On offense it is fine, on defense....not so much..... Even though he hit the game winner he also gave Brad Miller a wide open 3 pt shot. What was the +/- with him and Yao on the floor together? DD
Yeah, I was at the game and his D was still pretty terrible. HUGE SHOT, but he is still pretty weak on the defensive end. Then again, everyone was terrible in the 4th. Would have liked to have seen Scola out there at some point
I agree, a passive Miller equals minutes for Novak. Thats' why Sacto is out of the playoff chase. In the playoffs, Novak would (1) not play a minute because his defense is horrible (2) everyone would know coming in that he is stand still 3 point shooter. His game is not playoff game. But I like the fact that he stepped up and hit a big shot when everyone else was choking.
Scoring gets harder not easier in the playoffs. If Novak can shoot with the same ice as he took the game winner last night I guarantee you Coach will find minutes for him in the playoffs. Look out how teams smother Yao in the crunch. It is only going to get worst not better. Novak spreads the court like very few can. Coach already said he is trying to find more minutes for Steve but the team has been playing so well as of late that he has been keeping what has worked. He said Novak played good D on Miller last night in spite of what others have said. He said Steve is such a pure shooter that they are trying to get him on the floor. He said he needed offensive players on the floor because we were struggling and that Brad was covering Novak and he knew Miller didn't know how to cover a player like Novak. He was right. He did say Novak was jumping around to much on offense and he just wanted Novak to spot up behind the Arc and on the last shot that's what Novak did. The 4th quarter last night was a microcosm of what we will see in the playoffs on a regular basis, doubling Yao and Tmac. You must have shooters to make them pay. Rafer is chokes in big game situations. So far Novak has shown he shoots lights out under any circumstance. That will earn him more minutes the rest of the way down. I am not saying he is going to get a lot of minutes on this team. But in certain situations his minutes could be as important as almost any reserve we have. Also remember Novak still is a Rookie in playing time, Brooks, Landry and Scola all have more NBA experience. Defense is one of the hardest things to pickup in the league and I expect Novak to improve. Not ever great but better.
Props to the supernova first. But dude does play horrible defense. I just do not see him simply try hard enough on the defensive end. He always avoid body contact, I mean put your body on somebody for a change sometimes man.
I wanted Novak to get in my van years ago. my opinion is unchanged http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=121411
not sure what the +/- was, but i do know we didn't score in the 4th until he entered the game. that's not a coincidence. just having him on the floor, whether or not his shot is falling, or even taking a shot, opens up the court for yao, et al. other have to respect him, and that by itself is a benefit.
I think he just needs to play with the right combination of players. I agree with DaDakota. You just cannot have two slow guys on the floor in today's guard oriented league. Maybe he can be in a line up when Landry starts putting some real pressure on the defense. Landry Hayes Novak T-Mac Brooks/Alston
The problem is once Novak's guy gets past him he will be heading for the basket to score. You need a second tier defense to make it hard to shoot over to score. Yao is the best choice to provide that presence and Landry is not. Infact Scola Landry and Hayes do not even average 1 block a game together.
This is true but I was trying to think of a defensive lineup without Yao. Just to difficult to find the right lineup. I guess it will depend more on who the other team has on the floor for him to see playing time.
I'm glad he drained that 3 at the end. Teams will have to respect his shot now that they know he is willing to take the shot in crunch time.
steve, the shot, novak will be our steve kerr come june!! Keep shooting those 3pters NOVAK!!! WE WANT STEVE! WE WANT STEVE!!
this thread was a good one to begin with. all those idiots who hated on this thread are looking like suckers now.
Basketball is a game of match-ups. Novak is a match-up headache, both ways. It is incumbent upon the coach and his staff to utilize Novak judiciously. (Maybe Iavaronni would want SN for JCN?)
Because Artest is that much the beast. Because Artest doesn't make guys around him better, or play consistently, but is most desirable to the Knicks where he is destined to find his destiny. Because this is why Rox should not want him. Ron - Ron doesn't trust his teammates and GMs don't (want to) trust him with a long term deal.
Nothing is perfect! In fact, I think Yao can create space for Novak's 3 point shooting, and also, Novak can draw defense attention from big men bacause he is tall and thus can actually help Yao.
Zone defense by the Kings in the 4th qtr. Our fault for not recognizing it and playing directly into the teeth of the zone. Only way to beat the zone is by penetrating into the seams. Iverson excels at that. The other way is to kick the ball out to your 3 pt shooters and break the zone from outside. We were doing neither.
