That was before he went out last night and shot 0 for 5. Interesting... Mike is still adjusting over in Minny.
Mike James sounds toned-down from last season. I can't wait to hear another of his entertaining radio interviews!
Just think: We could have used our MLE on him so he could be doing the same thing here. Facing the PGs "dilemma" and playing poorly. And you know what: It would all be JVG's fault.
Yeah, James you chose to go to Minny over Houston, you feel it's a dumb decision now? You have 4 more years there to develop their young guns helping them pick high in the draft, so dont get depressed right now because there would be plenty to come and then what suicide?
i actually can't wait for us to kill him and the Timberwolves. Too bad we can't trade Head+2007 1st+Bonzi+Juwan+2008 1st + Sura for KG...
If he's cheating the fans in Minnesota, I wouldn't mind if he'd be cheating the fans here in Houston too. Mike James is underperforming only by his own standards. Mike James 30.4mpg, 12.5ppg, 4.7apg, 2.18tpg, .406 3pt%, .420 2pt%, .882 ft% Salary: $5.215 million/year, 4 years, player option after 3 years + trade kicker Rafer Alston 37.1mpg, 12.5ppg, 4.2apg, 2.33tpg, .392 3pt%, .392 2pt%, .719 ft% Salary: $4.200 million/year, 4 years guaranteed Um, so if the above is a crappy Mike James who can get better vs a Rafer Alston who we all pray nightly to maintain his 3pt shooting...um, yeah, I don't think Mike James is playing so bad. And when the article states that Minnesota's coach is tinkering with playing Mike James along with Hudson, look no further than the KG thread to see where I stated the same thing. James' scoring efficiency is not a problem. His overall stats show that his 0/5 is not a nightly thing. It's just that James and Hudson are playing the best ball in Minny (other than KG), so they shouldn't be taking minutes away from eachother.
I think basically he just wanted it to be known that he will be shooting more to up his averages. If I recall, he claimed he was going to MVP of the league over the summer. He has some catching up to do.
The difference is that M. James is counted on to be one of the offensive weapons and a main contributor. Rafer is supposed to dish, d-up and make his team mates better.
Well, that's why stated in the KG thread that Mike James needs to play more. Where is my analysis, oh here it is: Well, that was a little outdated. Currently, Mike James is scoring 1.21 points per fg attempt, and still playing limited minutes. Mike James is not doing what he did last year, but it's not like he's playing that poorly. He's now taking only 10.27 shots per game. If Minnesota wants Mike James to score more like he did in Toronto, stop playing him 30 minutes. Play him 37 minutes and give him 16 shots (which at this pace would have him average 19.4 ppg). Ricky Davis doesn't need to be taking any 3pters at his 20% clip. And Rafer's role on the Rockets IS to D-up (something that Mike James can do just as well), and hit 3pters (which Mike James is still doing better while under-performing). Rafer hitting 3pters is waaaaayyyyyyy more important than Rafer dishing, which by the way, Mike James statistically is better at. Rafer takes 10.4 shots per game, 6.2 of those shots are 3pt attempts. Rafer Alston is 8th in 3pt attemps per game (out of like 200 players). And it's not like the Rockets have a really high pace factor either. So yes, Mike James role is to score. Mike James can score more by playing better, but mainly Mike James will score more by putting up more shots and getting more minutes. You say Rafer's role is to play D and pass. I say yes it is to play D (which he's far from great at), but it is to shoot 3's (which Mike James is better at) more than to pass (which Mike James is still better at). And it's not like Rafer is a bad passer. It's just that Rafer can't finish drives worth crap right now. So why the heck would a defense want to collapse on Rafer and allow him to pass out when he's shooting 34.6% on layup!?! This includes wide open layup makes on fast breaks. He's more like 30% on layups in the half court.
Mike James is their third option on offense the same way Alston is technically our's. The real difference is James plays 30 minutes a night while Alston is out there (and unfortunately) almost 40 mintues a night. If you're out there 40 minutes a night you're expected to be a "main contributor". Whether he belongs out there for that many minutes a night or not is a different argument.
Why didn't you make it look like: 3 years guaranteed + trade kicker + a player option yr 4. Trying to make it look good?
Has anyone watched the T-Wolves and seen MJ play? Has his defense dropped off? How did Chris Paul drop 35/5 on them? One of the best things about MJ was his ability to press the ball. Have other PGs lit him up besides Paul? Is he still playing with the "take no prisoners" attitude that helped us when he was here?
