If you turned 360, where would you be? Right back where you started at. I think DFWRocket meant you should be doing a 180...
One game does not make a season. But I have to admit that he made a very good first impression. I agree that he appears to have great defensive intensity. If he continues to play with that intensity don't be surprised if JVG play's him a lot more than rookie minutes. I know that he scored some crucial points for us last night but in my opinion his defense will be more beneficial during the season. Grabbing 2 to steals in 15 minutes was phenomenal, considering that there were only 5 players last season that averaged 2 steals per game! I also would like to see him play more against the starters to see how he handles himself against the better players on the opposing team. Hope he continues to impress!
JVG criticized some of Head's play in the Chron and for good reason. It wasn't Head's fantastic defense Van Gundy was talking about, but his offense. Head took some shots he probably shouldn't have taken: a contested three, a tough layup, and a pull-up mid-range jumper after a steal because the lane was closed. Not to mention that he pumpfaked a 3ptr TWICE before driving to the hoop and dishing it to Baxter. That's all well and good, because he actually made things happen. It's nice to see that he can take over a game when he's the most talented guy on the floor. In fact, he needed to do that for us to win that game. But Head has to know that if he ever ends up playing with the first unit, like Tmac or Yao, he cannot play like that. JVG is just letting him know. He looked like Cuttino last night, but we don't him playing too much like Cuttino. If you know what I mean.
I guess we aren't counting Dickerson, Mobley, Francis and Yao We do ok with about 1/2 of our rookies, it just that we didn't have many 1st round picks the last few years. And EG was a good rookie, good sophmore, but just plain out bad head.
I think the new question we have is: Is Luther the new backup point until Sura is healthy? I don't think anyone wants moochie playing that much. Will he or DA be our first guy off the bench to be the primary ballhandler? Will Van Gundy's predisposition for NOT playing rookies come into play here? Are Luther's passing skills that raw that he is possibly not up to that challenge yet? Sorry, I guess my primary question leads to alot of other unknowns. Any thoughts?
I really like Luther's play so far. I will reserve my opinion on him if JVG can give him some meaningful regular season minutes. At times, I'd rather him pass the ball, but he does that well too. His defensive intensity (ugh, so cliche) really impresses me. the steal he got last night was a beauty, he even tried to be unselfish by runnin the break and giving it up to Bowen...he should have kept it, hehehe It has to be hard for JVG to not want to play this guy in the reg season to see if he can hang yet. if he can't, he can really bring some energy off the bench. Maybe in a season or two be a starter if he can really prove himself. I'm not convinced of him being a PG yet though. More like a 2 guard from what I've seen so far. Time will tell
the new gilbert arenas ya seriously i don't know why everybody is so shocked...the guy was a 1st team all-american if i remember correctly...better than deron williams and dee brown. maybe it's cuz lutha is so quiet, ppl forgot him compared to the other two illini.
Cato's problem was a confidence and motivational issue which was a result of two things. First with that contract that he signed he was expected to dominate right away. Second he came to Houston who just happened to have the greatest center in the history of the game. Dreams glory days were so recent that we were comparing Cato to the greatest player who has ever played his position. So he cracked under the pressure, but to be fair he did eventually become a force down low. I don't think Luther has that kind of pressure on him as he was a late pick and it is not expected of him to replace Tracy or become the next Stockton. I agree its too early to start hyping Luther up but he has been better than I think all of us expected thus far. So hopefully he keeps it up.
I didn't like the selection of Head but I'm starting to warm to the idea that he could be our future backup PG one day.
This is what I have thought all along. They both have very similar games, height, appearance, and confidence (which is why Gordon is so good) except head can play solid d, not just get steals like Gordon. I think Head will not be as good as a scorer as Gordon because we wont need him to. He looks like he will be a better playmaker than Gordon eventually. But he will be expected to drive and dish, as well as hit open J's. But everyonce in awhile he can torch the other team ala Gordon.
I don't think that's a big concern, at least not yet. I caught Head's interview after the Philly game and when Bill asked him what he envisioned as his role on a team loaded with veterans, Head said "Obviously it's not going to be scoring." He went on to say that he's ready to do whatever is asked of him and seemed pretty certain that defense would be the skill that earned him his minutes, not offense. I'm sure he could simply say one thing and do another, but he doesn't appear to be a selfish player. If he is, he'll simply be benched or Bokied. I'd imagine he's going to be seeing more minutes than almost anyone on the team during the preseason, so we'll get to check him out pretty well, hopefully.
Head is a great penetrator and a nice shooter from anywhere inside the 3...he's a decent 3-point shooter but could be better...he needs to become a better finisher though when he drives...he's effective as a drive-and-dish guy but has a hard time finishing when he tries to take the shot himself...but I like what I see...
