John Stockton on rookie point gaurds

[jmc@ptc.com (Jonathan McIntyre)]

Hi everyone,

  I was just reading the transcript of a John Stockton teleconference 
at www.nba.com, in which he answered questions about coming back from 
his knee injury and playing in his first games of the season this past 
week, and one of the questions was about Chauncey Billups.  The 2 
questions after it also seemed to be indirectly about Billups.  Here 
they are:

Jon Mc


STOCKTON ANSWERS MEDIA QUESTIONS
John Stockton Teleconference

Q:  Boston Celtics' rookie point guard Chauncey Billups is off to a
    slow start this season. How long did it take you to feel
    comfortable as a point guard playing in the NBA?

Stockton: Well, I felt comfortable right away, but it was under
    different circumstances. I don't know what Chauncey is doing in
    terms of starting, or what his minutes are. I played behind a great
    player in Rickey Green [when I was] coming into the league. I was
    afforded the chance to just play and not have to help a team get
    better. Rickey was so good and everybody relied so heavily on him.
    When I was in, I was in to try to play well. I guess I didn't have
    any of that added pressure.  What Billups is going through now and
    what I went through 14 years ago are probably quite a bit different.


Q:  What do you think is the toughest adjustment for rookie point guards?

Stockton:  The job to lead is difficult for any young guy. He's coming
    in and he's trying to lead guys who have been playing nine or 10
    years longer than him . That's tough to do. Again, roles are going
    to be different on every team and so are what your responsibilities
    are. It's difficult to come in and start pointing fingers saying,
    "You go here and you go there," to guys who already know quite a
    bit more about the game than you do.  That's quite an adjustment.
    [Young point guards must] try to feel their way through that and
    see what role of leadership to pick -- it may not be the primary
    leader on that team.


Q:  Has the game changed from the point guard perspective? Has the role
    gone from being a passer to more of a scorer?

Stockton:  I think it's been an evolution, more than just an
    abrupt change. That goes back as long as I can remember. I remember
    when Magic Johnson was a point guard and every [team] was trying to
    get Magic Johnsons, when there were not any other guys like him out
    there. Since then, there's been an evolution.  One guy will come in
    the game and be very successful at that position and everybody is
    looking for one of him. Maybe they can't find him, or maybe they
    find something else that works.  Every team has different needs and
    different types of players who can fill those needs in different
    ways. Some guys need to come and score to contribute to their team.
    Other guys come in and need to distribute the ball to contribute to
    their team. I don't think one way is better than the other.