I knew it would take Andersen a while to adjust to NBA basketball and it will take him longer with the amount of minutes he plays. We have to give him more time.
How so? The OP asked a simple question that seems valid enough since it was brought up by our broadcasters, who probably have more insight than us average fans. All he's asking for are your thoughts on David Andersen so far. As for the question at hand.... I'm not running out of patience with him because I don't expect much from him. But I'm also not so sure Andersen has a very bright future like Scola has now lived up to, mainly because Andersen doesn't seem to have the toughness and signs of intelligence and craftiness Scola always had from day one. But hey, I could be WAY wrong, hopefully, so only time will tell
I agree we have all seen flashes of brilliance on the block that we didn't know he was capable of. His main problem is knowing when to take a shot and when to pass it.. One on one on the block fine. When there is a mob of opponent jersey surrounding you.. Pass it... When your range can extend to the three point line and your man is in the paint.. Take that shot! don't look for some one to pass to.. Confidence that's all he needs. He will get there.
His defensive was always going to be an issue but man he should be more assertive when he is open, rather see him miss open jumpers then hesitate and miss contested ones. Overall, not to dissapointed just give him more time.
Maybe Bill just has it in for Australia? I'm sure Andersen will get better as he gets accustomed to the NBA and the Rockets gameplan.
DA is very light on the Defensive end and his rebounding is poor at best. I like his ability to score against the bench of other teams. However, he will never be a 1st team post player. We already have him on the team and his name is Brian Cook.
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This. Completely this. I dunno what Worrell is thinking. 95% of people believe this team didn't have a shot anyway, so Worrell shouldn't be saying how Andersen can't live up to his hype. What hype? It's not like Andersen signed a 6-year max contract, and turned out to be a complete bust.
this pretty much sums it up. probably going to take a while for him to get adjusted...and even then I wasn't expecting a franchise savior
I want to give Andersen the benefit of the doubt but it's getting tougher and tougher. Scola has an adjustment period but almost immediately you could see how great this guy would be once he settled in. The hustle, toughness and IQ were all there from the start. I don't see it in Andersen. With Andersen I see a guy who looks intimidated but also unmotivated and unwilling to make up for his shortcomings by being aggressive. Best case scenario to me is that his jumper becomes automatic. I don't see any reason to expect him to become even a decent defender or average rebounder. He's like Scott Padgett without any heart.
Man, the sentence reads 5 games shouldn't be relevant. It would have been a better sentence if I'd said "The first 5 games of the season, or of a particular player we might acquire this year, should be irrelevant this year." I don't know what you think we were disagreeing about. I'm on record saying we'll be in the hunt for a playoff spot, and in a distintive minority that believes that will be the reason Yao comes back in late March/April. If TMac comes in late November/early December and gives this team what it needs most (playmaking) noone on earth can predict how good we'll be. I've always bled Rockets red, but this year I'm a complete "homer". I have a great deal of respect/love for the guys on this active roster, and so far this year, if anyone of them punched anyone in the face (including myself) I'd probably understand it. It's truly the best of times and the worst of times.
I don't know if i could be dissapointed in a player i didn't have high expectations for. I think his offensive struggles were to be expected. The rules, the speed, the athleticism is a big adjustment. The problem is that he isn't playing like a rockets big man. He just isn't even trying hard enough to have an impact. In Scola's first few games here you could see the effort even when his shots weren't falling. He was fighting for loose balls and doing his best on the defensive end. I am most upset at Andersen's lethargic body language. Ok, fine, you haven't found your groove offensively but show some energy...get out there and contribute in other areas.
By no means do I think Andersen will be as good as Scola. My point was that Scola showed the tools and mentality necessary to make it in the NBA immediately. Andersen has not IMO.
