Except so far Andersen has had 2 "positives" in the +/- column, and 2 "negatives". Oh - and he brought home that game against the Celtics pretty well on his own. So technically it's not like Juwan Howard at all (so far). Time will tell - I'm gonna keep sticking up for Andersen until he proves me wrong. But 3 nice games out of 4 isn't the worst result one might hope for? Aussie Rocket keeps pointing out that it's against "2nd tier" opponents? Perfect, because that's exactly what we want Andersen to be; our 2nd option at C and able to score on those guys. Keep learning big fella and let's see if the passion to play in the big show gets you there!
And one more thing, plus/minus is all well and good but IMO he was minus 19 because there was absolutely no perimeter defense. The Bucks shot lights out from three in the first half, that was not his fault. I'm not in love with the guy I'm just saying. The premature hate is old. Be a little more patient.
DA is averaging 19.2 points per 36 minutes on .550 TS% so far in preseason. Among regulars playing, only Brooks, Landry, and Scola are scoring more per minute (22.6, 21.8, and 21.8 respectively). He's more comfortable shooting the ball then I expected at this stage. It will be interesting to see how it carries over to the regular season.
Dur.. have you been watching DA closely ? if yes.. what is his potential from what you have seen? and most importantly.. Is he legit back up material? or a situational player like Chuck?
What exactly were you hoping for? Yao Ming? This is a 7 footer we just signed for $3million - he's going to have holes in his game, even serious holes. I'm very satisfied with what I'm seeing. He's terrible defensively, but that was to be expected. The greater point is that he is actually a legitimate threat to score. That will be a huge asset next year against smaller teams when Yao is forced to the bench.
Welcome to the board. Like thacabbage said (to paraphrase), what do people expect at $3 million for a 7 footer, Yao Ming? He fits the system, he's learning, and we could be looking at Joey Dorsey and Nana Papa Yaw Dwene Mensah-Bonsu backing up Scola and Hayes (and possibly Landry) at the 5 spot. Like Luis, the guy has been a winner wherever he's played. Folks should lower their expectations a bit and maybe they'll be surprised at what Andersen can bring to the Rockets. From where I sit, he's another good signing by Morey.
Well, we also gave Atlanta $3 mil for the rights to sign him. But still the guy's really cheap. All you have to do is look at Gortat's contract to see just how high the market value for centers are in the NBA.
I've only seen him play 4 preseason games, so I don't really know. He appears to have a well-rounded offensive repertoire. He'll post up smaller players effectively. Smooth jump hook, good turnaround jumper. He can put the ball on the floor some. He's got a very good midrange jumper (every bit as good as Scola's or Landry's). Probably will be able to extend his range to 3-point line in time. Like others have said, he'll be a helpful addition to the offense. Defensively, he'll struggle. But he doesn't look quite as dreadful as he did in that first game. He should be more effective guarding the PnR than Yao, and he's got decent side-to-side mobility for a near 7-footer.
Seriously. Why is having a $2.3m Juwan Howard on our team a bad thing? Juwan has had a long and healthy NBA career, as an NBA starter no less. If Andersen turned out to be another Juwan Howard, I'd be more than happy.
The creator of this thread has already claimed Andersen will not help this team in any way. I dont have a problem with his opinion, but starting this thread to say I told you so after the first preseason game is kinda arrogant. If he had started this thread after a handful of games, it would make more sense. So far Andersen has been playing better than I expected and it's making this thread creator a little nervous i think.
thanks, durvasa.. that is more than what i expected in terms of potential .. good enuf for a 3 million $ signing.. I hope he develops into 1/2 of what Okur is right now..
His shot looks as good as advertised, and he's actually shown some decent post moves such as the running hook shot in the lane. He still looks absolutely frantic on defense though. Watching up and Budinger scrambling at the top of the key was hilarious against the Bucks. He's still committing a lot of rookie/Euro errors and fouls, but they're already less frequent than game 1 of the pre-season. So far, so good. I wouldn't hand him the reigns as a starter over Chuck just yet, but his offensive potential could certainly go well with the fire coming off the bench in the form of Lowry/Landry/Budinger. The second unit might do passable defense against an opposing team's second unit, but I wouldn't want that line-up against the first string of a team -- they'd allow 40 points a quarter!
DA's first ever regular season game in the NBA? I'd say he was pretty solid. He was on the court when the Rockets gave Portland a scare in the 4th quarter. He led the team in +/- with a +8. He shot 50%, 4-8 and made his one three and both of his FTs. He led the team (along with Hayes, Landry) in rebounding with 5, despite not even playing 20 minutes. His lowest moment was probably getting stuffed by Brandon Roy in point blank range. He also racked up 4 fouls in 19 minutes, but he deserves a B grade at least. Nice job Andersen! Your "vindication" has been denied.
Didn't we sign him to be our center ? Why is he coming off the bench ?? He's the only guy with size and played pretty good in the pre-season. Please let him start over 'too small to play ball' Hayes
I'll let the head coach take this one: “We’ve said all along that Chuck’s our best defender we have inside,” says Rockets’ Head Coach Rick Adelman. “Unfortunately, he’s going to have to do a lot of things that are really unfair. He’s going to be our starting center guarding people who are a lot bigger and stronger than he is but when Chuck’s on the floor we’re a much better defensive team – that’s pretty obvious.”
