Thanks! I've been hoping someone could point out his 1-dimensional playing style, and that's just on offense. He has the ability to spread the court, but he doesn't know how to react to different defenses. A defender can literally stay close to Novak and help double team knowing that Novak does not move! Until recently, he stays at the corner 3 pt. line and makes it easier to double team Yao, etc. Almost everyone here assumes that a good shooter will make it impossible to defend, but that player has to know where to go! If you are at the top of the key and low post players are being double teamed, someone better cut, and it should be him. He cuts to the basket halfheartedly because he's not aggressive to contact. When you are at the baseline and you don't move, NBA players are quick come come back and contest your shots. They can stay anywhere within a 5-8 feet radius from you and they'll jump high enough to disrupt your shot unless the passes are bulleted to you. These are parts of the game that basketball fans should know. There's more than just catch and shoot, or else there will be 5 Novaks out there doing nothing but shoot 30 foot 3-pointers with great accuracy. Believe me, there are people that just wouldn't miss from close to half-court in this world, and plenty of them, but they're not in the NBA for a reason, and it's not because they aren't discovered. No matter how good you are, good defense will disrupt your shots every time, and you have to react and go through your offense motions to develop the best shot for each possession. Luther Head definitely had some major potential and is starting to show it. He was always a shooter, but was a fierce attacker to the basket and was a nice distributor in college as well. His game in the NBA is limited lately because defenders seem to be able to strip the ball or knock it out of his hands because he's showing the ball too much when he tries to drive, but that just takes time getting to know certain defenders. Novak was 1 dimensional even in college. The only difference is that he had the height and the speed was much slower in college. He'll be able to get shots off of picks set for him. You don't get as many picks playing against NBA defenders because a simple switch or better communication could very easily dispatch a player that would only shoot and not put the ball much on the floor. At the moment, Novak doesn't even look comfortable dribbling and whenever he's an outlet to full court pressure, he looks to pass it off as soon as he got the ball. These are preventable mistakes and could be learned, but it should be done in practice. As I mentioned earlier, no one in their right minds would want to be on the court when it's detrimental to the team. Changing a system to fit a player (SA with Duncan, for example) is different from putting a player on the court when you're likely to lose more games with him. It's a very different story and you don't risk losing now to get better later, especially when your superstars could be injury risks or could be on the decline sooner or later.
You can't kick the ball to someone that's like 5 feet from you half the time. He doesn't know the offense and apparently, his floor spacing needs some major work. The SI article cracks me up, because it was seemingly stolen from another newspaper and they cut off the part about how those mistakes = losses and how those losses could mean his job and how that could affect his wife's shopping and she won't be happy about that. Don't buy into the media so much. They cut and pastes words to make a story and everyone here is buying it like a cheap donut on Friday night.
I liked Novak in the preseason, but stats speak for themselves. He has far and away the worst +/- rating of any player on the Rockets (from 82games.com). Here are the stats on a 48-minute basis. Oncourt Offcourt Net Novak -23.4 +6.2 -29.6 That is a horrible horrible stat. Chuck Hayes, who is one of the league leaders in this category, in contrast: Hayes +17.3 -2.1 +19.4 These numbers are a little exaggerated because Novak plays so few minutes. But if you ignore that, then putting Hayes in for Novak improves the team by more than 40 points over the course of a 48 minute game (!!). The next worst player in terms of net +/- is John Lucas (-20.2), followed by Howard (-14.4). At this point, Novak is TWICE AS BAD AS JUWAN. That, my friends, is really really bad. Sure, Novak is going to get better, and we should develop him. But he is just so far from being anywhere close to productive now, that it would be a crime to put him into the rotation.
Looks like the talk about Novak hitting four 3 pt shots per game and having a chance at ROY has vaporized. Like so many said already, he looks VERY lost on offense. I think he hurts our offense more than our defense. He's semi-decent in man to man coverage against mediocre players (like Brian Cardinal) but when it comes to PnRs, rotating, etc he has no clue. The first thing he needs to do is learn his place on offense. He either does not move or he just runs around with no purpose. Getting open should be instinctive for someone like Novak. He has also passed up quite a few open shots. If you ask me, when Novak has a wide open look within 25 feet, it should be bombs away. Otherwise he is worthless and our offense becomes 4 on 5 like it was with Rybo. Blowout wins to get Novak playing time would help but the Rockets aren't there yet. We may be 3rd in the NBA in point differential, but I wonder what the point differential is in just our wins and how that compares to other teams. I'll bet we are barely average.
novak just isnt there yet with his nba game. He isnt seeing the game quickly and seems to be a step behind. He still needs to get stronger and learn better technique on defense and rebounding. sure he can shoot, but right now his liabilities outweight his assets. it takes time.
He's a rookie. Of course he's in the doghouse. JVG hates rookies and only plays them due to injuries to others.
Rubbish !! What does that have anything to do with being a great spot up three point shooter? Thin men can be great athletes, without great muscle mass, I assure you! The fact that JVG can't handle Rookies means that he has serious limitations to his coaching ability and style.
I used to believe this until we drafted Luther Head. Go back and actually look at the rookies Van Gundy has had during his tenure. Talk about rubbish. Seriously. If you want I'll go dig up the thread in which I came out against Van Gundy just like you, and then I actually went out and did the research.
This is the exact reason I used to say Stromile sucked on this team. He was lost out there and looking to freelance. It finally came out the guy just didn't have the noggin to understand the offense or defense. How do you play a guy like that? I don't know if this is Novak's problem, but if it is, I doubt you'll see much of him either.
One of the biggest myths here. Head only played so much last year due to injuries. JVG even said so himself last year. If not for injuries, he would have been parked on the bench as well.
I think novak need to go to the d league so he and develop the other parts of his game. In Game speed evironment.
Ironically enough, you're going to remain a rookie for a long time too if your previous posts are any indication, Mrs. Wells.
So then why don't you tell me why Frederic Weis should have played more minutes, and why you are making this the crux of your argument?
Why don't you tell me why you are so pro jvg? The guy is anti winning, and nothing proves it more than the bonzi situation. The rockets are winning despite him, not because of him. This team would be much much better with a new coach.
