[Houston Chronicle] Nachbar finding his comfort zone

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2827579


3rd-year forward has inside track to key reserve role

By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle



Tracy McGrady made a point, as star players not named Shaquille or Kobe often do on such occasions, to promise that the Rockets will have no power struggle. They are not his team, he said, and they are not Yao Ming's team.


New to the Rockets as he is, McGrady perhaps did not know the Rockets had already been claimed.

They are Boki's team.

"I feel like this is my team now," third-year forward Bostjan Nachbar said. "Guys are coming instead of me going to a different team."

Nachbar might not have meant the "my team" thing quite the same way as others before him. But he does feel far more comfortable and confident than before his other two NBA training camps. More than that, he likely will have a stake in the Rockets' successes or failures, rather than merely a good vantage point to observe them.

Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said Friday that Nachbar will have the first shot at becoming the primary backup to both McGrady and Jim Jackson.

"I love him," Van Gundy said. "He has come so far in a year. He couldn't go up and down the court twice last year when he came here. Now, he's in great shape. He knows how to practice; he's intense."

With Van Gundy, it will be tough love. But if Nachbar has been able to earn Van Gundy's affection, he might also be able to earn some playing time.

"I told him, 'I love you, but forget about that,' " Van Gundy said. " 'You still have to play.' With (Bob) Sura's injury, he gets first shot behind Jimmy and McGrady."

The other rookie in the draft class that brought the Rockets Yao Ming, Nachbar played in just 45 games last season. In two NBA seasons, he is averaging 2.8 points per game on 35.6 percent shooting. But he improved so much defensively that he played in every game in the playoff series with the Lakers.

That performance brought a memorable showdown with Karl Malone and the promise that Nachbar could be ready for a much greater role this season.

"It's different," Nachbar said. "Being here awhile, I know what to expect. ... My first year, I came to a different city and a different country. The second year, the whole coaching staff changed. We all had to make adjustments."

Additional opportunity arrived when an injury to Sura put him out for the entire preseason and at least the first few weeks of the regular season. Nachbar welcomes the increased expectations and demands.

"The first practice went fine," Nachbar said. "I know the coach is hard on me, which is good. He wants more and more from me."

The Rockets have the rest of this month to exercise their option to extend Nachbar's rookie contract for a fourth year. They already made the move with Yao but have chosen to mull Nachbar's option through the preseason, as they did last year with Eddie Griffin.

"I'd like to stay here," Nachbar said. "If they do, they do; if they don't, it's going to motivate me even more."

jonathan.feigen@chron.com


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Rockets summary
No break for Yao
The Rockets' first full day of training camp Saturday coincided with National Day in China, a celebration that begins a full week taken off by most workers.

Center Yao Ming, however, resisted the urge to suggest Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy give him such a break.

"I tried to forget," Yao said. "In China, that's seven days you're off. I'm here, and I get to practice to celebrate. Of course I know. Most people are taking the day off."


Old Warrior welcome
Former Warriors coach Eric Musselman attended the Rockets' practice Saturday. Musselman was in town to attend the Oakland Raiders' game today against the Texans. He also took in the Astros' game Saturday night.

"He was just killing a couple hours until he could get to the Astros game," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "He whipped our butt twice out there last year. You can always learn from really good coaches, and Eric's a really good coach."


Versatile assistant added
The Rockets' roster transformation has spread to the coaching staff.

Besides the eight new players and three camp invitees — guards Davis Hawkins and Derrick Zimmerman and forward/center Brook Sales — the team added new assistant coach Jim Sann.

Sann replaced Mike Wells, who joined former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich with LA as video coordinator.

"Jim is one of the great success stories in the NBA," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "He went from being a PR intern to a Knick office manager with the basketball unit, to video coordinator to director of basketball administration to assistant coach with the Raptors, and here as an assistant coach. ... He's got to work on his ball-handling, though. He can't pass off the dribble. But he is a great, great tireless worker.

"Mike was very special. But replacing him with someone of Jim's caliber was very good for us."

 

Damn straight it's Boki's team.

 

Not necessarily. Basically with that quote Van Gundy implied that without Sura's injury, Boki would have been a third stringer(end of bench) again, with Sura being the primary back up of Tmac and Jimmy.

With that said, i am happy that Sura is injured. Hopefully he can have a quick and full recovery, but just in time for Boki's 25 12 break out game. Best of all worlds would be Sura being a back up for PG/SG, while Boki mans the back SF all to himself.

 

Zimmerman: some guard that plays good D and dunks alot.

Hawkins: Mysterious #33 that appeared in the Media Day video. Basically a guard, but in Alton Ford's body.


Brook Sales: Apparently a Forward/Center.

New Assistant Coach Jim Sann: new assistant coach...

 

Well.. since it seems like we our on our way to ChampionshipS, hopefully never.




I don't see anything wrong with getting people your are familiar with to work along side you.