much as I love Nachbar, that is the truth! Everytime he gets on the court you can pretty much see 1-2-3 fouls picked up right away. He is a fast guy so it is odd that he picks up those fouls. He doesnt use his feet enough on defense and uses his arms too much. But you are right. I think more than anything "fouling" is a HUGE reason why Nachbar doesnt see as much PT.
Nachbar deserves more consistent minutes based on his play so far. If that is 12 mpg every night that is fine. But he will only develop consistency and mesh with overall offense flow, AND learn how to defend if he can play, then get beat by JVG, play then get beat, play then get beat, until the fouls go down and his defensive play improves. But playing one good game, then garbage minutes for 3-4 games ain't going to cut it. And JJ is good to great for what we have and what we need, but he needs to have his minutes cut to 32-34 mpg. He is going to start going stale with no legs by late in the season. I make my point again that with these role players we need to play a strategy of a 10 man rotation and keep throwing fresh legs at our opponents. JVG! Duit! Just duit!
i totally agree with you and that's why i think that he needs more playing time so he can get better at it. He's definitely isn't going ot get any better at his defense sitting on the bench. Sometimes, to further the development of your players, the coach has to be willing to let the players make the mistakes so they can learn from it. Right now, any time boki makes a mistake, he gets pulled right away. That affects his confidence as well as how he plays. The article in the chronicle about the players admitting that they are hesistant when they play is right on key. JVG demands too much from his players and keeps certain players on too short of a leash. On any other team with a coach wiling to go through the pains of developing a player, boki would be doing a lot better right now. I just don't get JVG.
Jackson is a good to very good player. He's strong, a good shooter, a scorer, and plays hard. Boki on the other hand has that Kukoc, Pippen, type of potential. He's got length, can drive, and can apparently hit the three (I'm not sold yet). I think we could go either way. But Boki's length really make him look good on the court. If he could finish his drives into the lane he should start. He's the kind of wingman you want because he can get to the hoop by gliding in.
Why so much love for JJ? The only reason why JJ seems to be 3rd option is only because he gets the most playing time in the team. JJ doesnt know his role and he often igonres Yao in the post. Just watch him playing in every posession and see what he does. His defense is average at the best. HIs man always blows by him that results Yao to pick up a foul. For instance, Yao's 5th foul against Mavs because of JJ's turn over. JJ could have dived and get a lose ball at the end of regulation game but he did not. People say he has heart, but I havent seen an incident where he brought his heart out. I havent seen him diving for the ball, standing up against refs, nor standing up for his teammtes. Please tell me why you guys think he has heart. He looks better than the player he is only because other Rockets are not doing any better. So answer is, JJ is not good for the team. But we have nobody that can play at his level beside our 2 stars. The problem is not JJ.. the problem is that we dont have any other good player. If we can replace him, we need to replace him asap. But for now... we have no choice.
JVG is a freaking idiot...JJ is out with the flu and what does he do...he activates Ryan "i run around like my head is cut off" bowen. I hate his favoritism towards his "type" of players and his loyalty to them. arghhh. My love for this team is seriously being tested.
But still it's frustrating to see your guy missing a wide open shot. The spurs guards getting good open look and they usually makes them, that's how they win the championship: having a guy inside that can pass to the open man outside, and outside shooter knocks them down. My suggestion is to play JJ less minute and put Boki in for some minutes, we'll see better result.
I vote no. I don't like Jackson's game. I don't think he can run, I don't think he can defend, I don't think he can shoot, I don't think he moves well without the ball, I don't think hes a good fit with either star. I'd rather see Nachbar try. JJ does some really stupid things. Just let Boki foul out, whatever. Let JJ back up the two, and stop playing him at 3. Give Tmac a blow after 35 minutes. The season is over. Who really cares? JJ isn't going to mean squat, so why play him. Trade him ASAP, before his value hits bottom.
JJ is no doubt a bench player. He is beyond his prime years and has declined immensely in speed and quickness. To be a starting 3 in this league, you gotta be a slasher and a good defender. JJ is a decent defender, but can no longer run and this is problematic when your 1 can't run. You need a 3rd option to penetrate in situations where every other avenue is blocked. That's why you always see the rockets running out of time on the 24. that's why people always stand around waiting for T-Mac. we need a 3!!
