[Clutchfans Game thread] Preseason: Rockets v Grizzlies 10/10/2006

i saw him miss the open novak after the pick and roll about 3 times... he doesn't to the weak side after pick and rolls.

 

Mount Moutombo is still a check of a shotblocker. his anticipation on every shot in the paint is great. he is still the best option at the backup Center position.

 

That thought process is just plain annoying. Our starters crushed their starters when they were on the floor. They had just 1 field goal over the first 10 minutes vs. our starters. I think missing Yao about cancels out the fact they were missing Pau - however we didn't play Bonzai, Head or JHO.

I think we would likely stomp Memphis during the regular season.

 

First Try, Don't worry.
Just filter some upproven pieces on the second half.

JVG will gradually put the exact 8-9 parts.

Hayes, Novak are pretty better than expected. They have big chances to the general rotation.

Next try will probably be:
LucasIII, Head, Bonzi, Tmac, Howard.

Lucas should step up to try a reserve PG as well.

 

Deke swatted 3 shots in only 8 minutes! If he keeps doing that, he'll probably lead the league in blocked shots per 48 minutes.

 

Yeah, he made a lot of rookie mistakes...obviously he still needs to get adjusted to NBA rules and learn where his teammates are going to be.....but he did make a few nifty paases and he seems good at drawing defenses in and then kicking the ball back out....he looked alot like Steve Nash to me because although hes not exaclty fast he has a "deceptive qucikness" about him and the same sort of quirky dribble penetration.

 

I have a man crush on Novak.

 

i remember last pre-season, JVG played different players on different games in the preseason. he will probably save JHo, Bonzi, and Head for friday's game.

 

My point exactly. he still generates that fear factor for opposing players. he not only block shots, he effects many other shots as well. still one of the top 5 shot blockers in the league.

 

oh yeah, has R2K posted the highlights yet? , reading through 24 pages of a preseason game takes some time.

 

Where is Stromile?

 

My impressions:

T-Mac looked like vintage T-Mac. He looks much, much better than he did this time last year.

Battier is the real deal. He made his presence felt on every play.

Alston was less impressive, but not bad. He seemed to do well in the reduced role. I think we'll see more of that: McGrady playing as the primary ball-handler, Alston as the secondary ball-handler and spot-up shooter.

Hayes was awesome. His rebounding and defense hasn't missed a beat, and he seems to understand his role on offense better. No other 6'6" player could possibly be a better center.

Snyder was decent, but not great. He's not a creator and not a lights out shooter. He's a good defender, but not great. He's definitely going to be a rotation player, but I'm not positive that he's a huge upgrade from Wesley.

Mutombo is ageless. He could do this for 5 more years.

Novak! I can't say enough about how good he beyond expectations. His shot is absolutely beautiful, his range is ridiculous, and his stroke is the quickest I've ever seen in a player that big. But more than that, he plays smart and has anticipation. He's already got a T-Mac like pump fake that's going to send him to the line a lot.

Spanoulis is going to take a while adjusting to the NBA. He's everything that was advertised: tough, quick, decent shot, flopper. But he starts running before he dribbles, he's not used to the speed of players to pick off passes, he looks a little anxious about the NBA 3-pt line.

Lucas's defense was excellent for a back-up point, but his playmaking left some to be desired. He's definitely an upgrade from Moochie, Brunson, et al., but based on one game, I wouldn't be suprised to see him normally on the inactive list. (I did think he looked better last year.)

Padgett looked awful. He was the worst player on the court. He was missing shots, but it was more than that. He looked uncomfortable with the ball in his hands, he couldn't make things happen without shooting, his defense was no better than it's ever been. One positive, his rebounding was better than I remember.

Of Haryasz, Azubuike, and Jacobsen, only Jacobsen looked like he could possibly deserve an NBA contract. And even then, not really.

Rudy Gay started slow, but there was one thing I really liked about him that I didn't see at UConn. He really hustles. He gets ball tips, he follows his shot, he works hard on defense. He's really raw for a college player, but with his athleticism and if he keeps up his work ethic, he'll be a star.

 

Something is going to happen :
Howard and Head didn't appear in this match !!!

guess what ? ...

 

He has some leg injury and is out for a little while. I think he's set to miss 2 or 3 preseason games before they get him out there.

 

DON'T WANT TO REPEAT WHAT EVERYONE ALREADY SAID BUT THE HIGHLIGHT PLAYERS OF THE NIGHT AWARDS GO TO


V-SPAN
AND
NOVAK

V-SPAN LOOKED HORRIBLE OUT THERE TONIGHT, A REAL TURNOVER MACHINE, BUT FOR SOME GOD AWFUL REASON I LOVE THE GUY

HE HAS THE INTANGIBLES THAT MAKE YOU THINK WHEN HE GETS THIS THING FIGURED OUT WE GOT A STEAL

HE HAS AWESOME COURT VISION, ABSOLUTELY SEES EVERY PLAYER ON THE COURT AND CAN FIND THEM....YOU WILL LOVE THIS GUY, A TOTAL PEST ON D.....GETS RIGHT IN THE GUYS CHEST..........CRAFTY WITH HIS STEALING ABILITY......ALL WHO MISSED THE GAME WILL LOVE THIS DUDE

NOVAKS 3'S ARE LAYUPS...REALLY....AS LONG AS HE SHOOTS LIKE THAT HE'LL BE IN THIS LEAGUE FOR A LONG TIME, REGARDLESS OF HIS D OR ANYTHING ELSE.......ALTHOUGH HE DIDN'T LOOK HORRIBLE TO ME ON D EITHER......HE WASN'T A BEAST, BUT HE WAS ACTIVE

THIS GUY ON THE COURT WITH YAO AND T-MAC AT THE SAME TIME IS GONNA BE UNFAIR...STRAIGHT UP UNFAIR MARK MY WORDS....BECUZ THIS KID DOES NOT MISS FROM DOWNTOWN...IT SHOULD BE AGAINST THE LAW FOR THEM TO PLAY TOGETHER.......HIM GETTING WIDE OPEN LOOKS WHEN YAO AND TRACY GET DOUBLED GIVES ME GOOSEBUMPS......THIS GUY WILL NOT MISS!!!!!!!!


AZ, HARASYZ, JACOBSEN, SCOTTY, AND JL3 SUCKD BIG TIME THEY WILL BE CUT AND JL IS DEFINATELY PG #3 NOT A BACKUP AT ALL......TO SMALL

 

Hmm, that does make me think.

Damn it! I don't want to lose head. Maybe they are just trying to avoid injuries.

Why would they do another trade? I like our line up right now, we should just see how it plays out.

 

head and howard not playing isn't a big deal and not an indicator of anything. van gundier is right on, jvg just needed the minutes to evaluate other people. they'll probably both play 20 minutes next game.

just to clear something up for those that are reading this thread, t-mac was most definitely fine in the second-half. they showed him laughing on the bench in both the third and fourth quarters. the chronicle mentions him tossing t-shirts in the crowd after the third. jvg knows what t-mac can do and chose to sit him out in the second half.

 

Howard and Head aren't going anywhere. It's the preseason. Coaches play some people big minutes one game, then other players the next. It gives you a better feel for players better than giving them each 8 minutes a game. Imagine how spread the PT would be if Yao, Bonzi, Howard, and Head all played today.

 

the rox were undefeated in last seasons preseason games and look at the regular season they had. i'd rather they lose all preseason games and have a great regular season. preseason games are not for winning. they are for evaluation.

 

Basketball is back, PPStream is more stable than I've ever seen it, and the Rockets whooped up on the Grizzlies.

Well, two and a half out of three ain't bad. After 24 pages, there isn't much else to say, but of course I have to post my thoughts, because after a long day of failing exams, going hungry and what not, this forum is the toilet paper for my brain's excrement.

To see Tracy McGrady moving around like he was, going past people instead of going away from them or over them; it was truly a sight. May luck be a lady for 2007.

As for the highly anticipated Rudy Gay show; it never really got off the ground until Rudy was playing against a lineup that could probably hold their own in one of UConn's intrasquad scrimmages (although Jacobsen is in the Basketball Hall of Fame, so maybe not). Amazingly, for perhaps the first time in his life as a player, Gay tried to do too much tonight, taking isolation jumpers and making ill-advised drives to the basket. The point though, is that he was actively trying to take over the game, rather than letting it come to him, and while that may be a problem if you aren't as talented as he is (I'm looking at you, Kirk Snyder), it's only a matter of time before his short runners start bouncing in, and his pretty fadeaway becomes an unstoppable shot. Memphis fans should be pretty excited about getting Gay.

As for the trade, to me it's looking more and more like Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz. Shane Battier will have a pretty good year barring injury; he's basically a younger, faster Juwan when he's in at the 4 spot; he plays the same role, and uses his basketball instincts to make the little plays. But honestly, unless we win the championship or get to the finals in the next few years with Battier, I doubt fans will be too happy about this trade in the future. With a ring, all bets are off. It's extremely obvious to me that unless Van Gundy changes his defensive philosophy to include fronts and entry denials to the post, Battier is definitely not going to be a defensive stopper at the 4 (heck, he was getting bodied out of the way by Hakim Warrick, who's much improved in the post, by the way), but I have to admit, that when he's out on the court with Hayes, the game takes on a distinctively collegian feel, of players making plays through heart rather than talent, and that such hustle will definitely help the sleepy Toyota Center crowd.

Speaking of Kirk Snyder, he remined me very much of a guard version of Stromile Swift, particularly when he received the ball on the wing, stared down the defender, allowing his man to get set, then made a pre-determined move to the basket before throwing up a contested close look. Snyder just doesn't seem to have a great basketball IQ, and I'm not sure if he'll ever be a consistent starter. On the other hand, I definitely want to see him work with Yao more, because even if he's unable to create his own shot, he seems like the kind of person who'd work very well off of cuts and power moves to the basket off the weak side. Clearly, his decision making needs to improve; not like Spanoulis's, but rather he needs to be able to make quick moves off the catch, or he's going to be a black hole on offense.

You know, Nachbar has really scarred the European experience for me, because everytime I see Spanoulis make a rookie mistake, I think back to one of the biggest surprise draft busts in recent Rocket memory. Spanoulis clearly needs seasoning to become an even average NBA player at this juncture; you can see the chemistry he must have had with his former teammates, as quite often, he was looking for people who just weren't there, or weren't expecting the pass. I suspect that as his familiarity with his teammates grows, he'll become less-turnover prone, though his style of play will probably never result in anything approaching Rafer's Assist/TO ratio. Put your Samurai swords away, kick back with some "Resevoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction", and look out for Kill Bill Vol. 2 in 2007, because I do think the release date will be pushed back another year.

I do believe that Chuck Mutombo, if he existed, would rival 'Zo for the best backup center in the league, much like Kelvin Taylor or Maurice Cato would have been a nice piece back in the day. Sadly, Dikembe and Hayes are not one and the same, and asking Hayes to be a defensive anchor might be too mcuh to ask.

Rafer, just do what you do best; if I only have a sentence to talk about you, that probably means the team's being well run.

As to the Scrub Club, it's pretty clear that Novak separated himself from the rest (he was the Toyota player of the game, for crying out loud!), while Padgett, Haryasz, Azubuike, Jacobsen, and sadly Lucas were left slopping around in the muck that was the 20 point second half. No one proved worthy of the 12 man roster yet, and honestly, that's a far more important measure than who's going to be cut. So far, I'd take Haryasz, despite the poor play, just because we could conceivably send him to the D-League, and having a third big man that knows your system is far more likely to get spot minutes than a guard.

I can no longer see straight, I feel like my eyeballs are bleeding, and I need to get up in 6 hours.

Yup, it's Rocket Season.