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UDFA Matthew Hurt signs with Rockets

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Spooner, Jul 30, 2021.

  1. JW86

    JW86 Member

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    Just once I want to have an automatic shooter who can stay on the court. I like that high release, nice signing!
     
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  2. coachbadlee

    coachbadlee Member

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    Another big man. I like it. For some reason I thought he was a guard.
     
  3. Le$$

    Le$$ Member

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    If he does stick around because of his shot, its would of been funny to hear Bullard say "Lets put the Hurt on em", Or Its "Gonna hurt" reference to all his 3's from down deep. lol. Good thing he wont be on the broadcast anymore thou.
     
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  4. hakeem94

    hakeem94 Member

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    hmmm a great coach could use that to win the ring... i remember livingston wining a couple of rings for gsw using the fairly useless skills in the post.. also the white guy from bucks who made the difference in games 5 and 6 of the finals doing some damage in the post
     
  5. hakeem94

    hakeem94 Member

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    hes hurt now perhaps when he gets healthy?
     
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  6. hakeem94

    hakeem94 Member

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    if only he werent hurt...
     
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  7. hakeem94

    hakeem94 Member

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    NICE , if i were stone i would have lockdown these 3 in the gym right now, and not let them out until they could shoot 40% from 3
    ps oh and i would have hired a personal shooting coach for each one of them
     
    jcmoon likes this.
  8. hakeem94

    hakeem94 Member

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    but the timeline tho
     
  9. hakeem94

    hakeem94 Member

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    yes, and whatever happened to coaching? if hes not a great defender then you teach him, you teach him...and he works hard to get there
     
  10. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking
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    We've secured our Matt Bonner. Championships will follow.
     
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  11. daywalker02

    daywalker02 Member

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    Was always a Troy Murphy, Donyell Marshall guy.
     
  12. VoR

    VoR Member

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    Just teach him to guard the perimeter. When he’s 15-20 from 3, it won’t matter that they’re 15-20 from 2.

    45 > 30

    I can math.
     
  13. Haymitch

    Haymitch Custom Title
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    He's got a crazy looking shot. It's not bad, because it's a high and quick release. But it's different.
     
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  14. Williamson

    Williamson JOSH CHRISTOPHER ONLY FAN
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    I hope he's able to stay on the court defensively. He's a smart enough player he may find a way. Would love a 6'9 shooter off our bench if he can play even league average defense.
     
  15. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    Matthew Hurt goes to the Houston Rockets: Here’s what they’re getting
    https://theathletic.com/2732208/202...he-houston-rockets-heres-what-theyre-getting/

    The main reason why Duke’s disappointing season didn’t turn downright disastrous? One guaranteed (and goateed) bucket-getting machine: Matthew Hurt.

    Now, Duke — which missed the NCAA Tournament this year for the first time in over two decades — still struggled as a whole, its glut of individual talents never quite gelling. But that didn’t stop Hurt from breaking out, as the 6-foot-9 sophomore developed into one of the nation’s best shooters. Hurt canned 44.4 percent of his 5.3 deep attempts per game, making at least two triples in 15 of Duke’s 24 contests. It’s unsurprising, then, that he averaged 18.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, practically double his freshman numbers. Being named to the All-ACC first team, as well as winning Most Improved Player, was a formality by season’s end.

    But back to that 3-point shooting, which stands out as Hurt’s most projectable pro tool. When he’s wide open, Hurt is nearly automatic from behind the arc. Given his size, though, and the added strength he acquired in the summer of 2020 — Hurt gained about 20 pounds, focusing primarily on strengthening his legs and core — there are few shots he can’t get off. Basically, even when he’s covered, his height and high release make it nearly impossible to block his shots. Per KenPom.com, Hurt’s 3-point percentage was 52nd nationally, but 10th among high-major players and 14th among those with over 100 attempts.

    Translation? Hurt is a high-volume, high-efficiency 3-point shooter, arguably the most in-demand skill in the NBA today. That’s why the Houston Rockets ultimately signed the undrafted Hurt to a way-way contract, sources confirmed to The Athletic.

    “The NBA team that drafts Matthew is getting a player very dedicated to his craft,” Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement when Hurt declared for the draft. “He is already a pro in how he approaches the game and approaches his development as a player and a person.”

    That idea of development is an interesting one, especially considering Hurt arrived on campus at Duke as a sterling five-star recruit. That recruiting ranking, though, didn’t take into account the physical adjustments Hurt would need to make to compete in the ACC. Initially, he lacked the strength to play inside against opposing bigs, and his inconsistent offense as a freshman didn’t outweigh those defensive concerns. But rather than considering transferring, or declaring on the strength of his preps career, Hurt dedicated himself last summer to making necessary changes to himself and his game. Duke’s staff gave him a clear plan — add functional strength that will allow you to play both inside and out — and Hurt responded. Those additional 20 pounds meant suddenly he could bang with bigger forwards inside, but without losing the ability to slide along the perimeter. He also developed more of a game off the bounce inside, which enabled him to set up teammates as opposing defenses collapsed on him. Combine those scoring chops with his ball security, and you have quite the intriguing player.

    Those developments clearly enabled Hurt to have much more success as a sophomore, even with less talent around him. But equally as impressive was his mindset, and his willingness (despite his recruiting pedigree) to listen to feedback from coaches and actually put in the work.

    Now, there are obvious limits to Hurt’s game, which is why he did hear his name called Thursday night. Many of those are on the defensive end, where he lacks the foot speed to keep up with quicker wings, as well as the wingspan to provide serious rim protection inside. Offensively, he’s much more of a catch-and-shoot option than someone who can provide secondary ballhandling or creating. But, again, he does one thing on the court exceptionally well, and it’s the one that — as was evident in this year’s playoffs — is extremely important.

    That’s enough for the Rockets, who hope Hurt will develop into a rotational stretch forward. Regardless of those defensive and athletic limitations, there’s a place in the NBA for a 40-plus percent 3-point shooter with size and scoring ability inside. Hurt doesn’t require the ball in his hands often to be effective, meaning he’s an ideal complementary scorer on a second unit. And if he continues developing, whether as a handler, passer, or rebounder?

    Well, it’ll be to Houston’s benefit — and just the latest example of Hurt’s development paying off.
     
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  16. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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    I hope he likes his locker.
     
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  17. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    From The Athletic Draft Guide (Hurt #60)

    60. Matthew Hurt
    F | Duke | Birthdate: April 20, 2000 (Age: 21) | 6-9 | 235 LBS | Hometown: Rochester, Minn.

    Background
    Parents are Richard and Jenny. Has two siblings. Brother, Michael, played Division I college basketball at Minnesota. One of the most productive players in recent history of Minnesota high school basketball. Played at John Marshall High School in Rochester during his high school career and was basically immediately identified as an elite prospect. Team won laughable numbers of games in all four years, with Hurt hitting five- star prospect status the summer before his sophomore year. By the time his junior year rolled around, he was utterly dominant. Averaged 34 points and 15 rebounds per game that season. Then went onto the summer circuit with D1 Minnesota and averaged over 17 points while playing on a dominant team with NBA players Tyrell Terry and Zeke Nnaji, where he was clearly the No. 1 option. Returned to John Marshall for his senior year and averaged 37 points and 12 rebounds per game on his way to winning the Minnesota Mr. Basketball award. Was invited to both the McDonald’s All-American game and the Nike Hoop Summit after his senior year. Also played for Team USA in the summer of 2018 at the FIBA U18 Americas championship, helping his team win a gold medal. Was a consensus top-15 player in the 2019 recruiting class, a five-star prospect. Chose Duke over Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina and Kentucky. Was expected to be a one-and-done but struggled from the outset at Duke. Wasn’t quite ready physically to play at the collegiate level and got pushed around. Struggled defensively. Really, only thing he did well was shoot it. Was not a member of the All-Freshman team in the ACC. Considered going pro after that season but decided to return to Duke for his sophomore year. It was the right choice. Hurt won the Most Improved Player in the ACC award after spending the summer bulking up to around 235 pounds and thus being able to play through contact. Was a first-team All-ACC player and one of the best players in the entire league. Duke struggled, but he kept the Blue Devils afloat with his work as an offensive player. Decided to declare for the 2021 NBA Draft following his sophomore season, forgoing his final three years of eligibility. Invited to and attended the 2021 NBA Draft Combine.

    Strengths
    All about the shooting acumen with Hurt. He’s a 6-foot-9 frontcourt player who can knock down shots at an exceedingly high clip. He made 42.1 percent of his career 233 3-point attempts at Duke. Has an exceptionally high release point on the jumper from far over his head that makes him extremely difficult to contest as a shooter. Bring the ball almost behind his head as a load point, then flicks his wrist forward with a quick motion to get the ball to the rim. A bit of a strange shot that doesn’t have a crazy amount of rotation but is extremely feathery and rarely misses the target. Off the catch, he generally gets the ball off quickly despite that elongated release because he doesn’t have to dip the ball down below his chest before loading into the shot. Cans them in every situation you could ask for off the catch. Makes them off movement, out of pick-and-pops, as a trailer in transition or out of spot-ups that he steps into. Duke even occasionally ran hand-off plays for him as a shooter. A very smooth shooter who should be projected for NBA shooting success.

    Having said that, you can’t guard him with a smaller player or switch ball screens against him because he’s one of the most effective post scorers in the class. Because of that high release point and difficulty opposing players have contesting him, he was absolutely elite at posting at the college level. He took 63 shots out of post-ups this past season and made an insane 71.4 percent of them. That was the best mark in the country among the 275 players in Division I to take at least 50 shots out of post-ups. And these weren’t on easy shots where he pinned guys, either. Hurt loves the midrange fadeaway off the post. Uses that right leg on the fadeaway similarly to how Dirk Nowitzki did to create space. Hit a ton of jab- step fadeaways and baseline turnarounds. For him to shoot as high as he did on post-ups with this degree of shot difficulty is almost impossible to me. It will at least translate as a switch weapon against smaller players, even if I’m a bit skeptical and dubious that teams would ever throw it to him on a clear out and tell him to go to work.

    But the thing is that he’s really smart at sealing and turning out of ball screens to force those switches and get mismatches. A smart offensive scoring threat. Moves well away from the ball. Finishes at the basket when given the chance, having converted nearly 65 percent at the rim according to Synergy in half-court settings. Only a right-handed finisher right now, but good at attacking closeouts against true bigs and gathering to finish. Legit kind of a three-level scorer.
     
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  18. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    Weaknesses
    A lot of real concerns. Basically, only a scoring threat. Doesn’t have great tools to do anything else. Has real size for the four position at 6-foot-9 but only has a 6-foot-10 wingspan. Also, not an athlete by NBA standards. Not really quick twitch, not laterally great, nor is he particularly explosive.

    Perimeter issues are real defensively. Wants to defend and play aggressively, just can’t do it. Has poor lateral quickness, so he gets beat in one- on-one settings. He’s a hopper, not a slider laterally. He’ll be something of a mismatch magnet. Got beat off the bounce by other bigger fours regularly, let alone quicker guards who will try to string him out in ball screens in the NBA. Got attacked regularly at the college level in pick- and-roll. Thought he fell for fakes a lot when he was out on an island. Also has poor closeout form. Tries to go out aggressively, then gets caught in the mud and can’t drop his hips and move his feet to recover backward. Gets beat on them regularly. Can’t stay in front of anyone right now.

    He’s probably not going to be able to defend fours. But can he defend fives? The answer is also no. Doesn’t protect the rim well at all due to his lack of physical tools. That propensity to fall for fakes is real as a rim protector too. Rotationally, he’s not always there on the weak side when he’s supposed to contest. And even when he is there, his lack of length allows him to get finished over the top of. The question here is what is the role? Kind of a tweener stuck between defensive positions.

    Finally, he’s a bad passer who doesn’t see the floor well. Didn’t make the reads and see where the double was coming from in college. Doesn’t necessarily turn it over, just generally chose to shoot over the top of defenders. Not an option to short roll, because I haven’t seen him make a high-level read. Just didn’t even really seem to look to see where the help-side defenders were coming from at the college level. Needs to learn how to play well with his teammates and needs to learn the reads to attack defenses, not just make escape passes.

    Summary
    The evaluation on Hurt all comes down to how important you think shooting is in the modern NBA. Can Hurt become such a ridiculous weapon out of pick-and-pops and off movement that it overcomes his defense? Can he be something of a bigger version of Duncan Robinson who plays the four and creates shots out of movement and pick-and-pops? Can he crush switches in ball screens and then learn to make passes reads off them? Some of the flashes are there. He’d need to get into unbelievable shape, but he’s proven he’s willing to do that. And he’d need to become at least passable defensively. But when we’re getting into this area of the draft, I’m OK with betting on an elite shooting skill and seeing what else can be made of a player. Guys like Georges Niang and Doug McDermott are valuable rotation players largely because they are lights out from 3. Hurt has a ways to go to get to their level, but with some development, there is a chance.
     
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  19. groovemachine

    groovemachine Member

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    A 6' 9 kid who can drain 3's?

    What can it hurt?
     
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  20. bongman

    bongman Member

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    In before the meme.
     

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