lol, this guy reads this forum http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2006/12/bench_marks.html December 27, 2006 Bench marks Next time the Rockets lose and you want to verbally rip someone's head off, remember this; it could be worse, you could be a Nets fan. This team really didn't look as if it should be that bad, even with Nenad Krstic out for the year. But these guys only defend when the mood strikes, will fling outside jumpers all night. If they seem to have too much big-time talent to be 11-19, check this out; they are the second-best team in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area. Still, it was a good win for the Rockets because they did defend hard and smart and got all over the boards, two of the things they will have to do without Yao Ming. The third, cut down on turnovers, was a disaster. But do two well and hit a bunch of 3s and the Rockets can win some games. If that is not a terribly ground-breaking revelation, I thought I'd throw something else out there. With all the complaints about Jeff Van Gundy's rotation, let's clarify the argument. If you simply want to see the kids, believing that they will be better than the guys playing, I can't argue. I can't agree either. I haven't seen them enough to know. (It always amazes me how people can be so sure.) The notion of "throw them out there and take a look" never appealed to me. It's not time to experiment. And we need that, but they don't because they do get a look at practice. And I totally disagree with the idea of giving young players playing time simply because they are young. This is the NBA. You should only get the playing time you earn, if only because minutes played by one guy are minutes not played by someone else. Leaving the debate about the kids -- Vassilis Spanoulis, John Lucas and Steve Novak -- aside, I found myself wondering if Jeff Van Gundy is not actually playing his bench more than enough, at least lately. On Wednesday, Luther Head played 26 minutes, Bonzi Wells 27, Chuck Hayes 29. That's nearly 90 minutes given to the bench. That sounds about right. So, is the question how about much playing time he gives to his bench, or how many players he plays off the bench? His argument is that Head, Wells and Hayes can play better if given regular minutes than if spreading those minutes around like Mardi Gras beads. These days, he needs his bench to show up. Head is a good, young perimeter player. Wells is a solid, in-the-paint veteran. Hayes is a young defender and rebounder. (Lucas, by the way, will play against little guards.) The Rockets don't have the luxury right now for on-the-job training. They also might be leaving help sitting there. So which is it? How many guys play off the bench, or how much? Remember, any minutes you give, you also take.
good article as much as i love the new guys ( i am wearing my novak jersey at work today as i am writing this) they shouldnt be playing meaningful minutes just yet. but i thought coach should have thrown them in earlier during garbage time. they have practice to prove themselves. i think novak will be a solid rotational player soon enough. he needs to get stronger and work/learn his rotations better on both offense and defense. vspan needs to work on his jumpshoot the rest is there to be a good rotation player just improvement and discipline. lucas, his height is his greatest enemy but he can be our boykins type of energy high offense guy. on the court right now isnt the time but they will contribute i am willing to be patient on these guys.
can't agree more, what we don't know is how they make in practice... but I would also like to see them more in garbage time, yesterday against the Nets was the time, and he wouldn't let them play, I have no clue why he ignored them, do they get an explanation or do they know themselfs whats going on?
