I don't know they like each other or not and I don't care but I bet I can find a pic of Koby and Shaq looking like best of friends.
James is a decent player, but not as good as he thinks he is, if his shot selection is any indication. Unless T-Mac and Yao are both out of the game simultaneously, James should never be looking to create anything other than leading fastbreaks, which he isn't all that good at, imo. James took too many 20 ft jumpers off the dribble with 10 seconds on the shot clock to my liking.
I doubt you can find a pic of Shaq and Kobe together off court. This is about as good as you can get.
Is there anything in the world more overhated than guys who "create their own shot" Seriously - is there any empirical evidence that teams with higher assist percentages (not higher assists) do that much better than those that don't? Two points is two points. I do know that two so-called "shoot first" PGs in Billups and James carved the Lakers up in 2004, with Billups being Finals MVP. And as for James - maybe he wouldn't help us win a championship, but without him we don't win 2 playoff games.
I remember at least one instance when Tmac was a little upset about not getting the ball from MJ in one of the playoff games. Probably nothing.....
Tell that to MJ #1. MJ #2 isn't as bad a passer as some believe he is. He's a shooting guard in a point guards body. Luther Head is the same type of player, but possibly a better defender. We'll see about that.
Well, I have not heard this 'rumor' anywhere, but I gotta tell ya, it seemed rather obvious in many games that TMac was not very happy a lot of the time when he and MJ were on the court at the same time. Now teammates don't have to be best buds. But we all sure as heck want TMac to be happy as much as possible. Now having said that, I get the sense that JVG simply asked MJ to come in and provide a spark and energy off the bench, and not to be afraid to try to score. Couldn't really have been much else, considering how late in the season he came aboard. I have heard from JVG that he feels confident that, once MJ is here from the beginning of the season, and goes through Training Camp with the rest of the team, he will mesh better. That should equate to less ballhogging, and a happier TMac. In which case, there's no hidden reason for MJ to leave, except as trade bait to get us AD or something equivalent. But I would guess that if MJ lasts until Training Camp, then he is not going anywhere, period.
What? If you don't have players who can create and make thier own shot consistently, you don't have the opportunities to creat shots for others? Duncan can create and make his own shot, which makes the defense honor and focus more on him WHICH THEN leads to his ability to create for others. You can say the same for Ginobili with his driving ability and finishing at the rim. TMac is arguably the best at creating and making his shot from anywhere on the court. The defense must respect this which leaves shooters and slashers with opportunities. Reggie Miller & Rip Hamilton create their own shot off of off-the-ball screens. This has nothing to do with highlights and excitement. You look at EVERY championship team, and you will find guys who excelled at creating their own shot. Jordan, Kareem, Magic, Bird, Hakeem, Billups, Hamilton, Kobe, Shaq, etc, etc. I'm not saying creating for yourself is better than creating for others, fact is that they rank the same when it comes to the offense, but this is something that is certainly NOT over-rated. As for Mike James, he was a real good addition last season, and joined the team shooting with high efficiency. But, he looked for his shot too much out of the context of the offense. He was very Francis-esque at times when he would spend the whole shot clock dribbling on the perimeter before taking a bad shot selection. He was great as the player finishing off a play or offensive set. It was starting them that was the problem as the offense seemed to bog down. I like Mike James, especially as a good spark off the bench, but I could easily see him being moved at at the request of JVG and/or TMac.
You know, I always had a feeling T-mac didn't like MJ. I noticed it on TV. I would notice how T-Mac would get very mad when MJ didn't share the ball and just ball hogged. Many times, I remember seeing T-Mac make a face at MJ. Although I can think of many instances where T-Mac showed that he wasn't pleased with MJ, I remember this one time where someone was inbounding the ball for the Mavs. MJ turned around and wanted to tell T-Mac something, however T-Mac just ignored him. MJ kept on yelling at T-Mac but T-Mac wouldn't listen. Finally, MJ turned his head around with a disgusted look.
Ok. You all need to stop about that Mobly coming back thing! If this hapens, average BB IQ of this team will drop for 50% (Yes I know mathematically isn't possible). He is good athlete, but he doesn't get BB the right way. He didn't get it back then, he doesn't get it now with the queens. MJ is a ballhog, but it can be changed with right coaching. Look at nba.com everybody - they all got it now: balance wins. If you compare us with spurs, you can see one important similarity: when Parker was out of game, Ginobili was able to feed whole team. This is something that we have with Tmac and Sura. We just need to get stronger in the paint and keep the balance we had and stay focused on defence.
So Mike James can be changed but Mobley can't? Mobley played good ball under JVG that one year. He was only traded to get T-Mac. SF was the main problem not Mobley. And/or the combination of Mobley/SF. If they take Wesley or Moochie then they will have to give another player. Ward could get it done though.
Perhaps the SUPERSHOCKER based on finger position. One in the pink, 2 in the stink. I would like to see Mike James pass a little more, but his strenght is taking the ball to the basket and playing defense. I think he plays his role pretty well and I'm sure McGrady and JVG are aware of this or he wouldn't get as many minutes as he does. At the same time it was very clear during the playoffs that McGrady was upset with James for being a ball hog. I know Mike James is no spring chicken, but he plays like one. If there are faster point guards in the league, it doesn't seem evident on the court. Mike James nickname should be "the jet" instead of Kenny. If the Rox want to get more athletic, they probably aren't going to do it by trading Mike James. I'm having a hard time deciding which combo guard I want to see go in a trade this year because they all seemed so valuable during certain points in the season. Very unusual that I don't want to see half of the rockets team gone at the end of the season. Seems like a good problem to have. At least in my opinion. Obviously at least one of them is going to need to go so we can get another PF.
Exactly, I mean Jordan creating his own shot is sooooo overrated. And that Hakeem guy, creating his own shot was like a detriment. And that Kobe guy, who cares if he could create his own shot, he only has three rings.
Looking at the playoffs, I thought it was obvious TMac didnt like MJ's ballhoggin ways. I remember one time Mike would be dribbling and dribbling and Tmac and JB were out on the wing and gave him like a look and threw their hands in the air. And even when MJ was making his shots and things were going well for us in the game,Tracy looked frustrated.
I wonder how much T-Mac was hating James when Terry and Stackhouse were running circles around our other guards?
I don't see anyone criticizing TMac for the alleged feelings. If anything, everyone thought exactly what I did when I saw the headline -- the way he hogs the ball, I can see why TMac wouldn't like him. Maybe the Orlando paper would pick it up and write an article about Me-Mac, but I don't think many people here would fault him for it.
