responses to ravi, gene, etc.

["Josh Ozersky" <jozersky1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Ravi,

Sorry about the crack about being high.  No disrespect intended.  But
I don't see anything in Omar Cook that makes me think he can even
play in the league, much less be better than Jamaal Tinsley.  And I
think I have a pretty fair grasp of what the point guard position is all
about.  There's more to being a point guard than getting into the lane
and being able to handle the ball.  A point guard is supposed to run
the show, create, make things happen, see the floor a step ahead
of everybody else.  Cook didn't show me those things, but to be fair,
this was more a pick-up game than a real team effort.  Still, I didn't
get the sense that he really knew what he was doing.  You may scoff
at Pepe Sanchez, but I saw him play in exactly the same situation
two years ago, and he made everyone around him better, got shitty
players easy shots, ran pick and rolls like he invented the play, and
made passes that most guards can't even conceive of.  Cook may
be athletic, but he's not a pure PG from what I've seen, at least so far.

That said, and given how everybody else seems to think I'm wrong,
I'll watch the tape over again.  I do remember his two assists in the
lane, but they struck me as unrepresentative of the game he played
tonight.  I know he can get into the lane, but I never saw him

a) advance the ball via a pass instead of a dribble
b) look upcourt for a layup
c) run a pick and roll
d) make a good entry pass into the post
e) hit a man in stride
f)  reward a defender for making a steal or forcing a turnover
g) pass creatively within the half-court set.

I guess his defense was OK.  Anyway, I'll watch the tape again
and see if I really was wrong.  I may have been.  I hope I was!

Josh
f)