I always liked Wells as a player before he came to Houston. I liked how he crashed the boards and finished inside. He was a big guard who had enough quickness to beat guys to the hole and he was a crafty finisher/passer. I didn't really hold last season against him. Van Gundy was very stingy with minutes and he wouldn' allow anyone with defensive deficiencies to get on the court. I had high expectations for Wells coming in to this season mainly because of the change in coaching philosophy. I felt like Bonzi could have a big year because of his knowledge of Adelman's system and his ability to score in the paint on back door cuts. I must say I was terribly wrong. Bonzi has been pretty bad overall, especially recently. He plays absolutely no defense. He gets alot of defensive rebounds, but it's mainly because he doesn't guard anyone. He just sags off his man or gets beat off the dribble. His FG % is at 41 percent despite the fact that he gets ALOT of open looks and layups....He is aggressive going to the basket, but when he gets to the line, he doesn't capitalize. He doesn't hit open jumpers, and probably the biggest negative of all is his assist to turnover ratio. Let me just put it this way: he has more TOs than assists and for a permieter player that shoots 41 percent, that is unacceptable. To some it up, he basically does nothing well. Right now, he's at best a situational player who can create mismatches with his size. There are several routes that Adelman could take if he decides to bench Bonzi once and for all. Novak is a really bad defender, but he provides instant scoring off the bench, and he also spaces out defenses because of his range. Judging from the last two games, his shot is absolutely flawless, and I would love to see him get more playing time over Bonzi especially when Mcgrady comes back. I also wouldn't mind seeing Landry get minutes at the 3 spot if the matchup is right because he is definantly quick enough to take guys off the dribble, and he has a pretty decent mid range game. I also think he is a clever passer. If Adelman really wants to be creative why not try Kirk Snyder? He's a good run and jump athlete who can finish in transition. He is also a pretty good penetrator and he does all the things Bonzi does on the glass. Are you guys as dissapointed with Bonzi as I am? If so, what changes do you think Adelman should implement if he benches Bonzi for a while.
when they need to score in the last of the quarter, our line should be Yao, Scola,Tmac,Wells,and Novak. I prefer Yao and novak at the one side
He was super aggressive during one span, dunking through that metal hoop at every possible chance. He cooled off after that probably due to the injury. I will give him a pass.
Bonzi will be pivotal to our success in getting to the playoffs and how far we go in the playoffs. Novak should continue to get some PT but don't expect Bonzi to NOT start making noise in the near future and the playoffs.
Perhaps it's the injury that is hindering his play, but honestly, I just don't think he's that good. I'd rather have a consistant outside shooter on the floor to complement both Tracy and Yao. Most of Bonzi's good statistical games this year have come against weak defensive opponents(the grizzlies, raptors, and bulls of the league). The better teams shut him down and force him to beat them from the outside, and he's just not skilled enough to do it. Like I said earlier, he makes stupid mistakes way too often and he misses too many OPEN looks. To me, those are things not related to injury.
I hope you are right, but I just don't see it happening. Putting him on the floor takes minutes away from guys like Brooks, Landry, Battier, and Novak. The two things he brings to the table aren't really needed by this team....He gets to the line(but he doesn't make) and he takes rebounds away from Yao and Scola...Occasionally he finishes inside, but Landry is better and Novak's outside shot spaces the floor out for Yao and Tracy.
You are forgetting to mention the intangibles Bonzi brings. He is a nightmare for other teams with smaller 2's. You are forgetting this guy is experienced and proven and he's not going to continue to suck forever. Takes rebounds away from Yao and Scola? That's ridiculous. There's plenty of rebounds to be grabbed . How do you know he's not taking a rebound away from the opposing team but from Yao and Scola? Do you know something I don't know? Landry and Novak are nice but remember these guys are rookies. They're playing well right now and we're doing a good job of milking them to their fullest extent but if you are depending on them for our immediate and continued success this year..... I don't think your expecting us to get very far. Bonzi will get his shiet together. This guy is playing for a contract and when it matters most he will turn beastly. Mark my words. And Yes my glass is more than half full.
I would not say he's a matchup "nightmare". When Yao is on the court(and Yao averages 37 mins a night) all Bonzi does on offense is clog the paint, miss free throws, and turn the ball over. If he is being guarded by a smaller player, he usually gets a couple of buckets but not enough to make up for the fact that he gets beat by the smaller man on the other end of the court. I agree that he has the experience factor, but he makes more stupid mistakes than rookies do.
Bonzi is garbage. He gets more love out of one mismatch in a playoff series more than 2 years ago. He is on his own Mike James type of trip. He plays no D, is bad on post ups (contrary to popular belief) and can't shoot. The only thing he does well is cut....but the problem is that he tries to do things he is NOT good at...like posting up, and it ruins the flow of the offense. And he doesn't guard his man at all, he lets him shoot and runs to try to get the rebound, as if he knows that Stats is what is important in contract negotiations. I hope Novak or Landry or Brooks...or anyone eats into his minutes.... Bonzi's time has come and gone. DD
I've never seen a player miss more layups than Bonzi. What good is driving or cutting to the hoop if you can't finish 80% of the time?
Agree 1000%. They have Bonzi for the playoffs. Novak is strictly a situational player when the rockets need to spread the court.
Bonzi will suck worse in the playoffs than he does in the regular season because other teams will play harder and the competition will increase. If you can get a half eaten bag of pretzels for Bonzi you do it. DD
Novak must be put in the right position, for example, holding a non offensive stand around player like bruce bowen. He is terrible when picked by the other team, light on the defensive and offensive boards at 6 freakin 10. This downright embarrasing. Most of the time he is being checked by someone 6'6". Plus, once teams figure out he can't put it on the floor and drive by you. He's done and back on the bench. Prime example, took a 30 foot bomb and with the shoot clock going down he throws up a one hand jump shoot.
Bonzi's fg% is misleading. Tha thing is he's shooting at like 44% over tha alst two months. He jsut had such a bad November(33%) that his fg% has recovered but he shot 47% in Dec and 43% in Januaray. So he's got better . He still misses to many free throws, but at least he's being agressive adn get tha other team in foul trouble. And Bonzi also has good hands. He's responsible for some our fast breaks opportunities(tha few we get). LOL @ giving NOvak Bonzi's minutes. I'm surprise and not surprised at this. You ppl get on Head for being one-dimensional(when in actuality he's not) but give Novak a pass. He's tha most one-dimension player i've ever seen. He has no handles. Can't rebound for nothin. Looks r****ded when tryin to play defense. If Novak got Bonzi or Head's minutes i guaranteed anybody(i'd put money up) that he would be more of problem for Houston than tha opposition. Novak is a great shooter but thats it. He's tha most dependent palyer on our squad. Once defenses put a man on his(with averge defense) he's nonexistent on tha court. I could've respected this thread if you said give some of Bonzi's minutes to Landry, James, Snyder, hell even Hayes. BUt NOvak. Do you ppl really think he's that good. LOL, I find it hilarious all tha threads on novak. He wont be any good for us in tha playoffs.
If we make the playoffs, we are going to need people that can create their own shot such as Bonzi. We don't want what happened against the Jazz last year where noone besides Tracy and Yao could get a shot off and we had no bench.
