J Augustin

[Ampsportsduo]

Yes, I've taken it upon myself to remove the first initial. I know based on his play the past couple games I'll come across as a wet blanket, but I don't want people fooled by production on the offensive end.

Against the Pistons Will Bynum repeatedly toasting J led to six 4th quarter assists that were instrumental in keying their comeback. Similarly, Ramon Sessions lit J up for 11 4th quarter points that was a big part in a combined 14-2 stretch for the Cavs.

Bynum has posted only one game with more assists than he had in just the 4th quarter and that was in 37 minutes of action v. NO. Sessions posted a season high in points and FTs against the Saint.

This is by no means a new trend, but with J's recent performance on the offensive end, I know a lot of people, including my secret admirer, will attempt to say that between his A/T ratio and scoring he's having a good year. I want to nip that in the bud.

Another big issue I have with J, is that Gerald has gone from All-Star to afterthought. It's clear that J loves Jack and looks for him every time on the offensive end, but he's effectively rendered Gerald useless. Now, Gerald has spent an inordinate amount of time hanging out in the corner like he's Rashard Lewis, but it's on the PG to get people involved and when the lineup consists of J, Matt, Livingston, McGuire and Gerald, one wouldn't think it would be unrealistic for your highest paid player and All-Star to get even one touch. Maybe I'm wrong, but it looks to me like these guys aren't on the same page and it doesn't seem like J has any interest in fixing it. Given a choice between the two, I know who I would pick.

[Chef]

i agree with your post, but it just isn't dj giving up leads in the 4th quarter. we are not a very good team and definitely a terribly inconsistent team. nothing new since the coaching change either. we are having more fun, playing to our strengths and scoring more but we still have all of the same problems.

it is easy to see that gerald has been lost all year without ray and him and jax have trouble being on the floor at the same time. it isn't a not getting along personally type of thing but more of a clashing of styles. jax is clearly the better offensive player but what he does to be effective makes wallace ineffective.

we should definitely hold on to dj but should use this stretch to boost the value of both jax and crash to trade for a rebuild.

[Proudiddy]

I don't care what he's giving up on D, he's getting it back on offense. And honestly, with his quickness, he 'll defense will improve with the more confidence he builds up that LB destroyed IMO. I'm not worried about it.

[Ampsportsduo]

I don't care what he's giving up on D, he's getting it back on offense. And honestly, with his quickness, he 'll defense will improve with the more confidence he builds up that LB destroyed IMO. I'm not worried about it.

Sure he's getting it back against the Pistons and the Cavs. Will he do the same against better teams? I have serious reservations. The last two games the team has clearly had the plan of attacking him on the defensive end in the 4th and have done so with tremendous success. That's absolutely cause for concern.

[Proudiddy]

Sure he's getting it back against the Pistons and the Cavs. Will he do the same against better teams? I have serious reservations. The last two games the team has clearly had the plan of attacking him on the defensive end in the 4th and have done so with tremendous success. That's absolutely cause for concern.

Well, we'll have to see... Was it primarily Bynum he played against vs. the Pistons? I didn't get to watch, but I was wondering if he matched up against Stuckey as well, who is a pretty good defender from what I've seen, but I know Stuckey has been injured so IDK. Either way, I see your point ASD, but I'm confident that DJ is gonna keep up the solid play. He looks like a different player now, just in body language and he's got that swagger back like he knows and is sure of what he's doing.

[polarcat]

After watching a defense-first, burn the shot clock down and conservative offensive team for the better part of 6 years, I'm okay with our pg if he's a scorer first. It's not traditional and ideal per se, but we have lacked a deadly shooter for some time. I agree with Chef on the Jax-Wallace relationship on the court. Wallace was looking bad before Silas got here and pre-injury as well. With the age and long-term potential of Crash and Jackson, I feel we need to keep amping up their stats, and ship them out before it's too late. By too late, I mean Jax regresses back to his bitterness, and technical circus and Wallace stays in a funk even longer. DJ has his deficiencies, and I agree with ya Amp that he may not be able to do this against the premier players, but I just hope DJ is in the plans long-term for this franchise.

[Mustachio]

I'm more on the side that says "so what, hes scoring" but cant really argue that his defense doesnt needs to improve. To be any kind of a threat, your PG is going to have to stop penetration and make it hard for the other team to run its offense. dJ isnt doing that. (Im being a little kinder and just going with the lower case d for now)

But lets just clear one thing up. dJ has nothing to do with Gerald Wallace's downslide.

Gerald Wallace is an athlete not a basketball player. Now that hes getting banged up and older... he cant rely on his athleticsm. A basketball player would be able to transition his game into a softer touch, shooters role. Gerald charges the rim, doesnt get near the height he used to and either commits a charge, misses a dunk, or wildly hits a layup that hits every part of the basket before falling in. His decline isnt anyones fault but father time, and we'd be wise to ship him out while we can still get something for it.

[BlockParty]

One thing I think MJ and Rod have done, in building a team of complimentary players lends itself to DJ's defensive liabilities. I think it's a fair statement that from our rotational players, GW and TT are our best two help defenders (sorry Kwame and Diop, you have a place, but never more than 15 mpg). GW missed the first post-LB game and TT missed the second, TT was hampered with a sprained wrist in his only game and GW was rusty in his return, so it's fair to concluded 3-4 of those 4th quarter possessions would have been positively effected if GW and TT had actually been on the court at the same time at full health.

The above scenario is what I see as Silas's biggest challenge, molding our top 5 players (DJ, Jack, GW, Boris and TT) to a cohesive unit, playing to each players strengths, and collectively covering as a team for each others deficiencies. If we do that, we are capable of getting out to early leads against 75% of the NBA and will hold the lead better in the 4th quarter as the unity continues to build.

[Mustachio]

The above scenario is what I see as Silas's biggest challenge, molding our top 5 players (DJ, Jack, GW, Boris and TT) to a cohesive unit, playing to each players strengths, and collectively covering as a team for each others deficiencies. If we do that, we are capable of getting out to early leads against 75% of the NBA and will hold the lead better in the 4th quarter as the unity continues to build.

See I dont think its so much a molding of the players as it is a molding of the system. To me thats why Larry is a bit overrated, and what leads to his eventual demise every where he goes. He basically comes in and runs a high school basketball camp on each team. Goes back to the basics of basketball, and shows you the right way to do things. This is the correct bounce pass, this is the correct ridiculous spin move as you cross the timeline, etc. etc. But his approach to the game is akin to round peg, square hole. He demands that his players fit an archaic system he knows works... but only when done exactly right. What Silas has done, or let me say what I see that he seems to have done, is find the right role for each guy. Instead of saying you are gonna do this because thats what I know how to run, hes saying you guys are built to do this, so thats what we will be doing. Diop, you are terrible in a half court offense, you cant post up, your passing skills out of the post are questionable... but what you do well is react. So go out there use your heighth and length and rebound - block shots. Dont worry about getting the exact position so that you can pass out of it so that our system runs correctly.... just let the guys that shoot, shoot and you react.

[spectre]

Yes, I've taken it upon myself to remove the first initial. I know based on his play the past couple games I'll come across as a wet blanket, but I don't want people fooled by production on the offensive end.

Against the Pistons Will Bynum repeatedly toasting J led to six 4th quarter assists that were instrumental in keying their comeback. Similarly, Ramon Sessions lit J up for 11 4th quarter points that was a big part in a combined 14-2 stretch for the Cavs.

Bynum has posted only one game with more assists than he had in just the 4th quarter and that was in 37 minutes of action v. NO. Sessions posted a season high in points and FTs against the Saint.

This is by no means a new trend, but with J's recent performance on the offensive end, I know a lot of people, including my secret admirer, will attempt to say that between his A/T ratio and scoring he's having a good year. I want to nip that in the bud.

Another big issue I have with J, is that Gerald has gone from All-Star to afterthought. It's clear that J loves Jack and looks for him every time on the offensive end, but he's effectively rendered Gerald useless. Now, Gerald has spent an inordinate amount of time hanging out in the corner like he's Rashard Lewis, but it's on the PG to get people involved and when the lineup consists of J, Matt, Livingston, McGuire and Gerald, one wouldn't think it would be unrealistic for your highest paid player and All-Star to get even one touch. Maybe I'm wrong, but it looks to me like these guys aren't on the same page and it doesn't seem like J has any interest in fixing it. Given a choice between the two, I know who I would pick.

...you mean you have another secret admirer besides me?

I think you're right on all counts, but 2 games vs. the worst teams in the league has some thinking he's "MVP" and an all star.

Funny how Crash has went from all star/1st defense all NBA to scrub in what...about 6 months? Yeah, he's done at 28. He's obviously fallen on his head one too many times and it's time to get out. Trade him for expirings.

Silas addressed his lackings as a PG in his post game. We all know it; Larry Brown is now "the devil" (que Waterboy flashbacks), but he still isn't running the team and guys who aren't creators are suffering for it.

Hopefully he can keep the scoring up...because if he can't he's a big liability otherwise.