Notbar!

Well, here's how I see the Rudy draft of Boki...

Rudy had Francis and Mobley. But their offense was far from "fast-break." It was made up of isolations. Even other commentator from other cities labled us as "the ISO team." We would "clear out" and go ISO with Francis and Mobley. Fast-breaks were not that common. Francis going alone on a breakaway steal is not what I call a "fast-break." That's only ONE player!

Rudy's idea of Boki? A spot-up shooting small forward. He use to rave about how well Boki shot the ball from outside. And I think it was that vision that caused Rudy to draft him. He also talked about how well Boki could drive and dunk. But I do believe that Rudy had an infatuation with 3 point shooting SF's. Who wouldn't? But it turns out that Boki is more like Pippen (cutting, slashing and running) than a Bullard. It's no surprise that Rudy didn't know how to utilize Pippen either with our post-oriented offense. He just sat Pippen on the 3 point line like Bullard. That was a failure.

 

We dont need him to score that is why we have Mo Taylor coming off the bench. All we need Boki to do is to cause hell on defense and spark our 2nd team with some energy. If he scores a couple baskets even better.

 

bring back Dan Langhi

 

lol, more like bring back Eric Turner ... from Europe.....

 

Now the question is how is JVG going to utilize him?

 

lol, people on this board are so impatient. And I knew at least 1 person would start a thread like this but of course 2 people did.

 

Yeah, I wondering about that. He's great at the cutting/slashing. But JVG doesn't give him enough PT to get enough plays run for him. So, it's catch-22.

Also, Boki doesn't play defense very well. So, he's rarely part of any traps/steals that lead to fast-breaks.

 

BOKI's problem is LOFT - Lack of frigging talent. Can't shoot, too slow, can't defend. Don't see his option being picked up.

 

I always hoped that Boki would prove why he was selected in the mid-first round. He has showed flashes and became a cult favorite player in which I always pulled for. This is his third year and should be the season where he finally shows progress. I know going by one game, a preseason game at that, is being impatient; but Boki looked like the same lost, inconsistent player he has showed for most of his brief career. Three drafts ago, this team was at point that it could draft a player that needed time to develop and took the opportunity to select a European player with un-European like athleticsm and a decent shot. Two seasons have passsed and he still has shown little and the team has become one that is looking to compete for tops of the conference and/or better. The Rockets don't have the time nor the need to develop anyone at this point as all they need are guys that can do positive things on the court on a consistent basis and gel with Yao and TMac. Boki does neither. Fortunatly, he still has some trade value as there are GMs that covet any decent Euro-player. Boki's contract and age still give him value and I think the Rockets should take the opportunity to see what they can acquire for him. Maybe they can trade him to the Lakers, and the coach that drafted him, for Jumaine Jones. Or, maybe, trade him to Charlotte for Steve Smith. I hope most of us are wrong and he becomes a valuable asset off the bench this season. But, after two offseasons of unfullfilled talk of his game improving and major inconsistentcy on the court, it looks like another season of hoping and wondering rather than the celebration of a great draft day gamble.

 

I have had a lot of faith in this guy fromt he start and like many of you i wanted him to succeed. Either he can't handle the JVG style of pressure that is put on him to perform or he doesn't have the skills and mental preperation to make it in the NBA. He might be fine in the European leagues but apparently the NBA is too much.

I really thought he had potential and i am not gonig to give up just yet since it is only 1 pre season game.

In some ways i think he is in the wrong type of system. Sometimes good players just aren't comfortable in the system they are in becuase they relaly can't be utilized to their level. I mean look how Shandan Anderson and Pippen did in our system. It just was a mess.

Those same players in another system was working just fine and they always killed us. Just remember how many times Anderson destroyed us in Utah. Then he came here and really didn't do what he did when he was with Utah.

Maybe Boki will eventually move on to a team that can use his athletic ability and his ability to run the court and slash. Someone like Denver or a team in the east. If he doesn't work out here i'm pretty sure his style of play is going to land him somewhere.

I really like the guy but i fear he just doesn't fit in the way JVG wants to run the team.

 

Late to this party, but a player like Boki absolutely has to prove himself in the pre-season. So far, 0-1.

It's too bad Gaines isn't a couple of inches taller. He could be a great SF/SG backup, and still potentially can. I liked his game, but hope not to see so many bounce passes from him in the future.

 

All you guys are going to be surprised if he starts to get more PT this year. He'll finish out his contract. This year will be his last to make a difference.

All it takes is ONE good game to gain back support. You watch...

 

Boki is athletic, can slash to the bucket, has decent handles for his size, rebounds well, and defends reasonably well for someone with little lateral quickness (assuming he is playing at small forward). His shot shows flashes. But as we all know, he is very hesitant on the floor and consequently makes poor decisions.

The reason for all the Boki love on this board is that many of us see the dreaded p word in the guy. But given his weaknesses, the only way you are going to get an accurate reading of whether he can play is to get him enough consistent game time minutes to see if he gains confidence and improves his decision making. That isn't going to happen in one preseason game, not even in the entire preseason, and not by the deadline to extend his contract.

Boki is very lucky Sura got hurt (assuming Sura plays minutes at the 2 with TMac at the 3 when JJ is on the bench). I think/hope he will get his minutes until Sura returns. It's not like the alternatives are demonstrably better than Boki, at least not yet.

We had a somewhat similarly talented player in Craig Ehlo a long time ago, but we could never get him enough minutes to develop his game, and he developed it elsewhere.