I don't see your point. Fact is, he can't guard points because he is too slow and he can't guard any other position because he is so weak he might be the only player in the league who couldn't handle dirk in the post. If he needs a strictly specific type of player against him to show how excellent of a defender he is, I don't see how there can be any talk about his defensive abilities.
I think the only reason Head plays is that he has more confidence than AB. Brooks doesn't take the open shot and has really looked scared to shoot unless its a layup in these playoffs. Even though Head has been playing terrible at best, he really is aggressive and it seems to put the Jazz D on their heels. The rockets offense, when it is working well, creates more single coverage for the rockets. Tmac didn't play his best game last night but the Jazz often lost him or got caught rotating and he was left with single coverage alot.
Luther has some kind of mental block against the Jazz in this series. That's all I can figure. His offense is lost.
You can actually see how unconfident he is - there were multiple times in the game last night that he had wide open shots available and it was almost like he was refusing to look at the basket and trying to make passes to ANYONE else to shoot it. It's like someone needs to tell him "You do one thing well - if you aren't shooting then you aren't useful. Take the damn shots, hit or miss."
exactly. the notion that luther is a good defender, he just has to guard people he can't guard is preposterous. and its worse than that, even when luther is guarding smaller guards he plays poor defense. he lacks the size to guard big guards and doesn't move his feet or anticipate well enough to guard quicker guards. not only is luther not an excellent defender, he is a poor, average at best defender. he has quick hands, but quick hands do not a good defender make. the bottom line is luther adds absolutely nothing to this team if he's not lighting it up from the perimeter.
does anyone honestly see head here next season (if a trade can be made) after the poor season he has had? last year has was complimented for being a fourth quarter sharp shooter and now he cant get anything to fall for him. I think it would be due to all the new talent on the team but as an off the bench player you have to be ready to go with full energy and knock down shots (i.e. bjax/landry)
I think... Luther had some good takes to the basket last night. Unfortunately, no fouls were called. I think he needs to practice a little more from Shane, Scola, and Chuck Hayes to learn how to flop a little bit and exaggerate contact. Otherwise, keep him on the bench.. I'd rather see Brooks out there instead of Head.
Luther Head/Utah Jazz situation playing out in the wild..... The anticipation.... The Spotting... Pack Attack... At this point, I actually feel sorry for him. He is trying... They frustrate me at times but its hard for me to be mad at any Rocket in this playoffs.
He might be able to get 30 points from time to time, but I think I'd take the Barkley ass kissing bet on the 10 dimes. Come on, you have to be able to dribble and pass to get an assist. What's his career game high? 4?
Season high is 7 and career high is 11. He is definitely sucking it up in this series, but he gets way too much hate for his passing and dribbling. He improves something every offseason and has a pretty cheap salary for being #38 all time in 3P%. His confidence is at an all time low. Keep him around and hope he improves his handle in the offseason. I still think he can be our Ben Gordon lite off the bench. Someone that can come in cold, light it up from anywhere on the floor, and play respectable defense is an asset. That said, he should be done for this season.
Difference between Gordon and Head are two-fold 1. Gordon has all the confidence in the world. You never see Ben hold his head down and let a missed shot get to him. Granted, Gordon can be a chucker but he has confidence in his game whereas Head goes into mental lapses where he forgets that he can actually DUNK. THE. BALL. 2. This goes with #1. Gordon is different is because he's expected to be that spark off the bench. Heck, he led the Bulls in scoring coming off the bench this year. He's a starter on most teams. Head, on the other hand, doesn't have the luxury to have the ball given to him at all times and have that green light to do whatever. But maybe there's a reason why he doesn't have that freedom.....
third times a charm. regardless of what you guys say he's only logged significant minutes in games 2 and 5, and I don't think there's any chance that he's benched the entire game 6. I really hope he turns it around. Looking at his game log he actually isn't that bad, just has had a decrease in PT recently. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3950/gamelog;_ylt=AhGTxIA5.Vm1J9lo1t3iVs2kvLYF
I think a lot of it is mental. Other posters mention he's lost confidence. Put a Sam Cassell mind in Luther's body and I think he'd look better. Plus, the Rockets are still in between. They haven't fully learned all that Adelman would like them to do. Some players have a harder time feeling comfortable, knowing "their" role in that type of situation. In JVG's system, Luther knew he was mostly a spot up shooter, getting passes from Yao or McGrady. I don't think it's turned out that way this year for him. Some people come into the league with a strong attitude, ala Cassell, and just "make it", while others, who don't, struggle more. That said, it is questionable whether Luther will be back next year.
Luther has all the tools to be Bobby Jackson 2.0. A scoring guard off the bench. Unfortunately, he lacks the testicular fortitude that BJax has, plus we have the original BJax on our team already. When BJax is old and needs to retire, Luther needs to gain enough confidence to fulfill that role.
