...and other thoughts from the game.
Okay, I've heard everyone on here ("AJ sucks, AJ suxs, AJ's as bad as Travis, AJ's worse than Travis, AJ's a -5 on the Fred Jones is God scale", etc.), so I figured, since we weren't going to win anyway, I'd spend all night just watching the PG spot. I even took notes:
Also, before I forget, the guy next to me has an ~8 year old kid with him. The kid asks at the beginning of the 2nd, "Why isn't Jermaine playing?" The guy says, "Because he's got 2 fouls." The kid responds, "Oh, okay, but we've got Croshere in!" I wish you could have heard how he said it, it just screamed . Peck probably would have thrown him off the balcony.
Okay, back to the game. To sum up, IMO AJ had his best game this year, perhaps besides his first game back, or as Ragnar referred to it "His one good game a year." AJ had four more assists after I stopped taking notes, and I remember 3 passes for easy shots (1 to Austin, two to Stephen) that were missed. However, AJ's last assist, to Reggie, was not an assist. It's not an assist if the shooter stops, dribbles the ball, runs a few feet, then takes the shot. :shakehead:
Beyond the numbers, AJ was creating offense out there. He drew multiple kickouts for easy shots. Even when his body started breaking down (his last 3 shots were short), he still was playing excellent defense. And that goes beyond his man. According to Buck's line of thinking, the point guard sets the tone for the defense. And that's what AJ was doing, denying the Raptors passing lanes. First half, Toronto had 3 assists.
And before people think I'm going overboard, I know AJ played alot better than he has been. I already said it was his best game this year. But these are the games he's capable, when he's not hurt or sick or in a funk (note today's RATS article.)
So, that brings us to the bad. AJ came back in with 9 minutes left, but wasn't cutting it defensively. I assume his pnemonia had caught up with him. So, Rick gets the bright idea to put Steve in for AJ, thereby giving Fred a trial by fire at point. 7 minutes left, down by 3.
Note my last 3 comments above, except for the Party guy (for those at the game, wasn't he hilarious? My sister wants him as an MC. ) Btown has stated this very well in the past. Bringing the ball up the court and passing it off does not make you a point guard. Yeah, you can knock AJ all you want for doing the same thing, but tonight, at least, he was involved. Fred comes to the top of the key and does one of two things. Either pass to Reg on the right side and go to the left shoulder, or take the shot himself. I'm surprised Toronto didn't start overplaying for the steal. Every play. In those 7 minutes, Fred's only points came because Palacio bailed him out. He went up for a rushed shot at the top of the key and lucked into Palacio fouling him. Fred also had no assists running the point. His two dimes came well before that.
Look, it's not that I don't like Fred. I like him alot. Sure, my mantra may be "He's too short to start", but I think that's partly because I think he's got real matchup advantages coming off the bench. And, believe it or not, I used to champion the idea of Fred at point. His dribble-drive, his defensive ability, it just seemed that he had the makings of a Bobby Jackson with hops.
However, I've seen Rick play around with it this year. In the preseason, pre-11/19, post-11/19, and the present. And Fred just doesn't have it. He's got the tools. He's got the handle. And yes, he can kickout going to the rim. The problem is two-fold. One, he doesn't have court vision. Watch him when he's got the ball, and it's obvious who the ball is going to. Second, he can't run an offense. It pains me to say that, but it's true. I know alot of you say the same about AJ, but if you really watch him, he does set up plays. Fred doesn't. As a guy who called into Kevin tonight complained, all we did was stand around the last minutes of the game. It got to the point tonight that Reggie started calling them for him.
Now, hopefully with more seasoning, Fred can become the vaunted combo guard we want him to be (at least, those of us who aren't delusional enough to think he should start ). I think a big part of it is he's too passive. Remember that Tinsley really came into his own last year when he started yelling at guys on the court. Given time, Fred might get more of that mentality, but, as the coaching staff and we all know, his game would benefit in all areas if he were more aggressive.
Besides that, the game was actually fun, which is unusual lately. In the house it felt like Javie jobbed us, but they said on the radio it was fair, so I'll take their word for it. I knew with every fiber of my being Jalen was gonna hit those freebies. He's been waiting for that moment for 3 years, he wasn't about to let it get away.
As for the Ashley note above, she was in section 106, and my sister was convinced the kid she quized was with Geezer. Maybe this has been discussed since I started writing all this.
Okay, I've heard everyone on here ("AJ sucks, AJ suxs, AJ's as bad as Travis, AJ's worse than Travis, AJ's a -5 on the Fred Jones is God scale", etc.), so I figured, since we weren't going to win anyway, I'd spend all night just watching the PG spot. I even took notes:
2/2 Toronto
- Reggie trash talking Sam (Mitchell that is, before game )
- AJ basket
...drew foul
...rebound
...turn around
...Guy behind me: "Johnson's got mad skills" (yes, ask Grace, he really said that)
...assist, very good, drive under basket
...drive and dish for Austin miss
...8 m 4,1,2 Palacio 0,2,0 (translation: taken out 8 minutes in, 4 points, 1 board, 2 dimes Palacio having 0,2, and 0, respectively)
- Eddie no look for Fred 3
- Eddie gave up last 2nd 3 Palacio 3-1-1 (and no, I don't know how Palacio lost a rebound )
- Ashley & Geezer Jr., JO7 crying (yes, once again, ask Grace)
- Jalen post up on Eddie
- Bender drive/pushing (sorry, he got in my field of vision, translation: he's being physical)
- Eddie TO no foul (called, that is, and there should have been)
- Paige forgot jeans (Pacemate routine, Paige didn't participate and didn't change, hence the assumption)
- AJ ran, nobody followed (i.e. fastbreak opportunity blown)
...missed 2 jumpers
...nice drive pass #3 (assists, that is)
...two 3's after the whistle
(Okay, that's the first half, and I pretty much stopped writing stuff after that. It's hard to write stuff and keep track of what's going on. Here's the rest of what I wrote, though.)
- "Why is JO talking to himself? Oh wait, that's Stephen Jackson" (Guy behind me again )
- Fred forcing shots, no setup as point
- Palacio scoring more on Fred than AJ or Eddie
- Fight for right to party guy (the best fan ever shown on the jumbotron )
- Reggie running offense
- Reggie trash talking Sam (Mitchell that is, before game )
- AJ basket
...drew foul
...rebound
...turn around
...Guy behind me: "Johnson's got mad skills" (yes, ask Grace, he really said that)
...assist, very good, drive under basket
...drive and dish for Austin miss
...8 m 4,1,2 Palacio 0,2,0 (translation: taken out 8 minutes in, 4 points, 1 board, 2 dimes Palacio having 0,2, and 0, respectively)
- Eddie no look for Fred 3
- Eddie gave up last 2nd 3 Palacio 3-1-1 (and no, I don't know how Palacio lost a rebound )
- Ashley & Geezer Jr., JO7 crying (yes, once again, ask Grace)
- Jalen post up on Eddie
- Bender drive/pushing (sorry, he got in my field of vision, translation: he's being physical)
- Eddie TO no foul (called, that is, and there should have been)
- Paige forgot jeans (Pacemate routine, Paige didn't participate and didn't change, hence the assumption)
- AJ ran, nobody followed (i.e. fastbreak opportunity blown)
...missed 2 jumpers
...nice drive pass #3 (assists, that is)
...two 3's after the whistle
(Okay, that's the first half, and I pretty much stopped writing stuff after that. It's hard to write stuff and keep track of what's going on. Here's the rest of what I wrote, though.)
- "Why is JO talking to himself? Oh wait, that's Stephen Jackson" (Guy behind me again )
- Fred forcing shots, no setup as point
- Palacio scoring more on Fred than AJ or Eddie
- Fight for right to party guy (the best fan ever shown on the jumbotron )
- Reggie running offense
Okay, back to the game. To sum up, IMO AJ had his best game this year, perhaps besides his first game back, or as Ragnar referred to it "His one good game a year." AJ had four more assists after I stopped taking notes, and I remember 3 passes for easy shots (1 to Austin, two to Stephen) that were missed. However, AJ's last assist, to Reggie, was not an assist. It's not an assist if the shooter stops, dribbles the ball, runs a few feet, then takes the shot. :shakehead:
Beyond the numbers, AJ was creating offense out there. He drew multiple kickouts for easy shots. Even when his body started breaking down (his last 3 shots were short), he still was playing excellent defense. And that goes beyond his man. According to Buck's line of thinking, the point guard sets the tone for the defense. And that's what AJ was doing, denying the Raptors passing lanes. First half, Toronto had 3 assists.
And before people think I'm going overboard, I know AJ played alot better than he has been. I already said it was his best game this year. But these are the games he's capable, when he's not hurt or sick or in a funk (note today's RATS article.)
So, that brings us to the bad. AJ came back in with 9 minutes left, but wasn't cutting it defensively. I assume his pnemonia had caught up with him. So, Rick gets the bright idea to put Steve in for AJ, thereby giving Fred a trial by fire at point. 7 minutes left, down by 3.
Note my last 3 comments above, except for the Party guy (for those at the game, wasn't he hilarious? My sister wants him as an MC. ) Btown has stated this very well in the past. Bringing the ball up the court and passing it off does not make you a point guard. Yeah, you can knock AJ all you want for doing the same thing, but tonight, at least, he was involved. Fred comes to the top of the key and does one of two things. Either pass to Reg on the right side and go to the left shoulder, or take the shot himself. I'm surprised Toronto didn't start overplaying for the steal. Every play. In those 7 minutes, Fred's only points came because Palacio bailed him out. He went up for a rushed shot at the top of the key and lucked into Palacio fouling him. Fred also had no assists running the point. His two dimes came well before that.
Look, it's not that I don't like Fred. I like him alot. Sure, my mantra may be "He's too short to start", but I think that's partly because I think he's got real matchup advantages coming off the bench. And, believe it or not, I used to champion the idea of Fred at point. His dribble-drive, his defensive ability, it just seemed that he had the makings of a Bobby Jackson with hops.
However, I've seen Rick play around with it this year. In the preseason, pre-11/19, post-11/19, and the present. And Fred just doesn't have it. He's got the tools. He's got the handle. And yes, he can kickout going to the rim. The problem is two-fold. One, he doesn't have court vision. Watch him when he's got the ball, and it's obvious who the ball is going to. Second, he can't run an offense. It pains me to say that, but it's true. I know alot of you say the same about AJ, but if you really watch him, he does set up plays. Fred doesn't. As a guy who called into Kevin tonight complained, all we did was stand around the last minutes of the game. It got to the point tonight that Reggie started calling them for him.
Now, hopefully with more seasoning, Fred can become the vaunted combo guard we want him to be (at least, those of us who aren't delusional enough to think he should start ). I think a big part of it is he's too passive. Remember that Tinsley really came into his own last year when he started yelling at guys on the court. Given time, Fred might get more of that mentality, but, as the coaching staff and we all know, his game would benefit in all areas if he were more aggressive.
Besides that, the game was actually fun, which is unusual lately. In the house it felt like Javie jobbed us, but they said on the radio it was fair, so I'll take their word for it. I knew with every fiber of my being Jalen was gonna hit those freebies. He's been waiting for that moment for 3 years, he wasn't about to let it get away.
As for the Ashley note above, she was in section 106, and my sister was convinced the kid she quized was with Geezer. Maybe this has been discussed since I started writing all this.
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