Neither was Nwaba's iso defense last night, his help defense was much better. Which is not his rep. And FYI, I was a big fan of the Nwaba signing. I wanted him over Ennis.
At the risk of getting flamed for bringing up national hoops fanatic and notorious Celtics honk, Bill Simmons... how to reconcile your bullet points with his unequivocal statement that Hezonja is the worst player in the league?
I like what I'm seeing from Tate and Nwaba. If the help, switching and man defense stays consistent during the season, And they consistently bring energy, hit open looks and push the pace I will be very happy. Once again, if we can build a bench like Dallas has in the past, a group of unheralded players who contribute to the whole for a great bench, that will make things so much better over the season. Players like this will be important for defensive matchups in the playoffs. These guys even rebound, have quick hands to disrupt the passing lanes and block shots at the wing spot which is needed.
Bill Simmons sucks. He went from serious basketball journalist to a schtick after Grantland. And I'm not saying Hezonja is a star, or even FT rotation player, but his skillset athleticism and size could be a better fit than what Rockets currently have.
last year i woulda taken a flyer on him this year, i prefer the group of tate , nwaba , among other young guys. Tate and Nwaba looked fluid and athletic in pre-season game 1. hezonja hasnt developed his shooting enough during his NBA tenure to make me think his ceiling is higher than those guys. And i think they might already be better defenders
Not saying to move Nwaba, maybe even Tate. But if Rockets are serious about contending for a ring, they need more size, length and playmaking at all the positions. Too many 6'5 players that are not long or playmakers.
Don't worry about the preseason score guys, there were a lot of good things from what our actual bench will be, Cousins, Nwaba, Gordon, Gerald Green, Mac had good looks etc. Also haven't seen how Brown will play and Wall has consistently looked like a star. Our real team will also have Harden, Tucker and Wood upgrading everything depth wise. Keep in mind, we had the lead until we fully put in our entire 4th string at the beginning of the 4th quarter, when Nwaba is finally pulled at about 9 minutes left. Unless you are a big Vipers fan, I wouldn't worry and there were good takeaways.
Nwaba guards 1-3’s at an elite level. He is rare because he can guard a top point guard and switch to stop a power forward from scoring. Covington is a different creature, he is a really good defender inside. I was really hoping to see Covington and Nwaba cause damage on the floor together.
