Looks as if the Rockets are not all that high on Darius Washignton. They are taking a good look at Lucas more than anyone at point this summer. Keep in mind that this is just summer league and these mad bomber shooters have field days in games like this. Nothing more than a talented rec league type game. I am excited about Novak's future,but let's not jump the gun. Look at some other shooters in this league who have never faired well in the NBA,but are lighting up Vegas. Martell Webster goes 10-19 and 5-8 from 3 for 29 points. Averaged 6.5 last season. Casey Jacobsen goes 7-8 and 2-2 from 3 for 20 points. Done nothing in his couple of years in the NBA. Point is that they are left open in this league and they free stroke it. I will take in the Rockets game vs. Clippers on Tuesday live and in person. Will give my thoughts on how hard players are trying and the prospects when I return on Thursday.
there are second round steals every year fellas...so its not a reach to say this guy was a steal...that is a cold hard fact at this point........ all the crap about him not being able to take someone off the dribble means nothing....we don't need him for that anyway....we would all be screamin bloody murder next season at the mere sight of novak wavin off yao and t-mac and pullin the stevie and cat dribble the air out of the ball thing on us.....all he needs to do is "HIT THE OPEN LOOKS THAT WE ALL KNOW HE WILL GET AT AN INSANE RATE NEXT SEASON"......END OF DISCUSSION.... We were all here last season complainin about rafe and the brick squad we had last year........steve is perfect for this team book it
If you add up all the minutes, it only works out to 171 minutes, while there should be 200 minutes total (5 players on court for 40 minutes). So it must have been a typo, and Novak actually played 37 minutes.
I don't see how that example proves anything. Webster is a 19 year old high draft pick. You ask anybody from Portland and they'll swear up and down that this kid is the real deal. Not to mention the curve for rookie scoring average is pretty lenient. Amare won ROY going for 13 ppg.
NO SH**!!!!!!!!!! I MEAN THE GUY IS DOMINATIN THE SUMMER LEAGUE AND WE GOT PEOPLE ON HERE RIPPIN HIM A NEW ONE......GO FIGURE.....
Whats the deal with guys like Lucas, Carroll and Baxter. If they're playing on our summer league team, does that mean we have some advantage to signing them over other teams? It is a little early to proclaim Novak our Brad Miller but I am more looking for consistency in knocking down his shots rather than the fact this is only summer league competition. If he knocks down his shots consistently over the summer than I don't think the level of competition is going to change that.
All I know is that Eddie Griffin was only ok in the summer league, Boki never had a good game in the summer league, Langhi had like one good game in two years. We always have someone we hope does good but it never happens. Last year Lonny Baxter had a good summer league but he was no one we were ever really looking at. But this year Steve Novak is our draft pick and someone we were hoping to see drop bombs with the efficiancy that we have not seen on our team before and he does it. Its not just that he scores but how he is doing it that has me excited.
Novak IS going to be the real deal man, steal of the draft. JL3 looks to be playing his way over D-Wash, we must sign him, unless he gets a higher contract than the minimum.
Not really, that's why team scouts and management show up to these things. Thet are hoping to find that player that might fit on thier roster on the cheap. In fact there's probably a team out there that wouldn't stealing Lucas from us right now but consider we invited them to our team I think there's a gentleman's understanding that we would get a shot at matching any offer if we choose. Nothing legally binding.
I didn't see anyone ripping him. I did see people reminding overexcited people about the level of competition he is playing against. no one is ripping him for playing well. if you can find one person that is then show me the quote.
I like Lucas... I don't like the 4 turnovers in summer league games, but as a third option I'll take it along with the nine assists. Hell, it's not that different than Francis numbers. Sign 'em up... both of them. How many roster spots do we have open right now?
I like JL3 but let's not get carried away by two summer league games. It's fair enough to conclude he has improved from last year but we still don't know if he has NBA game. If he can make a few shots, play smart and offer any resistance on defense in an NBA setting, he will make our team. He's giving the kind of performance that guarantees a spot in training camp. The fact they are giving him so many minutes is proof. If he can hold up through an intense training camp, he has a good shot. Training camp will offer a stiffer test of intensity, discipline and physicality. JL3 did very little last season in his short stints. If he can consistently hit open shots go ahead and pencil him in. I'm rooting for the guy. His speed makes him so fun to watch. Is there anybody faster in the NBA?
Premature or not, hyperbole or not, over-eager or not... this helps take the sting out of Gay-Day. For me, losing Rudy Gay was more than just the obvious, on-the-court pros and cons. It was also about emotions. And in something like sports, which, when you think about it, is sorta arbitrary, you only follow certain teams or certain players for emotion (I like (emotion) Houston, I like Hakeem, I like Yao, I like Vernon (if you're Tinman)), etc. So... my point? Each year, there's also some emotional energy that fans get because of rookies. Fans like rookies. They bring hope. They bring the promise of a better tomorrow. They're upside. It's just downright fun to root for the new guy and hope he dominates. I realize this isn't purely rational--it's emotional--but emotions count. This is why losing Gay was so painful. It robbed us of the chance to watch the kid grow, to root for him, to pray that he blossoms into an All-Star. (Sorry. I just love using the word "blossom" to describe grown men). Back to the thread -- getting there -- Novak's domination in the summer league is music to my ears, and not just because of what he might do to the Rockets box score or record. It's about emotion. Even after losing Gay, it turns out we have a rookie -- one with more upside than perhaps we thought -- that we can get behind. Exciting stuff. (And yeah, I know it's summer league, and I know he'll probably finish the year with more "DNP"s than double-digit outings. But still. This is fun.)
Lucas played very well in the NBDL as well, and I thought he showed some very good stretches in limited minutes with the Rockets last year. I'd like him to get a shot on the team, but I don't know how much PT he'd get with Alston and (probably) James ahead of him in the rotation. Possibly even Sura as well.
hopefully he doesn't get any. but if last season doesn't turn out to be the lone "cursed season" in Rocket's history we need some kind of ball handler as a backup backup backup.
Question: Are they using the NBA 3 pt line in the vegas summer league? Novaks 3 pt percentage is pretty unbelievabl at this point, makes me wonder if they are using the college line.... If they are using the nba line.. JJ who?
