Head shows why Rockets need his scoring touch Guard returns from injury to fill outside shooting void By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle The injury seemed minor and typical for so late in the NBA season. But with some players, particularly this Rockets shooting guard, no injury is minor. The Rockets needed his scoring. There was no duplicate on the roster to plug in. His absence would be brief, but he would be missed. Then Luther Head returned to action Wednesday after missing two games with a bruised shoulder, and at least one shooting guard was back where the Rockets needed him. But Tracy McGrady left in the first quarter with a stiff lower back. He is questionable for tonight's game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Still, when McGrady left, Head returned and offered a reminder of how important the team's most accurate 3-point shooter can be to the Rockets. "I felt good," said Head, who made 10 of 13 shots in scoring a career-best 30 points in the Rockets' 110-99 loss to Golden State. "I thought I was going to feel tired and sluggish, but I felt good on the court. I made a few shots, and then guys were finding me. The way they played defense on Yao (Ming) left a lot of open looks. I took advantage of it, but it wasn't enough." Head did not know how he would play or feel, having gone four years at Illinois and until late into his second NBA season before missing a game because of an injury, leaving him "very worried" about how he would play when he came back. "It was all right, a little sore," Head said. "I'm going to keep playing hard. Hopefully, it will go away." Head has made 43.2 percent of his shots this season. His 10.6-point average is third among the Rockets. But given Head's role, averaging 27.2 minutes per game, coach Jeff Van Gundy said the guard needs to bring more than just his shot. "The obvious thing is when he can shoot the ball, he gives space to our two best players (Yao and McGrady)," Van Gundy said. "What he needs to improve is, on those nights he doesn't shoot it well, keep turnovers down, overcome his (lack of) size at the two with more fight and get actively involved so he can play well when he doesn't shoot well. He's got to overcome the other things to be as impactful as he can be." Still, when the Rockets lost to Utah on Sunday, Head's outside shooting was missed. "Those games were the hardest times since I was in the NBA, to sit out and watch, and watch your team lose a game you feel like you probably could have helped in," Head said. "Everybody is valuable. "I was a little frustrated. I can't say if I was there we would have won, but when you watch a game, you always feel there is something you can do. I definitely felt that way." ROCKETS NOTES: Wells on his mind With the Rockets struggling for much of the past two weeks, going 3-3 since their five-game winning streak, coach Jeff Van Gundy said he is considering changes to his playing rotation, including the option of removing Bonzi Wells from the inactive list. Van Gundy said he is always weighing options and has changed his mind often this season. Wells has been inactive for the past 18 games since suffering a sore foot, though he has been healthy for several weeks. "I really, truly am thinking about it," Van Gundy said. "All I'll say is I continue to evaluate what's best for us. "I have not been happy with our play the last two weeks. I know what gets you beat." McGrady update Guard Tracy McGrady received treatment for his stiff lower back Thursday and remained questionable to play tonight against the Trail Blazers. McGrady played seven minutes before leaving Wednesday's game. He has had two previous back issues this season. He had back spasms Dec. 9 and missed the next seven games. He missed a game Jan. 17 with soreness. Fire away The 72 3-pointers the Rockets and Warriors attempted on Wednesday set an NBA record for most in a game. The 31 made is tied for the second-most in league history. jonathan.feigen@chron.com http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4692768.html
I wish Battier would take more of the offensive load. He's got an excellent 3 pt % but he passes the ball as much as he shoots. I am not a Bonzi fan and he'll be gone next year but JVG has been hard headed when it comes to Bonzi. He should have been activated weeks ago, JVG waits until Tmac is out with an injury before activating Bonzi and now he only has a few games to shake off the rust. I think at this point it's going to be 50/50 whether Bonzi will help the team in the playoffs and that is on JVGs head.
do you just make this stuff up as you go? jvg gives a lot of offensive freedom. that myth has been busted
yeah it seems like jvg replaced bonzi with snyder, which was a bad move. i like snyder but the only minutes he shouldve had were minutes to spell battier or tmac so they don't have to play entire quarters at a time. bonzi should be getting true 6th man minutes as the first or second guy off the bench, especially if tmac is off.
It will be interesting to see where Bonzi would be integrated in our rotation. Battier and Tmac gobble up most of the 2/3 minutes. So to give Bonzi decent minutes (more than what Snyder is getting) that means that either Bonzi or Battier have to play some PF minutes. Then in turn that could push Howard to play more backup C time and put Deke on the bench. You sacrafice your defensive anchor in Deke+shotblock for perhaps a better offensive unit. I think what JVG is struggling with is he LOVE Battier playing on the perimeter. he is really effective there. And because of this, it just doesn't give Bonzi a position on the floor that works.
I think JVG is also worried about the fact that Luther, while great from 3 point land is a huge defensive liability against some of the teams we'll play in the playoffs - from the looks of it, most of the teams. The article paints a great picture of Luther as having had a blow-up game against the Warriors, and he did. However, what it doesn't mention (outside of JVG) is how often he was flat-out abused on the defensive end. Don Nelson basically found the guy that was being guared by Luther and told him to post Luther up... and it wasn't a pretty thing to watch. When Luther isn't scoring, that's the situation JVG is talking about where Luther isn't overcoming his liabilities. We need his 3's, but we need some more D just as much.
But ahh, where are all those people who were screaming "Free Snyder!" and "Stubborn JVG, he won't let Kirk play because of his rotation" etc. etc. I guess some of these posters would have a fit if they were Phoenix Suns fans. Nobody in this league keeps a tighter 8-man rotation than Mike D'Antoni.
Well, that can be solved by making sure we don't see a Head/Alston backcourt. Which of course I know Kim is in agreement with. But Head has to see time at the backup PG spot. There is no way around that. And Baron Davis abused him there. We can't hide Head in that scenario. Is Deron Williams aggressive enough to do the same to Head? Maybe Head would play tougher against him since they were teammates at Illinios.
Yep ... that was the problem. At one point JVG was forced to take Luther out because even though he was lighting it up at one end, he was just getting destroyed at the other every time. And it's up to Luther to find a way to compensate for his deficiencies. Play the passing lanes, fight harder, show some determination on defense. It's unfortunate that his 30 point outburst wasn't good enough to get us a win.
Agree, also Battier chasing around the better wing players in league on the perimeter helps keep T-Mac semi fresh. I just think Bonzi brings way to much to the table ie. toughness, playoff experience, ability to draw a double team and rebounding for him not to get any type of clock on this team. He was brought in as a hired gun for the playoffs, let's use him.
Whatever your personal opinion on Bonzi is- we need his offense for the playoffs and his size. Kirk can be a defensive guard- but his offensive is questionable. We are NOT putting the best people available on the Floor- that is a fact. Sure people will talk about our record with injuries- but that is hardly the issue- the playoff's will give ample time for opposition to exploit weaknesses. Yao will be double teamed- at the very least- as frankly the opposition will happily let Rafer and Luther fire away. Let us stop pretending it is a fantastic strategy- it is not- the fact that Rafer is even left alone, is to encourage him to take the 3 pointers! That is no accident
I've been one of the biggest supporters of needing what Bonzi was the last few seasons on this team, and that if he were to return to that form, it would be the steal of the season. Unfortunately, we've needed Bonzi from the beginning of the season and he's been given ample shots to get in shape and then get his game going. He's in much better shape, but his game hasn't gotten to where it needs to be. The only time I've seen where the Bonzi of old had returned was that 27 point outburst he had where he was Option #1 for our offense. He's not going to be that again (hopefully), so if that's what it takes to get him going, then we're screwed with regards to him. I want to see him get another shot - by default it will be sink or swim for him with the Rockets.
If they're going to play Bonzi in the playoffs they need to start playing him TONIGHT, so he can start getting in game shape. I know Bonzi has not played very well this season but I feel he can help us in some situations. Why not have him on the bench as an option. You can still play Kirk.
if it makes you feel better Rocketeer, I take what he said in the article as meaning that Bonzi will be off the inactive list from here on out...especially with Mcgrady questionable. he hasnt been pleased with the total team play lately (cant blame him) and as such is looking for a change to possibly get em back on track.
While I agree that we have to hide Head against some matchups...man, you guys are really stretching it to say Head is a defensive liability against Utah. Utah is one of the best matchups for Head...relatively speaking. Deron Williams is not going to play 48 minutes. Head only needs to be able to guard Fisher (who plays some PG) and Giricek. And honestly, we have nice matchups for Head when we play Dallas, too. No, he can't guard Stackhouse, but there are some guards on that team who he can.
