I think there was a significant difference in the energy he brought to the game every night from when he was here last time. He was definately brought here to make shots and he was obviously in a shooting slump but if he showed the same intensity defensively that he had showed before and showed other ways to score he might have been able to work his way out of the slump. At other times in his career he was able to stay on the court even when his shot wasn't falling but now for whatever reason no one wants to play him if his shot is off because he becomes useless. Its not like we brought him in to be another Novak (a standstill jumpshooter with no other skills) he just showed us that's what he had become, except he wasn't hitting.
I remember Shane Battier and Mike James yelling at each other because Mike didn't get back on defence and the other team got an easy lay up.
I don't think it's a question of fitting or not fitting here. He was thought to be able to provide the scoring that we needed when we are off and he did well in the first game against LA and a few more games later. He was still useful and is good for us until he went to a huge slump. When Mike is in a slump, he was moved to the bench and he never recovered from there. As for ballhog or trying to do all by himself to score, that's his style of play and he always has been like that (he's not a guard who look to pass first).
The question is, why has he lost all those abilities? He is not old. He did not have any serious injuries. Maybe he lost his shooting confidence. But James has always thinks of himself highly. And how has he lost the defensive intensity? That's the biggest beef I have with him. You don't lose your defense like that unless you stop making efforts.
Most obviously, he shot 35% from the field and 32% beyond the arc. Despite a reputation for being a good defender, from his stint with Detroit, he was a very poor defender while he was here. I thought he'd fit well, because his game reminded me a bit of Bobby Jackson when he was with the Kings. I suppose, if that's what we were trying to emulate, we might as well just get the real thing and that's what we did.
Adelman don't want no ball hogs. His offense is all about ball and player movement. Ball hogs don't fit the script.
I don't need to read more after this line. Have you ever heard "ball hog", or "put your head down and run into the wall"? That's the definition of James.
