November 25, 2009 Ask a GM what he'd like his second-round pick to look like and he'll say "a first-rounder." Mission accomplished for Budinger. Watching him play, it would be easy to assume he was a late lottery pick. He can shoot, he's athletic with size and he does the little things: driving and finishing, and getting tips and deflections. Plus, he knows where to go on the floor. The Rockets love the fact that he's shooting well from beyond the arc (35 percent) -- something he had to do to earn rotation minutes. But the energy he's brought to their rotation has been even better, which is something few people expected. link
What I like is that I don't get nervous that he'll make some silly rookie mistakes when he's on the floor. He doesn't get lost on defense like most rookies (even the highly touted ones), and he fits in beautifully on the offensive end even when his shot isn't there.
He is getting ~18min/game. I would say that's enough for him right now. He still need to grow if he wants 20+ mins per game.
He has a lot of confidence, and as Bill and Bull say, a nice set of tools. (What movie is that from? I think it must be from a movie.) I remember when they asked him who he would like to model his game after in the NBA, he said TMac.
What surprised me is how he can go to the hole and make guys pay for coming out to guard him and how well he runs the wing. Outstanding.
And grew an inch - although that could've just been his spine uncompressing when he got 15 years younger. Budinger's been quite a pleasant surprise!
Like someone said above, I don't worry about him coming in. Hell, I don't worry about any of our rotation players coming in. Heck, I'm watching the clock for them to come in. :grin: But I digress. From 44th? Not bad at all. Not bad at all.
I want DNA testing on Budinger to make sure he isn't a b*stard son of Rick, Brent, Jon, Drew or Scooter.
