He's a good defender. He's a great catch and shoot three point shooter. He's athletic and his fast break defense is something to watch as he has a knack for contesting or outright blocking without falling. He brings more to the table than either Garcia or Casspi. What the hell? What did we trade Brooks for if Hamilton is just going to be another cheerleader on the bench? I seriously do not understand why Hamilton wasn't playing at all in the series against the Blazers. Is he going to get benched next season as well? I don't get it.
Also, he doesn't know his role. When his 3 ball was covered, he tried to penetrate, and I think he shoots about 5% off the dribble. He actually was my least favorite player.
Yea, basically this. He can't really penetrate off the dribble, his defensive rotations are not good, and his on-ball defensive fundamentals are extremely lacking. This is a simple case of relying on athleticism. When his 3 pt shot regressed to the mean, he was not a sustainable player.
I am a fan of his and thought we got over on the Nuggets with the trade (Brooks a 5'6" 3rd string PG / Cannon playing on fire for RGV at the time). Now his contract is up and we have no rights to him next season. If we didn't play him - than why make the trade? On paper he was the perfect fit. I really thought he would be a plus on both sides of the ball mosty for his rebounding. Where ever he goes next year - I will watch for him. He is a role player that most team would like to have IMO. MAYBE there is more to him than his play = his lack of playing time. (see dare I say Squid) 0.o
Ah didn't know that. Well it's safe to say he's not coming back if we had absolutely no faith in him and benched him. It's a shame because I still think he's an upgrade over Casspi and Garcia.
Mchale had it stuck in his head that you have to run an 8 man rotation, the Rockets as a whole still believe that the 3 and the key are the only ways to score, but it's obviously not working.
Poor shot selection, and not giving the intensity he was capable of on the defensive end got him benched. When Ham was first brought over in the trade, he really played like he had something to prove, and was scoring within the offense. That's the Jordan Hamilton the Nuggets had been trying to get for 3 years. However after about 3 games, Ham reverted back to his old ways, and it ended up getting him in the same place he was back with Denver. And yes his contract is up. I wouldn't rule out the Rockets offering him a contract again, but its most likely going to be a vet. min. non-guaranteed contract that he will likely pass up to go elsewhere where he can get more money potentially and more PT.
I watched almost all of his UT games and a few of his Nuggets games, and I had never heard of him being a good defensive player until he came to Houston and many people on Clutchfans just assumed that he was. In college especially, he was a guy who could score well (if inconsistently) but not do much else. So I was really confused when he came here and people were saying he would be our perimeter defender that we so sorely needed. That's just not who he is.
Who do you perceive would offer him that kind of deal? In the Association, that is. IMO Ham blew his golden opportunity.
He wasn't any worse than any of the other perimeter defenders in the lineup, and his shot was streaky at worst. Again, just like everyone else in the lineup. IMO, his length and athleticism really could've been used in that Portland series. But honestly, he just wasn't good enough to raise a fuss over.
I think the Rockets will insist on the deal being completely non-guaranteed, and some other team will give him a guaranteed year 1. Basically it will come down to being a training camp invite for the Rockets vs. having a guaranteed year with another team. Yes he did. He had the opportunity to press Parsons for PT, and even did in the first couple games, but quickly fell back into his old ways.
