Posted by MaTT4281:
Talent wise, we are not better without Jamal, BUT we are playing better without him right now. Our guys have been more focused about teamwork and finding the open man without him.
The team is not, "winning" becase they are playing without Jamal. Jamal being injuerd is a big minus and the sooner he returns to the lineup, the better.
As far as Houston goes, he is playing pretty well overall, with the exception of last night (but an off night shooting for H20 only comes once a blue moon).
Out of the last 4 games, he shot 30% and 18% on 2 nights. 2 for 11 and 3 for 10 (Boston. Dont forget any games please). Thats 2 out of the last 4 games. Slightly more than "once in a blue moon"
I love the arguement for his defense by the way. Don't worry, you should feel better once Jamal and his amazing D are back on the floor.
Who is saying Jamal plays amazing D? Does it have to be extreme's? NO! Jamal is better defensively than Houston. MUCH BETTER. An injured, old Houston.
Houston is not MAKING this team win, Marbury is. However, Houston is helping, apparently more than you can see. A shooter like Allan spaces the floor for guys like Marbury, or Jamal when he gets back, and allows them to drive.
Of course he helps the team! That does not mean that you should depend on him for any kinda scoring? As soon as the team starts to depend on Houston for scoring a certain amount of points a game, the trouble starts. The scoring should be coming from Stephon, TT and Crawford. Whatever Houston gives us is cherry on top. His job is to space the floor with his shooting 20 mins/game.
His defender has only one thing on his mind, "Do NOT let him get an open look!".
Which is not hard to do cause he shot terrible in 2 of the last 4 games. As you must've seen, its hard for him to get the separation he needs to shoot.
It's extremely hard for me to see how Houston is hurting this team.
When his jumpshot is off ( 2 of the last 4 games, thats 50% of time) he is absolutely worthless and a huge liability! Thats how he hurts the team. If his jumpshot is on, he helps space the floor for Stephon and Jamal!
[Edited by - Silverfuel on 12/30/2004 15:27:19]
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.