Chronic: Next for Novak - Strength If it's been posted, lock it up! http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4075096.html Rookie already shoots the 3 well; Rockets want him to throw his weight around a little more By FRAN BLINEBURY Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Yao Ming finished last season averaging 22.3 points and 10.2 rebounds a game, both career highs. Imagine what he might be able to accomplish without two and three defenders constantly hanging from his 7-6 frame. The Rockets do that all of the time. Imagine, that is. So enter Steve Novak, the second-round draft choice whom the team signed to a three-year contract on Wednesday. The 6-10 forward from Marquette has the kind of shooting range that the Rockets hope will force defenses to take some of their attention away from Yao. "If you remember back in the days when we first started making waves and winning big, it was all about a change of philosophy that focused on putting shooters around Hakeem (Olajuwon)," said general manager Carroll Dawson. "It started with Scotty Brooks. Then we eventually added Mario Elie and Kenny Smith and Vernon Maxwell. We just made it hard for teams to double-team down on Dream. If they did, they were going to pay. That's the idea with Steve." That's fine with the rookie, too. Helping Yao, T-Mac "Shooting is what I do," Novak said. "I definitely feel like that will be my role with the Rockets. With the attention that players like Tracy (McGrady) and Yao demand, it's important to keep the defense away from them, space the floor and allow them to do what they do best. That's my job." Novak averaged 17.5 points a game in his senior season and shot 46.7 percent from behind the 3-point line. He holds the Marquette career record for 3s. "I was always tall as a kid, but I always tried to do a lot of things on the court," he said. "I was never that big guy who just played with his back to the basket. It helped that my dad was my high school coach and gave me the encouragement to try different things." By using money left over from their mid-level exception after signing Vassilis Spanoulis, the Rockets were able to give Novak a three-year deal instead of the standard two-year contract for second-rounders. "His shooting was the first thing that attracted us to him, no doubt," Dawson said. "I like his range. But I've also got to like a guy who shoots 97.4 percent (74-of-76) from the foul line for a whole season. Coach (Tom) Crean uses a pro set at Marquette. So from a style standpoint, I don't think it's going to be too difficult for him to get adjusted." But Novak will have to get stronger, Dawson said. "We used him at the 3 spot in the summer league, but he's probably going to have to play both forward positions on our team," Dawson said. "So as soon as we got him signed, I took him right downstairs and turned him over to our strength coaches." When Novak's name was heard on draft night, most Rockets observers made the immediate connection to Matt Bullard, the tall sharpshooter who played on Houston's first NBA champion in 1994. More agile than Bullard "Sure, he's a big guy who can shoot the ball," Dawson said. "But I think he's more mobile than Matt, who pretty much had to play the 4 position. What I saw at the summer league that I really liked was that this guy goes all out all of the time." Dawson is still trying to finalize a contract agreement with point guard John Lucas III, who played 13 games with the Rockets last season.
Good article on Novak, thanks for posting. Also, the bud light song for the trade callers was spot on.....
steve novak is 220 lbs, how much weight should he gain? i say around 235 should be good for PF position.
Doesn't look like this kid ever picked up a weight in college, he'll have a long way to go befor he can even see the 4, maybe Battier will be able to compensate for him a bit. So the Rockets use a little bit more of the MLE, looks like we're pretty much left with the trade exception.
what worries me about trying to make him bigger is it will affect his shot. think about some of the greatest shooters in the NBA. we all know he's capable with that 97.4, but think about the best shooters. did Calvin have big arms, go down the list, rauf, hornacek, miller, barry, stockton, bird, nash, etc. NOne of these guys put on significant muscle and they remained the best shooters. I wish Novak was stronger but we have to accept that 97.4 with a catch. that he'll never be a bully. Name on ripped NBA player that even shoots 85%. Ironically Yao is the exception with his 89% percent in the last half of the season. ( My numbers could be off), but he still isn't a TRUE bully. For the most part nobody i can think except Malone who took more free throws then anybody in history I think, and he was never small, he just perfected his shot through having more practice then anyone. Let's accept Novak for what he is and try to exploit his shooting. I bet starting on some Euro team that again will probably punk Team USA with scronny arms and a dead eye shot. THink about it, an effective fg% percentage for someone like Wade or anyone is 50%. Wade doesn't shoot 3's. that equivalent to Novak shooting 33.3%, if all his shot's are 3's. Something we know he'll definetly do. Granted I would never want our specialist shooting only 33% but that a mininum level for him to still be effective. this might be my longest post ever.
Novak is a bright spot in the rockets future, we wanted a shooter so bad now we have one who is also long so his shot will not easily be affected
LOL i had alot of trouble understanding what the hell you were trying to say good thing you mentioned you were drunk...
Calvin had the rep as being one of the toughest S.O.B.'s in the league when he played. He got in fights all the time. If Novak develops a fraction of his attitude, I don't care how ripped he is. He'll help the Rockets.
yes i know he was very MENTALLY tough but how much muscle did he gain throughout his nba carrer. my post referred more to a physical aspect while you're take seems to focus on a mental aspect. I couldn't have been more specific, I believe i referenced Arm strength just three words before mentioning Calvin's name. I will not debate with you Calvin was a warrior, I will debate your response had nothing to do with my comment
i think this guy practices enough on his shot that he will not be affected by added strength. but.....believe or not, i been known to lie.
Clearly, the Rox, by giving 3-yr deals to Novak (and ostensibly JLIII) are committing themselves to these guys. It almost sounds like a plan (Plan-3[yr]?).
I agree. Look at Tiger Woods. Golf was and is a game of power and finesse. Dude's arguably the most powerful player with the best touch. Novak has to get stronger to guard both forward spots. Plus what makes a good shooter is shot prep.... Jon Barry, anyone?... The bulk won't affect his footwork at all, help his posture, and not affect his quick release.
Novak doesn't need to gain much weight (15 lbs max); he needs to gain strength. He needs to be strong like Dirk, not Karl Malone. Novak will never be a bull on the low block, but he must be able to defend on the low block full-time. If Novak is ever to develop into a starting caliber player, it will be at PF. Developing his strength over the next couple of years will be key to that. Think of Novak as a Troy Murphy type of player, except he's a much better shooter and won't be quite as strong. Hopefully Novak will also develop some variety in his offense.
The biggest mistake people make about strength training is that muscle size equates to strength. Strength trainers, not the type you find in your local gym, can increase a person’s strength without adding muscle size. One of the ways many ways is called synaptic facilitation, which uses repetitive and reasonably intense stimulation. Another is using lower reps and heavier weights, which is what weight lifters and powerlifters use. Bodybuilders, who have large muscles, are very much weaker than weight lifters and powerlifters. One of the most surprising things about Michael Jordan is that he was extremely strong. Most of the guards in the league considered him one of the strongest guards.
That is who I envision when I think of Novak. Murphy was pretty skinny in college and he had a similar game to Novak in college, then he gained a lot of muscle mass and now he is a double double guy with range. While I don't see Novak turning into Murphy maybe he will still get stronger without losing the touch.
One thing I found interesting in this article is that they used part of the MLE to sign Novak to a 3 year deal instead of a standard 2 year deal for 2nd rounders. I guess this is what they are doing with JL3 too. I wonder how much of the MLE will be left after they do these deals.
