That is not the point. Who is blaming him for losing to the Magic? The point is...he's not passing the ball. He's seemingly ignoring players and over dribbling the ball.
The job of a true PG is to make his teammates better, I didn't see that tonight. I really like Brooks as a player, but I came away disgusted with his looking to score first mentality. This is not Rick Adelman's offense, we are not passing the ball enough and finding the open man. The combination of Brooks & Martin is not looking so good so far and the Rockets are really missing that post up player they had in Landry.
That's basically what it is, no one is kicking him off of the team...we are just realizing his weakness AND wondering if a PG that over dribbles the ball can work with Kmart(as it did not in Sacramento...)
24 points of 22 shots certainly isn't bad. Efficiency-wise you typically want to make at least 1 points per possession--that's around average. So he was just a smidge over average tonight in efficiency while also being very high volume. This is pretty darn good for a guy who never started a game in the NBA before the second half of last season. And like DD said--it's one game. One game is not a sufficient sample size to form any kind of conclusion in basketball. It's like saying Albert Pujols is a bad hitter because he went 1-for-4 with only a single. Listen to us. We're having to defend a guy who just scored 24 points with six rebounds and 8 assists with above average efficiency! That should tell you something--it's the people on this forum that have the problem, not Aaron Brooks.
Of course I watched it, he made some pretty poor decisions, weak passes, jumping into the pack.... But he also made some awesome plays...the alley ooop to Chase, the pass to Jeffries on the cut, showed lots of court vision. He had a bad game, but this conversation is just an extension from others, where for some reason, people are slamming our best player, the guy who is the most important player on the team right now. Without Brooks we would be in the running for the number 1 pick, his scoring is crucial..... Anyway, this is another waste of time, and if people think he played badly tonight fine.......I think he had a below average game.....but not a terrible one. DD
I think it depends on your perception of the point guard position. Aaron did his best and that was not good enough. You know what you get from him night in and night out. He is nowhere near allstar level right now. The whole team except Battier was horrible shooting wise. Aaron looked lost and without help out there but his overall performance was not that bad. And the most important factor nobody could contain Dhoward.
My issue was mainly with what I perceived as him ignoring Martin on offense. A bad game I can understand but what he showed tonight looked more like a bad attitude. That's my problem with how he played tonight.
From what I have seen so far he was afraid to make bad passes. The entire team is lacking confidence now.
Well...of course he was 'passing the ball' lol But again it does not prove in any way that he was a playmaker or facilitator. I guess that means Iverson also is a facilitator because in his prime he always had assist numbers...
If you want to talk constructively about Aaron Brooks, the only real problem I see with him at this point is that he relies too much on the bounce pass. Everything else I think well self-correct as he learns on the job and improves as a point guard. But somebody needs to take him aside and tell him to stop bouncing every pass. That would cut down on the turnovers a lot.
I know it was frustrating. IMO when your coach tells you to play your game and be aggressive I don't see it as his fault. Maybe he's just not familiar with playing with Martin who is also effective being a scorer. They don't know where their favorite spots are. It is much easier to play with a big. Pick and roll all the way. That is why JJ blended in well his first game.
Also whether any of the Brooks supporters want to admit it or not...Kevin Martin seemed to do MUCH better when he had the ball and attacked, instead of receiving. He's said how many times about how he hates to watch one guy dribble the ball (basically Tyreke) and it's been said many times how he may not work well with this type of PG.
While Brooks is not a pass first point guard or a prototypical one, he is a talented player who shoots well, handles the ball well, make plays and for the most part does a good job of running the offense. Is he the right point guard to play next to Martin? Or Yao? For the Rockets? In terms of Yao and the Rockets, IMO brooks is definitely the best point guard. As shown in the playoffs and over numerous season, the rockets can get shut down when teams front Yao, leaving offensivly challenge points like alston and the rockets impotent to take advantage. But with Brooks, they can attck the openings take advantage of the fronting defense and use Yao as a decoy. The rockets offense with Yao needs players who can attack the basket as well as shoot it. Next year they'll have both with Brooks, Martin, battier, Ariza and scola. But the question of Martin and Brooks is still to be determined. Martin has already shown an ability to effectively play alongside Tyreke Evans and has a history of unconfirmed rumors of having difficulties with Bibby as well as with Ron artest in Sacto. Perhaps the rumors are false, perhaps the problems with Evans were really just problems recovering from injuries, with Paul Westpaul and with confidence. If they are, then perhaps Martins initial struggles with the brooks and the Rockets are merely byproducts of existing problems and only temporary. The alternative explanation however could be troublesome. If Martin needs the ball or the focus of the offense as much as Mcgrady (or close to it) then a combination of Brooks, Martin, might have problems. It would be interesting to somehow compare Evans usage rate to other gaurds martin has had to play with. If usage rate, is an indicator of how often a player has the ball, it might be a useful prognosticator of how Martin fares with a ball dominant Brooks.
Brooks is habitual at committing turnovers right when we absolutely need to get a bucket in the clutch. Half the other players you listed? They know how to make the right plays at the right time. D. Williams? S. Nash? R. Rondo? B. Davis? They are in a stratosphere of their own. You think Brooks is ever mentioned in the same sentence as these guys? Heck no. Those guys are All-stars. They know how to get the team involved. Brooks brand of passing is to dribble around the court and pass it out at the last second when he doesn't have any more room to move, IF he's lucky enough not to commit a turnover. The thing about Brooks is that he looks for the 1 on 1, and that makes the rest of the team lazy because they know when he's not going to pass out. You are insulting their play by comparing brooks to them. Like I said, Brooks + Lowry= win. Brooks without Lowry=lose.
Well, Brooks played three seasons under Adelman. Kev Mart is the NEW player who has to adapt more. Typical 2 SG situation here but there is a way to co-exist. Find a balance.
In any case, I don't think we'll trade Brooks till we see how he and Martin mesh with Yao. Once Yao gets back, his TO's should be cut in half and the hate should die down. Maybe.
I know that its frustrating to see brooks and martin unable to co-exist these last three games but its gonna take time guys! like i said previously it has been THREE freakin games dude...i'll admit that while watching the game i got pretty frustrated at brooks for not passing as much but with martin getting hot in the third i felt that he deserved a few more touches after the third. overall i think we'll be fine so just be patient ladies and gentlemen
