I would like to see Bob Sura. There is one thing that that Bob Sura brings that James doesn't have, and that's rebounding and toughness. James is faster and can shoot the lights out, but he's got a shooter's mentality. By doing that, you're bringing down the overall flow of the game for everyone else, ESPECIALLY YAO. When Yao is getting more touches and scoring, other parts of his game begins to pick up, rebounding and interior defense. The lack of rebounding and interior defense is KILLING our team and that's why we've lost the last few games. However, James coming off of the bench is the BEST situation for us, because as we can all see, he's really solid.
Which came first the chicken or the egg? Remember how bad we were playing earlier this year when JJ wasn't hitting and Ward, Lue and company couldn't hit water if they fell out of boat. The hole in your argument is that outside shooting actually opens up the middle since teams can ill afford to leave good shooters wide open. It wasn't until the arrival of Barry and Wesley that this team really began to gell and it is because they can all hit the long ball. Both bring different weapons to the table. Sura - rebounding and a killer attitude, James better shooting and speed. But to say that James brings down the overall flow of the game is just silly. Outside shooting and penetration keep the defense honest, not the other way around (as proven earlier this year).
Glad to see that Bob is leading this poll; it means that a lot of people understand the importance of his hustle, fast-break skill and his slashing ability. I voted for Mike James to start, not because I don't think the world of Sura. But rather I think that Sura needs a rest and it would be smart to save him for the play-offs. So, sure. Sura should start. In the play-offs!
Obviously, you don't read my posts too carefully. I didn't write a single word about how James should stop shooting outside shots or denounce the fact that outside shooting opens us the lane. All I said was that James has a shooter's mentality (which the ABC commentators also pointed out on the Mav/Rox game) which is similar to the likes of Francis and Iverson and thus could limit the touches by Yao. Although I agree that James makes a solid PG and his speed and shooting accuracy greatly helps the team, I don't think he should be a starter due to the fact that Sura has a better overall game and certain toughness to him. I'm sure JVG is quite aware of the fact that James likes to jack up a lot of shots and probably said something to him. In many ways, MJ reminds me of THAT guy in a pickup game who thinks he's the greatest player that God has ever created. You know the type. James should learn to take only what the defense gives him rather than trying hard to create his own shots. This way, other players (esp. Yao) can get more touches and thus help their shooting touch.
Not similar... Mike James: 16 Attempts per game so far 48.4 FG% 47.8 3PT FG% 19.9 PPG Iverson: 24 Attempts per game 40 FG% 30 3PT FG% 30 PPG Francis: 17 Attempts per game 42 FG% 28 3PT FG% 21 PPG Thus, a shooters mentality is ok, as long as that player is an efficient shooter. Add the fact that James is above 5APG, and only turns the ball over 1.8 per game. A shooters mentality is BAD when that player starts forcing his shots and becomes less efficient; regardless of their PPG. This does not apply to James. He knows his limitations. Shooting nearly 50% is not exceeding ones limitations. That's maximizing them! He also knows that he's feeding off of McGrady and Yao. And without them, he wouldn't be so wide open a lot of times. But when he is, he hits! Thus, he's not similar to those other guys other than the fact that all of them can score; although the others do it with less efficiency and more responsibility. Note that decision making is another story. Yao limits himself by being slow and not mobile enough. Sura starting isn't go to help Yao much more than Yao can help himself. This *pass the ball to Yao* is getting old. We don't have Nash. So, lets move on... We are getting more than we could have wished for from a supposedly role player. And if that guy steps up and shows he can score efficiently. There's nothing wrong with that. So what, if he steals a little limelight away from Yao? The world doesn't revolve around Yao anymore. Yao will improve at his own pace. He's not Hakeem or Shaq. That should be clear by now. By the way, I'm not debating that Sura should or shouldn't start. What you said about Sura I agree with. It's just that the comparison of James to "shooter's mentality" like if that's a bad thing when he's shooting 48%...well, that's just not a fair comparison. Not sure what you meant when you said, James like to "jack up a lot of shots." Hmmm, kinda nice that he actually hits 48% of them...don't ya think? ***Jacking up shots*** would be a fair assesement if a player was hitting only 38-42 FG% of his shots. That would make sense. But this is NOT the case for James.
