Interesting, I just noticed we played Novak in the FIRST QUARTER, up 23-16, against the Mavs...how did that game turn out? wink wink Yet when leading the Bucks by 20+ we didnt play our bench , instead kept our fatigued starters on the court..look what happened. But good job McGrady for keeping us in the game late in the 4th.
He's not a Terrible rebounder. i though in the preseason games he did well on the boards. however i do agree he does need to add more intangibles to his games. his passing and his handels need to improve. as does his positioning on defense.
First of all...I knew about the Heats game. The reason I didnt bring it up was because he was on Heats then. DUH! Why dont you go ahead and enjoy a nice bunch of Rafer coughing it up in the last minutes moments last year? Yes we will be NEEDING Rafer to hit clutch shots. This offense is desgined for Rafer to take and MAKE high % of his 3 point shots. Casell, Horry, and Maxwell were hitting clutch shots for Rockets most of the time while Hakeem created them. But it is apprent by now you havent watched enough basketball. Good luck if you have to rely on 13 points everytime in 33 seconds. Where was that in the game 7 against Dallas when Rockets got blown apart by 40??
Those rebounds he got in the preseason came against the scrubs of the NBA. He has yet to prove he can rebound against the other teams best front court guys. So far in the regular season, it looks like he's really going to struggle as a rebounder.
Novak can shoot, But he is slow,weak and a rookie. He needs to prove himself in practice before he gets in the game. Jeff Van Gundy is showing all his players that there will be no free rides this year. I am not a Gundy fan by any means but I understand the decision to go with the players he trusts in game situations.
JVG is the closest thing to the Scrooge you have in the NBA. Novak had his dad and family and friends at the game and you would have thought JVG might have given him a couple of minutes of playing time when we had that 23 point lead. As far as Yao, he's not playing the same as last year when he was so dominant. He is being pushed further out from the basket and being forced to take more mid-range jumpers than he was last year. Last year when we had no other offensive options, the team was patient posting and reposting Yao until he got position deep in the paint. This year he gets the ball further out and makes his move, often its that jump shot thats going to go in less frequently than a shot deep in the post. This game today is more reflective of Yao's shooting % than the Dallas game was, he was making all those jump shots against Dallas and games like that aren't going to happen every day.
He is not gonna get better by sitting on the pine all the time. i thought when we were up 24, he should have gott some minutes. it was his hometown and he had a couple of thousends of his fans there.
Yao does need to hold his possition closer to the basket. His outside shot is not always going to be on like it has been this year. I think his timid play has a lot to do with him getting whistled for early fouls. That said, he has still been able to impact the game with his patience, his jump shot, and his defense in the paint.
Why do you think this is? Is it because he is still getting himself into game shape? Is it because he isn't as 'strong' as he was last season?Is he trying to adjust to playing with Tracy again? Is the team trying to adjust to playing with Tracy again? Are teams defending him differently?I have similar feelings, but I am not sure if tis just me reading too much into a few games. Also, I am not sure of the reasons for his current 'style' of play. I have all those questions, but precious few answers.
Rockets WIN, but I lost...So I'm not happy at all. How the hell can they score 11 points in 10 seconds? Why is TMAC hitting his free throw in the end, but not before? Why the fuvk did Redd score the stupid two points to pad up his stat? Can you tell me how in the world can this game go over compare to last game?
No we wont, Double teams or not Tmac and Yao are our clutch players.That is why they are considered super stars. All rafer,shane and luther have to do is shoot 35-40% from 3 consistently through-out the game/season. If this happens there will be enough room for Tmac and Yao to operate when it counts.
Agreed. So follow the same logic, we shouldn't be too excited about TMAC's performance tonight. The first 4 games were more reflective of TMAC's shooting % than today's game is.
We would have won by more or the same had novak played. we have more to gain by playing howard. novak is part of our futuer. he is our investment. i rather see him play and develope then seeing howard who adds nothing take those minutes. think long term.
Hey we won! btw, I don't know if this possibility has been considered, but doesn't it take time for even the starters to develop some chemistry in game situations? I mean Rafer, TMac, & Yao didn't really play that many games together last year. That's not taking into consideration the addition of Battier. Yes, they might've tired, but there will be times in the season when we need our starters out there late in situations where it's tight and they're tired. Thus keeping them all out there may be beneficial later.
I'm sure 3 or 5 minutes tonight makes the difference between whether Novak pans out or not. By sitting his ass down today, JVG has ruined Novak's career.
