And I wanted PJ Tucker.... <------ I'm with stupid Novak looks like he can play. I wish they would have shown some rebounding, passing, running the floor... oh well.
I don't know about ya'll but I do remember bullard faking 3's and taking a dribble or two and draining a shot inside the arc. He had to learn that because players were respecting his shot and at his height you HAVE to jump. Novak does look more mobile and one thing bullard wouldn't do is those fadeaway 3 pointers. Looks promising and my expectations aren't too high for a 2nd rounder so he definitely has the cushion and time to prove himself whereas battier better do something to win us over really fast.
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You said that already. We got it. No one is saying he's going to be playing 35 minutes a night. I guess because he's a 2nd round pick, we're not allowed to talk about him?
I watched a decent amount of Marquette games. The guy is a really underrated passer. Not a great rebounder because he camps outside the arc so much and he's still a below-average athlete but I still like the pick.
I hope this pick can shut off the all talks re Mike Miller. The kid could be a poor man's Steve Kerr. Hey if we keep winning, rich man's Steve Kerr.
Here's some more clips of Novak: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft?round=2&dl=nba Click on the little camera next to his name. In all the Gay/Battier uproar, Novak didn't get much due, but this is a great pickup. By the numbers he's probably the best shooter in the entire draft. I mean his career shooting percentages after 4 years of college stand at: 46% FG%, 46.5 3pt%, and 93.2 FT% The kid can flat out shoot the rock, so he'll have a role for us. Now it's just a matter of how big of a role depending on what he can do on the defensive end. As long as he can hang with guys that are primarily spot up shooters (like a Bruce Bowen), then he'll be an extremely valuable addition. We'll see.
WoW! That made me feel so much better! Novak > Gay! Battie > Swift! The trade suddenly doesn't look as bad as it was. From the video, Novak has a very good shooting form. He makes shots while moving with a hand in his face. I don't know why he would slip to the second round. If Rockets had a shooter like Novak last season, Rockets wouldn't have missed the playoffs. Can anyone even count the number of WIDE-OPEN 3 pointers Rafer/Bogan/Wesley/Head missed?
When he drives right, he drives deeper. When he drives left, he pulls up more quickly. He needs to work on being less predictable in summer camp. But, oh what range, oh what a release.
I watched the college men's 3-pt contest this March and Novak won quite handily. JJ Redick wasn't here, but Novak pretty much owned everyone who was. Dee Brown, Illinois Keydren Clark, Saint Peter's Justin Gray, Wake Forest Bruce Horan, Butler Jeff Horner, Iowa Steve Novak, Marquette Kevin Pittsnogle, West Virginia Chris Quinn, Notre Dame So yes, we certainly have a guy who can at least hit the open 3 and hopefully a little more.
Ooops, didn't realize the kid is a 6'10" forward. Replace "Steve Kerr" with "Dirk Nowitzki" in my previous post.
Novak was a decent pick at #32 IMO. He can provide that Scott Padgett role we missed last season but since it's JVG, I find it hard to see him getting minutes because of the defensive liability he is. I thought Tucker would have been a better pick however. The guy provides a lot of toughness and athleticism that we could use as well.
The biggest difference between Dirk and Novak is that Dirk's body is much bigger and more solid than Novak's. Novak is pretty frail at 6'9" 216 lbs. And his thin frame isn't going to change that. So he's really got no chance to play at PF. But I agree that the way he gets off his shot is very much like Dirk. If we can effectively hide him on defense, then he'll be very good for us because he's going to work wonders for our offensive game.
http://www.sportsstats.com/jazzyj/greats/00/langhi.htm Code: Dan Langhi, Vanderbilt, 6-11, F G MIN FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA REB PF AST TO BLK STL PTS 96-97 Vanderbilt 31 477 33 76 9 27 55 74 76 32 9 27 4 11 130 97-98 Vanderbilt 31 492 68 162 24 67 36 47 91 47 14 41 6 11 196 98-99 Vanderbilt 29 954 162 388 47 122 141 167 211 52 36 70 7 23 512 99-00 Vanderbilt 30 1033 222 465 58 144 162 186 181 56 24 53 9 13 664 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTALS 121 2956 485 1091 138 360 394 474 559 187 83 191 26 58 1502 MIN FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG TPG BPG SPG PPG 96-97 Vanderbilt 15.4 43.4 33.3 74.3 2.5 0.3 0.9 0.1 0.4 4.2 97-98 Vanderbilt 15.9 42.0 35.8 76.6 2.9 0.5 1.3 0.2 0.4 6.3 98-99 Vanderbilt 32.9 41.8 38.5 84.4 7.3 1.2 2.4 0.2 0.8 17.7 99-00 Vanderbilt 34.4 47.7 40.3 87.1 6.0 0.8 1.8 0.3 0.4 22.1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTALS 24.4 44.5 38.3 83.1 4.6 0.7 1.6 0.2 0.5 12.4 Selected by Dallas Mavericks in 2nd round (#31 pick overall) of 2000 NBA Draft... Draft rights traded to Houston Rockets.
Here are some evaulations from some pre-draft work outs. Both Rudy Gay and Novak participated. They liked Rudy Gay and loved Novak. He's much more mobile than most people think, and definitly has the ability to take contested jumpers from even the most athletic defenders (Gay). They were also very impressed with how crafty he was with getting his shot off, and how he knew his strengths and played off of them. I don't think we have a Bullard type of foward on our hands, I think he will be similar to Krover. Yao / Deke Howard / Hayes / Novak Tracy / Novak Battier / Head James / Alston / Sura I'm upset that we aren't keeping Gay, but I'm also assuming that the Rockets have more moves to make. We need to look for cheap FA's who are hustle players (similar to what the Suns did last year). Player Evaluations Rudy Gay, 6-9, Sophomore, Small Forward, UConn It’s not every day that we get to watch a potential top 5 draft pick train for the NBA draft in front of our own eyes for an hour and a half, and it was immediately evident to us why Gay is held in such high regard. In terms of physical attributes, there is no doubt that Gay is the absolute prototype for what a modern day NBA wing should look and move like. He is every bit the 6-9 he is listed at, but possesses the type of wingspan that you’d normally expect from a 6-11 power forward. His hands are huge and his are fingertips freakishly long. Gay has an excellent frame and looks to have already added a bit of weight to it in the few weeks he’s been here preparing for the draft. As far as his athleticism goes, Gay came “as advertised,” executing a few moves in the workout that only a select number of current NBA players can. He runs the floor fluidly, like a 6-3 guard, elevates gracefully and instantly off the floor, and has an incredibly smooth vertical leap. In terms of skills, there wasn’t anything that could be hidden in this type of setting due to the nature of the drills they were put through. Gay got his shot off whenever he pleased thanks to the terrific separation he can create at any point in time from his defender, and looked absolutely terrific pulling up from mid-range. He not only elevates instantaneously off the floor to create space between him and his defender, but also possesses a high release point on his shot to compliment the already beautiful arc he puts on it. Certain drills here worked on moving off the ball and utilizing screens, and this appeared to be a part of his game where he’ll have success in the NBA almost right off the bat. This also appeared to be something that was more difficult to evaluate in him in college due to the shorter 3-point line and lack of spacing that UConn at times suffered from. The NBA 3-point line is four feet further back than the college line, and this is a part of the floor in which Gay’s strengths will be better utilized because of the sheer ease in which he can get his shot off. When attacking the basket, his long strides allow him to get to the hoop from the 3-point line off of one short dribble. He showed quite a bit of craftiness getting his shot off in many different ways, particularly with a sweet-looking jump-hook shot that we probably didn’t see enough of at UConn. When focused on attacking the basket and finishing strong, Gay was virtually unstoppable, as his length and explosiveness almost make things unfair on the player who is guarding him. Things just come that easy for him. Defensively, he was extremely disruptive at times thanks to his wingspan and outstanding lateral quickness. As he matures physically and gains more experience, he is likely to develop into an absolute terror on this end of the floor. The biggest revelation to come out of this workout revolved around his mental toughness and intensity. Gay has been described at times as being a soft player, but that certainly did not look to be the case in this workout. He was highly competitive almost throughout and was visibly displeased by every shot he missed. His work ethic seemed top-notch, and it was impossible not to notice the kind of excellent shape he was in. Talking to him and watching him play, it’s obvious that the intense criticism he’s received over the past season has forced him to develop a bit of a chip on his shoulder, and he seems to be all the more motivated now to prove his doubters wrong. He might never be as good as people want him to be because of the fact that he looks like such a stud and there always seems to be something more that he might be able to do, but that’s not really his fault. Jonathan Givony, DraftExpress.com In terms of negatives, there were definitely some that came out due to the extremely intense nature of this workout. In the ball-handling drills and one on one, it became evident that Gay will have to work much harder on this part of his game than most 6-6 or 6-7 wing players do due to his freakishly long wingspan. It’s just that much more difficult for a player with his size and length to have complete control over the ball from when the ball hits the floor and bounces back into his hand, due the sheer physics involved. This is something he’ll have to continue to work hard on. In terms of creating his own shot, Gay is yet to truly master the art of establishing separation from defenders with change of speeds and directions, hesitation moves, jab-steps, freeze fakes and other crafty tricks that all veteran shot-creators have and need in their arsenal. He is a bit too upright when driving towards the hoop, and might have some problems taking advantage of smaller defenders until he becomes more flexible in terms of getting his body low to the ground as he slashes his way towards the basket. This certain reluctance to expose the ball causes him to settle for jump-shots more than you’d like to see a player with his physical gifts do. His release point and therefore his overall shooting accuracy is still a bit inconsistent since he has a tendency at times to snap his hand violently on the follow through, but this is something that can easily be tweaked once he gets into training camp. When he did take the ball to the basket, he doesn’t always go up that strong, which prompted Ravin to encourage him to “play big” and be more of “a mother------,“ but always in a heartening manner and not by depreciating him. When having his buttons pushed correctly, Gay responded emphatically, making the exact adjustments that he was encouraged to and indeed playing up to his strengths better in the possessions that followed. All in all this was an excellent setting to evaluate Gay’s strengths and weaknesses. The things he does well on the court are clearly the type of virtues that are innate and cannot be taught, while the things he doesn’t do particularly well at this point generally seem to be weaknesses that can be worked on and he should improve upon as he matures and adds more polish to his game. The biggest question is, how soon will the lightbulb come on? Gay would be best served landing on a team like Charlotte, Toronto or Minnesota who will not ask him to be their go-to player right off the bat. It’s obvious that his potential is absolutely off the charts, but at the same time the team that drafts him will need to be patient and realize that he is still only 19 years. It’s been our opinion all year that if he focuses on playing a role similar to the one Shawn Marion plays in Phoenix as opposed to trying to be a Tracy McGrady type offensive player, he will find greater success in the league sooner and potentially become an all-star down the road. Gay’s first private NBA workout is scheduled for May 31st for the team that might fit him best, the Charlotte Bobcats. According to what we were told, he will not be taking the Gerald Green route and will be playing competitively against the top players who are willing to match up with him. In an interview you’ll read in the next few days, he singled out Adam Morrison, Tyrus Thomas and Brandon Roy as three players he would like to go up against in the next few weeks. He still has his heart set on going #1 in the draft, and is quietly looking forward to proving those who’ve doubted him along the way wrong. Steve Novak, 6-9 ½, Senior, Small Forward, Marquette Jonathan Givony, DraftExpress.com While Gay is the athletic freak who is oozing with potential but will need to be harnessed a bit until he fully learns how to play up to his strengths, Novak is the crafty senior who is already superb at what he does well and is ready to step into his likely NBA role from day one. We were warned beforehand that Novak is likely to look much better in the drills portion of the workout than the competitive one on ones, but that ended up not being the case at all here, as he looked very very good in both. He handled the ball effortlessly in the ball-handling drills, maintaining control at all times while running and up down the floor, and looked smooth pulling up off the dribble and using the glass. Throughout the workout it was clear that we’re dealing with one of the most lethal shooting threats we’ll probably ever witness in this type of setting. His jump-shot is fine-tuned like a well oiled machine, identical in it’s mechanics on each attempt, featuring an incredibly quick release, a beautiful follow through, and deadly range and accuracy. In the drive and kick portion of the workout, he was especially impressive, not missing more than one or possibly two attempts of all the shots he took from mid-range and behind the 3-point line, either from static positions or off the dribble. While watching this drill, a half a dozen NBA teams or more immediately sprung to mind as being able to use this type of threat on the wing right now if they could. Once the one on one session began, we thought Novak would struggle a bit since he was never considered much of a shot-creating threat in college and was supposed to be at a distinct disadvantage when pitted up against a smaller and quicker player like Gray or a long and disruptive freak like Gay. That wasn’t the case, though, as he seems to be more mobile than he gets credit for and is smart enough to know what his strengths are and play to them at all times. One would think that he’d go to his 3-point shot at all costs, but he actually did a wonderful job of keeping his defender guessing at all times by taking him down to the post, and using crafty step-through pivot moves and pull-up jumpers off the glass from mid-range. Jonathan Givony, DraftExpress.com Once he established that he’s more than just a one-dimensional shooter, he reminded us what we here for by knocking down an effortless 3-pointer in the blink of an eye from 30 feet out that barely touched the net. He got each of his defenders in the air on multiple occasions just with the threat of his lethal jump-shot, and then sailed smoothly to the rim for the easy finish after the pump-fake. When he did put himself in jail by giving up his dribble, he still used his height and intelligence impressively to knock down tough, contested shots while fading away left or right. Defensively, he actually did a solid job using his length and getting a hand in his matchup’s face on most possessions, mostly due to the effort he put in on this end. He anticipates very well and had all of the players here scouted very well from the few days he had worked out with them already, knowing their tendencies and what kind of counter moves they like to go to. When he was not on the court, he showed a great attitude by constantly encouraging everyone else on. In terms of weaknesses, there wasn’t too much you could fault him for considering what we know about his likely role at the next level. He is a bit too upright (some would say ‘stiff’) in the way he moves laterally defensively, not getting low enough to the ground to challenge the often smaller players he will often encounter. His vertical leap is not off the charts, and he still could stand to add some strength to his fairly skinny frame. He’s never going to be the type of player who creates his own shot off more than one or two short dribbles, but he seems smart enough to realize how not to be a liability here either. There was no offensive post game to be evaluated in order to see how well he uses his height All in all he seems like the type of guy people will look back at in a few years and wonder how in the world he was drafted behind certain players who ended up being complete busts when the writing on him was all over the wall. As long as he falls in the right situation, he’ll have a long and productive NBA career as a solid rotation player, and maybe even a 3-point contest win or two. According to information we received independently following this trip, Novak worked out yesterday in Houston with Dee Brown, Chris Quinn, Paul Davis and Chris Hernandez. He has a very interesting workout coming up in Sacramento on Thursday with James Augustine, Kevin Pittsnogle and Steven Smith.
Novac could ge a decent additionBUT you MUST rememvber JVG is a problem when it comes to developing the POTENTIAL of ROOKIES
SEASON MIN PTS REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF FG% FT% 3P% PPS 2002-2003 15.9 7.1 2.1 .5 .5 1.00 .2 .0 1.6 .506 .947 .515 1.66 2003-2004 29.5 12.5 4.6 1.3 1.4 .89 .7 .1 1.9 .407 .912 .430 1.33 2004-2005 29.9 13.5 4.1 .9 1.3 .68 .5 .1 2.4 .457 .905 .461 1.51 2005-2006 33.8 17.5 5.9 1.3 1.0 1.22 .6 .1 2.1 .477 .974 .467 1.49 Notice the percentages. He never shot less than 43% from the 3 and almost never missed a free throw. He is a pure shooter to say the least. Lets hope we can hide his defensive defficiency.
