Asik discussion: Poor guy deserves at least one thread about him

Love his defence and rebounding. But on offence, he either has to dunk the ball or do that sweet reverse lay up move he did a numerous time in the Detroit game.

 

just don'r see gasol leaving memphis.

 

Aldrich looked pretty good the other night. Let the dude get more burn as backup center.

 

I'd still like to know how his name is correctly pronounced. I thought it was "Ah-seek" but then the announcers say "Osh-ick" or "A-sheek". Does anybody know? lol.

 

"Ah-shick"

 

Agreed, repped. Would rather have a great defensive center (with no offense) over a great offensive center (with no defense) any day. And at least Asik can pass, set screens, get offensive boards, and is unselfish (no chucking up bad shots, traveling/ballhandling violations, holding the ball and running down the clock, etc.). IMO, that makes him close to average on offense in terms of overall contribution. The missed layins are frustrating, but just because it looks ugly at times doesn't mean that he isn't still effective on that end of the court in other ways, and with his work ethic and age, he will improve as long as he stays healthy.

I'm actually happy that his ugly plays will help keep him underrated in some people's eyes (just like Lin). Happy to have a team that is quietly effective.

 

Asik is a great hustle player, hence his great rebounds. I think the one thing Asik needs to work on is some explosive over-powering dunks. I don't get why he has to do a lay every time which screws up a lot of his shots.

Harden/Lin passes the ball down low, BAM DUNK. Finish.

So many shots could have been like that.

 

Both Asik and Lin are not from last year, Asik's sig. dunk when he's at Chicago, haven't seen it yet, neither is Lin doing anything from last year, is it Mchale?

 

For some reason Asik doesn't seem to be a dunker. Does he just lack the vertical lift/power to do it consistently? Cole Aldridge seems to have no problem. I remember an interview with Lin where they asked him to compare Tyson Chandler and Asik. According to Lin, Asik was bigger but Chandler was more athletic.

And if Asik can dunk, he can also do more alley oops. I haven't seen a whole lot of that with Lin/Asik.

 

He is DEFINITELY a dunker. For whatever reason, he's grown fond of the brick layup at point blank range whilst donning the rockets uniform.

 

Asik can definitely do sweet dunks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxZmjEE6xBc. I think he lacks confidence and grip to the ball. I get the feeling that he thinks he can't jump up hard enough or will lose grip to the ball as he is dunking so decides to do a lay instead. Man gotta do more hard dunks and be confident about it so that the defence can show him some respect.

 

Before we can even hope that Asik develops any resemblance of an offensive game, he needs to learn how to finish around the rim. Dude has missed so many put backs that are literally 6 inches away from him, at this point it would probably be better for him to just kick it out every time.

 

In the Atlanta game I swear he several times tried to tap the ball after it was already in the cylinder and it clanged out. Severe bricklaying.

 

Asik doesn't look very aggressive around the basket. Chandler looks very tentative going to the basket. Lin is second guessing himself with his shot and going to the basket. Only Harden is 100% invested and confident in his looks, likely because he's been playing non-stop for a year now.

This suggests this is a team wide issue which will iron itself out over time as the "rotation" (if you want to call it that) is solidified, and as players become familiar with how to optimize each other's looks.

I believe Asik has an offense coach/trainer on the rockets staff, so hopefully someone will mention this issue to him. I'd rather see Asik pick up a few offensive fouls being too aggressive rather than picking up an extra 4 or 5 offensive rebounds off of his own blown putbacks (a la moses malone, perhaps the most infamous stat padder in the history of professional basketball).

And yeah, those dipsy doo up and under reverse layups against the pistons were sweeeet.

 

Someone tell him there's a kebab in it for him if he throws down.

 

Agree. Defense wins championships.

But I expect Asik to quietly build up his offense and whip it!

The guys going to be a superstar. Book it!

 

LOL, superstardom for Asik is a bit of a stretch. I can see him becoming a 12 ppg scorer, although that's hardly guaranteed.

If Asik can become a 10 ppg, 12 rpg, 2 bpg player, he can help this team contend.

The more pressing need right now is to find a PF who can provide 18+ ppg.

The rockets are close to being a contender, but are definitely a piece away.

 

ASIK!!!!

 

he rebounds are so important for our offensive flow.

 

The man is a veracious dunker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLprBCKW2fo

This was with limited action with the Bulls though. He had fresh legs and his intention was to take Noah's spot everytime he's on the floor. You can certainly tell how hard of a worker he is, even in these older highlights.

I except him to gain more explosion as he continues to adjust to starters minutes, and learns to pace himself/get more quality back up minutes from whomever.