Frank

[HoustonCuse]

i know we scored a lot and he doubtless had a good number of assists, but I watched him the entire second half. He almost never moved. He almost never took any action that accomplished anything. Most possessions he stood at the top and passed to one wing, then got the ball back and passed to the other wing. Over and over. When he didn't have the ball he didn't budge. Sometimes he shook it up and passed to the same wing two times in a row or three or four. But it was just this repetitive passing to the wing and back over and over. It initiated zero action.

Now, on the possessions where he did something- either drive just a little or pass the ball north-south instead of east-west, we got points or a foul a vast majority of the time.

I don't understand why he refuses to trigger the offense or put any pressure on the defense on 70% of our possessions but it is what has been killing us. To see him do it against the worst D we've played all year - who had also given up, by the way, is maddening.

 

[Dcuse]

You're right about the worst defense we have faced part but the rest of your post?? He penetrated and kicked the ball out for countless 3's. He drove and dished for easy shots down low. He put up a couple lobs that should have been grabbed above the rim and slammed,but Coleman and Roberson were nailed to the floor.
I get the feeling that even if Frank does good things,people here aren't going to like him.

 

[HoustonCuse]

You're right about the worst defense we have faced part but the rest of your post?? He penetrated and kicked the ball out for countless 3's. He drove and dished for easy shots down low. He put up a couple lobs that should have been grabbed above the rim and slammed,but Coleman and Roberson were nailed to the floor.
I get the feeling that even if Frank does good things,people here aren't going to like him.

I am his biggest supporter. Second half I studied every possession. He could have had 25 assists in this game. I don't think he was trying to kill clock. But on almost every possession he did nothing. Like I said - when he actually did do something to move the ball in the direction of the basket it led to something positive just about every time.

 

[jordoo]

He's a great passer , especially on the move. He's , at this point, a bad PG in the half court.

 

[Brooky03]

In fairness, the back and forth passes with the forwards, or other guard, aren't always 'nothing' passes. I saw a lot of off the ball movement when we seemed to just have 2 guys playing catch on the perimeter; then, when the defense shifted just a tad too much or too little, we'd make a pass or drive and hurt them.

 

[Hogtowncuse]

In fairness, the back and forth passes with the forwards, or other guard, aren't always 'nothing' passes. I saw a lot of off the ball movement when we seemed to just have 2 guys playing catch on the perimeter; then, when the defense shifted just a tad too much or too little, we'd make a pass or drive and hurt them.

Don't post much and didn't see last night's game but I suspect he's struggling because he's caught between being a setup type point guard (a la Ennis) which many people have discussed and a more aggressive type point. Against a zone, it's best if they set up a plan of attack and they need to pass it back and forth a bit until they find a hole in the zone. According to reports, that seemed to work last night.

However, that doesn't work against a M2M...in that case, he needs to try to beat his man off the dribble and then attack the rim or dish it off. Sometimes, a pick and roll is the way to help beat the man guarding him. The best I ever saw at that was Edelin...he was a master at beating his man even though his physical skills were somewhat limited.

It looks to me like he's trying to do the same things against a M2M than he is against the zone. That won't work and he needs to learn how to change his game accordingly. I think he will get a lot better at that as we go along...don't forget that his pg starting experience is 11 games.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[CuseMan4]

Franks weakness like already said is half court offense, he's not quick enough to blow by anyone and doesn't get low enough with his dribble at times so opposing teams can get underneath him. Another huge weakness of his, he can get very lazy on D for long periods of time (also a weakness of Gillion)

 

[cuseinseattle]

Franks weakness like already said is half court offense, he's not quick enough to blow by anyone and doesn't get low enough with his dribble at times so opposing teams can get underneath him. Another huge weakness of his, he can get very lazy on D for long periods of time (also a weakness of Gillion)

I agree regarding getting low on the drive. He needs to do a better job of that. I don't think he needs to blow by people to be good though. He is 6'4" - 6'5" so he just needs to get people on his hip and elevate and finish. These aren't even my biggest issues with him right now. I think it's decision making. He is trying to fit balls in too tight of spaces when passing especially to big men or in transition. He is trying to throw bounce passes between two defenders to people like Coleman and it is just not a good decision. His transition decision making is what we can't have and he needs to get ride of as quickly as possible. That really needs to be improved on and is what I believe is getting him pulled. That happened like 3 times in a pretty short period of time versus G-Town at least where it cost us a 4 point swing. I'm sure JAB thinks I can't leave him out there doing that and has to given Gillon all the run in the world. I'm a Frank Howard believer. I think he is going to continue to improve and be a good point guard later in the year and going forward. He is just really hurting us right now because we need him and don't have a back up option. Gillon is a 15 minute a game guy who shouldn't be asked to run our offense for a long period of time. I mean he played 37 minutes against G-Town, I actually looked it up because I was thinking my god he has been out there the whole game. I mean those are Tyler Ennis minutes.