https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-ne...n-the-nba-do-what-i-couldnt-do-in-madrid/amp/ Spoiler: Press to articulate article artifacts After joining the Houston Rockets, big man Usman Garuba hopes to that his role on the court will be bigger and more significant than the one he had with Real Madrid. “Having the ball in my hands more time and those kinds of things that I could not do in Madrid, where I have had to adapt to a role due to the type of players there are [on Real Madrid]. In general to be able to do more and more things.” Garuba said in an interview with Marca when asked what will he’ll be looking to improve in his rookie season in the NBA. (Pretty sure he’s 19 -don g) Garuba, 21, averaged 16:17 minutes during which he posted 3.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in the 2020-21 EuroLeague. After center Edy Tavares’ injury in Game 1 of the playoffs vs. Anadolu Efes, Garuba saw a great increase on his playing time and producing 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds in 30:11 minutes in the series. He ended up winning EuroLeague Rising Star, largely due to these performances in the quarterfinals. “I’m on a team that is undergoing ‘reconstruction,’ with many young players who are going to give a lot of prominence,” Garuba said on the Rockets’ current status when it comes also to how this will affect his own play. “Our key is going to improve day by day and that’s my goal too. To go day by day, working and improving many aspects that I wasn’t able to do these years due to the demands of Real Madrid, which is normal.”
So far I really like his passing and that wasn’t advertised. Anyone have any visions for how he’ll play?
Usman, sorry man, but you got to work more on that offense. Defense, you're da man. You can get plenty ball when you're sent down to the Vipers.
Good for him. I hope he can handle being a top dog at RGV where he will almost certainly spend most of this year. If he progresses offensively faster than expected, then I have confidence they will bring him up for significant minutes after the trade deadline.
The little we saw him in the high post in SL, he made quick decisions and passed the ball to open man. Don't see why he can't be used in a few sets like that this year as he develops some more offensive skills. Frankly, we should have him and Sengun working with Olajuwon now.
I like that his perspective is that when he was on a good team on Real Madrid he had to know his role, but now that he’s on the Rockets he can experiment more. Shows where we stand!
There is nothing wrong with anything he said. I like how candid he is. Why wouldn’t someone want to work on their complete game? If he turns into more of a 2 way player what is not to like?
It's hard to hide on offense in the NBA so I think the wide open NBA game in general will make him feel more involved on the offensive end by just the nature of the game. I assume he'll be a backup 5 in our system, and as long as he sets good screens and can role to the rim he'll be involved in nearly every play. Christian Wood's role will be key to knowing how much he'll be commanding the center position's involvement in the P&R, but with basically 3 bigs in our rotation, Garuba will be getting touches in the P&R for sure. He'll be exposed one way or another.
Players can want anything, but they have to earn it. If he wants the ball, he needs to learn how to play on that side of the ball.
