Shandon can break down a defense, and post up pretty good too. Did you ever watch him play in Utah? Anderson and Russell were the only slashers the Jazz had. ------------------
The thing I lke about Shandon is that offensively he plays the perfect shooting guard. He hustles, can take it to the hoop occasionally, shoots well (and at times lights out), grabs some boards, dishes out some assists and almost always plays consistently. He never really has a horrible game, but occasionally he wil have superb games. Put a player like that next to Steve Francis and thats why everyone thinks our backcourt is so strong. Whether or not you want to bring Mobley into the discussion or not, you gotta remember that this is a player who starts OVER Mobley. Rudy isnt dumb (I know there are contractual agreements). He knows who to start and how much they should play and what their role should be and why. I think one of the things that Rudy does as well, if not better than any coach in the NBA is to assemble a team. He knows what kind of pieces to get to have good chemistry on the court and to work well together. After that, he may not be the best coach in instituting a new offense (but he is still pretty good), but after a few years he gets what he wants with the players and pieces he wants. Shandon is a perfect piece of the puzzle, including offensively. ------------------ When I die I want to go peacefully like my grandfather. Not screaming like the passengers in the back seat!
Icehouse- I didn't say he couldn't break down a defense. He either can't or doesn't do it consistently. Utah's offense didn't need a lot of slashers with the ball. They were predominantly a pick and roll team with Malone & Stockton and Anderson got most of his shots from slashing, without the ball and being fed by Stockton or Malone. That offense is somewhat similar to ours where Stevie or Cat likes to go one on one attract a double team and hopefully find the open shooter. When I refer to breaking a defense down I mean someone who can create their own shot when they have the ball. Even Reggie Miller who isn't a great ball handler has the ability, through fafes and step back jumpers to create space and get his shot off. ------------------
Smeg of Statistics, Wow, posting interesting statistics is becoming a regular thing for you. One thing that you didn't take into account though was the offensive role of each of the players on their respective teams. For instance, Shandon is the 4th offensive option after Walt (assuming consistent offensive production), Stevie, and Cuttino with Stevie and Cat being the only players with plays actually called for them. Kobe is easily the 2nd option on his team with tons of plays called for him. Smith is the 2nd option after Rasheed (what you didn't think it was Pip did you? ) with the Jail-blazers. Reggie always has been the 1st option with the Pacers. Houston is the arguably the first option on the NY Pricks (it's a toss-up between him and Latrine). Penny is at least the 2nd option behind Robinson on the Suns. E. Jones is far and away the 1st option with the Hornets. Allen is the 1st option for the Bucks (now, if only he could convince Cassell and Robinson of that ). Anderson? Well, when all else fails and the ballboy isn't stepping up his game, I guess it's okay to let the Brick take a shot Seriously though, he's probably the 5th option on the Kings. Stackhouse is the 2nd, soon to be the 1st, option for the Pistons. Iverson is the only option for the 76ers. As you can see, every SG that you listed who averaged more ppg than SA were simply the star players for their teams. For every one of these guys there's a Dan Majerle or Brent Barry or Anthony Peeler starting for their teams. Guys who have a role, but aren't really expected to be the dominant offensive force on thier teams. [This message has been edited by Launch Pad (edited July 11, 2000).]
Smeg, Nice post, and if anything it surprised me how well Shandon's numbers compared to the elite SGs of the leaugue. Launchpad - also a great insight and probably the most telling -Anderson is low priority in our offensive, and, since I'm not allowed to talk about defense I will say "I don't think Shandon was not brought here for his offense" A couple of other things worthy of note are a)early in the year, and in fact throughout the season, Anderson was asked to spot up and shoot threes which he is not really suited to, and b) Since he is typically the 4th scoring option "Shooting" guard is a bit of a misnomer. Don't forget he plays a bit at SF as well. ------------------ Current Rocket's Salary & Contract Info
Excellent post JayZ. You summed up very well why Shandon is the ideal fit for this team. I do not feel as bad as many that Cuttino could possibly be leaving as I think he can be replaced. I am still annoyed about it but dont feel its the end of the world. I think the Rockets should be able to find another instant offense type player off the bench within the next few yrs. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
Smeg, 4. San Antonio - Mario Elie - 7.5 ppg 6. Minnesota - Malik Sealy - 11.3 ppg 7. Seattle - Brent Barry - 11.8 ppg 8. Sacramento - Anderson/Stojakovic - 10.9/11.9 ppg 12ppg is better than the starting 2-guard for half of the western conference playoff teams, including the defending champions. So to answer your question, yes. ------------------
Achebe Today, yes. But to contend, that might not be the case. If the question is "Can you contend with a SG averaging 12 ppg?", then the answer is yes. You could start a new thread about the last team to win a championship with a PG as their best player. Ron Harper, Avery Johnson, Kenny Smith, the Chicago points. None of them scored as much as Steve Francis. It must be a trend, we have to trade Steve, right? It's a bad argument to think Shandon has to score more for us to contend. You've got 12 players to try to outscore the other team's 12 players. If they do, you win. Period. It doesn't matter which of the 12 players are scoring the bulk of the points. ------------------
Then the Lakers before that ------------------ When I die I want to go peacefully like my grandfather. Not screaming like the passengers in the back seat!
I'll agree with that, although I think that we'll be lucky enough to have Shandon Anderson scoring more than 12 ppg. ------------------ The ClutchCity 500.
rite now the strength of the Rockets IS in the backcourt. Esp offensively. So Shanny should step up his production. Nike, I like your stats showing his improvement, but that also goes to show how badly he started out. He needs to start next year where he left off this year and continue to grow. ------------------ blah blah blah
I'm optimistic about Shandon scoring more this year, but I'd much rather him score 12 a game at 47% than 17 at 42%. I'm more concerned with our players who are jacking up shots and missing a good percentage, like Cuttino or Thomas. Shandon is not hurting this team offensively. Anyone who is scoring below the team FG% is. That's where the criticism, if any, should be directed. There are some black holes on the team who could pass the ball to an open Shandon once in a while. I'm not sure, but I think it's called an assist. ------------------ [This message has been edited by Tb-Cain (edited July 11, 2000).]
I agree the thread about Shandon's contributions shouldn't lead to speculation that Mobley isn't that important. But it did lead there and I think that is a mistaken belief (that Mobley isn't that important because Shandon also is good). We desperately need Shandon and Mobley BOTH to stay here, or at least get fair value for them. They are our 2nd and 3rd most valuable players on the team (sorry Dream). If we lost Mobley for nothing that would be like losing a mid/low lottery pick for nothing and we would be in among the worst shape of any franchise in the league. We would have 1 great young PG, a good young swingman who is best at defense, and nothing else proven. No matter how good Stevie becomes, that wouldn't be much help around him. ------------------ "The Rockets were ahead of the Suns by 20 late in game 2 of the series, but when the going got tough, we just Pippened . We would not be done in the series though."
Shandon showed that he can score, and next season he will score a bit more (15 ppg) ------------------
That's not a good stat to look at if you're a "pro-Shandon" fan. Shandon ranked about 30th among all shooting guards last year in points-per-minute production. This is taking into account only SG's that averaged over 26 minutes per game. He ranked 30th and there were only 38 SG's that averaged over 26 mpg last year (depending on whom you classify as a SG, of course). FYI, Nick Anderson was 31st (.0007 ppm behind Shandy). But then, if you appreciate Shandy's play, it isn't scoring you're looking at. ------------------ Just shut up and post
That should be a qualified "yes". Look at the front lines of San Antonio, Minnesota, and Sacramento. They all have studs on that front line (Duncan, Robinson, Garnett, Webber, etc.). Their offenses make up for lack of "superior" talent in the backcourt by using the talents they have elswhere. The Rockets' championship teams were the same way. We've never really had a stud backcourt (unless you count John Lucas, Lew Lloyd and Mitch Wiggins, hehe), but we had Hakeem. What I'm saying is that you can't say that 12 ppg is enough to win a championship without looking at where else your points are coming from or even being given up to the opposing team. ------------------ Just shut up and post
I wonder if we can get stats on how much time Shandon spent in the game at the same time as 2 of Francis, Norris, Mobley, Drew, etc. Smeg of Statistics? ------------------ The more lefties on your team, the better. Collier is Seven Foot and Left Handed. How can you go wrong? Trade or bench Kenny Thomas.
Nice point. I agree with some others that Shandon may not be as assertive on offense as he should be, but I think his greatest asset is that he doesn't hurt the team with his talents. If the worst thing about his game is that he doesn't take enough shots, hell, I'll take that any day over "My God, I think I can see the rim, time to fire one up". Side Stats : There were approximately 38 SG's last year who averaged 26 mpg. Of these, Shandon ranked 5th in FG%. Only Jeff Hornacek, Allan Houston, Malik Sealy, and Anfernee Hardaway ranked higher in that stat. ------------------ Just shut up and post
