Drafting Luther Head

I have faith in him.I'm glad that he has run through rookie wall and step up.



http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/gamelog?statsId=3950


November


MIN FG PCT 3P PCT FT PCT STL BLK TO PF OFF DEF TOT AST PTS
27.2 43-110 .391 27-56 .482 17-23 .739 1.0 0.0 1.5 2.3 0.3 2.8 3.2 2.4 10.0

December

MIN FG PCT 3P PCT FT PCT STL BLK TO PF OFF DEF TOT AST PTS
29.8 38-107 .355 21-68 .309 7-14 .500 1.1 0.2 1.9 2.3 0.5 3.4 3.8 2.4 8.0

January

MIN FG PCT 3P PCT FT PCT STL BLK TO PF OFF DEF TOT AST PTS
29.1 50-134 .373 20-68 .294 15-20 .750 1.1 0.1 1.6 2.8 0.4 2.7 3.1 2.6 8.4

February

MIN FG PCT 3P PCT FT PCT STL BLK TO PF OFF DEF TOT AST PTS
19.9 28-68 .412 12-35 .343 5-8 .625 0.8 0.0 1.0 1.5 0.2 2.1 2.3 2.2 5.6

March

MIN FG PCT 3P PCT FT PCT STL BLK TO PF OFF DEF TOT AST PTS
32.5 54-122 .443 18-48 .375 28-38 .737 1.5 0.2 1.5 1.7 0.5 3.3 3.8 3.0 10.3

 

I understand that the numbers he put up are short of spectacular, but what did you expect?

Your basis for this conclusion is off.

For Morey this season, he will only have college stats to go off of when it comes time to draft another player this year.

Do you have any idea what kind of player Luther Head was at Illinois?
Do you have any idea the impact he had for his final four team?

The kid is a winner, and for the Rockets and Luther's sake I hope they do not base too much on the stats you mentioned above.

 

I was just thinking about that year...
On paper, that should have been a fantastic team.

C Hakeem Olajuwon
F Charles Barkley
F Scottie Pippen
G Michael Dickerson
G Cuttino Mobley

Wow. Too bad they were all either too old or too young. sigh. Imagine if Clyde hadn't retired...Olajuwon, Barkley, Pippen, Drexler, Mobley...

 

You're right about his size issue, although he's way way better than Hayes. I see Gomes and Head having the same problem actually. They are undersized for the position they play (Luther for 2 guard and Gomes for the 4). They make up for it with hustle, intelligence, savvy, and basketball IQ. But in the end, if they cannot adjust to another position (Luther to the 1 and Gomes to the 3), their ceiling is just an average starter on a bad team and role player on a good team.

 

There's some real good players in there, West, Fisher, Kristic are all solid players, West has a chance to be special. Kirilenko is an all star. If you think Luther is good, then that's 50% success rate at 24!

 

Before you posted those 24th picks, I actually had a player that I was thinking Luther could be for the Rox. That player is actually Derek Fisher. Someone that could hit the outside shot and play D w/o having the pressure of being a creator (prototypical PG) on the team. Fisher didn't really need to create as that was Shaq's and Kobe's job. On this kind of team, that's the player I'd like him to be and his athleticism is a plus.

 

I don't think Luther has the PG abilities as of yet. It's not so much your handles that makes you a PG, it's your court vision, your ability to make plays, and above all, your decision making in the heat of a game. Honestly, I don't think Luther has those qualities yet. I don't know if he ever will, but it's just something to look at. It takes time to learn all those things, and if Luther puts some real time into it, he could be a good PG.

I think he would fit the Rockets better as a PG than a SG. He needs to work on his shot, his pg skills, and his defense (everything pretty much ) this offseason and I think he'll be either a solid starter or a great backup in this league someday soon.

 

One thing I like about Luther Head is that he works hard in the gym to improve his game. I saw him play in Illinois in his freshman year. He couldn't shoot at all and had absolutely no handles back then. In fact, the only thing he could do was dunking the ball on an alley-oop. Nobody thought that he would ever start for Illinois. Yet four years later, he's a rotational player in the NBA.

I expect Luther to improve a lot next season. The minutes he got this year would really do him good down the road. Head should be in the league for a decade.

 

Sam Cassell was also a 24th pick. I wish we could find some of that gold again.

 

i say by the time Daryl Morey become GM.... in 2007-2008 he will be a starter probably

 

Well actually Head wasn't even projected to be no higher than a an early to mid second round pick until his stock rose after several workouts with nba teams. Plus teams he worked out for actually said he was the most athletic guard in the draft and one of the top perimeter defenders in the draft. I can see he's somewhat athletic, but jumps well off 2 feet instead of one. I notice when he dunks he always set-jumps with both legs to get up high. But he does try real hard on defense, but usually can't stay in front of his opponent.

 

For being the 24th pick going to a JVG team, I'd have to say he has exceeded all expectations. Not only does he seem to be better than those picked after him (and many before), but he has cracked the rotation; and that certainly comes as a surprise. True, the Rockets have been depleted, but ya know that JVG would bring in ex-Knicks to keep a rook off the floor unless the dude was really good.

I don't expect Head to ever be a superstar, but I can see him performing on the level of a McCray or Mario Ellie (sadly, minus the grit). Good pick

 

He's been an OK player, average value for a 24 pick, in my opinion. If you compare his #s to Salim Stoudamire (#31 overall):

Head 8.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, 39.4%FG, 69.5%FT (awful) 35.2% 3P 28MPG
Stoud 9.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 41.5%FT, 90.0%FT, 38.0%3P 20 MPG

I'd say that's about the same. So whatever, he's been OK but not great in any way, just like most of the Rockets not named Yao Ming. He's no Sam Cassell.

 

Look at TMac's percentage. THAT is the huge factor for the low average pct.
TMac is shooting 20-ish% for three at home. And he is top ten or maybe top 5 for field goal attempts per game.
When Luther is off bench, he is more productive. He hit some clutch shots too.

 

In Head, we're talking about a guy with very little upside. Considering our lack of depth at PF last offseason, many of us were disappointed to pass on guys like Wayne Simien, David Lee, and Chris Taft.

Granted, Head wasn't a wasted pick like we've had in years past (Nachbar, Rhodes, Drew, etc), but he'll be nothing more than a tweener guard coming off the bench.

 

So in 8 minutes per game more he averages 1.3 more rebounds and 1.4 more assists...I'd say thats not very similar at all.

Especially considering a) thats more than double the number of assists and b) thats over 1 2/3 the number of rebounds...approximately.

 

you know what, I dont know why everybody thinks that HEAD is good.. when we first drafted him, and when he played in the preseason and the first 6 games of the season, I thought he was a great player and I really liked the fact that he could shoot..but after that, he totally SUCKED!!... when he started his "slump", I thought "like everybody else did" that it was the rookie wall..but dang, the rookie wall is 15 games, 20 if you want.. but 60 games is not a rookie wall..60 games means that the rookie cant play worth a crap and the first 10 games he played were actually a "HOT STREAK" that ended in a short time but made us think that he is that good.. I think HEAD is not good for anything.. I know we got him in the 24th pick..but I think he'll end up an NBDL player.. I know everybody will start firing at me and start reminding me of the great 3's that won us the Golden State and other games.. but u know what, the winning 3 in Oakland was his only field goal or maybe the second one for that game... so 2 words: TRADE HIM..

 

xiao- Why don't you pick some players from the list of players drafted after Head that have consistently played better than him?

If you're talking about stats, since he was a rookie, GMs go with their college stats, so bringing up their rookie stats and saying he wouldn't have gotten picked doesn't make any sense.

But since you bring up the stat guy, I'm sure he wouldn't have mind picking up the leading scorer of the #1 team in America that lost in the NC game. He was also 3rd on the team in rebounds, 3rd in assists, 2nd in steals, all while shooting 46%FG and 42% from 3-pt land.

 

Are you seriously trying to make that argument? He also scores fewer points with a worse shooting percentage. Are you really arguing that Head is statistically having a better season than Stoudamire?