Another "Why We Watch" piece - this time featuring our very own Omer Asik. http://theclassical.org/articles/why-we-watch-omer-asik-one-and-the-other
There was Royce's a while back and I posted Rubio's in another section previously. http://theclassical.org/articles/why-we-watch-royce-white-the-double
i have to say this was a really interesting article. Most of the times these guys write in platitudes and say absolutely nothing. But this was well-written and he hit on the "two asiks" perfectly...I still think his offense, for all its quirkiness, is fascinating to watch and in only 16 games he has taken HUGE strides. The Gobbler is only going to get better..
Do you by any chance have a link to both. Would love to read. Just discovered this entire series today. It's kind of like the gothic ginobli capsule's although I prefer those over these ones I think.
I have to say that I don't think his offensive game is that bad. It's limited for sure--he can't hit a jump shot. But he can put the ball on the floor as evidenced by his plays leading the fast break and his one dribble dunk from the top of the key. He also has the ability to do some spin moves on the low block. These are much more than I was expecting. And his FT% is better than before too. The way he was being described before was like Ben Wallace. But he's got way better touch and the potential to get better.
I expected that Asik would average double digit rebounding but I honestly didn't expect that Asik would average double digit in scoring. He has exceeded my expectations so far. Remember this is the first year that he plays a starting role in the NBA. He will get better.
Well the Harden trade & Lin has a lot to do with that. The amount of attention they draw leaves the front court open for great looks. Credit to Omer he has been hitting them & playing beastly defense. Something that they don't talk about in regards to his offense is his passing ability. Omer is a legit passer. He can only get better he may have some Tyson Chandler potential on the offensive end in my opinion. Maybe not exactly like Tyson, because Tyson is more athletic than Omer but still. Omer I think is already the better defender & rebounder & passer also. Not as good of a screen setter or FT shooter or PNR finisher. Just some thoughts.
asik is a pretty good finisher man...people make his offense seem so terrible...hes better than alot of centers in the NBA
Thanks for the read, OP. In a broad fashion, it jives with how I view Omer myself. He does look awkward on offense, at least when scoring, or attempting to score. I think the picks he sets are a thing of beauty, so I'd leave that very important aspect of his offensive game out when discussing Omer's admittedly clumsy looking, but increasingly effective efforts to score. Just how good Asik will ultimately be is something we'll have to see going forward. I love watching good big men play, and the Rockets have a long history of not only good big men (Jim Petersen being a "good" example), but obviously several great big men, starting with Elvin Hayes from the University of Houston and the first #1 pick in Rockets history, through Moses Malone, Ralph Sampson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Yao Ming. Sure, the history of a couple of those great big men never reached fruition because of injury (Ralph, Yao), with Elvin and Moses getting their rings after the Rockets moved them (to save money, in my opinion), but the Dream took us to the Promised Land. Perhaps we'll get there again sometime over the next few seasons, and Omer Asik, whether good or great at either end of the court, will be a big part of it. We can dream, can't we?
HAHA:grin:Great Article..great picture as well: When he throws a ball up and it goes in, the bucket often feels as if it arrives at the hoop through a tear in the time-space continuum, and in defiance of some vast impossibility. It's weird. He's weird. Every single thing that Asik does with the ball in his hands looks accidental, and a little dangerous. That Asik is this versatile, agile, something like virtuosic; after crossing halfcourt, the Asik that appears on one end of the floor is almost useless outside the paint and limited even within it. One plays with pure, fierce intelligence and instinct; the other plays as if he was wearing cross-country skis. Same player, two different games. There is the possibility—which at times seems more like a certainty—that Asik struck a deal with the devil sometime around the time he signed his deal with the Rockets. This bargain would make him a lethal post defender and unstoppable rebounding machine; the price he pays—in true ironic-devil fashion, and even though he is averaging a surprising 12.1 points per 36 minutes this season—is that his every move as a scorer will appear hilariously inept. Even the monster dunks Asik throws down, which are capable in and of themselves of creating memes like "Asik and Destroy," seem like happy, violent accidents.
I was going to say you were wrong and provide some synergy stats to show how poor of a finisher Omer is. But turns out you were right. According to Synergy Omer is ranked 22 as the PNR Roll man 0.98 PPP 61 FG% & he is involved in roll man situations 30% of the time. That is higher than Dwight Howard. Not saying that Omer is better than Dwight because he isn't. The reason why he is higher than Dwight is because Howard has had 10 FGM/14 FGA where as Omer has had 28FGM/46FGA. Obviously as Howard gets more touches as the roll man he will surpass Omer. Thus far Howard is at 0.93PPP 71 FG% 8.8% time as the Roll man. Just some fun facts.
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=7390102#post7390102 I highly recommend the Rubio piece. Written by a guy who used to play in Europe. Specifically talks about his experience playing against Rubio back in the day.
barring some bad injury I am sure Asik will be better player than Dwight...perhaps he can show us tonight that he already can play fine against dwight...last time Dwight it seemed highly outplayed asik...i cant remember anyone doing this to asik this season...:grin:
Rubio's a fun read: http://theclassical.org/articles/the-ricky-rubio-experience Just finished it and found it... echo-y? :grin: I would love to know your thoughts on it.
I agree. Omer's double digit in scoring has a lot to do with Harden and Lin. Not only because attention they draw leaves the front court open for great looks (heck, even resulted in Patterson's career high vs OKC due to open front court), but also because Harden and Lin are top PnR players that like to feed Omer the ball, especially Lin, sometimes he even force-feeds Omer around the rim. Thus Omer gets a lot more touch on the ball and naturally leads to more score. If Omer can somehow make his hands better at catching the ball and finish with a dunk instead of a layup, I have no doubt every game he is double double machine.
Agreed. Am I going out on a limp if I say Asik can become a 15-18 ppg scorer in 2 years from now? I think which is most important-> the good instincts and bbiq are there. For that to happen, he needs to keep working as hard as he has and not get discouraged by blown layups and airballs. He's still a fish out of water on the offensive side, if the herky-jerkyness goes away with experience, he'll get there.
"...every move as a scorer will appear hilariously inept." After reading that I think they haven't actually watched Asik much post-Bulls. I mean, that was an accurate description before, but nowadays only maybe 1/3 of Asik's offensive moves appear hilariously inept. Way to go, Dawson.
People make Asik sound like he's Andris Biedrins or something. His offensive game isn't actually that bad. He's been solidly improving and he's just gonna get better. Center has the highest learning curve in today's NBA because of the number of stiffs there are. Asik's footwork is actually pretty good. That is an excellent sign because most young centers need to work on that more than anything. He just needs to develop one move in the post and I think he'll be more than solid. He needs dat jump hook.