December 29, 2006
Jose vs. TJ? Come on.
Jay wrote this today:
Recently, a friend of mine suggested that Jose Calderon should start ahead of TJ Ford. I know, it’s a completely ridiculous proposition, but one I keep hearing every once in a while. Aside from making comments about how TJ is quicker, has better ball distribution and is essentially a better all-round player, I mentioned that Jose also isn’t a good enough shooter. This is where my friend started making a big stand for Jose (what is he, his agent?) and then sent me the Raptor stats (yeah, thanks, like I didn’t know where to get them) citing Jose as having the Raps 2nd best FG%.
True, Jose’s FG% is at .490, behind only Rasho, who is at .507. TJ is at .455. Now, one might say, “See, Jose is a better shooter” until you realize that with not even half as many attempts (143 compared to 385), you don’t have a valid comparison. When Jose has seen extended periods of play, we have seen his shooting percentages drop. Let’s also look at the 3pt%, where TJ comes in at .385 compared to .174 for Jose. I don’t care how many attempts you have, if you’re doing anything in sports at a .174 clip, that’s not good. But just to humour my friend, TJ has taken 26 3-pointers, while Jose has taken (gasp) 23. TJ averages 32.4 minutes per game, while Jose averages 17.1.
This isn’t a shakedown on Jose, he’s great coming off the bench and the tandem between TJ and Jose works perfectly. I have also given Jose credit in the past for what appears to be a quicker first step than he gets credit for, as we have seen him drive by many unsuspecting defenders for easy lay-ins.
So to wrap this up, Jose is a quality guard, but he shouldn’t be starting ahead of TJ and TJ is still a better overall shooter (and clutch…).
As for tonight…maybe the rallying cry can be, “Nobody, but nobody beats the Raps 15 times in a row. Nobody.”
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