His scoring numbers have gone up since the Martin trade. And I don't just mean raw points(they are up too), but his percentages are up. Therefore his impact has increased since the trade as he is making more of his shots. But thing is, even when he is missing, he has become a focal point of the defense. In theory, that should open up things for others. Remember that PnR with Jordan Hill the other day. Hill was wide open and Brooks made a great pass to him. The defense was glued to Brooks and it left a spot for Hill to make a play. You would also be able to note that Brooks assist numbers plummet in games where nobody can hit a shot.(well duh) So while I agree that he is a solid contributor(but not spectacular), I can't agree that he doesn't have a positive impact when his shot isn't going in. The defense has to constantly be aware of him so he is creating opportunities for others. When Ariza gets back full time I expect to see more "progressive insurance above the rim replays" from him due to the openings created by AB and KM. Like it or not, he gets the team into their offense just as effectively as Rafer did. Regardless of what a few knee-jerks like to say, he isn't a ballhog. He picks his spots on penetration. His defense is below Rafer's only due to his size. The effort is there, the quickness is there(even maybe a bit better), and his rotations are as good as Alston's were in his second full year. The only real problem we've seen from him was the first few games after the trade.(but we saw problems from all 5 spots on the floor so it's tough to single out Brooks for this)
Of course defense still pay attention to him even if he misses. But Ab's overall game ( defense, rebounding, running the show, making shots etc.) doesn't make too much of an impact. For example his defense is negative compate to average PGs. Lowry on the other hand usually makes much bigger impact on the nights both of them can't make shots. AB makes bigger impact when his shots are falling.
If you refer to +/- not sure what to tell you as pretty much all season the starters have had a negative +/- while the bench had a positive one. All it tells me is that our bench is usually better than the other team's bench. That being said, Lowry IS a game changer when he enters the game towards the end of the first quarter. That's why I consider myself greedy. I'm not unhappy with either player, and want to keep both. I love what they have going now. Aaron burns the other team with his individual speed. Then Lowry comes in and increases the overall pace of the game. Gets the other team worn down in multiple areas.
If Brooks has Lowry tenacity and defense prowess, then he will start. If Lowry has Brooks shooting touch and speed, then he will start. If both of them did not meet the requirement mentioned above...then it doesn't really matter who start the game. END OF THE CONVERSATION.
I like them both equally. they do different things well and different things badly. Lowry cannot shoot, but has great court vision, takes care of the ball, is a good defender, plays physical, and knows how to feed the ball to the right player. Brooks is a scorer, but I think he is too selfish as a point guard, does not take care of the ball nearly as well as Lowry, not as good of a defender, but he might be the quickest player i've ever seen with a bball. I still don't think he's that great of an outside shooter. So, they should be used based on the given situation. We need them both and I hope we keep them both.
KNOW YOUR PERSONNEL. Those PGs didn't have an immobile, bad hands, of an offensive post beast that is Yao. Furthermore, Miller's and Kidd's game is different.
His 3pt% is down. For the first 53 games, he shot 39.47%. During these last 10 games, he's shot 32.47%.
It's actually caused by the 2 games in which he shot 2-10 and 2-13 from the 3 pt line. I don't think fatigue plays as great a role as you think. There are some games where he shoots well yet plays heavy minutes. For example, in our last game against Philly, Brooks played 43 min and shot 6-11 from the 3 pt line.
Fatigue and shooters go through slumps. To everyone, I think many people are stuck in labeling PGs. Positions are becoming more and more blurred. It doesn't matter if a PG is "pure" or "shooting". What matters is who is on the floor. Both PGs have their strengths and weaknesses that depends on who is playing with them.
Not +/-, otherwise it's Lowry all the way. I said that by watching the game. AB is below average if his shots are not falling. The defense, the decision making, the intangibles, etc. Lowry doesn't need to make shots to change the game. He has all those parts built-in.
Wasn't that the game Lowry got hurt in? His minutes went up in the games after that. Not only that, but when Lowry was there Brooks didn't have to do all the ball-handling and could rest more on offense. Since Lowry went out he's played more minutes and had to carry much more of the load on offense. To me it's clear he's been tired, especially at the end of games when he's been missing a lot and some haven't even been close.
Who cares? Time well tell if Lowry's abilities mesh well with our starters of next year. Lowry simply isn't that much greater of a player. Both players have key strengths and weaknesses, get over it.
Great, then it shouldn't be hard to show us those stats that prove he hasn't been tired lately. Is that on another page? I haven't checked this thread much due to the OP's ridiculous bias against Brooks.
Are we still arguing about this? Aaron Brooks is the starter. Kyle Lowry is the backup. That's how things are, and it's not going to change, so get over your mancrush on Lowry and move on.
He's shot well when playing heavy minutes. He's shot poorly when playing heavy minutes. He's shot well in games with heavy minutes that have been preceded by games with light minutes. He's shot poorly in games with heavy minutes preceded by games with light minutes. The point is, you can't assume that fatigue (due to increased minutes) is the cause of his recent inconsistent shooting. If it were, it would be the case every time he logged heavy minutes.
