the 3 trying out for the team is arenas, chris paul and luke ridnour.....arenas will be the starter so who do you think gets to be the back up? i know everyone thinks paul is better but if u want a pure point guard then ridnour has to be the choice....paul is a scoreing pg...ridnour is a passing pure pg....with all the scoring stars on this team....the team needs a pg that is going to pass the ball more then shoot...just what i think...what does everyone else think??
who do you think will be PG for usa basketball??
- Thread starter marke27
- Start date
phunwin
The name's Bond...James Bond.
Ridnour has a few problems, the most glaring of which is that he couldn't guard my grandmother. Frankly, he shouldn't be on the 23 man squad at all.
At the World Championships, the PG will be Arenas. Paul will be the backup and Ridnour will either be the 12th man or not be on the WC team. Remember that the offense is going to run through Bryant and James anyway, so the point guard doesn't need to be a great ball distributor, he just needs to be able to take advantage of the open looks he's going to get. Billups is ideal for such a role: he's a good ball distributor, but he's a deadly outside shooter. Of course, Billups won't be on the WC team, so it's moot. Arenas, then, is the logical choice since he's basically a slightly more shoot-first version of Billups.
Paul will be the backup to Billups in '08 and will be the starter by the '10 World Championships unless his career has a mysterious, X-Files type decline or he joins Jay Williams' motorcycle club.
At the World Championships, the PG will be Arenas. Paul will be the backup and Ridnour will either be the 12th man or not be on the WC team. Remember that the offense is going to run through Bryant and James anyway, so the point guard doesn't need to be a great ball distributor, he just needs to be able to take advantage of the open looks he's going to get. Billups is ideal for such a role: he's a good ball distributor, but he's a deadly outside shooter. Of course, Billups won't be on the WC team, so it's moot. Arenas, then, is the logical choice since he's basically a slightly more shoot-first version of Billups.
Paul will be the backup to Billups in '08 and will be the starter by the '10 World Championships unless his career has a mysterious, X-Files type decline or he joins Jay Williams' motorcycle club.
ok i agree ridnour cant guard but he is good at stealing the ball...alot of people drive on him and has he gets to the hoop....luke will slap the ball out of his hand.....as you can see im a ridnour fan so of course im hopeing he can make the team
Roman529 said:
AI wasnt invited actually....and i will be one to say he is a great bball player...but maybe his image has something to do with the coach or whoever made up this team...doesnt want that on his team...plus iverson is a ball hog and with bryant and james already there...no need for another one.
phunwin
The name's Bond...James Bond.
I shouldn't come off like I hate Ridnour; I like Ridnour because he's a throwback in a lot of ways. There aren't enough pass-first points in the NBA, so it's nice to see a guy who does. Basically, he's an impoverished man's Steve Nash. Really, there's nothing wrong with that.
AI won't be on the team, and shouldn't. Iverson's desire to represent his country is admirable, but basically, you have to pick between him and Kobe Bryant. You can't play them on the court at the same time, and it's hard to believe Iverson will be okay sitting for the vast majority of the game.
So between Iverson and Bryant, who are you taking? Both guys have a tendency to dominate the ball, and both can score in bunches. But one's on the downside of his career (remember, they're looking for a 3 year commitment), and stopped playing quality defense about 2 years ago.
AI won't be on the team, and shouldn't. Iverson's desire to represent his country is admirable, but basically, you have to pick between him and Kobe Bryant. You can't play them on the court at the same time, and it's hard to believe Iverson will be okay sitting for the vast majority of the game.
So between Iverson and Bryant, who are you taking? Both guys have a tendency to dominate the ball, and both can score in bunches. But one's on the downside of his career (remember, they're looking for a 3 year commitment), and stopped playing quality defense about 2 years ago.
phunwin
The name's Bond...James Bond.
byroan said:
Given that Iverson has the ball in his hands for the vast majority of every single Sixers possession, I would be SHOCKED if he wasn't in the top 10 in assists. The raw number for assists is not, by itself, indicative of unselfishness. Iverson's assist rate, which calculates the percentage of his possessions that ends with an assist is 41st out of the NBA's 43 point guards.
Roman529
Moon Runner / The 3 AM Crew
marke27 said:
If AI is a ball hog how come he is in the top 10 in assists....I don't see LeBron and Kobe sharing the rock like this. I know AI wasn't invited...that is why I said he will replace someone who was.
phunwin
The name's Bond...James Bond.
sharp said:
I agree. Paul is going to be awesome. I would be shocked if he's not the NBA's best point guard within 5 years.
phunwin
The name's Bond...James Bond.
Roman529 said:
See my post above. AI's a ballhog and the stats bear it out. As a Sixers fan, you should know this better than anyone.
Ferretsquig
Perennial All-Pro
Roman529 said:
You're a little clueless there....hes talking about percentage of possessions. Now tell me again how that relates to minutes played?
Everyone knows the starting PG job is Billups' if he wants it. I dont think its a certainty that hes going to join the team, his wife may have something to say about it. Arenas should be the first one cut...Wade is a better PG than him.
phunwin
The name's Bond...James Bond.
Roman529 said:
OK, first off, you just argued that Iverson's assists per game were proof that he's not a ballhog. Since Iverson plays a ton of minutes, and thus has lots of opportunity to rack up assists, wouldn't THAT be due to playing more minutes than anyone else? Beyond that, assist rate measures the PERCENTAGE of times a player's possession ends with an assist. The number of minutes played is irrelevant to the calculation. Roughly 18% of Iverson's possessions end with an assist. The average for a point guard is between 25 and 30. Chauncey Billups is around 35, I believe, and is either the leader, or very close to being the leader among point guards that have a starting job. (I don't have the numbers in front of me at the moment). So basically, TWICE as many of Billups' possessions end in assists as Iverson's.
Understand this: I like Iverson. Calling AI a ballhog and saying I like him are not at all mutually incompatible. I love to watch him; he might be the most fascinating one-on-one basketball player since MJ. He's a sure-fire Hall of Famer, he's having a fine season, and I hope he keeps doing his thing for many more years. But he's a ballhog. The stats make it clear; they have nothing to do with the number of minutes he plays. Anyone who's ever watched a Sixers game should know he's a ballhog just from watching him play. For God's sake man, call a spade a spade!