Rockets select Bruce Thornton

But will the coaches ever play him? They don’t give young guys many opportunities on this squad. Hope he breaks out.

 

Where was he projected? I don’t know nothing about chubby ace hood

 

Ty Lawson 2.0

 

There had to be a 6'5 PG that can dribble and shoot left .....maybe in Europe?

This guy is short.

Reed towers over him.

DD

 

Draft experts say he was likely to be there at 39, but I can't be too mad since I don't really know much about these players.

 

NBA Comparison: Khalid El-Amin

 

not impressed... but seems like a good guy... so fingers crossed.

 

I was sort of wondering if when thanks for playing JD Davison thread would get started... Not sure why we could never play him consistent minutes. I guess he couldn't handle the weight of everything.

 

Of course he'll get all the playing time he wants down in RGV

 

He's short, but he is a true 6'0" without shoes according to his combine measurements, not one of those 5'10" guys who gets very generously rounded up. He'll probably get listed at 6'1" in the NBA. He also has a 6'5" wingspan (longer than Reed's) and a big body with enough strength to battle with bigs under the rim. When small guards succeed, it's usually guys with these kinds of measurements.

Moreso than his height, my concern would be whether his athleticism is enough to make it in the NBA.

 

Ty Lawson was very good before his 15 DUI’s and disastrous stint here.

Not sure what to make of this comparison.

 

Spurs picked a midget too. Where’s the hate?

 

It’ll give us a data point to judge the organization, one way or the other. At the end of the day, they traded a future second round pick to move up a few spots. Along with moving back two spots in the second round.

this, will actually be easier to finitely judge them. I’ve watched about 20 minutes worth of highlights and I like what I see.

some basket mowers can get past the height thing to a certain extent and I think this guy seems like a prime candidate. at the end of the day we didn’t invest much.

 

I wanted Thornton as one of 2nds pre-draft. But at pick 53...

I hope he moved up for a reason... the guy can handle the rock and shoot. Decent 3rd point guard.

But at pick 31? I think I would have preferred Meleek Thomas.

 

It's hilarious that he's only 4 months younger than Jabari Smith.

 

Not seen much of him. Short, but stockiness can help a lot with preventing bigger guys from pushing shorter guys around. Guessing he will be a better defender than Acuff and Reed as a rookie.

For me, got to see him shoot threes versus NBA defenders. He will need to be able to get his shot off to be effective.

 

The second round is the perfect spot to draft undersized analytic darlings, not the 3rd overall pick.

 

The difference is that one was the top talent in the draft, the other is someone who probably should have gone undrafted.

 

Ok, I have basically sat out this draft cycle (very weird for me) since the Rockets weren't going to do anything.

That said, Thornton is a good fit and experienced. Everyone think with me: imagine how many games we might have won if someone in the backcourt could have been semi-competent at bringing the ball up? Or someone who could create a shot in the mid-range.

Thorton is a truck and the all-time leading scorer in Ohio State history. Yes, he's not 6'5, but his reach is ok. And no one is pushing him around. The negative, of course, is 6'0 tall and an 11.55 lane agility time. That's not much side to side. He's quick when running in a straight line, but shaky with left and right.

But then again, maybe Thornton's level of experience will mean he isn't faked out of his shoes every time an offensive player shows him the ball (ala the ever agile athlete Cam Whitmore).