AB has started for 2 seasons. Derrick Rose has started longer than him actually. AB is not the best PG but he thrives when placed in a situation with a talented bigman like Yao or some other big. AB can take the pressure off other players. For anyone that has serious doubts about him, maybe they should watch tyreke evans play. The guy IS a SG and is an absolute stud playing PG.
Hmmm Could have sworn he didn't take over the starting position until about this time last year when they traded Rafer... But I could be wrong..
#1, ab has been playing primarily pg all his bball life, not just a year. it's over a year now even if you count it from the time he became a starter for the rockets and we've seen little to none improvements as a pg. #2, trevor and battier have barely changed - old dogs can hardly learn new tricks. to the ab discussion, it's irrelevant. i have hardly changed all my life. #3, we had problems when yao was fronted. same thing happened when landry was getting the same treatment in limited number of occasions while ab was the pg. so it doesn't appear to be the problem of only the post player. #4, kinda irrelevant, too. ab's problem is that, his advantages (which are essentially his speed and scoring) are just as great as his dificiencies such as pg quality and defensive ability (or the lack thereof). this thread is not about lowry, nor is it about trading ab. very few are advocating a trade. if through discussion, people can have a more realistic view of who ab is, then i consider time not wasted.
Actually you are the least wrong in this thread. Yes, he has started at PG for one season. Yes he is a quality PG that is doing EXACTLY what his coach is asking him to do. Yes, he is the best PG on the Rockets roster (and that means overall play peanut gallery). Yes, Rick Adelman's read and react system requires the PG to be a scorer too. NO, Lowry is not better. DD
Interesting. I've disagreed with almost all his contentions. If he's the least wrong, that would make me the most wrong. If you could, would you respond to the arguments/rebuttals I addressed to him yesterday (I believe pgs 12-14)? He was unable to do so.
Ok 1. Weather he was a starter or not, Brooks was getting decent burn before he was a starter last year. This is his second year as a PG. 2. Doesn't change the fact that Brooks does not make alot of right decisions on the court, plays out of control alot, and has a damn near 5:3 Assist to Turnover ratio. 3. Each player is different, the players you listed are more mobile than Yao. Its not so much Yao's job (part of it is), but the offenses and PG's responsibility to find the way to get Yao the ball. I already posted, Brooks misses the small windows that present themselves when Yao does seal briefly, and never rotates the ball around the key when Yao flexes. Nor does Brooks creat the proper spacing when they run the triangle (for instance Battier on the three point line, Yao in the post, Brooks at the high elbow.) He usually either passes around the horn, or tries dribble penetration. Once again, we NEVER had this issue getting Yao the ball when it was Alston, or McGrady, or even Battier setting Yao up. I mean maybe a bad game, or several possesions but nothing like what Yao experienced with Brooks as the PG. 4. Facts are Brooks is a fast, great shooting (from distance) shoot first, limited PG. He needs to work on his playmaking, his setting players up, and decision making. Its simple. His transition over the last year has been to become a volume shooter. Maybe that is what the Rox wanted, it still doesn't excuse the moments he misses completely, often during a game where he becomes the shooter or drives the lane. As for the argument that Brooks would of had a lot more assists had the Rox just made their shots...I mean really. Can't any PG in any game say the same thing. "Yeah, I could of had 40 assists if my teammates would of hit their shots" Id say that we can all agree that a PG who gets less than 3 assists a game had a bad game distributing the ball as a PG right. AB has 13 games this year with less three or less assists. So almost 1/3 of the games. AB has had 8 games with more than 5 Turnovers in that game. We can all assume that 5 turnovers is a ton for a game when the best TEAMS will turn it over around 13 or so times a game. Which just happens to be twice as many games that AB has had double digit assists. So AB willl get a double digit assist game about every 14 games, but have a 5+ turnover game every 8 games, and have less than three assists one out of every three games. Get the picture? But really its the plays he misses that drives me so crazy.
Man you are a like a walking itch that want go away.... I basically got tired of dealing with you... You will argue about any and everything no matter what... I have debated with ibm in the past and I respect his position and hopefully he respects mine.. Even in this thread he has his points specifically with the the teaching a guard to be smart and teaching one to shoot... Hats off to him with that.. I truly understand what he is saying about teaching an Old dog new tricks.. Have no prob with that... My point is.. 1) I would prefer to give him more time 2) I think Lowry and Brooks compliment each other... You on the other hand, you argue with any and everyone on this board when they don't agree with you... Just go back to your conversation with Bucman... I have no prob with your points... they are your points, but at some given point and time you should respect others and their points... The only one that is right about any of these conversations is Morey and he's the one that is getting paid to make those points. The rest of us have opinions about it...
Oh and btw. *Houston 15.2 17.8 -2.6 Point Guard 13.7 14.7 -1.0 Shooting Guard 15.9 13.5 +2.4 Small Forward 18.6 16.3 +2.3 Power Foward 21.6 17.6 +4.0 Center This is the PER by position of the Rockets and their Opponents. Who was it that kept saying Brooks is beating his man night after night. Oh yeah DD.
I agree that Brooks probably shouldn't start with the way the team is fitting but PER can be pretty unreliable.
And based on his improvement since the Laker series, what will be the result of giving him more time? I believe that he's almost reached his ceiling. He can stand to improve his ft shooting and ball handling, but there's not much else I can reasonably expect him to improve on. True, but then that pair provides a huge defensive liability. I believe that respect should be earned, not given. If someone is adamant that 2+2=3, should I respect him for that? Some opinions make sense and some don't. I get that most people dislike the way I present my opinions. I can be rude and condescending. But that doesn't change the fact that what I say usually makes a lot of sense. For instance, in one of the random trade threads, I brought up that NY could ideally serve as a trading partner or a hub for a trade with a third team. Only a handful of people agreed with me, and the great majority claimed that NY had nothing we wanted.
It seems to me these arguments against brooks somehowgo back to getting yao the ball or who can or cant do it vs what makes the rockets the best team they can be. Maybe its just me, but it started last yr and is still going strong.
I think some are complaining that he is not a true pass first type of PG, and he clearly isn't, but I have seen large improvements in the area of setting up his teamates. The bounce pass on the baseline, him keeping his dribble alive, the wrap around pass to Battier in the corner, the over the shoulder pass on the pick and pop to Scola..... Brooks is improving, he is not as good of a passer as Kyle is, but overall he is a much better scorer, so it makes him a better player. Tony Parker was not a true PG either, but his rings are starting to get heavy on his shooting hand, let's hope Brooks has that same problem in a few years. DD
Tony Parker doesn't need to be a true PG if his target (Duncan) can go get the ball. Brooks does not have the same luxury with Yao. You're comparing apples to oranges.
I agree, that Yao has a very difficult time catching the entry pass, and Brooks being short is a problem except for his excellent bounce pass to Yao. But, that is not a problem because most of the time the entry pass into Yao is from the SG or SF, Brooks can play opposite of Yao for the kick out. So, if your worry is Brooks passing to Yao, don't ....Trevor/Shane/CBud and Kmart will be handling that....along with a stretch PF if we can ever acquire one. DD
Last time I checked, get Yao the ball is the best for Rockets team, either scores or draws double team. Just like they should get Landry the ball as much as possible the first half of the season, even though Landry didn't draw nearly as much double team as Yao. Brooks is a very good scoerer, but Yao is even more efficient at that. Get the ball to team's most efficient scoerer is in the team's best interest. It's only one of the facters, the unit needs to be more balanced is a bigger reason. To me a Lowry/Martin or AB/Ariza/Scola/Yao team is more balanced, and AB or Martin can provide much needed offense for 2nd unit.
Most of the time the post entry pass does not come from the PG, so if you are worried about Yao getting the ball, don't worry about Brooks. And Yao may not even make it all the way back, so, the Rockets should not be building around Yao, they should be preparing for him to be a much lesser part of the team. 20-24mpg at the most. DD
Ideally, I would like Martin to be the eventual post passer. That way, if defenses try fronting Yao, Martin could attack the unprotected basket. I would also prefer that Ariza play opposite of Yao at the baseline corner. Being at that spot would reduce the amount of dribbling he does.
I would prefer Trevor not be on the floor and CBud takes his place. Surround Yao with Martin, Cbud, Brooks and a stretch 4, and Wallah....championship.
