Looks like Nick Johnson is out of the competition. How can McFail do this to his old teammate, Nick's late uncle Dennis?!
Canaan needs to have his peripheral vision checked. I've never seen an NBA guard as incapable of passing out of the double team as him. I don't think the backup point is on this team yet. Or at least, it will be a backup-by-committee sort of thing if nothing changes. Ish could give you 5mpg against the worst players on the other team. Harden could give another ten, with Daniels covering as his backup getting heavier minutes. Beverly will have to play 33-35mpg, and Nick Johnson will be perma-D-leagued until February at least. By February, in the best case scenario you could let Johnson give it a go, or you could go out and get you a real point guard. I just don't see any way that Ish Smith is playing meaningful minutes for us come playoff time. He cannot shoot, he cannot drive, he's simply not a threat offensively and any team worth its salt will leave him open and play the passing lanes when he does have the ball.
Maybe we can get the Jeremy Lin $8.4 M Trade Exception to play PG. What's Mr. Exception averaging in the preseason?
"I've never seen Trade Exception score a basket yet though," McHale said recently. "I've seen old Trade, and his last name is Exception, I've yet to see him put a hoop in, haven't seen him block a shot, haven't seen him get a rebound yet. But when Trade Exception starts putting up numbers, we should be in great shape." :grin:
Honestly, I was surprised to see Ish Smith as the first PG off the bench in the first preseason game, but sadly he's shown the most so far.
I know this isn't conventional thought, but honestly....Nick Johnson over Ish and Isaiah right now, game 1. Isaiah is all scoring (though he never shows it) and no playmaking. Ish is all playmaking and no scoring. Neither play D. Both guys make it 4 vs 5. Nick is in the middle with some scoring, and some playmaking. His passes have been pretty. No looks, alley oops. The actual ability to breakdown the D with penetration and get the ball into the bigs. The ability to play above the rim. Way above the rim. And he plays D on a completely different league compared to those other 2. Rookie, shmookie. He's less of a liability on the court right now as he is than those other 2 already. McHale just needs to trust and develop rookies and get over his 6 man rotation.
Nick needs to develop a steady and reliable handle first against other point guards. He doesn't possess that at the moment. He can be disrupted too easily while bringing the ball up the court. I suspect that is one of the things he will be working on in the D-League.
This. With both defense and offense of the second team regressing from last year, Ish Smith's playing making is desperately needed. With the current starters not weaker than last year, the success chances of this team are hinging on the strength of the bench this year folks. I can't believe I just said this too. :grin:
Honestly, who the hell knows? It's very unsettling to think about, at least for me. Canaan, who should have been the obvious chioce, in my opinion, still plays like anything but a point guard. I don't see him as the 1st point off the bench the way he's been playing since we acquired the guy, unless the proverbial light bulb suddenly goes off in his noggin. Nick Johnson has serious potential as a shooting guard, and might be able to become a decent point with time, but he needs months with the Vipers to be ready for more than blowout minutes off the bench right now. He's a project, an excellent player to have as a project, and one I feel far more confident about in the long term compared to Canaan's chances. Ish Smith? Whenever he's come in, so far, he's seemed to settle the team down and do a decent job at the point, but his flaws are obvious. No way he's the backup point on a contending team, which is what we should be this year. Not in my opinion, and do we really have a spot for Ish as the 3rd point on the 15 man roster? I wouldn't place a bet on it. Terry? There's plenty of talk around here about him as the backup point, but he's yet to be seen in that or any other role, except in practice. Looks more like a trade piece in Morey's back pocket. I hope he surprises us and plays like he's 3 years younger, whenever he does play. I'm not holding my breath. I'm worried. We're weak at two spots, point guard and power forward. I'm doubtful that who we have on the team at those two spots are going to be good enough for the Rockets to count on consistently. Bev is fine as the starting point, better as the backup, in my opinion, which is a big blank spot if Bev starts, which he will, absent a move. The 4? We don't have a starter to count on, in my opinion, or a backup, either. Not that we can count on. Jones and Donuts have weaknesses in their game, and are still very inconsistent. Adrien and Black are Adrien and Black. We're still talking about which one of them is going to make the team. It doesn't fill me with confidence considering it's a crucial spot on the roster without someone solid to start every game, unlike at the point with Bev. I don't know what the hell to think about Dorsey or Capella. Lots of unanswered questions, which keeps leading me back to Morey making some kind of deal(s) aimed at one or both spots. Hopefully sooner, rather than later, but we may need to make do until the deadline, when I expect Morey to make a move, if he doesn't make one before then.
