Would we be even having this conversation about JVG if we had a SG who could actually make a basket consistently night after night? I personally don't think so... Of all the guys we gave up for T-Mac I think this team misses Mobley the most, he was a descent outside shooter and could also take it to the basket when he wanted to. Defensively I think we are pretty solid team, but when you constantly loose due to turnovers and poor shooting % you sort of lose your desire to play hard nose defense. If we had someone other then T-Mac and Yao who could shoot the ball consistently for a higher % our record would likely be 29-15 instead of 15-29. We have not been blown out in most of our losses and our team shooting % is like 29th in the league out of 30 teams... What do you guys think?
When we did the T-Mac trade, we knew we were giving up good talent in Mobley and Francis. But we made that sacrifice to bring in T-Mac. Now, we've brought in other shooting guards (Jon Barry, David Wesley) to try to fill the roles around T-Mac, knowing very well that they wouldn't have the talent of Mobley or Francis. Barry was shooting pretty damn well, up to his injury. And Wesley was brought in because he was an excellent defender (in addidion to being a decent shooter). That said, our SG position is somewhat weak with Barry gone and Wesley having a bad shooting season. But the SG position isn't what made us shoot less than 40% from the free throw line against the Grizzlies. In that game, our starters outscored the Grizzlies starters by 11 points (69 to 58), but our bench was defeated by their bench (8 to 18 - Mike Miller killed us). And, JVG is partly to blame, as well. We had cut their lead to 10 points, and we should have built a pressing defense much earlier in the 4th quarter. Instead, we let them dribble the ball up court and eat the clock. We let the control the tempo and it killed us. He also didn't successfully put a defender on Mike Miller - he could have thrown Bowen into the game to see if the could shut Miller down. Tracy McGrady had a bad shooting night, shooting only 38% from the field. So he gets some blame, too. Yao Ming's performance was respectable, considering his circumstances, but not really impressive, especially considering he was playing against a team that isn't very dominant at the C position. We lost as a team, from almost all angles. But I believe that we have the pieces to win. If we can get a solid rotation of great and healthy players on the floor, we can win. Look at our game against Detroit. We almost won that game, if Head's 3-pointer would have gone in. Why did we win? Because our players had gotten familiar with each other's abilities on the court. With Yao back in the lineup, things are gonna change from that. People who once were starters are now coming off the bench. People who had to make their own shots are now being fed. People who were go-to guys are now role players, feeding others. This chemistry change is gonna make us struggle, but we'll find our rhythm.
An athletic, taller SG that can actually stay in front of their man would do wonders for this team. As much as Wesley has improved his shooting, he still misses a ton of open shots, can't defend taller SGs, and can't stay in front of him man anymore.
If I remember correctly, Mobely went 1-15 without Francis, in the migraine season. I don't think he would have done much in the games without Tmac. He wasn't particularly good playing with Yao. Team him with Tmac, though, and you probably get some more wins. A better-than-average shooting guard would be helpful. Raja Bell is playing great in Phoenix, and could have been a real help on defense and offense. However, I think you'd see the biggest change in team success with an upgrade at the power forward position. A good big man makes everything easier for the whole team. Try as he might, Juwon Howard is a below-average big man, and ...Stro is below that.
Howard, Wesley, Mutombo, Head, Alston, and Swift are probably a bit better than the Walt Williams, Kenny Thomas, Oscar Torres, Moochie Norris lineups he was playing with that year.
