all jokes aside... he can really shoot the ball. he is a good passer and ball-handler. he can be a very good 6th man/starter with a few improvements. if he wants to be a 2 then he needs to bulk up in order to play better defense. if he wants to be a better PG then he needs to work on his ball controll. either way, for next year i'd like to see him add a mid range game (floater in the lane, pull up j), he has a quick first step that opens up the mid range but he was never able to capitalize this season.
Luther Head was one of the only consistent bright spots on our team this year, being one of the only players to stay healthy all year (tied with Juwan Howard for most games played, 80), hitting some huge last second 3 pointers, and injecting some quickness and excitement into our veteran team. The reason why so many people want to get rid of him is that they feel he simply got his numbers due to the huge amount of minutes he received, that he can't defend the shooting guard position, and he doesn't have the handles and creativity to be a point guard. His clutchness might also be deceiving. Heck, I thought that Moochie Norris was the next coming of "big balls dance" Sam Cassell with all the big plays he made down the stretch, and that Matt Maloney was cold-blooded as hell in his rookie season. Look how those two turned out. Where will Luther fall? Hopefully, as many have said, as a solid bench contributor on a contending team. I'm optimistic that Luther can improve, especially when he's placed into situations where his current skillset can flourish. Head seems to be most comfortable in one of two positions; static, camping at the three point line, where he's a good shot with his feet set, and an outstanding passer when the ball is swung from the strong side to the weak side (though as many may have mentioned; a hesitant and poor post entry feeder), as well as driving in straight lines to the hoop, where he shows Tony Parker-esque quickness in blowing by lazy defenders (Tony Parker is one of the best at driving in a straight line between defenders; Luther Head is very good at getting to the rim before the defender arrives). I'd definitely be wary about Luther; his season feels so much like Jarvis Hayes' (stepping in for an injured Jerry Stackhouse, he surprises as a rookie and makes the 2nd team, averaging 10 points a game shooting 40% from the field, then fails to improve for the next two years, going from looking like a solid contributor to possibly not getting his rookie deal extended after the 4th year). Still, I'm cautiously optimistic, and considering that he's our first rookie since Yao to get substantial playing time in his first campaign, I can't help but root for the little guy.
I agree with u.. he was great in the beginning of the season, he made a great impression, but then, he hit what is known as "the rookie wall", and it took him about 60 games to get over that dang wall ... he improved in the end by driving to the basket and creating shots for others by dribble penetration.... I dont think he will be a superstar, a lot of people are going crazy and saying that luther will be an MVP one day (dont take it seriously, it's an exaggeration).. but I think he will be an average to above average player or what we call "alright" ..... I think we should trade him if we get something good for him.. or we can keep him and hope he matures well and improves his game... but I think we should trade him for a veteran (a veteran is 27-31, not 46 ) ..and the only reason I want a veteran is because our team has about 3-4 years to win a championship, after that, T-mac will probably start going downhill, Deke will finally retire , and we will have to develop a whole new team.. so I dont think we should keep a rookie guard (in the F spot, it's alright, we should keep Hayes, but a team needs experienced backcourt to be successful and win championships) .... but well, if we cant get anything good in exchange for him, lets keep him, he will be good for our future...
What is there about that rookie wall. I can see a problem if you are playing starter's minutes and game 35 arrives, but what about a guy who is playing limited minutes? I guess it's more about the traveling than the actual playing... except for the mental fatigue.
Luther Head basically plays starter minutes. He averaged 29 minutes a game for 80 games, there were stretches where he played alot more, Yao only averages 4 more minutes than that.
I thought Head did very well for a rookie. He showed the kind of ice water in his veins that Mobley had his first year here on his last second shots. He got LOTS of steals and has shown himself as a ball hawk, always in the passing lane, and always prepared to take those steals to the hole. His midrange jumper improved and he showed a Parker-esque teardrop shot in the lane after the All-Star break. If he were what was necessary to bring in a great third option, then I would deal him, but in the absence of a lopsided deal, I would keep him to see if he can turn into our Jackson/Fisher type guy off the bench or improve hi ball handling so that he can become our PG.
I think Head gets mentioned so often in trade dreamcasting because he is one of only a very few assets we have that other teams might be interested in. Well, that, and a lot of people have body-archtype prejudices and think a shooting guard is worthless if he isn't at least 6'5".
the amount of childish jokes that is going through my mind is too much. haha...i must resist the urge.
I hope the rockets keep head because this is o the first time he has done this: http://broadband.nba.com/cc/playa.php content=video&url=http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/countdown/cc1513_head_l_bb_8.asx
well, hitting a couple of game-winning shots doesn't mean that we should keep him.. I mean, Ryan BOwen hit a game-winning shot once ... j/k
Another positive for Luther is that he torched the Mavs this year, even though he was undersized. It was not like he onlyhad one good game, he had 4 good games against them when no one else on our team was performing, except Yao. vs. DAL 4 44.7 5.0 11.5 43.5 2.5 5.0 50.0 4.5 5.5 81.8 0.5 5.0 5.5 3.0 3.0 1.8 0.5 3.8 17.0 4 games 44.7 min/game 43.5% FG 50% 3's 81.8% FT's 17.0 PPG 5.5 RPG 3.0 APG
Luther keep ballin cause I hate the Mavs. If you watch Jason terry, Sam Cassell, Tony Parker, Steve nash, then look at Rafer Alston you just might get queazy and throw-up!
So true. I really hope he can grow into a PG type player, If he could do that then we would not need Rafer as the starter. In terms of pure ability Luther has Rafer beat by a lot. He just does not see the court well yet, if and when he does we are set at the PG position. All those wide open shots that they gave Rafer last year and he could not really make defenses play him honest, that really pissed me off last year. Another thing that kills me is when I see people posting projected depth for next year and they show Luther as the starting 2 guard. I think if Luther is gonna play off the ball for the Rockets JVG will not start him, he will simply be a 6 man off the bench depending on the matchup with Tracy brining the ball up and Luther guarding the opposing teams PG.
