[Clutchfans Game Thread] Preseason: Rockets vs Mavericks 10/17/06

They broadcasted the game in Dallas in HD. I didnt record it, but Im sure some others might have

Secondly, I don't like that new rule where the coaches can call timeouts from the bench. First, when a timeout should have been called the coach will say that he tried calling a timeout and make that as an excuse. Second, the coaches are at the end of the baseline, it doesnt make sense at all to me. Just like yesterday, we could have gotten that turnover, but no, AJ somehow called a timeout all the way on the other side, when he knew the ball was going to get stollen

 

I think redick is a level above novak. and I LOVE NOVAK. I've been pulling for him since the beginning. Man I really wanted Roy though...

 

KOGT 1600 carries the games.

 

If you want to get excited about a game with a win over a bunch of scrubs then so be it, but let's wait until November when it really counts and see what happens. That was about as ugly a game as I've ever witnessed. Just glad I didn't pay full price to see that one in person.

 

What a waste of a draft pick...

For what we gave for him, he should be the talk of the message board...

He brings very little to this team...

Intangibles my butt, the Rockets got oVVned on this deal...

Rudy Gay will be a top 5 rookie at worst, Shane Battier may start but will put up numbers and make the impact of a bench player. He is absolutely nothing special...

 

what battier brings to the table is not going to show in preseason my furry friend. it will show when the game is on the line, and in the playoffs. hold tight before you make your premature judgements

 

You are so making excuses for the man, he will bring very little to the table and when the game is on the line Battier will not be the man that the Rockets will be counting on...

He has shown nothing more than being an average player his whole career, you think JVG will turn him into a star...

I think his defense is overrated, but you got to find something to pin your hopes on. Our defense will come from other players and our 3 point shooting will also...

I am sure most homers will be cutting him slack all season long, just to justify the trade, Battier will not help make that job any easier...

We will make the playoffs and hopefully get past the first round, it will not be because of Battier and I still believe this will go down as a trade that will be talked about years from now and not in a good way...

 

I think Battier will be our Rick Fox. When he was with the lakers, he didn't put up huge numbers, but he was tough, smart and made great plays. He helped them win.

 

Trust me being in the "top 5" of this draft class won't mean much. Everybody that went in the lottery this year will end up being middle of the road at best, Rudy Gay may end up being as good as Eddie Jones back in the Laker days, but he has a ceiling and there were plenty of GM's and scouts before us that thought the same thing.

Aside from the fact that our team simply does not have the room to try to incorporate an offensive minded rookie, he just isn't going to get enough touches (barring another huge rash of injuries). However, time will tell, but three preseason games is not enough to evaluate Battiers worth. Think Mario Elie!!

 

Absolutely agree. Completely screwed the flow of the game at the time, and is a stupid, stupid rule we could have done without. Why does the NBA keep tinkering with stuff like this? Drives me nuts.

 

Anyone worried about Battier's 3 pt shooting from the preseason is just being asinine.

He took 5 shots TOTAL from beyond the arc in the 3 preseason games, making 1. So people think he's a .200 shooter? If he had gotten lucky on 1 more shot, I guess he's be great as a .400 shooter.



What statistical expertise!

His career .381 3pt% coming on 1020 attempts obvious have no relevance whatsoever. He has clearly declined.

 

DAM.....WHATS WRONG MAN, DID THIS DUDE SLEEP WITH YOUR WIFE OR WHAT..........This is the very first time i have seen a battier hate piece yet.....classic


are you serious??????????

you sound crazy

and no, no one on this board is expectin him to be a star my friend.......nobody expects that


but he does have all the intangiables that you say he does not have, and most nights don't show up big on the stat sheet and i and a legion of posters here are great with that..............I personally made it my business to blast CD and the trade when it happen.....thought we had the worse front office in sports......but at this point even Stevie Wonder can see that we were all wrong on this one

give it some time......you'll soon love this guy....hes absolutley perfect for us and our WIN NOW mentality on this board

 

Have posters on the board actually played basketball? Makes me wonder some times with the things they say about players.

 

Because the NBA is a collective of owners of teams. When one team gets screwed by something like this, they can change the rules by pressuring the right people.

Some decisions come from the top, like the decision to change the ball or the dress code. This sounds like a rule that came from a ticked off owner. The question is, which teams were screwed in the playoffs last year because they couldn't get a timeout called correctly?

 

right, and Battier was chosen to be on the olympic team because he is a bust?

not even worth the argument. i'll just let the season and his play talk for itself.

 

Good comparison, I also liked the Mario Elie one...

 

Sloppy, but hey, something to build on...I liked VSpan play alot...Good hustle..Battie the same thing, glad he's on the team...

 

Man, this guy Novak looks like the real deal...it just seems like he hits everything he puts up...When we drafted him, I didn't know he shot lights out like that....He is going to see countless wide open 3s all season long with everyone doubling TMAC and Yao...We got a steal with this kid....I remember alot of people wanted Reddick in the first round...I think Novak has the same deadly outside shot, plus we got him in the second round and we got Battier with our first pick.....No wonder Tmac said this guy is the best shooter he has ever played with..just imagine if TMAC has that much confidence in him, how good this guy must be in practice aside from what we have seen in the games....Tmac will be looking to pass it out to this guy alot....if we can find one more shooter close to that, we are set.....

 

Right now...I'd say Redick is a level above Novak only to the extent that he has more of a "killer instinct" -- the ice-in-the-veins mentality carried over from Duke. But I sort of agree with the previous poster who said that any smart GM knowing what we know right now would draft Novak ahead of Redick. Reason is:

1. You can't teach height. There are lots of 6-3/6-4 guards who can shoot pretty well (granted, Redick is Ray Allen-esque in his shooting ability, but the point is still valid). 6-10 forwards who drain 3 pointers like layups only come around once in a while (Bullard, Nowitzki, Radmanovic -- and Novak is probably already a better shooter than any of those names mentioned).

2. Novak is already almost on par with Redick in just about every other aspect of the game. He shows decent hustle, plays smart, has good quickness/mobility and can rebound.

3. Which brings us to the most important thing: upside. The key here is sheer size -- if Novak puts on a couple dozen pounds over the years and really hits the weights, he could become a good rebounder and a decent post defender. More importantly, he could expand his offense by adding a post game. He ultimately becomes a much better offensive and defensive weapon -- essentially giving you everything you get from a Redick (lights out shooting) plus a big body at the 4 to give you rebounds and defense.

Now it's not necessarily that clear cut. You could make the case that Redick's upside is Ray Allen. Ultimately the size is the X-factor, though, and you can't teach that.

 

The new guys looked a heck of a lot better in this, their only 3rd pre-season game. I guess that Van Gundy's comments about them after the first game didn't de-moralize them, as many of you VG critics said they would.