I'll wait a while longer to see before voting. James is on a post-trade high. He won't be averaging 23 ppg for the rest of the season. In any case, given our roster and the way we use the slots on the floor, I think our 5 main backcourt guys can all get significant minutes regardless of who starts. McGrady and Barry can play either shooting guard or small forward; James and Sura can play either shooting guard or point guard. For example: McGrady: 36 SF Sura: 18 PG / 12 SG James: 30 PG Barry: 6 SG / 12 SF Wesley: 30 SG
That's not being completely honest. Sura was moved to facilitate the Rasheed trade. It is true that James got more burn on the squad, but Brown didn't look to move Sura so he could get James. One extremely good game shouldn't settle the argument. Barry went off for a good night not too long ago, but I'm not thinking he should become a starter just based on that. James is the point now. But Sura should start when he comes off the IL, assuming he's 100%. You have to remember that player egos are ridiculously fragile, and the last thing we need is for Bobby to go sour on the team. Evan
At the very least, Sura should get the opportunity to reclaim the starting job when he gets back since it seems pretty clear to me that he was the spark that pulled the Rockets season out of mediocrity. The chemistry with Sura in the line-up seems far superior to the chemistry with him out of the line up.
It's a great problem to have, isn't it? And a tough call. I agree with those who say Sura will get transitioned back into the starting lineup. The nice thing is, Sura can play at the 1, 2, and in certain instances, the 3. Although T-Mac is our de facto small forward, it wouldn't hurt to lessen his minutes when Sura gets back. Play about five minutes of small ball, maybe. With our tough, smart players, it should work. Thing is, Jon Barry's a great passer, but he admitted his reluctance and discomfort in the point guard role. So Sura and James will nominally split PG duties, with T-Mac playing his point forward role. After Sura gets his legs back under him, you'll probably see James leading the 2nd team. 1. Sura, James, Mooch 2. Wesley, Barry 3. McGrady, Bowen 4. Howard, Weatherspoon, Padgett, Baker 5. Yao, Deke
so who will be the starting pg? james/sura? what do ya'll think, when sura's healthy. Who are we gonna go with?... I like James offensive ability but I also likes Sura's toughness and reb ability...
Sura's rebounding is so valuable, and let's not forget how many almost-triple doubles he's had this year. He's definitely a starter. But to preserve him, I'm sure he and James will play about the same number of minutes, as well as together, as other people have pointed out. The only person who will know whether Wesley would handle being sixth man well is Van Gundy. So I guess we'll have to see what he decides.
Maybe we should start Sura + James in the back court and make a 3 man rotation with Wesley? Hell, Sura could PROBABLY even spell TMac at the 3 for short periods of time, and we might be able to find a couple minutes for Barry.
You cant look at a few games and make this type of decision. Like someone stated previously Sura brings a toughness to our starting squad and vocal leadership which has been sorely lacking. I think MJames has played great for us and will be great in our guard rotation. MJames does remind me more of DWesley with his quickness and the ability to catch and shoot. I can just imagine how tough our perimeter defense would be with both MJames / DWes on the court at the same time (even though we would be a lil small). I think the rotations / mpg would be as follows PG - Sura (18) / MJames (25) / Mooch (05) SG - DWes (30) / Sura (06) / JBarry (12) SF - Tmac (35) / Sura (08) / JBarry (05) PF - JHow (28) / Padgett (12) / Spoon (08) CE - Yao (35) / Deke (13) Yao - 35 mpg Tmac - 35 mpg Sura - 32 mpg DWes - 30 mpg MJames - 25 mpg JHow - 28 mpg no one needs to log long minutes straight.. everyone still plays close to 30 and as they get rotated should remain fresher. J
I think you stick with Sura-Wesley-McGrady as the starters, and have Mike James be the first sub off the bench. You then allow Sura to spell T-Mac some at the 3-spot and have Barry split minutes with Wesley. Depending on who's hot, you can end the game with James-Sura-McGrady or Sura-Wesley-McGrady or if Sura's feeling sore, James-Wesley-McGrady.
Doesn't matter, look like the Rockets have solved their PG problem. Sura and James are a lethal combo. I like Sura to start.
I would not really compare Mike James to Bobby Jackson. Mike James is definetly more 1 than 2 even if the last two games he took and made lots of shots. (Hey, Mike Bibby takes a lot of shots too, but no one says move him to the 1) *Mike James is a much better 3 points shooter (38% this year, 35% career) than Sura (31%, 32%). It may not seem like much, but you might take your chances doubling off of a 31% shooter whereas doubling off a 38% shooter gets you killed. *Mike James is more carefull with the ball. Talking about a consistent 2.5 A/TO versus 2.0 for Sura. *Sura is a much better rebounder. *Hard to detect with stats, but I think Sura is more creative and probably has better court vision. We will have to see, but I really think Sura and Barry (great shooter and also great vision) complements themselves well and make great leaders of the second team, whereas Mike James and Wesley with their more steady defensive and perimeter games are ideal to play with Yao. Again, I think what we did with Kenny/Sam in 95 comparable. I think the roles of MJ/BS will be similar when healthy. Ideally in the playoffs I'd like to see James start and average about 28 minutes at the 1. Wesley to get about 28 minutes at the 2. Jon Barry to get about 18 minutes at the back up 2. Tmac to get 40 at the 3. That leaves Sura to get about 30 minutes (20 back-up 1 minutes + two minutes at the 2 + eight minutes at the 3). Something like that should keep everybody playing at their peak performing minutes.
When you have 2 star players that tend to be laid back, I think it’s best to surround them with fiery and aggressive players. So I would start Sura. I think it’s crucial to have Sura set the tone from the get go with his intensity. We need Sura’s playmaking ability to get everyone off to a good start by creating some easy baskets. James, while a better scorer than Sura, he’s not the playmaker that Sura is. Plus, we don’t even know how well Sura will respond by coming off the bench. Pretty much all of his success throughout his career has come as a starter. When he’s been forced to come off the bench, he hasn’t done very well. James, on the other hand, has played off the bench his entire career. He’s much more accustomed to it than Sura.
I'd go with MJ. It seems like to me that Sura is going to be playing through the pain for the rest of the season. so I think the best thing to do is to reduce his minutes so he can be fresh come playoffs time. I think it sucks to lose your job because of injuries but I think its best for the team to find away to get Sura through the entire season.
PG - James/Sura/Moochie SG - Sura/Wesley/Barry SF - T-Mac/Bowen PF - Howard/Padgett/Spoon/Baker C - Yao/Deke
I think the time can be utilized so that both players can play a fair amount of time. Give Bobby some of TMacs minutes at the 3. Then give him the rest left over from the guard spots and I think he can have like 30 minutes a night easy. Its exciting to see somebody come here in a trade and just tear it up right away. I think James should come off the bench, maybe he can play "Vernon Maxwell". I really like the looks of this team right now. The only other type of player we could really use right now is a bruiser. I think we are really close to contending.
