Poor Mike. When we got him, we knew his style and how he'll play. He is not expected to make a lot assist and we expect him to provide some scoring power. Currently, he is a serious slump and hopefully he'll get out of it soon. He can contribute when he is out of the slump and during playoff or when there is injuries.
He looked pretty slow and lethargic last night. I hope he'll get better, but it doesn't look too good.
I have to co-sign this thread. I actually feel sorry for Francis because he's injured and missed a chance to get time in this game. At least Francis played within the system whenever he got playing time. Mike James just does his own thing. Checks in, chucks up some jumpers and dribbles more than Moochie Norris.
He was trying too hard, trying to get back to his 22 point game against the Knicks. But even though he had some issues he still showed a lot of what makes him great. That pass to Landry for a dunk came when he was in the air and twisting away towards the baseline. Props to Adelman. Rumor was that Snyder walked out of practice a while back and Adelman still gave him minutes tonight. And despite a couple of mistakes from Brooks in the early going he still got to play the entire 4th quarter. Why not? The game was never in danger. I really like Adelman's coaching here.
We basically traded a good locker room leader, for an old ball hog who jacks up shots with a longer contract. The only positive of the trade is it makes the Rafer Haters look foolish.
It wasn't a terrible trade, it's good we did it because howard had to be movedc anyway and we did need pg help. Rafer was stinking it up last year as well. But MJ was never going to be the answer, I don't think Rockets Management had any illusion about that. Why else would we start the season with Rafer Alston, Steve Francis, Mike James, and Aaron Brooks as pg's on this team? You don't have 4 pg's if you think anyone of thsoe guys is the answer at the position. Morey must have figured, one of those guys has a chance to work out. I wouldn't have thought it would be rafer and brooks, but it did. And I still think Steve will be a contributor. But MJ - why all the hype? I never understood it.
Ya know, part of the problem might be minutes, when he scored 20ppg and shot 47% from the field he averaged 37 minutes a game..... the guard glut might be hurting all of the guards play if you know what i'm saying.
Brooks made more mistakes than usual but he was trying to do the right thing every time he had the ball. He also made some good plays. James, on the other hand, put the blinders on again. He is the most selfish player on this team, by far. He is the one that deserves a nickname like Me-Mike.
Really? How do you figure that? Alston is locked in as the starter. Brooks would have to be horrible for Steve to take his spot and Brooks will not be horrible. I can imagine a scenario where Head started sucking enough to let Francis be a backup SG, but that's about it.
.....then 0 minutes per game the following season for that team. The Raptors let him walk despite the great numbers. It wasn't like he got that much money from Minnesota. Even after a career season, a bad team had no real interest in keeping him. They must have had a reason.
Well, I don't exactly trust a rookie PG at backup in the playoffs who's name is not Sam Cassel. I think we could really use a veteran guard like Steve that doesn't get rattled easily in big pressure situations. Brooks is great and is probably the future, but let's remember he is a rookie and will make rookie mistakes.
Brooks is great now... He can't be the future cuz once he age he'll slow down. Use him now when he's still quick.
lol, i'm not talking 10 years future. I'm talking he's probably our future starting PG for years to come. I don't think he'll slow down any time soon.
if rafer stays as he is, then i could possible see random rotations depending on the opponent. a coach's object is to play the 5 players that gives the team the most chance to win. but, some players do better/worse/average against different teams. i was a fan of james, but wow, his shooting slump is just horrible. IMO, he's useless without his shooting. Francis, did have several horrible/ok/ games and a few good games. i think we should wait on francis's knee to be 100%, and then play him here and there. Rafer and Brooks should be our main rotation at pg. Only if, rafer stays the same with hitting his running floaters. That's a big if. And if brooks doesn't hit the rookie wall. Another big if. as a big fan of francis and rockets, i'm excited for both. Now, we just need to see how things turn out.
The season is still early. When come playoffs, most of the rookies will show some nerve and will start to be missing in action. That's where the importance of vets comes in. Mike, Francis and even Synder who has some playoffs experience are going to be useful.
