http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5884390.html July 12, 2008, 3:03AM Brooks shifting focus this Summer League Rockets guard wants to show he belongs in rotation By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle As a Summer League rookie, Aaron Brooks lit up Las Vegas. Brooks was named the top rookie of last year's NBA Summer League team, leading the Rockets to a 4-1 record and averaging 21.4 points per game. He will attempt to do more this season. But he will try to do more by scoring less. A year after his five Summer League games demonstrated he belongs on a roster, Brooks hopes to make a case for a place in the rotation by being a more well-rounded point guard than the scorer who led the Rockets this past summer. "I want to have more assists," said Brooks, after averaging 5.2 this past summer. "I want to average a double-double. That will pretty much be my goal, to distribute the ball and make everybody better. Get out and run a little bit more. "I just want to be more consistent and make the right plays. That's what I'm going to work on this year, not so much scoring. I already showed I can score the ball. "I know it's not the same as when you have T-Mac (Tracy McGrady) and Yao (Ming) in the game. But to make the right plays instead of just scoring is going to help out in the long run." If that represents a change in the 6-foot Brooks, the Rockets' perspective on his week in Las Vegas has changed as well. If they could have been understandably excited with what they saw from their first-round pick this past year, they expect much more this year. "He's already good, but being a first-rounder, you should grow a little quicker than other guys," Rockets assistant coach Elston Turner said. "His whole train of thought should be 'what do I need to do to earn more minutes on the regular team?' This is how you show coach (Rick) Adelman that you really want to play and have improved. I'm expecting him to get better this week. Replaced by Jackson "I want to see him improve on what he did last year. I thought he had a great Summer League, I mean great. If he can keep the offensive output (and) get better on the defensive end of the floor, that's the part we're expecting him to grow in. We're going to try to have him create for other people a little more, which is what we need on our main basketball team, a lot of creativity, dribble penetration, getting the ball to the right players." The Rockets likely did not expect Brooks to play as much as he did as a rookie. He played in 51 games, averaging 5.2 points per game, but was replaced as the backup point guard by Bobby Jackson. Jackson and starter Rafer Alston are expected back, and Steve Francis is attempting a comeback. But the Rockets expect Brooks to compete for playing time. "With all our young players, but Aaron especially in his second year, we're looking for continued growth," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. "We're looking for leadership of the Summer League team. He will have the most responsibility on him. We're looking to see how he handles that. We're looking to judge him on training camp and the preseason more than Summer League, but the world is a stage. Every time you're on it is a chance to prove yourself. Either you do it or you don't. "We definitely think Aaron ... should be pushing the veterans at the one." The veteran, now Brooks said that starts now, in the Summer League where he is the veteran. He never considered not playing in Las Vegas, but not just for the potential benefit to his career. "I've been through the experience," Brooks said. "I feel like this is a perfect opportunity to work on my game. I'm used to being the main guy. Now you got a team that's just as good as you. You pick your spots." Do that now, and he just might earn a spot in the rotation later.
I hope he earns the backup PG spot, he would be amazing in the rotation as a change of pace guy to Rafer's steady hand. And when Rafer is clanking (FAR TO OFTEN) Brooks can get some run. DD
Do my eyes deceive me..... DaDakota giving Rafer a compliment? Hopefully AB has the confidence this year to take his game up a notch or two.
Good thread title... Honestly, I feel like I will be a unabashed Brooks apologist for the long haul. That said, he looks like he's got his head on straight, and it's good for him to think about proving himself as a distributor.
I think the team is more concerned with him establishing himself as a defender. With his long arms and speed, he should be able to pressure the ball and wear down taller point guards. If he improves in this respect and provides more consistency in his shot, I think he can become the regular backup.
He's a great scorer but I also think he showed flashes of being a good distributor at times last season, I think another year in the offense and learning to use that quickness at an advantage on defense will only make him better.
Aaron Brooks needs to step up before it's time to look elsewhere. I like him so far and hope he pans out. He has my support and patience for now, but he needs to turn the corner real soon. I know he is still young but considering he is already 23yrs old and was a college senior, my hope is or was that he would be more NBA ready than most players. I know we need to give him time but he is not in a position like Donte Greene where he is 20yrs old and only spent one season at Syracuse. It maybe asking for too much to soon but not only do I hope Brooks becomes our primary backup PG, but I hope he challenges Alston for the starter spot. Everyone says we need an upgrade at the point but I would hope we give a fair shot to Brooks before bringing in someone else. I think you could hide a young player's flaws pretty good as long as he is surrounded by solid veterans. Tony Parker was a 19yr old, fresh from France, rookie starting point guard for the Spurs with the likes of Duncan and Robinson. Rajon Rondo got the big three in only his second season and they won the championship. Everyone was screaming they needed to upgrade and they even brought in a solid back up in Cassell and Rondo still held his own pretty well. My point is, these young players can develop better under pressure with big expectations as long as they are surrounded by veterans and Brooks has that luxury here. Give him a fair shot so we know what we really have in him before we decide in picking up someone else or even worse keep waiting on his development
brooks was very good early on when he did play for us but then hit the rookie wall or something like that and struggled. bobby jackson is basically done being a consistent bench player. he sucked in NO and sucked with us after a few good games. hopefully aaron can step up and get the backup PG spot but he can. his speed and quickness will alter the pace of the game (ya'll remember that portland game where he just went crazy with that quickness). he'll make the 2nd unit quicker and more explosive, while the first unit is more half-court. changing the tempo of the game is always good as it keeps the other team guessing. hopefully his shot is also back.
The quickness that Brooks has, gives him such an advantage in learning the point guard position. Doesnt even have to be concerned with defenders that much, only the cerebral part of the game. The read and react aspect. The only thing Brevin Knight does is bring the ball up the court, distribute to others, and go for the occasional steal. And look "professional" while he's doing it. No shooting range whatsoever. Thats enough for a 10+ years career as a backup.
"I already showed I can score the ball." I don't see that. In fact, what I remember of him in last season is for many times he drove to the basket but could not finish it. Then he was scared and stayed outside, or, kept driving and giving the ball to the opponents' rebounder. Either case, it's great suffer to watch. He needs to improve his scoring first so that he can put real threat to his opponents. After that, he could talk about "distribute the ball and make everybody better".
Im sorry, but Franchise is gonna take all his minutes...and Jacksons minutes...hell, he might get all the minutes!
Was just watching a game live via NBA Broadband and boy is the quality bad. I guess I shouldn't complain but you would think they could do better with the video quality. The camera is stationary way up in the stands, you can't even tell who the players are. There was no commentary either. Oh well. cmiller
The John Lucas lll method wasnt too effective. Plus to finish Brooks' sentence he meant "I already showed I can score the ball [in the last summer league i was in]." I'd worry greatly if he said he's going for 25 points a game this time, without concentrating on any other part of his game. I agree his offense was good his first few REGULAR season games but tailed off big time at the end and would like to see that improve. Rox do already have a score-first guard that gives the ball to the opponents more than he scores though: Head, Luther
LOL! Good one. SF3 is going to play 3rd string sg for this team if he plays at all... As far as brooks is concerned I think he will be the primary backup this season when it is all said and done. I feel that the reason the Rockets arent getting too crazy with the trades early on is because they want to see what guys like AB will bring to the table this season. I expect a big jump in performance from AB this year. He will definetly push Bobby out and make a case for 15-20 min a game at pg by mid season.
