Rockets select Isaiah Canaan with the 34th pick of the 2013 NBA Draft

This guy has NO offensive weaknesses and he's loaded with offensive pluses. He's a perfect fit here. I hope we keep him and don't trade him.

Wouldn't surprise me if he is underrated defensively as well. I expect he will largely disruptive when he is defending. Will have problems with guys like Westbrook probably but in my opinion will be able to defend Westbrook as well as most any other point guards can that are not named Lebron James and Patrick Beverley.

I can understand the rationale behind trading Jeremy IF this guys is actually as good as advertised and I think he is. I think he's going to exceed expectations.

 

A comparison, not QUITE the same, but another player that didnt have big assists and assist-to-TOs numbers in college

Jeremy Lin. Lin averaged 3.5 assists & 3.2 turnovers his college career. His breakout junior season was 4.3 assists/3.8 turnovers a game.

Not like Lin is a GREAT caretaker of the ball in the pros, though he's adequate. Yes Lin was definitely more shooting guard/combo guard in college. While Canaan projected to be an NBA POINT all the way, so his PG ceiling is actually lower because he's been at the PG 4 years and didnt show any growth as a passer. But it shows a player can improve the ballhandling and passing a little.

Canaan can be something of a poor man's Leandro Barbosa role (not the same game, just the role). He's in there to shoot, not to facilitate.

 

Nice info! Thanks. He really does seem like a perfect guy to play minutes with Harden. As a 4 year player, he could see time on the court sooner, rather than later. In other words, maybe after the break this season, if he's been busy working his way off the Vipers.

 

Maybe McHale will end up giving all three PGs - Lin, Bev, and Canaan - rotation minutes, maybe giving Canaan some time at the backup SG spot. If his shooting is as good as advertised.

 

I really like this pick from everything I have seen so far. Great "value" pick for the Rockets. Got him at #34 when most people had him in the early 20's. Rockets always go BPA in the draft. But this is also a real good fit right now.

Love what I am seeing from Canaan in terms of shooting and that deep range. Seems like a great fit off the bench as a scorer/energizer guy. Looks lot like Ben Gordon. Or could be a Bobby Jackson/Vinny Johnson type player. No question in my mind he will be a solid bench role player on this team.

And maybe the one thing I like best about what I have seen is he has "swagger." He looks totally unafraid. Very similar to Beverley in that manor.

I bet Canaan tears it up in the summer league.

 

And so it begins.

This board is going to be flooded with the COFs! :grin:

Thanks for the analysis! Looking forward to seeing the kid play in a Rocket's jersey!

 

If he has a weakness it's his iso defense. He is very intelligent defensively on help, when to do what, and has great footwork and mechanics but has shown some difficultly staying completely in front of very athletic guards. Because of our roster last year, not only was he our only offensive weapon and ball handler, but he also had to play nearly 40 minutes a game as well as guard the opponents best offensive player most of the time. He was our best perimeter defender after we lost Zay Jackson, who was a lock down defender. What I'm saying is that he was fatigued much of the game so I don't know how much that had to do with it. fwiw

 

Lin better ball out because Canaan is coming. I can see Beverley being able to harass him defensively but Lin may get embarrassed by this guy.

 

Yes if you watch this guy much you will appreciate his "swagger". He backs down to no one and loves big moments and he will let his opponent know it.

 

During the press conference Morey was grinning when Cannon was comparing himself to Chris Paul, apparently his hero. You can imagine what he was thinking. "You are no Chris Paul, but if you turn out to half as good as he is, I will be declared one of the greatest GM's of all time."

 

Iso Defense against other athletic guards?


yeah...that's the least concern. Lebron James can't guard Tony Parker on a clear out. Nobody in the league can guard a healthy Tony Parker on a clear out. And Parker isn't the only one that can't be guarded on a clear out. The NBA has many, many players that can't be contained in that setting. And Canaan may be another one to add to that pile. Canaan himself may not be able to be contained if isoing on a single defender.

These kinds of arguments in scouting reports I simply ignore. I only worry about this issue if they're talking about a guy so poor athletically that he can't contain Kyle Korver (or someone of that ilk) in an iso situation.

 

My greatest concern about Canaan is his turnovers. Can he become a low turnover guy? If he can...then his game could go off the charts. Because low turnovers would distinguish him amongst a lot of good players who can score all sorts of way but they turn the ball over a lot.

 

I like the pick. Don't think he's the PG of the future, but could he be better than Lin?

 

He's not very good finishing at the basket (according to draftexpress), but agree it was a good pick.

 

Yeah, I'm not buying that. He goes to the FT line a ton. Guess why?

Is James Harden a good finisher at the rim? He only shoots 56% at the rim. Very pedestrian in and of itself. But you gotta throw in the huge amount of free throws he draws, the vast majority of those freebies coming off his drives to the rim. Those don't offset his shooting percentage but they shoot his efficiency at the rim through the roof.

Last season, Harden basically drew a shooting foul every 2.4 times he shot a 2-pointer. Over the course of his 4-yr career, Canaan basically drew a shooting foul every 2.6 times he shot a 2-pointer. So you can see a good comparison in aggression to the rim and the resulting fouls called. Finishing is not a weakness. His aggression is a strength.

 

This guy seems a little too good to be true. How is his rebounding? He reminds me a lot like Lowry.

 

Seems similar to both Harden and Lin to me. All 3 can get to the rack and draw fouls. Canaan can also shoot to boot which is something Morey pointed out again and again. I wish he was a bit taller and longer, but his strength through low center of gravity also seems to be an asset.

Burke > Canaan > Larkin

 

Actually he is a great rebounder for a 6' guy. His almost 6'5 wingspan and 40.5" vertical helps him out along with great insticts. Many times he will go up and get long rebounds against bigger guys. If he gets the rebound you better be running because hes taking off down the court.

He will be fine with turnovers I believe. He has too good of handle and IQ not to. If you watched many games last year year you will see why he had over 3 turnovers per game. He had the ball in his hands a LOT and was asked to do a LOT with it. Also, he commanded the opposing teams best defender or best 2 defenders ALL the time. If you try to stick someone on him who isn't on top of their game defensively or slacks off of him the slightest bit he will make them every time and other teams knew that.

 

Sounds like he could be a great offensive role player. Doesn't need the ball to score, but could make something happen should he have to.

 

great shooter too.