[Videos] UPDATED: Scrimmage highlights, Patterson in post drills

The mystery of why Hill is all of a sudden getting so much praise and looking so much better is finally revealed: because he is going up against Thabeet.

 

Media day, featuring Hasheem Thabustamove

http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2011/12/16/MEDIADAY512Kcopymov-1936889/index.html

 

Thought I'd give my 2 cents on Lin having watched him since college and during his time with the Warriors. I'm not a fan of his as a basketball player but I'm a fan of his as a person so I hope he makes good although I have my doubts.

Strengths:
- His ability to play team defense and strip the ball is very impressive. Think Baron Davis.
- Has high basketball IQ
- Good at finding the open man
- Very scrappy player who gives 100% every play. He's all over the court and gets involved in a lot of plays
- Does pick and rolls very well and also excels in open court situations

Weaknesses:
- Turnover prone. His assist to turnover ratio is pretty bad.
- Slow of feet. Sometimes has difficulty keeping his man in front of him
- Erratic jumper. He's had high FG% in college because his game is mostly slashing.
- Timid game. Always defers.
- Suspect handles. A speedy PG defending him will give him troubles.

Overall, I think he's more a 3rd string PG. He played mostly SG in college so he's just learning how to play the point in the NBA although he played PG in high school. I hope he proves me wrong this year but I haven't seen much improvement in his game from his college years.

 

He's tall and decently athletic, yes that's rare and that's a huge reason why he was drafted.

Doesn't mean he'll actually develop into something.

I'm all for developing him, if he earns the minutes that is. Otherwise, he gets backseat behind Scola, Pat and Hill.

 

From what I saw, hill is still hill. Fading away jumpers in the paint

 

Thanks Clutch.

Love the access, hopefully we can get an article from you about your expectations for the team as you are right there, and have a much better feel than the rest of us.

Not to mention your writing is much better than the Chronicles because it comes from a fan's perspective.

DD

 

Clutch is aboard the tank train! :grin:

 

If we don't keep Lin I'm going to WTF. Dude looks solid and smart.

 

Sooooo excited for some basketball FINALLY. Lets go Rockets!

 

It's been bothering me that the coaches never seem to say anything about this. He can't keep shooting hook shots from his ear. He's 7'3", he needs to use it!

 

It took years for Yao to learn to lean into his oppnent and use his height.

DD

 

Thabeet looks like a r****d out there.

 

He's an undersized shooting guard who can't shoot.

 

I doubt he ever becomes a C with post moves. I don't think he will develop into a offensive post player. We just need him to dunk the ball when it's a drive and dish to him and go back up hard to dunk when he gets a offensive rebound. If he rebounds on the defensive end and clogs up the lane and blocks or alters shots he will be serviceable. Trying to develop him into a offensive threat I think will be a futile effort. Some players just dont have 'that' in them. After his rookie contract is up he will be paid for rebounding and defense if he shows he can do more of that on a consistent basis. It could take years like Mutumbo did to develop a basic jump hook haha

 

He's a point guard with great size who can't shoot.

You're implying he looks for his own shot, when more often than not he creates opportunities for others.

He's a pure PG.

 

No, it didn't. Feel free to continue to preach on about Thabust... but let's not be revisionist here.

Yao, his rookie year.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CUnnWoRWvdA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Where did this notion come from? He has never been regarded as pure 1. He was a scorer for Harvard, but can't do that at NBA level. What's keeping him a fringe NBA player is his hustle. A hard worker coaches like on their squad for practice.

 

This. Shaq himself said he had trouble guarding Yao because of his height. Yao's finesse game combined with his height made him near contestable when he goes for a fade away.

Yao was a beast, he took some time to adjust to NBA level talent but it didn't take long for him to prove that he belongs to the league.

Thabeet hasn't even proven himself worthy of being in the league and he's in his 4th year.

 

Why isn't SCOLA teaching these bigs how to post up?

What makes Scola's fakes so effective is he turns towards his fakes. Every single one of these guys are faking with their hands and ball and the rest of their body is still facing the other way. You're not going to fake anyone out like that.

You've got to fake with your body, which includes facing that way, and then spin/turn the other way.


I'm all for trying to develop hill and Thabeet into something solid, but this coaching isn't going to get it done IMO. Time to reach out to Dream.

 

Almost every player in the NBA is capable of putting up points in college.

Battier was averaging 20 ppg in Duke before he joined the NBA. But his role and focus has always been on defense when he was in the NBA.

Lin is definitely a PG