Hasheem Thabeet is the human Yao Ming appreciation class. A lot of non-Rockets fans (and some Rockets fans, too, I guess) have said Yao was "just big" when he was so much more. Just look at Thabeet, a guy with similar size and athleticism (and even similar build-- thick legs, big ass, relatively small upper body) and you'll see what being "just big" gets you without the hardwork Yao put in to grow his skills, coordination, stamina, etc. Thabeet really has basically the same God-given tools-- which got him drafted 2nd overall-- but can't even manage to get into the Rockets rotation.
We see this every year. From Skip to Luther Head to Brian Cook people will find a way to pick on a single player in a team sometimes undeseverdly. The difference between Thabeet and aforementioned players is that all of them were given their opportunities either here or from their previous teams big enough sample size to make your judgement. With Thabeet is very frustrating, we really do not know what he can or can't do in a really basketball game. He has never been given a chance to showcase his skills (if you believe he has any). When given meaningful minutes in the pre season both games he played well enough to warrant some more minutes. Nothing frustrates me than watching Hill and Scola front court, they can't protect the rim plus they may be the worst tandem in the league in help defense. Until PPat comes back the rotation should be Thabeet Scola and Sammy Hill. Some of the Thabeet criticism is legit, but you wonder if some of his critics ever watched him play. The reason I said that there was Thabeet thread that went over 10 pages arguing Thabeet is left handed center.
I hope he is in the lineup tonight. He played well against SA in the preseason. He should get at least ten minutes of play.
Agree. Hmm, somehow, the name Spannoulis comes to mind here. And yes, Thabeet is both big and tall and able to tie his shoes all by himself. But so was Shawn Bradley and I am sure you will recall how that worked out. As I have posted before, at some point you simply have to start believing what your eyes (and not your heart) are telling you about Thabeet.
Me thinks Thabeet will see alot of DNP-CD with the addition of Dalembert and Patterson coming back after ankle surgery.
Hasheem and VSpan have a lot in common in this. That team had Rafer Alston at PG (Man he sucked) and was going nowhere, so I wanted to see if VSpan could develop - never said he would, just wanted him to get some burn to find out IF he would. Same with Thabeet, I am not saying he will amount to anything, but some guys are practice players and some are gamers, and when Hasheem got consistent minutes in Memphis his rookie year, he was pretty danged good. So - as this Rockets team is going NOWHERE....it is the perfect time to play him and find out if he can develop. If not, the team lost a bunch and we get a higher draft pick, if he does develop than we got a player....it has win win written all over it. DD
You guys that still defend Thabust need to get over it and move on. Sometimes I wish the Rockets would just cut him to end the silly debate here.
Agreed. We have a good team. Playing him 10 minutes won't change our fates in the game much. We might even get some blocks and more rebounds for it. Win-win all day.
How long are you going to wait? Let's be real here, Thabeet has been in the league long enough that his rookie contract is about to expire this season. Unless the dude has been injured, usually you'll find out if a piece is worth keeping or not. We still don't know anything about Thabeet, and this time its all on him. Thabeet didn't become fat or injured during the summer, but its also obvious he didn't put in the work. I mean, look at D-Mo, dude looked like a stick the previous year. This year? Its pretty obvious he's been hitting the weights hard. NOW that's work ethic, that's progress. Thabeet in year 3 still has no stamina, and I can't see any physical development from since his rookie year, he's still the same 7'3 pogo stick. I understand there's more being a big man than working on your strength and conditioning, but to me that's how you can find out if your big man wants to improve or not.
ros, Thabeet is 7'3" 282 pounds and 3.5% body fat, you do not get that way without working out. I think the lockout hurt him more than any player, he needed a summer with CD to learn foot work and proper positioning. The guy has not been coached, he is a player that you have to invest a LOT of one on one time in, to get to his ceiling, he is just a lump of clay, if you can mold him correctly you can reap the rewards, but if you are looking for a finished product, he is just not it. DD
Look I'm in the "we shoulda' kept Greg Smith on the roster" camp, so I'm definitely not someone expecting instant results. Probably here is, how can you work out and still have no stamina on the court? Ideally if you run treadmills or bike enough to get that 3.5% bodyfat, you would have a decent amount of stamina right now. Instead, what Mchale is saying is that an overweight and out of shape Dalembert basically has more stamina than Thabeet. This tells me that: 1) that 3.5% might be exaggerated (let's be real here, 3.5%? People need some fat in their body in order to live, 3.5% is like Bruce Lee territory). 2) Thabeet might have just been blessed with an insane metabolism. I mean, based on article I read his hobbies are painting, taking pictures and watching football games. Not exactly an active lifestyle IMHO. Anyway, I think the people who know him best are the Rox FO and Mchale. We'll see if they think he's worth keeping or not. Right now though, until he builds up his stamina I think he should just sit on the bench.
I think that the Rockets front office and McHale don't know how to get through to him, that they are looking for the 'fiery' type of player, and he is just not it. Every good manager of people (Phil Jackson for instance) finds what motivates his players, I am unconvinced that McHale can do that, and I know that Morey is pretty poor at it, based upon the comments that players have about him treating them like assets. So, maybe he gets moved, or traded to someone else, whatever is better for the team I am down with. DD
A lot of people play in the preseason who aren't on the team anymore. Is thabeet part of your team that will us two championships in 5 years?
