If he doesn't make significant improvements through the preseason, I would not be surprised if he's not in the rotation to start the season. It's not like he's shown himself more capable of guarding or rebounding against opposing centers than our other bigs.
i know its not...the point is even scola, who's had all kinds of experience playing ball ovrseas and in int'l play, needed time to adapt. So its insane to say Andersen isn't going to improve some, at the very least. In everything you do in life, from the most simple things to the most complicated, you're going to improve after so many repetitions. Maybe only a little, maybe more. The only time you don't improve AT ALL is when you're an idiot or completely and consistently lost...and I doubt Andersen would be getting paid millions to play ball if he was either of those..
Yes, and we aren't going to win anything significant this year with a more solid "back up"center than Andersen, so why panic because the guy isn't going to put up 20 and 10 and make a move to take a step forward this year if its going to put us a step back next yr?
right, so we could sit Blair behind Landry and Scola and continue to have lack of athleticism and scoring at the swingman spot...
It was blairs first game also. Look,its funny my man had to dance on anderson . One weekend with the wife and kids gone, I had a chance to get in the man-whole and watch 20 games of anderson. Armed with a pen and pad, I didn't like what I saw. Its not that he doesn't have some skills, its the fact that he's 30, coming to the nba, and his upside is oberto,but not as tough. My point was if they wanted a soft jumpshooting big, why not sign Frye who at least has some nba production.I guess we will have to see and it is only 1 preseason,but if blair can treat him like that, what about a legit big?
How many 3's will he take during the season? That could really be an advantage having a 3 point shooting center. It would free up the lane for our slashers.
The defense was a disaster, I haven't seen such bad rebounding since Von Wafer, and he looked very tentative closing out and showing on picks (not sure if this is a new thing for him; I'm sort of assuming the defense played a bit softer there). However, I'm not quite ready to throw him under the bus just yet. Perhaps his ceiling is Juwan Howard from the JVG days, or Mo Taylor after the injury. That's still a pretty useful part for $2.5M. There were three specific positions in the offense where I thought he looked pretty good: 1. Pick and Pop. You can tell he's been doing this for years. His positioning was pretty much perfect, getting the necessary separation and opening up a good passing angle for himself to receive the ball and immediately shoot in rhythm. Shots didn't go in, and the three pointer he took looked to be a bit outside of his range. Like his predecessor Howard, he's going to need to hit at around 50% on these to be useful. 2. High post passing. I've long thought that Chuck Hayes was the best high post passer we had. Andersen might challenge him for that title; the extra few inches he has both in length and height make it easier for him to deliver the backdoor pass, as well as allow for easier handoffs on basket cuts. His jumpshot also comes into play; his defender can't lay off of him quite as much, leaving a bit more space within the lane for cutters. 3. Low post. It was ugly, didn't produce points, and certainly isn't going to make anyone forget about Yao Ming. But I was encouraged by the fact that Andersen was able to actually move his defender a few times; this is something that Scola really struggles with, and is a pretty good sign; at least we know that when he goes in to bang, Andersen is somewhat effective. It's very early, and fans were spoiled by both Yao and Scola's relatively quick learning curves; keep in mind both these guys made the All-Rookie teams, and by their 10th game respectively, Yao put up 30 and 16 (off the bench!), while Scola was starting a string of 20 point games. Hollinger pegs Andersen as an 8/5 player in 20 minutes per game on 44% shooting; I didn't see anything tonight that would suggest he couldn't get those numbers.
So far, I have only watched the first half and he looked pretty bad. I know it's one game but he looks like he is going to consistently be out-muscled in the post and on the boards. Maybe he can find some Scott Padgett-like hustle and earn his playing time by flying around the court like a mad man and popping jumpers. Or maybe this was just one game.
It's clear that he needs to hustle more. He was simply getting outworked there tonight. I was fine with most of the jumpers he took. He was open and didn't hesitate, but he needs to slow his game down. I could tell he was anxious out there.
That's what I originally thought when I read that post. All you have to do is look at Scola to believe that this guy still has a shot of becoming a decent player. His game just fits into Adelman's system. I also remember Scola getting abused on defense early in his NBA career.
Oh I love the GARM. After one game we decide a guy signed to a small contract hasn't lived up to it? Some idiots here want to compare this signing to Yao Ming, like he has to be the equal of the big fella or he is a bust. Are you all that young that you cannot remember Luis Scola two years ago? He fouled like crazy early on jumping and holding on D, yes Andersen isn't a great defender but why morons judge people on one preseason game is beyond me. People like to compare with Scola coming over, basically the same transition....Scola had a big fat donut in his first roster game.... so with the theory of the people in here he obviously turned out to be a massive flop not worth the small contract he is on.
One game does not a career make. Nor break. It's just a bit too early to start chiseling that epitaph just yet.
You do not sign a guy at 29 for his limited defense capabilities. Obviously the Rockets are not stupid he is not going to play against a guy who will kill him for 40 minutes, you notice there is a bloke named Chuck Hayes on the roster? Andersen was signed because he can help spread the floor and allow the quick guards easier drives, something people seem to be missing here. Obviously they hope for him to guard somewhat and with a great defensive system they will work on it no doubt. He is not on a max contract like some people seem to be judging him by, the guy was signed because he can run well for a big man and spread the floor with his jumper. aussie will claim his jumper is over rated and I disagree, its not the sweetest looking jumper but a look at the numbers will show you he hits it at a good rate. He is basically a player who they will use to exploit weak post defenders who cannot run and to draw out bigs(Shaq for example) who like to clog the lane. You put Andersen, Scola, Battier, Ariza, Brooks or something similar on the floor and all can hit at worst top of the key jumpers at a high%, something that will be great to use against players like Shaq and Howard who will stop Brooks, Lowry etc. from driving. Basically Chuckwagon will be used when the opposing C is more likely to cause damage than Andersen and Landry/Scola combo when they can get away with it.
When was this? Could you provide me a link, please? It would crack me up if Gortat was put off Houston by ClutchFans...
