Boki showed pulse in practice, that's why he got some playing time. What if Boki gets the bench treatment after he shows "pulse" in practice but not on the court for lack of experience? Like that in Yao's first several games? Yao won the hearts of the coaches and teammates immediately after the first practice, but he didn't get lots of minutes until proving himself on the court.
That is why...... If Bostjan Nachbar really wants to play.....then he should hope that Glen Rice gets injured....
Here's how you can tell: If Boki had enough game, he'd have gotten more minutes. Simple as that. As fans, we got all excited about the potential of a first-round pick, especially after hearing the Rockets' staff hype him. However, the same guys have hyped other draft picks they've made before, and the results are dismal more often than not. Besides Nachbar, here are some other players the Rockets have thought enough of to draft in the first round in the last six years include: Jason Collier, Bryce Drew, Mirsad Turkcan, Rodrick Rhodes. And let's throw Serge Zwikker in there, since he was the very first pick in the 2nd round. ESPN's Don Leventhal at the time said this about Rhodes: "This could be the most shocking first-round selection I have seen in the 13 years of my NBA draft report. I did not anticipate there was any chance Rhodes would go in either round. Whoever made this selection is suffering from some sort of malady." The Rox have made four good 1st-round picks over that same time span: Yao (obviously), Michael Dickerson, Griffin, Kenny Thomas In other words, over the last 6 years the Rox have snagged 10 players in the first round. Out of those 10, one (Yao) is a budding star, one (Thomas) is a solid starter, the jury is still out on two (EG and Dickerson), and the other 6 are scrubs or busts. This organization has become myopic at draft time in recent years, and Boki looks to be just another much-hyped eventual bust. Add to that a few bad trades and questionable free agent signings, and it's easy to see why we were a .500 team this year. Like I said earlier, if Boki had enough game, he'd have gotten more minutes. It really is as simple as that.
so much hype was made for him by the Rockets staff. If he can't beat out a scrub like Terrence Morris and an old man with no knees like Rice for at least the backup SF spot...then to quote Bill Walton: "You start to wonder...how much game does he really have?"
When you read descriptions of Boki's game, doesn't it get you thinking how perfectly it complements Ming? he likes to cut, gets to the basket in long strides when left open, and is an above average 3-pt shooter, yet he's not as good as Peja. Now throw in Ming, who's brilliant at passing to cutters, attracts tons of attention in the post for Boki to ge tsome very open 3-pt looks and some favourable coverage for him to get to the rim. However, I worry about his defense. Fortunately, we've heard a few times this past season how the staff is working on his defensive mentality, positioning, angles, and effort. Hopefully, it will be the difference in Boki being the perfect piece, or a bust. I think we stick with Boki/T-Mo/Posey at the 3 and we're fine. Posey will get some minutes backing up the 2, assuming Cat's gone of course, and Bokie and T-Mo will bring their different games off the bench. T-Mo may also get some backup 4 minutes. I'd like to add that this thread would never have been started if we had made the playoffs. In fact, had Boki played a lot during the season, we'd be blaming Rudy for playing inexperienced players. We weren't in a position to let guys develop, we finished ONE game out of the playoffs and were always neck-n-neck with Phoenix.
I totally agree with you. It is perfectly reasonable to evaluate a player based on watching his first-ever NBA game. Sincerely, Charles Barkley, Donkey Romancer P.S. Yao Ming is a bust
Good job...if you read anything else I ever wrote you would have realized how I felt about Yao in the first game I saw of him. Read before you make smart ass comments moron.
You must have delusions of grandeur. Why in the world would I care enough about you to go back and read some crap you typed back in September? Besides if you could read between the lines I was commenting on your Boki take, not your Yao take.
Do you think Rudy and the Rockets organization are seeing flash-backs of the Mirsad Turkan draft pick and missing out on Rashard Lewis? I don't like passing judgement, I'll give Boki til his contract expires or is traded and then say if he's any good.
