Exactly what the doctor ordered... plays hard, moves without the ball, grabs a few boards, moves the ball around pretty well, and makes the midrange jumper (and extends the zone out to the three point line). An efficient player that doesn'y always show up big in the stat sheet but makes a difference. Dare I say it... a "smart" player. Once Pike and Adrian Griffin return we will see even more of this... Pike will shoot from the perimeter and move the ball around and Griffin will hound perimeter platyers and (like Padgett) annoy opponents with his defense. Contrast that with previous Rocket teams with guys like Collier and Langhi. Ugh...
The more I watch Padgett, the more he impresses me. He's the player that most teams will sleep on since all the attention will go to Yao, Steve, and the Cat. His hustle alone around the boards is making me a fan. I didn't think he was a good pick up at first, but now my opinion has changed.
Scott played for Tubby Smith and Rick Pitino at Kentucky, so he knows how to play defense. And unlike Ron Mercer or Antoine Walker, he never had world class talent, so he learned to work hard for everything he got. He was one of the stars of the '98 NCAA championship team and he got there by working his butt off. An excellent team plater.
I thought signing Padgett was a good move. I remember him from his days at Kentucky. I always liked his shot but couldnt stand him cause he was with the Jazz.
There are 2 memorable things I remember about Scott Padgett. 1) Rick Patino once said during Padgett's senior season, something in the lines of, if Padgett keeps playing this way he will be a player in the NBA. Then again Patino as we have found out isn't the best at evaluating talent at the NBA level. 2) Padgett, while playing for Utah, interfered with John Stockton’s last second shot during the playoffs last year. A shot that would have most likely gone in and sealed the win for the Jazz but was waived off. Nobody wanted to be Padgett's friend then. Despite all of this, he is a pure shooter, which is what this team needed; however, you guys are giving him to much credit as a defender. Even in Kentucky Padgett wasn’t known for his defense but all of a sudden in the NBA he is a solid defender?
Since JVG came here, he brought a few players with him: Braggs Jim Jackson Amaechi Padgett Soon we'll also see: A Griffin Pike Might as well be a rookie: Boki These guys came into our team because Van Gundy picked them to join the rotation. One thing ALL these guys have in common is that they either do or will play harder than anyone else on the court. Francis and Mobley are playing HARD, and so is Yao. However, these guys take it up a notch. They take it up to the effort level of Ben Wallace, Jerome Williams, Bo Outlaw, James Posey, and Brian Grant. That's what has us winning right now. We have 5 or 6 guys that play harder than ALL players on the opposing team, regardless of talent level. JVG is very smart. He knows what he wants. Eddie Griffin wouldn't have lasted long anyhow, because he doesn't exhibit this kind of effort. I sincerely thought EG would be a part of this team, but even if he develops, I wouldn't be surprised if he were traded for a harder working player. If you want to beat the Rockets, you can't be EITHER talented OR hard-working. You better be both, because these Rockets will outwork you, and have more talent than most etams in the league.
Rudy would have played his most athletic players. Then he would have told them to play with heart and be a true championship. Then we would have seen our guards dribbling the basketball all day long till the break of dawn. The people in the bbs forum would have complained about the same things as they did last season and we probably would have made the playoffs as the 8th seed. The only problem is that once we got into the playoffs everyone would have written off the Rockets from further advancing into the playoffs because of our style of play lack of discipline. With Van Gundy and the level of play the Rockets are displaying I believe we have a true chance of making it into the second round of the playoffs.
Jigaddi, Rudy would not have them believing they need to play defense this well. I think Rudy's offense might have been a little better, especially spacing wise. In JVG and the team's defense they are doing well, learning new offense sets and missing two "starting" PF's
Sure you're impressed with Padgett. He's shooting 84%, including 80% from 3 point line. Still, had some untimely fouls and turnovers last night (4) and only grabbed 2 boards in 24 minutes. I'm impressed, but if his shot isn't falling, which will happen some games, he's going to need to produce more.
Sane, we have no idea how EG is going to fit in. If there is one lesson we should learn in that we should remain open. There are a number of things happening that we did not expect. I do not believe EG is beyond where JVG can go in terms of getting him to produce. Plus by now we should realize what EG is going to mean to this team when he returns with his talent and skill. Remember, it seems everybody is shooting better under JVG and EG should be no exception.
No matter how good he may seem at this point, it's defense that wins championships. I'll reserve my opinion until he faces someone that he really has to put the"d" on......
I like Scott, too. Do you guys think he can unseat JJ if he keeps shooting such a high % for the rest of Nov?
considering the fact that scott is playing power forward, and JJ is playing 3/2, i seriously doubt it.
I love Padgett, isnt he like almost 100% FG?? he's proven he's effective and can shoot lights out, unlike BOKI, but i must say both boki and padgett need a HAIRCUT BAAAAD! go BALD ma, give us some INTIMIDATION factor, YAO should too!!!
