Novak's shooting percentages are better across the board. He's definitely a better shooter. And I don't understand the hate for Langhi on this board. He was a second rounder that didn't pan out. Very few 2nd rounders end up with decent careers in the nba. Novak (along with the rest of his 2nd round class) being out of the league in two years is the most likely scenario. If he bucks that likelyhood then that's a bonus as far as I'm concerned.
good stuff, I too, saw some similarities in the moves with Dirk. But he is not as good as Dirk(who knows?). If he can bulk up and still maintain his touch, I think he will have a really good chance of staying in the NBA and being in a rotation.
You must remember that Novak wasn't drafted on potential, he should be a 12-15 mpg rotation player immediately.
Not really a good comparison. Langhi was a ball dominating scorer in college (and summer league, actually). Once he was surrounded by superior talent, though, he couldn't do anything and he was not a good spot up shooter at all. Novak is the exact opposite. Even though he was the scorer for Marquette, he is not a ball dominator/slasher who has some range. He is a spot up shooter who has killer range. I also saw him in the 3 point contest and the guy was a machine. He will not drive in the NBA (like when Bullard drove you would say "what is he doing?"), he will not do too much movement with the ball at all. He will not create. He will move without the ball and he will camp at the three point line and his ability to knock down shots will keep him in the league for a while. If we are really lucky he will show that he does have some extra talent and develop into our Kyle Korver. Doubtful but possible.
Apologies, if this was already posted somewhere. This is from a private workout with Gay & Novak: While Gay is the athletic freak who is oozing with potential but will need to be harnessed a bit until he fully learns how to play up to his strengths, Novak is the crafty senior who is already superb at what he does well and is ready to step into his likely NBA role from day one. We were warned beforehand that Novak is likely to look much better in the drills portion of the workout than the competitive one on ones, but that ended up not being the case at all here, as he looked very very good in both. He handled the ball effortlessly in the ball-handling drills, maintaining control at all times while running and up down the floor, and looked smooth pulling up off the dribble and using the glass. Throughout the workout it was clear that we?re dealing with one of the most lethal shooting threats we?ll probably ever witness in this type of setting. His jump-shot is fine-tuned like a well oiled machine, identical in it?s mechanics on each attempt, featuring an incredibly quick release, a beautiful follow through, and deadly range and accuracy. In the drive and kick portion of the workout, he was especially impressive, not missing more than one or possibly two attempts of all the shots he took from mid-range and behind the 3-point line, either from static positions or off the dribble. While watching this drill, a half a dozen NBA teams or more immediately sprung to mind as being able to use this type of threat on the wing right now if they could. Once the one on one session began, we thought Novak would struggle a bit since he was never considered much of a shot-creating threat in college and was supposed to be at a distinct disadvantage when pitted up against a smaller and quicker player like Gray or a long and disruptive freak like Gay. That wasn?t the case, though, as he seems to be more mobile than he gets credit for and is smart enough to know what his strengths are and play to them at all times. One would think that he?d go to his 3-point shot at all costs, but he actually did a wonderful job of keeping his defender guessing at all times by taking him down to the post, and using crafty step-through pivot moves and pull-up jumpers off the glass from mid-range. Once he established that he?s more than just a one-dimensional shooter, he reminded us what we here for by knocking down an effortless 3-pointer in the blink of an eye from 30 feet out that barely touched the net. He got each of his defenders in the air on multiple occasions just with the threat of his lethal jump-shot, and then sailed smoothly to the rim for the easy finish after the pump-fake. When he did put himself in jail by giving up his dribble, he still used his height and intelligence impressively to knock down tough, contested shots while fading away left or right. Defensively, he actually did a solid job using his length and getting a hand in his matchup?s face on most possessions, mostly due to the effort he put in on this end. He anticipates very well and had all of the players here scouted very well from the few days he had worked out with them already, knowing their tendencies and what kind of counter moves they like to go to. When he was not on the court, he showed a great attitude by constantly encouraging everyone else on. In terms of weaknesses, there wasn?t too much you could fault him for considering what we know about his likely role at the next level. He is a bit too upright (some would say ?stiff?) in the way he moves laterally defensively, not getting low enough to the ground to challenge the often smaller players he will often encounter. His vertical leap is not off the charts, and he still could stand to add some strength to his fairly skinny frame. He?s never going to be the type of player who creates his own shot off more than one or two short dribbles, but he seems smart enough to realize how not to be a liability here either. There was no offensive post game to be evaluated in order to see how well he uses his height All in all he seems like the type of guy people will look back at in a few years and wonder how in the world he was drafted behind certain players who ended up being complete busts when the writing on him was all over the wall. As long as he falls in the right situation, he?ll have a long and productive NBA career as a solid rotation player, and maybe even a 3-point contest win or two.
Nice scouting. But that really means nothing - if you are good at what you do - you will succeed. Scouting reports are there to reduce/remove the element of surprise - they do not stop anyone. We have seen this many many time in all sports - you know what I am going to do and you are not going to stop it.
He must be a really likeable guy......or the Marquette team is very excited after anyone makes a basket. The team jumps up everytime he makes a shot. The score would be 9 to 4 and they would be going nuts. Kinda interesting.....
The guy shot 46.4% from 3 over his entire college career. It doesn't take a highlight video to make him look good. That is a SICK percentage from TWO, much less THREE
I don't know the guy..... & won't pretend that I do...... but that video shows him putting the ball on the floor, and getting to the basket. it may not be a big part of his game, but it's nice to know he does have the ability. I really liked his movement without the ball, and I liked how it showed him calling for the ball several times....... I am anxious to see him play.
Steve Novak is a deadeye sniper. He's pretty mobile, too, and knows what he's doing out there on the offensive end. His range is incredible and his release is high, if the Rockets really want to win they'll play him and see what he can do. The problem? He wears down as games go on. When he gets tired, his legs give out on him and he can have stretches where he misses a lot of shots when the team needs him. (Stephen A. Smith) HOWEVER! Steve won't be playing many minutes and will have fresh legs every time he's in the game. This is a great pick, I expect him to be able to contribute immediately. When was the last time the Rockets had someone that shot the open 3 this well?
Bottom line is Yao or Tracy is going to be double teamed most of the game leaving someone open. As long as he can take a pass from the double team and shoot then he will be an asset to us. From what I've read about him and seen he clearly can come off a pick to shoot the 3 so recieving a pass out of the double team should be no problem. Shooting almost %50 from the arc over a 4 year period ain't no joke. He will be a valuable asset off of the bench. Just looking at this pick he was a good value for the second round.
How does he compare to Padget? Is he taller? More athletic? Better shooter? Someone please summerize.
Novak is clearly a better shooter coming out of college. The guy shot 46% from the field, 46.5% from 3pt range and 93% from the line in his four year career. They're about the same height but he has a lot less bulk than Padgett so the PF is pretty much out of the question. Though judging by the clips, Novak has the ability to pull-up after one or two dribbles, whereas Padgett is strictly a spot up shooter. So Novak's offensive game is much more refined, but considering his slight build, his defensive abilities might actually be worse. Novak's NBA career pretty much hinges on whether he can develop into a passable NBA defender or not.
Steve Novak private workout evaluation: http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1308 Halfway down the page. Rudy Gay is at the top, if you feel like pouring some salt in your wound.
