Gurkel: The Brian Roberts Thread

[LamarMatic7]

Tony Parker tore him a new one. If we had had someone who could at least somewhat keep Parker in check and not allow him to penetrate throughout the game, we would have won that game.

To be fair, Parker only scored 2 points and had 3 assists in the entire second half. He started out hot, but it was a two point game with two minutes left in the third quarter and Parker didn't do much after that. Curious to read your breakdown.

I don't think that the boxscore stats tell the whole story. He just couldn't keep Parker out of the middle and it repeatedly broke our defense down. Per example, Parker had 3 hockey assists, a rather big number.

But, yeah, I'll touch on that in the blog.

[catch20two]

Lol. This is a very blah signing. The guy is a 3rd stringer on a good team. I guess we're not tryna be a good team.

What dont you like about his game?

He's serviceable. He's OK. But that's just it. We're not making no splash. We're not signing former all stars with proven backgrounds like Mo Williams or Jameer Nelson. We're not signing fringe starters like Greivis Vasquez or trading for Jarrett Jack. We're signing a mediocre overseas journeyman backup that's only played in the NBA two years on a losing team or in other words hasn't proven diddly squat on a team that can win. His efficiency is blah too, don't even have that in his favor in limited minutes.

My first thoughts on Brian Roberts. Still the same.

[fatlever]

OK, fair enough, 3rd stringer on a good team. I can live with that. He's playing better than he was to start the year, that's for sure. I was expecting a massive drop-off on all fronts with Kemba out, but Roberts has done decent in getting the offense started and defensively. He can't replace Kemba's offense.

I think we were expecting Lance to operated as the defacto 2nd pg, so perhaps Roberts was always viewed as more or a 3rd pg.

[yosemiteben]

I don't know the difference between 2nd stringer on our team and 3rd stringer on a good team. I think he is absolutely capable of being a part of a rotation for a quality playoff team that doesn't depend on their backup PG for scoring.

[catch20two]

OK, fair enough, 3rd stringer on a good team. I can live with that. He's playing better than he was to start the year, that's for sure. I was expecting a massive drop-off on all fronts with Kemba out, but Roberts has done decent in getting the offense started and defensively. He can't replace Kemba's offense.

I think we were expecting Lance to operated as the defacto 2nd pg, so perhaps Roberts was always viewed as more or a 3rd pg.

Roberts numbers have taken a drop in shooting percentages. He went from shooting 42% to 36% and from 36% to 31% on 3s. He's filled in without ruining things tho so I gotta give him credit. I'm just not excited or impressed by what he's doing. I agree that he's doing his job the best we could ask for from a player of his limited talents.

[BeesWax]

Roberts has played solidly as a starter since being force into it. He has one game with more than one turnover and has played decent defense. I am surprised he has done as well as he has so far. I was thought he was a decent backup but was very worried when he was going to have to take over. He has played within himself and not forced anything. Very pleased so far and hopefully he keeps it up.

[mrknowitall215]

Brian Roberts has been serviceable. Low turnovers have been key in him not looking overwhelmed replacing Kemba in the starting lineup

[BeesWax]

Agreed. He knows he is not Kemba and has not tried to be. He runs what he is good at doing and does not try to replace Kemba. I think far to often that is what gets backups in trouble. Be the player you are and do not try to replace the guy who is gone.

[yosemiteben]

Brian Roberts has been serviceable. Low turnovers have been key in him not looking overwhelmed replacing Kemba in the starting lineup

Agreed. I was really worried how he would hold up against Wall's ball pressure, but he has been great at taking care of the ball. He doesn't have the quickness to make teams back off to respect his drive, but he still manages to get the ball where it needs to go to initiate the offense without turning it over.

Is there any doubt that we play at a much higher level when he is in the game? He does a really good job of directing traffic without disrupting the flow of our offense. By contrast, Lance and Neal both look very indecisive a lot of the time out there.

[Eoghan]

I'm glad he's justifying my optimism on the signing finally. I was getting worried there for a bit.

[catch20two]

Now shooting 33% on FG and 24% on 3s in 8 starts.

But we could always subtract the games that he shot bad in to make his FG% 40 to make us feel better about this 3rd stringer on a good team seem competent. Lol

[yosemiteben]

Agreed that his poor percentages are frustrating in games like these. Really don't understand how he, Neal and Lance can all shoot so far below their career percentages.

[catch20two]

It was easy for Roberts to play safe and try to protect his percentages for the stat gawkers off the bench in limited minutes but now he's getting exposed for the 3rd stringer that he's supposed to be unless you're kinda tanking.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Agreed that his poor percentages are frustrating in games like these. Really don't understand how he, Neal and Lance can all shoot so far below their career percentages.

Honestly I think that a big part of this is Cliff. We have a coach that likes to control the game. I think that if he just let guys play more that they would be more comfortable and shoot in rhythm a bit more and then the % would go up.

But the flipside is just letting guys play would probably result in some really bad possession every game.

[fatlever]

The lack of offensive options on this team are forcing several guys, including Roberts, to play well outside their comfort zone. Roberts should always be the 5th option on offense, yet there are many times recently when he is our 2nd-3rd best option on offense. He's not good enough to carry that kind of offensive burden. Roberts is a "caretaker" type point guard. He plays it safe, low turnovers, runs the offense (best he can), and takes open shots. When he is asked to do more than that - such as beat his man 1 vs 1, score vs the focus of a defense, attack the rim, create something from nothing etc... he's going to look awful. He'd look much better as a backup point guard on a team that didnt need him to be anything more than a caretaker. Unfortunately, we are so desperate on offense, we need Roberts to do more than he is capable. He's not that player.

[mrknowitall215]

The lack of offensive options on this team are forcing several guys, including Roberts, to play well outside their comfort zone.

Players like Jeff Taylor should've been waived to bring in players with reputable reputations as scorers if they don't do much else like Jordan Hamilton or even Quincy Miller. I just feel like this roster has enough defensive-mindedness in MKG, Biyombo, and Kemba that they don't need to oversaturate the team with them all the while not accommodating the lack of scorers and perimeter shooters. That's not to say that Jordan Hamilton or even Quincy Miller are what this team is missing, but there's clearly a lack of options to go to when we're looking for points when Gary Neal get free reign to try to score by any means necessary

[mrknowitall215]

On topic, if it isn't done before the trade deadline, I hope Cho is prepared to acquire a better backup point guard than Brian Roberts or at least one with a better track record in the NBA of production

[yosemiteben]

It was easy for Roberts to play safe and try to protect his percentages for the stat gawkers off the bench in limited minutes but now he's getting exposed for the 3rd stringer that he's supposed to be unless you're kinda tanking.

His numbers significantly improved as a starter for NOP. You really need to look up stats before you try to make arguments like this.

[yosemiteben]

On topic, if it isn't done before the trade deadline, I hope Cho is prepared to acquire a better backup point guard than Brian Roberts or at least one with a better track record in the NBA of production

Just out of curiosity, do you think he is a below average backup? Can you name 15 backup PGs that would be with trading an asset for?

[mrknowitall215]

It was easy for Roberts to play safe and try to protect his percentages for the stat gawkers off the bench in limited minutes but now he's getting exposed for the 3rd stringer that he's supposed to be unless you're kinda tanking.

His numbers significantly improved as a starter for NOP. You really need to look up stats before you try to make arguments like this.

Eh, 'catch20two' worded it perfectly when he stated "for the stat gawkers". That Pelicans team performed better when he was off the court if I can recall and his role was simplified in New Orleans to just dribbling up the court and then playing off-the-ball to Anthony Davis, Tyreke Evans, and Eric Gordon

This current Hornets team needed more than just a game manager considering the lack of scoring options on the roster. As some has stated, I think he's in over his head for the role that we need him to play. Realistically, I view Stephenson as our backup point guard and that's a lackluster thing to observe. Maybe the thinking was a spot-up shooting PG for Alfense when Roberts was signed, but that's where I question the decisions made on how this team can progress from that 43-39 team of 13-14 into a 50 win team. We're limiting our horizon by playing safe. Can't wait to see what 2016 has in store