The Point Guard Conundrum
by wolfen on Feb 8, 2010 1:09 PM CST
Email
Print
First off I'd like to give props to Mr. Ramon Sessions for his stellar game the other night against the grizz. I believe the sole reasons that the Wolves won is that they played Sessions more than Flynn and that the grizz, for whatever reason, didn't want to win. Why else would they take out Mike Conley, who was and has routinely made Jonny look like a green rookie? I don't mean this post to be a knock on Flynn because I'm routing the the guy. But that game just really magnified that when Jonny is bad, he's really bad. And when Ramon is good, he's pretty damn good. The one thing Jonny is doing better is penetrating and dishing. He did ok with that during this game. But his shooting was atrocious. He should have recognized that there were other players on the team hitting at high rates when he was in there. He was costing us points big time on that end of the floor. Which leads us to the other end of the floor, defense. On ball defense has been discussed on this site ad nauseum and there are two trains of thought on this topic. One is that it is more important as a point guard to play good team defense and less important to be able to stay in front of your man. The other train of thought is the exact opposite, that not getting beat by your man is paramount. Obviously the ultimate defender would be both. Against the grizz, Flynn cost the team scores on almost EVERY possession he was in there on the defensive end. Good teams know how to take advantage of guys who can't defend. Their gameplan when JF was in there was to beat him off the dribble or with a pick, then the rest of the possession the wolves scrambled to cover it up. Good teams can simply move the ball and get a good shot after a player is beat off the dribble, and this is what the grizz did. Plain and simple. Enter Ramon Sessions. He came in, and albeit played quite a bit against Marcus Williams, but he displayed very good on ball defense, shot a high percentage, got to the hoop, and really dictated play with his aggressiveness. Where has this Ramon Sessions been all year? If he could play with that aggression every game he could easily be the starter. I understand this is blast on Flynn. I am hoping he is able to improve as he is just a rookie. He is the most entertaining player to watch on this team and is the reason many of the fans do watch. I commend him for being a cheer leader on the bench during that game when he could have been hanging his head. I hope he can figure out how to play some defense pretty soon though.
11 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I couldn't agree more
Ever since the draft I’ve had very high hopes for Flynn. I whole heartedly thought he’d be ROY. I don’t feel that way anymore. I also loved the Sessions signing. But I don’t love seeing him play 15 to 25 minutes a game. I now find myself kind of hoping Flynn has a minor injury that sidelines him for a week or two, so we can see what kind of a team we can be with Ramon running the show. I truly believe if Ramon had been our starter the entire season, we’d have at least 5 or 6 more wins.
Honestly I hadn't
seen anything to get excited about when it comes to Ramon Sessions until that game. He did EVERYTHING right and I mean everything. Aggressive to the hoop, was using picks to get into open space (just like Conley was), hitting open jumpers, playing TOUGH, and playing good defense and not getting beat. It was nice to see a team that was running its offense through its wings and not having to wait for a one on one like Flynn does a lot of. Ramon made quick decisions and distributed beautifully. Whatever he had to drink or eat that day I would say stock up and eat/drink it again. If I were Rambis I would implore him to play aggressively like that, get in his face and challenge him.
I like Flynn...
but what ? . Brewer and Hollins are the most entertaining to watch. I think one of these two PGs get moved when Rubio comes over and right now I don’t care which one it is.
I meant to try and cut the quote...
“He is the most entertaining player to watch on this team and is the reason many of the fans do watch.” which obviusly didn’t work. Anyway, that is what I was responding to.
I've spoken about this before
I am glad you guys revisited this topic. I have spoken about this before and feel the same way that I did before. I would like to see Sessions start for a month or so, and let Flynn play more minutes against the second unit, learn by watching, and perhaps save a little for the end of the season. Most of you don’t like this idea because it appears to be a slam on Flynn. I just feel like the minutes need to be a little more equitable and fair to Sessions. Conversely, if he played a few more games like the Memphis one, maybe he’d play a more equitable amount of the minutes.
I think people are to Quick....
to dismiss Flynn, I remember early last year a guy named Kevin Love didn’t look like he belonged in the league, I also remember Corey Brewer looking like a huge bust. These last 4 games Flynn’s assist have been way up and his TOs have been down, I’m not saying the guy is gonna be great but he needs time and game experience to learn how to be an NBA PG.
Too soon.
We have to give Flynn more time. It is too soon to say he’s not good or a bust. We aren’t headed anywhere except the lottery unless the competition commitee decides to do this rediculous play in game they are talking about anyways. We know what Sessions is and what he can do but we don’t about Flynn. So we need to learn it. If we were conteding then I’d say go Sessions but obviously we are not so lets see Johnny.
I am routing for the dude...
I’m a big fan of his. I was pumped when we drafted him. I agree that we need to give him some time and that we have seen some improvement in his all court game, more dimes, a few less TO’s. As we’ve seen in Brew, a pro player CAN improve his shooting. Part of it is simply take less bad shots, part of it is hard work, and part of it is just talent. I thought Jonny had more talent in that area. And I thought the one thing that we would be treated to with him is hard nosed D. I mean the guy is quick, but his reaction time defensively isn’t that good. It can improve I hope. I would like him to really make a concerted effort to get into the opposing PG’s grill when he’s in there. Sure he may get beat, but he’ll probably also get some tips, steals, etc. If you’re going to get beat, why not get beat trying to pressure someone instead of hanging back?
I guess the question is -
Are we winning now or are we winning later? I was rather iffy on the Flynn draft, thought they would go a different direction after having RR fall into their laps, but I wasn’t against it either. Kahn, and to a smaller extent Rambis, have said that we are developing talent. If that is true, and based on the PG situation I would have to say that it is, then we already know what Sessions can do and we need Jonny to grow more. I’m worried, however, that we are working with JF to trade RR and Kahn doesn’t want to look like McHale, so he’s “making” Rambis play JF more.
Another question that I have – It takes time to learn the game @ PG; will RR be ready to step in and play right away? What about knowing your teammates? I really did want RR here this year to avoid any learning curve problems in the future, but I understand giving him more time in Europe to hone his game.
I guess what it boils down to is, when RR finally makes his appearance, who will be traded and are they just trying to increase Flynns value for a trade down the line and how long will Ramon be willing to be the backup to a rookie point guard if he has to do it two of the next three years?
Timberwolves - NBA champs 2013!
(used with permission - Wolf in MO)
Good questions....
I think RR will be able to step right in and make an instant impact. The type of game he plays is so natural to him. Penetrating, passing, orchestrating. If we are able to get some shooters in the future, it’s going to be fun to watch RR. But if not, we’ll be bitching and moaning about RR’s inability to score the ball (at first). My guess is that Sessions would be traded, although it sounds like Flynn’s value is higher and is in more demand as Kahn has recently stated. Also I think Ramon doesn’t mind. I get the feeling he is glad just to be in the NBA. That kid is growing on me. Have you seen what Collison has been doing since he’s started the last few for the Hornets now that Paul is out? Wow. If you take his numbers from his last 7, he’d be ranked near the top of all point guards. Very impressive. Scoring in the 20’s consistently and dropping dimes left and right, had an 18 assist game a week ago. Makes you wonder if Jonny would be doing the same if he got 35 consistent minutes and we didn’t run this silly triangle.
I don't think Flynn would be doing that
because I frankly think Collison is better. It might just be the extra years of school, but Collison knew how to run an offense in both a deliberate and fast paced system under Howland, definitely learned how to play defense, and was a much better shooter. Jonny may catch and pass him, but the main hurdle I expected Collison to face, his lack of assertiveness, seems to have been cleared once he was given the starting role.
That said, Flynn would be doing better in a different system, but he wouldn’t be dishing out 18 assists.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Next Game
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Days of NBA Lives: Wherein Roy Hibbert tap-dances to Maine
- Grizzlies Valentine’s Day cards are the key to love
- Kevin Love would like the NBA to take the MLB’s approach on All-Star games
- Kobe Bryant fires a few hilarious salvos at Jeremy Lin
- Brandon Jennings states the obvious regarding his 2014 free agency, everyone goes nuts
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
