TJ Ford starts his career off well - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

EricaLubarsky · 10-06-2003, 09:42 PM

TJ scores 15 points (5-7FG 5-6FT), adds 5 boards and 7 assists for the Bucks in his first showing in the NBA

from NBA.com
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Pau Gasol immediately made the Memphis Grizzlies look smart.

A day after having his contract option picked up, Gasol scored 21 points to lead the Grizzlies to a 105-94 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in the preseason opener for both teams.

Shane Battier, who also had his option picked up on Sunday, scord seven of his 10 points in the first quarter as Memphis took a 30-17 lead and never looked back. The Grizzlies never trailed and led by as many as 19 points.

Mike Miller also had 21 points for Memphis, shooting 7-of-13 from the field.

First-round pick T.J. Ford had an impressive debut for the Bucks, collecting 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go with seven assists and five rebounds.

Michael Redd led the Bucks with 21 points. Daniel Santiago, who last played in the NBA for the Phoenix Suns in 2001-02, had 13.

Nash13 · 10-06-2003, 09:51 PM

I was just about to post this.

It seems as if the Bucks' go to guy is going to be Michael Redd??? I don't know if that's a good thing if he's your primary scorer.

EricaLubarsky · 10-06-2003, 09:56 PM

this is the preseason, Nash. They just ran a lot of offense through him this game.

Murphy3 · 10-06-2003, 09:57 PM

too bad the mavs didn't offer redd just a little more

EricaLubarsky · 10-06-2003, 10:00 PM

2x

EricaLubarsky · 10-06-2003, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Murphy3
too bad the mavs didn't offer redd just a little more

agreed, Murph. He's a very nice player.

Nash13 · 10-06-2003, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: EricaLubarsky
this is the preseason, Nash. They just ran a lot of offense through him this game.

But think about. Who will be the leader of the Bucks when the season starts? It's not going to be Kukoc, Thomas, or Ford. Redd is the only option too me, but he's not enough to make the playoffs.

dirno2000 · 10-06-2003, 10:36 PM

The Bull will rue the day they bypassed T.J. They need a true PG to take the ball out of Jalen's hands (I love Janlen but he's not a pg) and distribute it to Chandler and Curry.

MavsFanFinley · 10-06-2003, 10:40 PM

Quote:

too bad the mavs didn't offer redd just a little more

You're right. The Mavs blew that one. However, they would have had to find Fin a new home cause Redd is more than a bench player.

And if he was going to be a sf on this team we probably wouldn't have Jamison now.

dirno2000 · 10-06-2003, 10:47 PM

If we had Redd, what would our 4th quarter lineup have been last year? Surely we couldn't have played Nick, Nash, Redd and Finn.

Nash13 · 10-06-2003, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: dirno2000
The Bull will rue the day they bypassed T.J. They need a true PG to take the ball out of Jalen's hands (I love Janlen but he's not a pg) and distribute it to Chandler and Curry.

Not to pick on you or anything, but Ford was a 2 guard at Texas. They actually drafted a pretty good pure point guard in Kirk Hinrich.

Something that was not mentioned in the recap was that Ford also had 5 turnovers.

dirno2000 · 10-06-2003, 10:59 PM

Ford has never played 2 guard, Royal Ivey was the 2 at Texas. That offense didn't run without TJ Ford. I'm not knocking Henrich, he's a good player. I just think that Ford is will be a special player. Those guys will love playing with him.

Murphy3 · 10-06-2003, 11:03 PM

umm...ford probably never played a minute of 2-guard at texas on the offensive side of the ball. from time to time, he matched up against two guards defensively though

and sure, mavsfanfinley, signing redd would have changed the dynamics of the team..but, they had a chance to get a very good, very young player for cheap... they could have made adjustments accordingly. this guy will be at a very high level for the next decade or so. he's already putting up finley-like numbers and he can't be at his prime y et

Nash13 · 10-06-2003, 11:07 PM

I apologize Dirno and Murph, that was Dwayne Wade i was thinking about for Marquette.

But still, the point guard duo of Jamal Crawford/Kirk Hinrich should be good enough in the east.

one long blue sock · 10-06-2003, 11:10 PM

Good for Ford, he deserves it...

OutletPass · 10-06-2003, 11:13 PM

Amen to that...always good to see a Texas kid do well....he's been a huge name down here since high school....really the best PG from Texas in a long, long time. And do NOT underestimate his leadership abilities. He's one of those guys who makes everyone around him better.

ames7 · 10-07-2003, 02:44 AM

The kid's got a lot of heart, he deserves to succeed. We're going to miss him here though.

madape · 10-07-2003, 08:59 AM

Kirk Hinrich is a pro prospect. At 6'3, he has the prototypical size for an NBA point guard. He displayed his NBA level quickness, outside shooting, and playmaking ability during a stellar college career. He has all the tools to not only be a good player for the Bulls, but to be one of the best point guards in the game.

TJ Ford does not have NBA size. He does not have anything close to an NBA jumpshot. He was an exciting player in college, but there are lots of those guys who never make it in the NBA. To be a point guard in this league you've got to have size, and you've got to be able to score. The truth is that Ford has too many holes in his game to be considered a sure thing by any stretch of the imagination. Too many teams have invested high draft picks in college stars who's game never translated into the NBA. Ford very well may prove his critics wrong, but it may be the first time a guy like him has ever done so.

The Bulls made the right pick. They got the better player.

dirno2000 · 10-07-2003, 10:01 AM

They may have made the right pick, only time will tell. Hinrich is a smart player with a great jumpshoot and a good feel for the game. He's not nearly the playmaker Ford is.

Ford is undersized, but he has Iverson like quickness and elevation. He'll get the ball up the floor as fast as anyone. He's also adept at running the half court offense. At Texas he played with guys who could not get thier own shoot. He was consistently able to break down the defense and create for them. James Thomas has no offensive game but TJ managed to get him easy shoots around the basket to keep him in the game. I'll admit I'm biased, but I love point guards who can distribute the ball and get everyone involved. People love playing with him.

As far as his shooting, i'm not concerned about that. His mechanics are good, he just needs reps. Now that basketball is his full time job, he'll get more than enough of those. If Jason kidd can improve with his shot put jumpshoot, TJ will be fine.

Murphy3 · 10-07-2003, 10:07 AM

i wouldn't use kidd as an example. sure, he's gone from a horrible jumpshooter to a bad jump shooter..but,that doesn't do alot for your argument

the only area he's made drastic improvements in as far as shooting the ball is with his free throws.

dirno2000 · 10-07-2003, 10:13 AM

My point is only that it's almost a given that your shoot will improve when you go to the league becasue they work on shooting so much. His 1st year in the league, Kidd was the worst shooter i've ever seen. His form is terrible, but he's improved enough to be a slight threat. Like I said, he just needs reps. He never shoot in high school, he just set people up.

Dirk Nowitzki · 10-08-2003, 04:46 PM

I like Ford. I could see him turning into a Jason Kidd type floor leader. Then agian, he is just as likely to be Mateen Cleaves part II. Everyone raved about Mateen & his ability to be a great pg due to his ability to see the floor & get his teammates involved. His knock was his shooting & his lack of speed. While Ford is very quick, the rest of his game reminds me alot of Cleaves & what he did at Mich. St.

dirno2000 · 10-08-2003, 06:20 PM

Mateen Cleeve? Scary thought.

I think Cleeves' problem is that he's not very athletic. Ford is quick enough to get in the lane consistently, and has the elevation to get his shoot off when he gets there. His game is drive and dish. For this to be truely effective he'll have to improve his shooting, but I think he will. I would also suggest that he was a better college player than Mateen.
Cleeves got the most publicity becasue he was the unquestioned leader, but Mo Pete was the best player on that team.

steponhens · 10-08-2003, 11:06 PM

I really don't think size will be a problem for TJ. If you saw the stat line he got 5 boards. Not bad at all for a point guard. If the Texas post men could have caught and made layups I swear Ford would have averaged 12+ assists a game. He is two steps ahead of everyone on the floor. The only thing I think that could keep him down is post defense, yet there are not many pg that can do that anymore.

madape · 10-09-2003, 08:23 AM

TJ Ford dominated college players with his quickness. Will he have the same easy time with NBA level players? People are pretty quick in the pros. He probably won't be blowing past guys anymore. Add a big question mark to the only aspect of his game that we think doesn't suck.

dirno2000 · 10-09-2003, 08:33 AM

Your right, passing isn't important in the NBA.

MavKikiNYC · 10-09-2003, 09:25 AM

TJ Ford's impact at the NBA-level will fall somewhere between that of Spud Webb and Iverson.

Stressboy · 10-09-2003, 09:25 AM

The only question mark anyone should have about TJ Ford is his health due to his size. His basketball awareness is on the level of Kidd and his quickness is on the level of Iverson. Iverson has no problems with NBA quickness because he sets the standard. I only worry about his ability to stay healthy over the long haul, much like Nash. Nash was 27 before he showed he would be a top PG, Ford will surpass Nash when he is around age 24. Ford dominated HS, created a final four team out of 2nd round team in college, and in the more open NBA, he will be huge. I'm just glad he is in the east playing on a bad team. Chicago and the Clippers for that matter will rue the day they passed on him. As a basketball fan, I would love to see TJ on the Rockets. Move francis to 2 and you would have a another big player in the West, but as a Mavs fan, I'm glad that won't happen.

Stressboy