Novak & VSpan will get their PT sparingly this year, be able to make their mistakes in a partial rotation next year & then be solid contributers the year after. Novak isn't near the player that Morrison is & Morrison is in the rotation, but just started tonight. It takes time for rookies no matter how gifted they are.
The truth comes out. JVG hates rookies, like everyone suspected. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4328224.html Quote to note Not that anyone ever suspected that Jeff Van Gundy is wary of rookie mistakes, but when speaking of last season's Knicks, he offered this week's finishing quote. "Everybody gets excited about youth except the coach, because he knows youth means mistakes, mistakes mean losses, losses mean you're fired. While everyone else was pumped up, "We got four rookies, we got four rookies,' you know, my (backside) ain't going to be here very long."
I'm a big supporter that Supernova should be given a few more minutes of breath in each game. JVG is way too stubburn. Now the season is early, we can afford a few losses. Let the rookies play because they need game time to mature, even a couple of minutes. I don't want to see JVG being forced to play rookies like he did on Luther last season due to injuries. JVG should be willing to play them in early season. We can't play our starters in heavy minutes because sooner or later there will be injuries occur because of fatigue. It'll be good for the whole team chemistry if JVG is satisfied with the rookie's progress in practice. I can't help thinking: what if Novak was drafted by Phoenix Suns, how's Mike D'Antoni going to use him? Can you believe he would sit Novak every night?
What about veterans who make mistakes over and over again? What about Juwan blowing away rebounds and defensive assignments? What about Rafer playing like a bonehead? That doesnt lose games?? Foolish JVG.
Now that Chuck is hurt, Novak will get his chance to shine. We will be seeing 3's raining from the sky!
I'm still trying to figure out how you guys think our defense is going to remain this good with Novak on the floor. I'd like to see more of him, but we are, arguably, the second-best three point shooting team in the NBA behind Seattle. We take 21 three's a game (3rd in the league) and shoot 38 percent (5th in the league). Seattle takes 19 and shoots 40 percent. Since Novak's greatest skill is shooting the three and his greatest weakness (besides being a rookie who will make rookie mistakes) is defending, it doesn't make a lot of sense to put him on the floor for long stretches. He doesn't rebound, he is not quick enough to guard NBA three's and not strong enough to guard NBA four's. He needs a good solid year of seasoning before he'll be ready to contribute every night. Making three pointers and free throws does not a star or even an effective player make. I'm rooting for the guy and I do want to see him play because he is such a great shooter, but it isn't some sort of massive mistake to not put him on the floor at this point in the season. I think, turnovers aside, I'd like to see V-Span get time before Novak and my guess is he will get minutes before Novak does simply because he has more aspects to his game than just shooting.
Yep. I think our point guard play has been our major weakness early in the season. Alston has had a few nice stretches, but for the most part I haven't been happy with his decision making. And Luther Head still hasn't figured out how to play point effectively. I'd like Van Gundy to consider phasing Spanoulis into the rotation. He'll bring good pressure defense, at the very least.
Novak's 3 point shooting will help us stretch leads out so games won't be as close. It's unbelieveable that Riley gives Kapano time for his shooting, but JVG refuses to play Novak.
If Chuck needs to miss some time with his injury, we need to put Novak in the game. Sure his D isn't stella, but neither is Juwan's. I'd rather give Novak the chance ahead of Padget. The kid can shoot and we can always use that. The ROckets are very dangerous when our threes are falling.
Personally I am pretty satisfied with our 3p ability from the combination of Rafer/Head/Battier, (don't you?) so why risk our inferior defense ehh?
This is where JVG is wrong. He should take a page from Phil Jackson and how he handles his rookies. Playing rookies doesn't necessarily equal mistakes and losses. Good coaches find ways to utilize the strength of his players, not the other way around.
Juwan is going to be abused by Tim Duncan. If our PF is going to be abused, I would like to see Novak get some experience and put some 3's in the basket. Juwan won't provide enough spacing for Yao to operate.
Novak is a high-risk player. He doesn't defend well, at all, so there's a good chance our defense will struggle with him in the game. On the other hand, he's capable of torching the team on offense. Basic rule of thumb is you put in those type of players when you need a spark to get back in the game, not when you're trying to retain a lead. The Rockets haven't been down by a significant margin in any of the recent games, particularly late in the fourth quarter. Strategy-wise, it just wouldn't make sense to play Novak much (if at all) in these games.
I agree he should play his rookies more, but Phil Jackson is not a good example. Doesn't he send his rookies to the NBDL?
Well if his preseason and college records mean anything, Novak is certainly capable of rebounding at respectable level. To me, it's all about expectation and priority. The only meaningful minutes he has played was in the season opener against a surprisingly strong Jazz team on the road. In case we all forgot, Yao did horrendously in the first few games he played during his rookie season. Now look at the faith Rudy T had in Yao and what has happened to the big man since then.
Looking at JVG's draft history, what rookies can we look back on and say "JVG should have played them"?
I could have sworn Phil Jackson sent Turiaf and Bynum, both of their draft picks to the NBDL last year.
