Well he looks easily winded, but doesnt look like he is in pain. I saw him get back on defense a few times, but not very aggressive. Still has a way to go on jumpshot lift. Promising video though.
When I read the first couple of replies, I expected to see him destroying the competition. Then when I saw the video, he looked like just another guy out there on the court who happened to be a little taller, and actually hit a couple of jumpers. For a guy coming off of microfracture surgery, I suppose that's not bad. But the "WOW" and "damn!" comments seem over the top to me.
Thanks for the link. I'm disappointed though. I thought he was further along than what he shows here. He doesn't look comfortable playing in a game yet. He ambled up and down the court, never really sprinting in this clip. Like a previous poster said, his jump doesn't have as much lift as we're used to seeing either. But his shot is still sweet at least.
luther head? BRICK CLANG anyways... TMAC IS PREPARING FOR TAKEOFF PEOPLE! accept it folks - let's root for TMAC and his possible future career with the Houston Rockets! WOO! WOO!
Hmm. Now that I've watched the video... Tmac was okay. Good to see that he's ahead of schedule though. Big time. But the game itself was.. ugly. Looked like a D-league game at best. Everybody playing 1 on 1 out there and jackin' shots.
well, this is probably from a couple of weeks ago when Morey visited Tmac in Chicago. So he's probably even a little better by now. Secondly, the OP says this was a warm up game, so maybe the doctors, Grover, and Morey told Tmac to take it easy, and just test the knee in a game simulation mode. I think thats why we didn't see him sprinting, jumping (except for the alley hoop attempt, which was kinda impressive), or go for rebounds in traffic. With Ariza here, we'll just send him crashing in for boards now and Battier is fundamental in boxing out as well. No need for Tmac to crash the boards all that much, unless he is near the bucket. He was pretty much stuck at a post position as well, which is out of his norm. If you notice, he wasn't able to handle the ball that much, and he couldnt run a single pick n' roll without a true big man. But he doesn't seem to have pain in the knee, but he definetily isn't at full strength. I think he could come back by late pre-season or the start of the regular season, but only time will tell...microfracture surgery and recovery is very complicated, so he has to be careful with it. But nonetheless, this is a good sign, considering its only been6-7 months post-operation.
I wouldn't be disappointed if he didn't look "game ready." I'm not sure NBA guys ever go that hard during pick up games - especially if they are still in rehab. I'm usually wrong though.
People saying that he could well be back by mid-late November. For that to happen i would think that he needs lift on his jumps now. Obviously he can't go from rehabbing with tim grover straight to playing nba games. I figure he needs at least a month and a half of proper basketball practice (excluding gym workouts) to get back his shooting touch and rhythm. He also needs to build up his stamina, which I think will also take significant time. If he's returning later than november-end, then yes, I think he's doing great. He's certainly ahead of the schedule that we were initially given by him and the Rockets.
It's good to see he is atleast on the court. I would still give him until December or January to make a proper assessment, but not bad so far. Luther Head seems like he plays on opposite ends of the spectrum, one day he can light it up (somewhat) and another day he plays worse than a D-Leaguer.
