They knew what they were doing when they didn't draft a PF apparently..they had some serious work to get done and they did it.
Yep, CD specifically said the reason for Head pick would be much more clear cut after the other moves are made. As for Simien, the point is moot but I was disappointed when we passed him (especially during the last 10 or so days). But I think the Swift/Howard rotation is going to be very solid for us.
Do you really think Swift would have come here if we had drafted a PF ? I don't think so. In fact, I have nagging doubts as to whether JH ever even plays again. I suspect that a big part of Swift's decision was a very good chance that he comes here and plays the majority of minutes for us at the 4. Yes, it's possible the Rockets could have traded back a bit and still picked up Head, and possibly another 2nd rounder in this (suposedly) deep draft.. but would this roster have room on it for TWO rookies? I doubt it. No, they just took the guy they wanted, and didn't mess around. This indicates that they must have felt pretty confident that they were going to land the PF FA they wanted. Man, when JVG retires as a coach, he's gonna make a heck of a GM..
This got lost in the shuffle because of the big signing, but thanks - as always- DoD. I know this is a lot of work to provide all this right after the games. Sounds like there is no way Badiane makes the team. With the signing of Swift, I'm more excited about drafting an athletic guard now. Luther has been up and down, but I think he will work out, especially given the timetable he is on by management before he's supposedly a solid contributor.
Well a Cat minus the ill-advised shots would be one of the upper tier offensive players in the league. Maybe it sounds kind of funny when we think of Cat, but he is a sharpshooter from long range who can create off the dribble and finish with the best of them. So yes I think your expectations are very high if you think of Head in that fashion already.
I don't know clutch.....it depends, he probably will not make the Rockets but they may sign him and send him to the NBDL, that would give him 2 years of US big man coaching. DD
Thanks again DoD. The Minnesota write-up in this thread said that Lucas was shooting over Baxter easily. From the clips, we can't tell what Baxter's defense is like, I'd be curious to know. Two more steals for Head in only 15 minutes. He's a steal machine out there. And four rebounds in that limited time. Unfortunately, three turnovers to one assist this time...he'd been doing better in that department until now. Those Baxter clips were impressive from yesterday. I confess I too didn't remember him as being that spry. There was one clip of his where Prior to the Swift signing, none of the current Rocket PF's had the athleticism to do - the one with Baxter doing a pump fake, couple dribbles on the baseline and slamming it down easily in traffic. Reminded me of a slightly quicker version of a Mo-T slam. He also had a good lefty shot on one of the clips. Given that team defenses tend to slack off Howard a bit and he takes advantage, I think Baxter could be effective as well.
As mentioned earlier,Head plays within the flow of the game.He's played on great teams with plenty of talent,and lets the game come to him,but when the chips are down,Luther is the guy that makes the plays.Despite his freakish athletic ability,defense,and consistent shooting,his proven ability to play championship level team basketball is his best asset.Luther,on the court, is mature beyond his years.We just might have stolen the best of that Illinois trio.Either way,worst case scenario,I believe we have a rotation player on a title team.
Baxter seems a bit lackadaisical on defense. He seemed to let others get inside on him a few times. He's got a big enough body to body people up, but there were times where he seemed a decent defender and other times where he seemed like he was bored out there.
