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Should we run Novak more mins on the floor?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Roxer, Jan 11, 2007.

  1. durvasa

    durvasa Member

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    JVG is handling it correctly. Play him a few minutes in the second quarter, and maybe at the end of quarters on offense.
     
  2. Roxer

    Roxer Member

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    :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

    Hey, guys, most of you missed my point here. i didn't mean if Novak deserve more mins or not, i mean we need give Deke, JHO more time to have a rest, reduce their floor time due to their age, protect our assets, prevent them from injury, not because of their performance, and not because Novak is better or something, it's because we r short of hands, especially big guys, especially after we lost Yao for next 1.5 months, and before we got any decent backup.
     
  3. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    I think you're worrying too much about the health of our rotation guys. I do think Deke's recent dominance probably has something to do with resting for so long, but the minutes asked isn't a burden you shouldn't be able to expect from any player.

    I love this reasoning, and we see it with just about all our players. It is either preserve the 'potential' illusion, or play a guy a bunch of minutes to pump up his stock. You know, the scouts are paying better attention to trade prospects than fans are, and likely has a better eye for talent -- if you know a guy sucks, the scout will too.
     
  4. NIKEstrad

    NIKEstrad Member

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    You forget Battier spend a few minutes a night at the 4. I suspect in Yao's absence, as Bonzi/Snyder work back into the rotation that will rise (to get TMac/Battier/Bonzi all on the floor together)

    I'm with durvasa - I really like how JVG has him in the rotation right now. He's getting a few minutes out there to get a feel for it. I think as he plays more effectively, that will rise. Before finally hitting his triple yesterday, he was in a shooting slump. I think you may see his minutes rise as he starts to make more shots.

    The other thing with Novak at the 4/5 - who do you play him with? If it's Juwan, you're gonna have serious rebounding deficiencies (even with Juwan really hitting the boards as he has) and no interior presence to speak of. With Hayes can fix some of the rebounding problems, but still no shotblocking, and lots of defensive liability due to Hayes' lack of size and Novak's lack of strength. That leaves Deke. When you play Novak with Deke, you're doing so at the expense of playing Howard who has just been awesome inside with Mutombo.

    I think Novak may get more time when Yao gets back, actually. Having Novak out there to open things up for Deke doesn't make much sense. If Yao's movement is ok, and he can be the presence inside and on the boards he was before his injury, Novak's shot would open things up for Yao, and Yao's presence would help get Novak open looks.
     
  5. Roxer

    Roxer Member

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    Yes, Battier indeed played some PF min, that is what i said "running small". Well, when Battier play PF, we got reb and paint problem due to the height, coz we have only T-mac, Head, Skip, and JLIII to feed the rest 1,2 and 3 (after Synder back, that could be a little bit better), no matter Deke or Hayes at 5. If at this time, we put Novak on floor at SF(or PF), we surely safer on paint thou.
     
  6. StupidMoniker

    StupidMoniker I lost a bet

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    Allen Iverson could give you a hint about that one.
     
  7. Roxer

    Roxer Member

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    probability,plz.

    In Las Vegas, we bet our chips on bigger chance, ain't we?
     
  8. weslinder

    weslinder Member

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    <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/frsId3goYYE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/frsId3goYYE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
     
  9. NIKEstrad

    NIKEstrad Member

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    I'm sorry, this is all running together.

    First, there is hardly a problem on the wings - TMac is going to play the 2 or the 3 for 35+ minutes, Battier will spend at least 30 minutes on the wing, and that leaves about 30 mins at the 2(/3) for Head with Bonzi and Snyder both coming back imminently.

    Are you saying playing Novak at the 4 would be preferable to going small with Battier at the 4 because Novak would defend the paint better than Battier? Or putting Novak at the 3 would help?

    Please tell me you did not in any way just imply going with Novak at the 4 would better protect the paint than Battier at the 4 because he's taller. Pretty please.
     
  10. Roxer

    Roxer Member

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    ^O^ Well find, man, u deserve the hall of fame, man. LOL~~~~~~~~~~~~ :D :D :D
     
  11. wnes

    wnes Contributing Member

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    yeah only after mis-playing the kid time and time again previously

    Off the top of my head:

    1) putting him too early in the game (1st quarter?) in the season opener on the road against the Jazz;
    2) starting him on the road in the game against the Suns (this is one of the dumbest decisions of all time) after he had barely played any minutes in the previous 11 games;
    3) not playing him one minute in front of his home town crowd in Milwaukee;
    4) counting on him shooting clutch shots in the overtime against T-wolves after he had a string of zero offensive production (save 1 FG in the year-end game against Memphis) games (11 games to be exact) dating back to Dec 14.

    What a coaching genius.
     
    #31 wnes, Jan 11, 2007
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2007
  12. Roxer

    Roxer Member

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    After Bonzi/Snyder both back, we will talk about guard hoop. But be4 that, now, we talk about height. When Shane play PF, u will get a lineup below:

    C - Deke or Hayes
    4 - Shane
    3 - T-mac, no other choice
    2 - Head, no other choice
    1 - Skip or JLIII

    Once they play a pnr, they can easily drag shane out of box and post one of our small inside. Even no pnr, just post 2 or 1, what do u do then?

    And, one more thing to remind u is T-mac's back is still in trouble. We should run him as less as we can (but not too less, of course :D ).

    By sent Novak at 3 (or 4) the line could be this:
    C - Deke or Hayes
    4 - Shane
    3 - Novak
    2- T-mac, no other choice
    1 - Skip or JLIII or Head

    Notice, at this point, we should not compare Novak with Shane, we are comparing Novak with Head, compare their height disadvantage.

    By putting Novak at 4, we still need Shane at 3, but the point is 1st, they two can switch, 2nd, give JHO a break, based on the assumption that Hayes and Deke can NOT on floor together which is the fact.

    PS: all discuss assumes Bonzi, Yao, Synder can not play due to the injury.
     
  13. Ziggy

    Ziggy QUEEN ANON

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    Lets just start Yao, Zhi Zhi, Boki, Novak, and VSpan. We can let Vince Young coach the team. And yall can all whack it while you watch the game. GEEEEEEZUS!!!
     
  14. durvasa

    durvasa Member

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    I didn't have much of a problem with any of those decisions. In retrospect, the Phoenix and Minnesota decisions don't look good (because we lost). The Phoenix decision was interesting. The thought was that they were a team that doesn't play physical, they don't rebound well, so Novak's most glaring deficiencies would perhaps be masked. Further, because their 4 (Marion) is a long-distance threat and also a shot blocking threat, you'd like to counteract that by matching him up aganst a perimeter 4. It was a gamble that didn't work out, but when you're playing a team like Phoenix on the road in the second night of a back to back, that's the best time to try such gambles.

    Novak has been given opportunities throughout the year to prove his worth, and he hasn't done it. Now, without Yao, he's getting some opportunities to give us extra offense in particular situations. But he's done nothing to earn regular rotation minutes when all the rest of our bigs are healthy.

    I just think it's hilarious that people assume they know more about what Novak is capable of than the coach based on some preseason games.
     
  15. Rocket_Boy_34

    Rocket_Boy_34 Member

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    I agree. I am of the opinion that things are working, so we shouldn't change them up (unless changing them up means adding an injured player once they're ready, like Wells, Snyder, or Howard). I really wish we could play Novak more, but he just doesn't seem ready when he's out there. My personal preference would be to get him on the court as much as possible when it won't hurt the team (garbage minutes, etc.), and hope he gains experience and improves.
     
  16. Roxer

    Roxer Member

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    Yes, he does, if u look this matter from Novak's angle. We can see from stats, Jeff runs Steve more and more mins gradually, and this is the way for a rookie.

    But, let's change an angle, let's look from Juwan's angle, from Deke's angle, from team's angle, we have only 3 guys can play 4 and 5, and we have only two combo can use (either Deke+Juwan, or Hayes+Juwan). Well they are addup as 100 years old together to split 96 mins per game(no including OT). Don't you see our problem here? I don't want Jeff realize this matter after Deke or Juwan or both injured later, even i wish both of them in healthy.
     
  17. glimmertwins

    glimmertwins Member

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    Novak reminds me a lot of Korver - a great long range shooter who doesn't have much more to offer(right now). Korver gets carved up defensively on a daily basis in Philly but because of their situation there, they don't have too many other options. We actually have options, and are playing in our contingency plan right now because of injuries. I think VG is right to use Novak in end of quarter sets and second string minutes. He can be a great asset because of his shooting skills, but his liability in other areas right now prevents him from being an overall benefit while he's on the floor. Forget his size for a second and look him for what he is - a great shooting player without NBA level athleticism, defensive skills, and rebounding skills....and he is playing the role of plalyer like that. He's young though and may one day prove to be an even more valuable role player, but he isn't that guy right now and he's going to learn just as much with his limited roles in games and in practice playing against the starters as he is in larger gametime minutes - remember this is championship contending team.
     
  18. glimmertwins

    glimmertwins Member

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    We should be careful not to cast Novak as a type of player that he is not just because he fits size mold of a position we are thin on. I agree we need depth at the 4 & 5, but just because Novak is tall doesn't mean he can play that position. Look at Luther Head - his size indicated he should be a PG, but he really plays more like a smaller SG(a traditionally taller position).

    This is why personel is such an important part of the roster - you need to have the right type of players to fill out a roster rather than the right sized ones....
     
  19. LCII

    LCII Member

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    Novak is YOUNG and A ROOKIE - how many rookies make a name for themselves on a good, bordering on elite team such as the Rockets?

    We need to keep rookies like Novak, not trade them away.
     
  20. Roxer

    Roxer Member

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    I aways tell my kid some words right on some cases, but not on others. this is one. you got to seperate your mind, and re-draw ur conclusion for each offense and defense. otherwise, it's not discussable.

    my point is Novak can play either 3 or 4 on D, and arc shooter on O. What is urs?
     

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