That might work as well, but I am a sink or swim guy, get him in there, teach him the basics and let him learn from his mistakes..... Don't criticize him for them, use the mistakes to TEACH him, the guy is super intelligent, he will get it. DD
Doesn't it suck that we're down to debating whether or not to start Thabeastiality? From the thrill of Pau to the agony of Thabeast . . .
I personally say play the guy and if he gets it then he gets it, if not then oh well. This is his last chance in Houston I believe and unless he shows something he's gone at years end. Whats the worst that could happen he looses us games by starting and we end up with a top 5 or 10 draft pick.:grin:
Well we all know that actual game time is the best teacher. Hopefully he learning the plays as best he can in such a short period. Having three established vets on the floor with him should help.
They should just let him go out there 100% if he fouls out every game who cares, maybe he will get some confidence after he swats some balls all over peoples faces. Tbag the hell out of them. And if he sucks, who cares we increase our chance at getting a stud
It's really not though, not if you're still learning fundamentals. When the game speeds up and you haven't gotten enough repetitions in practice, you end up either thinking too much and being a step slow, or falling into bad habits trying to be reactive. I really can't bring myself to get excited over this guy.
This is just not true, there is nothing like competition to teach you what you can and can not do on the court. It will be interesting to see whom starts in the first preseason game against San Antonio, I expect it will be JHill......but you never know. DD
You learn what you can do in games, you learn HOW to do it through hours and hours of repetition and hard work. That's how you build muscle memory. That's how you learn to be instinctive and how to play without thinking. And with the speed of the game, that's what you NEED at the NBA level. This isn't high school, this isn't college, this isn't AAU ball. This is the highest level of competition in the sport (OHMSS might disagree I guess). If you don't have the fundamentals down, and it's obvious that Thabeet doesn't, you either get embarrassed or you fall into bad habits. EDIT: And this is all ignoring the fact that if he doesn't EARN playing time, he shouldn't get it.
There's a reason Thabeet is picked at No 2 overall. He developed very well in college and his rookie season, and only played subpar second year under a strict coach with win now mentality and 2 very good c/pf in Gasol&Randolph ahead of him. This is a guy with once in a decade length/agility combination. And he's picked No 2 consensusly. If he really has no interest in basketball, he would've failed at college or his rookie season. Dwest is a firm believer in Thabeet as well. If we really want to build a championship, Thabeet is a far better bet than Gasol&Nene(Sure we are better that way, but contender?Really?). At worst we can trade him away as expiring contract mid-season, and at best we will lock up a great center once and for all with low cost. From J West: Q: You reportedly have a high opinion of Hasheem Thabeet. Why? A: He's going to be in this league, like it or not, 10-14 years. He's going to be in this league that long. He's young and how many guys can block shots like he does in this league? Dwight Howard. If people are going to give up on him then they're crazy. He's got a skill. People that rebound in college rebound in the NBA. People that block shots in college block shots in the NBA.
That is J as in "JERRY" West folks. Look, he needs work, no doubt about it, if the Rockets are serious about it, they need to get a PERSONAL coach and assign it to Hasheem for extra work. He is a hard worker, just needs someone to teach him, the problem in the NBA is that there is very little TEACHING time as most players have the fundamentals down once they get in the league...Hasheem does not. The lockout probably hurt him more than any other player on our roster, the summer etc would have been great for him to train with McHale and staff. DD
Practice, we talking bout practice? PRACTICE ! Not the games, no not the games, practice. Practice.... You can't learn anything from the last 5 minutes of practice where the media is allowed in after 2+ hours of work. Come on now. DD
I agree with giving Thabeet a shot. His salary is high for his past production, but he still costs 1/2 as much as any other center we've been looking to bring in. Nobody's arguing that he has been any good thus far in his young career, but there's very little reason to not give him a fair shot to prove himself this year. We don't have another center and he's only signed for this year. I'd rather give him and Hill shots to step forward than signing a stop-gap like Dalembert. "Amnestying his @$$" gains us very little as we don't have great options to replace him. Look, he's got youth, intelligence, and size on his side, so let's see if some confidence and experience will help him capitalize on those attributes. If he fails this year, then he can be cut loose and hoepfully replaced in the draft or free agency next year.
Exactly Moon, they can Amnesty cut him or others at any time....you don't need to AMNESTY cut a guy when you are under the cap to begin with, might as well hold on to that option for a few years in case of a catastrophic injury situation like we had with Yao or Tmac. DD
Honestly, he's the 2nd center on the depth chart and the guy ahead of him is a PF. If he can't beat out the trash we've signed off the street for minutes, he should be waived immediately. And possibly beaten with cudgels.
LOL - give him some time to win you over, he has a guaranteed contract, got to pay it anyway, might as well keep him this year to see if he develops. DD
