Ford Needs to Up the Ante

by JPSinclair on Nov 21, 2009 12:35 AM EST Comment 6 comments

The biggest concern I have with the Pacers thus far this is season is simple. We have a starting point guard that is averaging only 2.7 assists per game. This has far as I am concerned is unacceptable. It has by far been the reason that our offense has become so stagnant in the fourth quarter against the Knicks and Cavs. For the season Ford is -3 in plus-minus. I am not discounting his ability to create a shot for himself, scoring close to 10 points per game is fine, but shooting 0-7 from beyond the arc on the year is not acceptable.If your shot is not falling from the outside, drive to the lane and create, and Ford realizes this. But what he does consistently that does put added pressure on him and the Pacers, is gets hung up in the air and has no escape plan. He does not see the court when he does this but doesn't draw the foul either. Ford has the ability, I will not doubt that. Averged 5.3 assists last year, back in Toronto one year he average near 8 assists per game in 06-07. So the question is what is different? The Pacers have good solid players around Ford. Granger, Rush, Murphy, Hibbert, and Hansbourgh, not to mention the surprise of the year Dahntay Jones; who is having a career year. Why are the assists down? Is Ford not the point guard that Pacers should be starting? Diener is out now 4-6 weeks, Watson is a solid option but has averaged more minutes per game but the same amount of assists per game. Price is a future point guard but isn't the current option. The only option that is truly there is that it is time Ford realized his best contribution to this team is to be the floor general he is capable of being, creating opportunities for his teammates and passing the ball more.

Poll

Who do you think is the best point guard option for the Pacers right now?

T.J. Ford

2 votes

Earl Watson

13 votes

A.J. Price

1 votes

Luther Head

2 votes

18 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 6 comments

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Comments

no pg

at this point cant we just go without a point guard in the lineup? i would almost rather not see any of these guys play. but if i have to choose lets go with watson. ford’s decision making is way too sketchy for me and luther has done nothing. price im indifferent about.

by blueandgold24 on Nov 21, 2009 10:10 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I was stunned when the Pacers picked up another forward with their draft pick this year. We have a team stacked with forwards and zero point guards, and they pick up another forward? I thought that maybe there could be some large trade in the works, but we pick up a guard that was cut by the Thunder and picked up off waivers. No logic there.

by wrdavisjr on Nov 21, 2009 11:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I like the hansbrough addition...

I really wasn’t a huge fan of any of the PGs that were out there when the pacers picked. If they would have passed on Jennings I would have been upset.
But I think that this year there has to be a serious look taken at PG either through trade, free agency, or the draft.

~SHaFF!~

by SHaFF87 on Nov 21, 2009 5:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Biggest problem I see

Is not with the Jump-Turnover (which does make me angry), its with the constant dribbling. The offense works much better and flows smoothly with ball movement via passing. TJ gets in there and dribbles for 18 seconds, then he either jacks up a shot or passes it to a teammate who now has under 5 seconds to shoot. It makes everything discombobulated.

by TheHawk5 on Nov 21, 2009 5:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Not to Worried

I can’t really decide Ford vs. Watson. Both can impress me but neither is truly impressive. It’s a concern we were all aware of and considering that I’d say it’s played out decent thus far.

Though it may sound bad, injuries are going to happen, I say let them happen to one of our two point guards. With one of them going down Price would almost be guaranteed more significant time at point (especially with Dieners toe problem).

Guess it goes without saying then that I don’t see a huge dropoff in performance if we lost Ford or Watson. Thing is with our point guards we’re just debating mediocrity. The only true point we have right now who stands a chance of being around when Danny’s doing what we hope he’ll do is Price. I hope the team can somehow try to focus on his development.

by ottoprice13 on Nov 21, 2009 9:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Stick with Ford

He’s a better player than Watson, and our options are extremely limited unless we actually trade for a more viable option. Go with the best player, hope he can get back to using his advantages to our advantage and not to hinder the team, and hope for the best.

by goodlucksaturday on Nov 22, 2009 10:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs