I agree with this and it's the reason I bring it up. I don't think Lowry has the body to last a long time playing at a high level. He can play at a very high level....for a few games, with rest, etc. But when the season grinds on and he's got to be playing 40 mpg on back to backs, his effectiveness slips considerably. And he's only 26. What's that going to be like in 3 years? I think Dragic's body is built for a longer, more sustained period of high productivity.
This high view of Dragic is the result of him playing with Lee instead of Martin, especially on the defensive end. Remember how bad he looked at the start of the year when he'd come off the bench for Kyle before Martin went out? Then coach decided that Martin should always be the first sub and Dragic has been great ever since.
Yes, that is true. Lee is playing at a much higher energy and pace than Martin was. This is why I'm wondering if we are actually losing anything if we dump all of Martin/Scola/Lowry and we get back Pau and perhaps get a young player on a rookie contract and an expiring for Martin. I think it actually makes us a better team that goes into the playoffs and has a legit chance to upset some folks and we are still positioned with plenty of cap room going into the offseason to add to Pau and Parsons.
Who would i keep? Dragic. Because Dragic will still improve some, Lowry won't, and lowry can get us a front court player we desperately need. Dragic's in the same position Kyle was before he pushed Brooks out. And whoever thinks Dragic isn't good defensively, is nuts...Whether it's steals or man to man D, he's been beasting, and that's against starting point guards. Defense, scoring, passing, speed, competitiveness/fire, smarts, ...the whole package. I don't think leadership would be an issue because he leads by example. Who's better? Right now, Kyle..but i think that's due to experience overall and experience on this team. I don't think he's that much better based on talent, if at all. If Lowry stopped calculating his play and just played, like he did as a back up, he'd clearly be better. Now he's too caught up in stats. Not saying he's not trying to win, but i believe he thinks he's got to put up certain numbers to win. Just make the plays that are there. Martin has this problem too. Just play, like the back ups did when they came back against the Thunder.
Honestly, they keep talking about that kid from Texas that is Rondo's backup being the best defensive point guard in the NBA. And I've watched him. He dogs 94 feet. But I've been watching Dragic too. I think Dragic is actually better in dogging while seeing the floor and getting in the passing lanes. I see no defensive equals at PG to Dragic right now.
Goran did not start until this moment because he was back-up for Steve Nash...The two time MVP we are talking about. While he comes off bench for our team behind Kyle, He is the leader of the second unit that crashes the other team's bench. He can do two hands dunk any time he wants and he is way more aggressive on Defense than Current Lowry. Well not the old day Lowry. I think Lowry's defense is overated sometimes, and he go behind the pick and always flop on defense and trying to get call which he did not get many because he has not been recognized as an all-star around the league. Overall, Lowry has the highest value he has right now and Goran has higher upside than Lowry, not much but higher. If we can lock Goran around 5-6 millions just like Lowry's contract, I say we do it.
Dragic has always had higher potential than Lowry, but as of now Lowry is still better in my opinion. That could change in the future though. The better question is who is better, Dragic or Brooks? Because if the answer is Dragic, we basically traded a lesser player for a better player and a first round pick.
The problem is not Lowry calculating his play for stats (which I find is a ridiculous idea) he is doing it because his level of play as a back-up is not sustainable as a starter -at least for him and most mortals- he is picking his spots because the coach is going to lean on him and play him 43 minutes on the second night on a back to back. What OremLK said about Dragic's game being more sustainable is spot on and is one thing I bet our FO ha marked as a critical factor. I also bet if Dragic was a restricted FA Lowry wouldn't be as close to being untouchable.
I really like our current line up right now, if we put a 5 years younger Pau in there, it will be amazing...I am still not sold on trade Lowry and Scola to Lakers(OMG I still hate them, called them Fakers all the time). I want to trade Lowry to get some really high potential young players like Paul George or Jrue Holiday plus Evan Turner, or Martin Lowry Scola for Al Jefferson, Farvors, Raja Bell. I would love to have Aldridge from Blazers. I am just saying how much longer can Pau be effective in this league, he is already a soft player. He is not going to carry our team to any where and he big ass contract.
Do you remember how good AB was before Manu trapped him? God Damn, he was the MIP and if I am AB I will go ask Manu for 5 million which is half of what's AB's salary was going to be without that injury. Well, At the time we trade him for Dragic, Dragic was at a very bad condition, too and Suns believe AB can get back to where he used to be. I just think AB really needs some luck. Did you see the Video on NBA.com shows how his life is back China? Dude deserves better. And I am from China btw.
I'm not referring to energy. I understand he can't go full speed as a starter, like he can as a back up. Perhaps calculating plays, rather than stats, would have been a more appropriate description on my part. He can pick his spots without having a pre-determined idea of what he's going to do. I know all players do it, but i think Lowry is overdoing it. That's why he gets out of rhythm and has those games where he's inefficient offensively.
I'm not gonna call it a problem, but more of the same. We have a lot of players who can't sustain a high level of play. Remember when lowry was 18ppg 10dimes 7 rebs? Well, he couldn't sustain it, but elite talent guys can. Its a cycle because of the talent level. Dragic has more upside simply because he's a much better athlete, but how much better?
