This isn't a "Brooks is the greatest PG on the planet" type thread - but I just thought I'd start something up to point out that Aaron Brooks has only just completed his SECOND NBA season. Looking at his stats last season as a starter should give us all some hope: Mpg: 30 Ppg: 13.0 FG%: 40.3 3G%: 38.5 FT%: 85.7 Rpg: 2.4 Apg: 3.7 Tpg: 1.8 Spg: 0.7 Now that might not be the greatest collection of statistics that one has ever seen; but let me state again it was only his second NBA season! Now I know we harp on about 2 things with Brooks (i) his lack of size (ii) his inability to create for others. Let me say, on (i) I completely agree - he's small and he's not a great defender. But I have seen worse defenders, and Brooks is certainly quick enough - combine that with the modern trend for smaller quicker PGs, and suddenly it's not the massive issue that it might have been 3-4 years ago. On (ii) I think we're judging the book before it's been read. At Oregon he was mid to high 4s in the assist column for his last 3 seasons. You compare that to someone like Chauncey Billups - who has 4.8apg at college. And in fact, you look at how Billups fared in his first few years in the league - it wasn't until his 3rd season that he even shot over 40% from the field. And his number of assists wasn't overly impressive until really his 5th season and onwards (I'm NOT saying Brooks will be as good as Billups - just an example). I think that the accusation that Brooks "can't create for others" comes from the misconception that he "doesn't pass to Ming". Newsflash - it's not really the PGs job to dump it in low - he brings it to the top and distributes to the wingman, who is normally the one to dump it in. And, dumping it in isn't really "creating for others" anyway... Brooks tendency is to create opportunities off the dribble drive rather than the bullet pass from the top of the key to the cutter - but surely what this team needs is a penetrator who can kick it out? Bottom line: Brooks shooting 38.5% from downtown as a starter is great news - and he's already hit some key 3 pointers for us!! And the fact that he's only had 2 seasons in the league should have us all eager to see what he might produce in his 3rd season - after all, don't many commentators suggest that it's between seasons 2 and 3 that a player starts to feel like he belongs in the league and has the "developmental jump"? I don't think that the season is over if we go into it with Brooks as our starting PG.
There's no reason to believe that he won't get better, though I still think his true calling is being the first guy off the bench.
even if he does come off the bench, he's a 35 min type of player. he's too damn talented offensively. he's gonna be a big time scorer (around 20 ppg real soon)
Another thing we "harp on" is his finishing (or lack of it around the rim). More than passing, I think this is the area that stopping him from getting to the next level. He's got speed, he can get past his man, but it's no good if he gets into the paint and misses, or realises he can't make the shot and dribbles back out wasting shot clock time. His lack of finishing also makes it less likely opponents will foul him, making it harder to earn free throws. Can he improve in this area? I honestly don't know if he can. His lack of height and weight really hurts his ability to take contact and finish.
I really like Brooks and while I wouldn't be opposed to bringing in another point guard (Only if this PG was really good) and using Brooks as a 6th man type of guy, I wouldn't want to trade him unless it was a perfect deal
38% 3pt shooting is pretty good. 40% overall fg% is pretty bad for a scorer. 3.7 apg for 30 mpg needs quite a bit improvement too.
I've been a fan of his since watching him in the Pac-10, especially in big games and tourney games. So when we drafted him, I was putting my positive two cents in. Let me say this though, as criticism. 1. Even in his big games, I'm not yet sold on his NBA-level bball IQ. That instrinsic ability (genetic?) to read a defense and see the best path/pass/set... Too many times I see him dribble to an odd spot on the floor in an attempt to shift a defense and then get in the air to attempt a difficult pass. You could say, "well yeah, he has to jump; he's so small!" But look at how many times someone like Nash or Chauncey (modern form) leaves his feet to make a pass. 2. Others have said this ad nauseum, but he's pretty inconsistent. A lot of good pointguards are inconsistent in their first couple of years, so this isn't a conclusive knock on him yet. Is there some kind of stat correlating one game's performance to the adjacent game? If not, some stat nerd should come up with it. Someone like Karl Malone would come up with a correlation of 1.0 since all his games were the same, while Lamar Odom would have like a 0.007 correlation between games.
Agree on all 3 fronts However - 3.7apg for a 2nd year point-guard who creates off the drive rather than 'stand and deliver' isn't awful. 40% overall fg% is at least over 40%. It took someone like Chauncey Billups until his 4th year to shoot over 40% from the field. Brooks is never going to be a 48% fg kind of guy - but if he's in the 42+ range I think he's doing just fine.
I think most people agree. If we get a vet pg to start and Brooks comes ff the bench as either a 1 or 2, great. If not, it's ok, not the end of the world. We need to find a backup center more than another pg.
He's already twice the finisher that Rafer was. Now, that's not saying much, since Rafer, imo, is the absolute WORST finisher in the league. But, what I like from Aaron is that he at least understands the angles around the bucket and has a knack for not getting rejected by the opposition. Size really isn't an issue if you understand angles and have a grasp for when to release your shot.
I think Rockets really like Brooks, the only thing is they like Rubio's potential better. I was against Brooks-Nash idea. I really like him too. He can improve and I think he can start and play well. We need a backup C more than another PG true, and we need to fins some use out of Tmac whether that is trading him or him coming back and helping.
A PG with his quickness packaged along with a reliable long range shot. We don't get too many of those these days.
Addendum: See: Tony Parker. The absolute BEST finisher in the league...bar NONE. Parker knows exactly when to time his leap, typically a split second before or after the defenders. He also has the ability to release the ball on his way up, down, or at his apex. Finally, he has mastered every angle of the backboard, forward and reverse, with perfect spin control. Brooks should look to Parker as a model because they face the same challenges. At this point, Aaron tends to take off a little bit earlier than Parker does, choosing to beat the defenders to the jump, rather than taking the extra step, getting into the body of the defender, and using his body and ball control to finish the play. Again, this has ZERO to do with his size. That is NOT a limitation if you can master the angles and spins of the backboard. The only time Brooks should be elevating that early is if he is shooting the floater, of which he does at times and, fwiw, it does look promising. He gets good arc and touch on it...except he he goes for the floater off the glass, which i trust the coaching staff will eliminate from his repertoire. Its a terrible shot. With some work, Aaron could be very good. It remains to be seen if he has the desire and dedication to do so.
hehe agreed on that. For comparison, last season's stats from 82games.com for eFG% from close range: Nash .662 Parker .641 Lowry .620 Rose .564 Billups .523 Brooks .472 Alston .424
We sometimes forget what Nash, Parker, Kobe, T-Mac, and Yao looked like their first years in the league. I remembr Nash when the Rockets played Dallas, he was so psyched that he air balled his shots and did not creat to well, Parker would forget he had others on the team and would run off and leave them playin 1 on 5 ball, T-Mac could not get off the bench much and when he did he was known more for his defense than offence, but he could sky, Yoa spent more time getting up off the floor than on his feet, Kobe lived on the bench, missed dunks and shots, but they all show potential as does Brooks. I would like to see his third year and then re-evaluate him and his short comings.
The more I think about it, the more I just hope the Rockets stand pat as far as big trades go and just pick up a backup center. If we aren't performing the way we should at the deadline then maybe it would be time to re-vamp a little, but I have faith that we can win a championship with this team. I feel that Brooks just had a Rondo season 2 type of year and that he could become a solid starting PG in this league. If worse comes to worse we could use him like Jason Terry which wouldn't be a bad thing either.
