Hahah wow.. its like that Im not the one hating on our rookies, but whatever.. throw my name in whatever conversation you want
TJ was the biggest surprise. Everytime he stepped on the court he made something happen. He was the one and only pick that had me shaking my head when the Rockets selected him but I see what they liked about him now. So I guess in terms of what I was expecting and what I actually got TJ is the one. But I gotta say that I was impressed as hell with all of them and I don't really think there is a wrong answer between TJ, DMo, Highway30 and Lamb.
D-Mo looked really good, but having him watching all year in Europe I kinda expected it. Lamb played well, too, but I was high on him going into the draft and this last game he didn't get back on defense and was chucking it too much for my liking. Terrence Jones, I really didn't like watching him as a freshman and the few (I think three) Kentucky games I watched this year didn't really change my mind either. He looked better, but I still wasn't sold. I still think he's an expandable piece, but he sure looked good in Summer League. Played under control. Didn't settle for jumpers. Played hard, very consistent, good body language. He probably impressed me the most.
DMo is NBA ready. Lamb's impressive; rotational player with lots of upside. Definitely a guy you want to keep to see where his talent can take him. Jones surprisingly skilled. White a project. Needs lots of work on his shot. Machado deserves a good look in training camp as does Dragic. Fortson should be cut.
Defintely Terrence Jones I just thought he was a hustle player from the few hilights I saw of him at Kentucky, but he has a wide range of skills. I watched Jeremy Lamb in the Tourny and remember thinking, damn this guy is a free wheeling SG who can score really easily. I thought Lamb's skills would transfer pretty fluildy.
He was on my radar well before we acquired him, and I've always thought he would be very, very good. I was more surprised by Lamb. The ease with which he transitions into his shooting motion is more impressive every time I see it.
D-Mo impressed me the most, but Jones surprised me more. I really could not get a sense for how he played because the Kentucky roster was so loaded.
Lamb, Jones, and Motiejunas we're the most impressive. White was about what I expected, Machado was good in the last 2 games but pretty bad before that, and Zoran wasnt awful but I don't see him ever making an NBA team.
meh, I still doubt he sticks in the league. Impressive offense. Talented enough for a 3rd stringer. But 3rd stringer off the bench, I'd personally prefer D and safe minutes. He should go to Europe and be a star. His game is a lot like Sarunas Jasikevicius'.
I know that its not all about points, but Zoran Dragic (ZoZo) scored more points than Marcus Morris. I voted for Terrence Jones-btw.
Personally, I don't see how the answer is not Terrence Jones. However, the big take away from Vegas- if the Howard deal goes down and we lose 1 of our 3 rookies, I can be happy with any combination of the remaining two (which is probably going to be White & Jones)
Leuer appreciation thread time: http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2012/07/rockets-cut-two-turn-attention-to-asik/