Adelman has been bringing in Novak at the end of the 3rd and letting him play into the fourth. It seems he uses Steve to get us some quick points so that Tracy/Yao can rest a bit without an offensive dry spell. I liked that RA took him out early last night when it was clear his shot wasn't falling. However, this thread is about something interesting that Bullard said last night. He said that Rudy would bring him in, in the 2nd quarter to see if his shot was there. If it was, Rudy would play Bull in the 4th. If it wasn't, well Bull had a front row seat to watch the 4th. My question is why does Adelman wait until the 4th to check on Novak? You have a premiere shooter and you sit him on the bench until the last 12minutes. That would be rough for any shooter. I'd like to see RA do what Rudy did and bring him in, in the 2nd to check on his shot then. At least let him get some PT in the first half so he's not sitting there ice cold. They say you always have to be ready, but it's a lot harder done than said.
im not quite sure either, but the end of the 3rd and start of the 4th seems to be where novak fits into the rotation. I can only guess that it makes the other team change up their defense a little...OR... its a good time because if novak is on and gets hot, he can really fill it up and help the team pull away. I he isnt on, then there is still plenty of time left to fix any "damage" that may have happened, i.e. him getting killed on defense
I think the reason Adelman brings Novak in the 4th quarter is because this Rocket's team is KNOWN for collapsing in the fourth quarter due to scoring droughts. Novak can bring in some offense in the 4th to keep us in the game. The Rockets have no problems with Offense in the 2nd quarter. It's usually the 4th where our offense completely collapses.
Maybe Adelman looks at it like this... Play Novak in the 2nd (ala Rudy) and thats about 18min he has gone since warmup. Actually longer if you factor in introductions and tipoff, etc. Play Novak in the 3rd and thats about 8min since the halftime shootaround. So he is technically more loose after the half than at after the late 2nd quarter. Just a hunch.
Maybe he saves him for the second half to catch the defense off guard. Those points mean a little more between the 3rd and 4th quarters than the second quarter. The other team will presumably adjust their defense after a few possessions with him in the game, so Adelman waits until the second half. I don't know, it's just a thought.
Combine my theory with Durvasa and I think we got something. I think we could probably replace Sikma to boot.
