Makes no difference who is better between Harris and Hayes. Harris is competing with Novak, Landry, and Reed for a forward spot on the roster.
Harris should stay to backup Battier at the 3. The Rockets need more depth at the small forward position. Reed, Lucas, and Snyder need to go. You can add Landry to that list also, but they spent too much on him to just let him go. Harris looks good so far. Before any final decions are made, I'd like to see Harris against first unit quality of an opposing team.
it sounds like harris has made this team though morey has shown to be sneaky in his quietness this summer. that would leave 2 spots for novak, snyder, butler, landry, reed, and jl3. i think picking out of those first 4 is going to be a tough job.
I like Harris, I just don't see how he's going to stay. If it were only one or two guys to get cut, it would be easy, but we have 5 guys to cut. Unfortuneately money will play a role more than talent or else this guy would stay.
I agree that Reed, Lucas, and Snyder need to go, but the team has plenty of 3s. Shane, McGrady can interchange, Bonzi, even Novak is more suited at the 3.
I like Bonzi staying at the 2 in order to take advantage of his strength. He's usually stronger than the opposing shooting guard, so he can back them down in and give us another post presence/option. Now, if the opposing small forward is weak (i.e. Peja Stojakavic), then I'd consider Bonzi in the small forward position. I'm excited about Novak finally playing some small forward, that shot of his will be much better utilized. But, his defense scares the CRAP out of me. That's why I think he's the one on the bubble. I guess I just want the luxury of Tmac and Bonzi being exclusive at the 2 spot. Both players can create shots for others but in different ways.
Let's be honest McGrady is our starting 2, and will see spot minutes at the 3 to accomodate Wells. Wells is a 2 who will see spot minutes at the 3 in deference to McGrady. Novak is slow. So slow that I could drive past him. He's also quite tall, and bad defensively. If we're looking for a 3 who will stand there, catch the ball, and shoot, then Novak is our man. But that's ALL we should expect if we play him at the 3 because his man will eat him alive as he drives past, steals the ball etc. A guy can't play SF just because he can shoot... Clearly Lucas and Sura are gone, most likely Reed too. So I agree with BigM (but narrow it down a little) 2 of Harris, Landry, Butler, Novak and Snyder will stay. Of that bunch Harris is the only one who can play SF 'properly', plus he can spot minutes as a 'big'. My tip is that he sticks, and Novak and Snyder are out.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5220616.html Steve Novak (20) brings a rare skill to the Rockets with his shooting, coach Rick Adelman said. James Nielsen: Chronicle Oct. 17, 2007, 12:39AM Novak can rely on shot Rockets forward focuses on defense in order to earn more playing time By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Long after the Rockets' practice had ended Tuesday, Steve Novak traded low-post moves with Mike Harris and Carl Landry, jump hooks with Shane Battier, and body blows with Jackie Butler. The low-post drills and competition could offer another taste of life in the lane for Novak, a second-year forward. But when it all finally ended with Harris the day's winner, Novak stopped on the other end of the court, moved to the arc and began draining 3-pointers. He had put in some turnaround jumpers and completed a few post moves in the drills. But it is at the 3-point arc where Novak has "a special skill" and his best chance to make the roster for a second season. Considered a remarkable second-round find last season and a sensation of training camp when Tracy McGrady called him the best shooter he had seen, Novak, 6-10, alternately believes he is on the team and must earn a spot this season. If he makes it, there will be little doubt about how. "He's got a special skill that's hard to find," coach Rick Adelman said. "When you've got a guy that can shoot the ball like he can and you put him on the floor with good players, he's going to get open shots. He definitely has a specialty that a lot of teams are looking for, including us." Novak's shot got him to the NBA. But to stay there and get consistent minutes on the court, he will need to hone the other parts of his game. Possessing special skill During the Las Vegas Summer League, Novak struggled to adjust to the change in offensive systems, but he has improved at making the transition. Adelman, like Jeff Van Gundy before him, has wondered whether Novak will be able to defend well enough for the Rockets to take advantage of his shooting. "He's doing better," Adelman said. "You put him out on the floor with your better players, and he has more of a chance to take advantage of his shooting abilities. "With Steve, it's always been a factor: What is he going to do defensively? He's got to on that end, whether it's (against) a four man or three man, hold his own so that his shooting becomes a factor. He's definitely picked things up a lot better. He sees where he's going to get his shots. He just has to keep working on the other end." No longer a rookie, Novak, 24, said he does not think he must prove himself to make the Rockets' roster, but he tells himself that he must anyway. The Rockets have 20 players under contract and must trim four plus Bob Sura by Oct. 26. Novak had been assumed a prize prospect, but with the offseason additions to the roster, little can be assumed. "I feel like I'm on the team," Novak said. "I think pretty much all the guys that returned from last year feel they're on the team. But there are 19 guys. You understand there are going to be four cuts, four trades, four whatevers made. "I have to just come in here and compete like you're trying to make the team. As much as we feel we are on the team, very few guys are safe from being traded or cut. That's my approach, and I feel like if I come in and play that way, I'll have no regrets." He has made progress since Las Vegas. Playing as a small forward and power forward, Novak has picked up the scoring opportunities that he missed in his first weeks running the offense and has played without the hesitancy that marked his play in July. "I really started being very comfortable with the offense right when the full team was back and we started practicing together," Novak said. "Things started to kind of click. I started feeling very comfortable on the perimeter. I feel very good, and I feel I know how I should be used in the offense when it's going to be spreading the floor even more this year. I think I can spread the floor. Seeking a comfort level "There are a lot of intricacies that kind of take a lot of time to learn. There are so many reads and so many spur-of-the-moment things. In the summer league, I ran the four spot, and until I ran the three spot for a little while, I didn't realize the things I was missing when I was a four man. It takes time, but I do feel very comfortable with it now." But he never feels as comfortable as when he is at the 3-point arc. The trick is to be adequate enough elsewhere. jonathan.feigen@chron.com
I think we should try to trade Novak, Landy, and Snyder for draft picks and keep Harris and Butler. They will be useful a year from now.
Thanks for the article Murph seems that even Adelman can't figure out what position Novak could possibly play - and it seems to re-iterate that all the big guy has is a 3pt shot. Fail to see how it shows he could play the 3 tho?
Yes another Chuck Hayes who can DUNK!! like someone else said I rather have him than Novak or Lucas. But between Harris and Snyder that's tough to decide.
I'm no self-professed basketball expert, but do any coaches or GMs in the NBA really care about the PG, SG, SF, PF, C designations/labels/paradigms - whatever you wanna call 'em? Regardless of your answer, I am known to beat the proverbial dead dog from time-to-time, so I ask that you indulge me on this one last time: WHO FRIGGIN' CARES ABOUT WHO FITS THE ARCHETYPAL POSITIONS OF PG, SG, SF, PF AND C? The NBA has three positions: guard, wing and post/pivot. Some would say that's because James Brown is dead and basketball has lost its soul (I'm not a huge fan of combo guards whose combination is average this and average that), or, as others would say, NBA basketball has simply evolved. However you think in that regard, wake up and smell daisies: T-Mac is a wing player. Here's how everybody fits into this paradigm: Guards (7) - Reefer Alston, Steve "Not the Franchise" Francis, Mike James Biatch, John "1/3" Lucas, Aaron "Scottie" Brooks, Luther "Po-Man's Mobley" Head and Bobby "Paycheck" Sura; Wings (6) - T-Mac, Bonzi II, SHANE BATTIER, Kirk "Bench" Snyder, Steve "Horse" Novak and Justin "Who Cares" Reed; and Post/pivot players (7) - Yao, Mt. Mutumbo, Luis "Lurch" Scola, Chuck "Not Elvin" Hayes, Mike "Hustle" Harris, Carl "Mike James Biatch, Jr." Landry, and Jackie "The Team's" Butler. When you look at our 20 player roster (okay, 19, Sura doesn't count) through the Guard-Wing-Post viewframe, we have a well-balanced roster rather than a glut of players at any of the three positions. I am certain that we will wind up with 15 players under contract, with a roughly even number from each of the three positions. Here's depth chart, without nicknames this time, and with the realization that the Guard/Wing/Post paradigm looks funny when you make make them out this way, particulary at the Post position: Guards (5): Alston (Mine and T-Mac's starter), Francis/James (pretty much the same IMO, but I do think that James is the better spot-up shooter), Head/Brooks (proven perimeter scoring vs. the need to nurture a promising rookie) Wings (5): McGrady, Wells/Battier (offense vs. defense), Snyder/Novak (it's fun to experiment) Post (5): Yao/Mutumbo/Butler (No sh*t/proven/future) and Scola/Hayes (match-up dependent upon need for rebounding, something that Scola isn't known for, at least where there's a trapezoidal lane) There's our fifteen players split up into the only three positions that exist in today's NBA. IMO, the odd men out (in order of most likely to least like to be cut or traded by opening day) are Sura (Guard), Reed (Wing), Lucas (Guard), Harris (Post) and Landry (Post). So even the players to be cut will be almost evenly split from the three positions, with 2 of our Guards, 1 of our Wings, and 2 of our Posts moving elsewhere or back home to live with their mothers.
Harris is a rookie, but he can shot, he can dunk he quicker and I think can play at 3. Hayes' energy is great but I'd pick Harris over him
6'6'' Forward. If we keep signing undersize forwards, we'll lose our advantage of having a 7'6'' Center.
When is the final cut day? Anyone know? I want to make my NBA 2k8 roster accurate, lol. Id really like to see Harris make it.
