JVG had a big part in holding back Novak's development just like every other rookie he ever coached...I remember an instance when Novak never played then randomly when we played the Suns JVG started him and he missed his first couple shots and got benched. Novak just needs to bulk up a little to be able to get some rebounds and he'll be a good player for about 15-20 minutes a night. Plus no Novak=no 22 game win streak (game winner against the Kings)...
novak seems to be a pretty hard-working guy. i have no idea why his defense has not upped a little. while offensive skills come more from talent, defense can be taught and mostly is willingness. maybe the coaches haven't given him enough teaching? or maybe he just hasn't got enough chances? but in any case, i think novak is a keeper. he makes not much money, so it ain't like he occupies a lot cap space or would be a deal-maker or -breaker financially. soon as he gains defensive decency, he'd be a lethal weapon of our team. as the other poster said, he'd get you more on offense than he'd give up on defense.
OK, I hated JVG as the Rockets coach but here is a "Did you know" for you. Did you know that Novak played 35 games under JVG his rookie year, and EXACTLY the same in his 2nd year under Rick Adelman Just saying. DD
Novak doesn't get a lot of meaningful playing time. He ususally only plays around 5-10 minutes against good teams, but 5-10 minutes of meaningful time rarely ever happens to Novak. He ususally plays in garbage time, so he has yet experienced real pressure. In fact the only pressure he had was the shot against the kings, which he did not screw up.
I agree with your post except for the Detlef Schrempf part. The guy wasn't a slow, nonathletic, stiff. Hell, he had a 19/10/6 season in '92-'93 (played all 82 games). By the way, I approve of the usage of my video in this thread
First off everyone here seems to have the impression that Korver is a "slow, unathletic white guy", but that's just not true. NOVAK is a "slow, unathletic white guy". Korver actually has above average athleticism for a "white guy" and he's got enough strength and quickness to hold his own defensively. Novak on the other hand is one of the least athletic guys I've ever seen. He's pretty much in his physical prime right now. He reminds me of Brian Scalabrine.
This pretty much sums it up. Novak will never be a Korver or a Kapono, both those players have a lot more to bring to the table then just a reliable 3 point shot. If you rank players in the NBA by athleticism, Novak will probably be the last one on the list, with "white stiffs" like Korver, Peja and Kapono miles ahead of him. Theres not to much left to develop in Novak, he pretty much peaked in college. You can't develop lateral quickness, the ability to recover quickly when your beaten or the ability to just plain hustle. You either have it or you don't. Its pretty pathetic when offensive Juggernauts like Korver and AK start licking their chops when they see Novak enter the game.
Korver is not even close to athletic, neither is Kapono, or Bullard, or Kerr...etc..etc...etc... Novak needs to learn how to play better position D...but he is athletic enough to get minutes, especially with a shot like that. If you make 3 and give up 2, you are still +1 to the good. DD
What do people have against Novak? He is a nice kid who hasn't been given the chance to improve because of JVG.
Yeah, neither Korver nor Kapono is athletic, but compare to Novak they are. Novak is a stiff. Too bad he isn't a post player so he can't get away from his lack of agility. He can NOT create any separation on his own to get his shot off.
Has anyone considered that the reason Novak doesn't get playing time is that he's simply not a very good NBA player? Shooters are a dime a dozen - the key is that they have to be able to do SOMETHING else to stay on the court and provide more positives than negatives. Defend, rebound, handle the ball, hustle, etc - at least one of those. Novak simply isn't very good at anything except shooting. There's a reason he was a 2nd round pick - everyone knew the guy could shoot, so it's not like his shooting is some kind of hidden gem that the Rockets found. People knew he could shoot and still passed him up - and he hasn't shown that other skill you need to earn consistent minutes in the NBA. A comparison is JJ Redick, who is a better shooter and quicker than Novak - and was a lottery pick (or close to?) He doesn't get to play either, because he also hasn't demonstrated that he can do anything else on the court. People simply had way too high expectations for Novak due to a summer league performance against other non-NBA players. He's performing just as most 2nd round picks do - floating along on the bench as a 10th-12th man.
I wish Novak had some of the other skills of these 2 guys. Korver and Schrempf despite having average speed could still put the ball on the floor and take it to the hole. Novak needs to expand his game before he becomes anything more than a situational player. I don't trust one dimensional guys like Novak, never trust a guy that can only shoot the three, they are by and large streaky.
Can't we develop Novak into a Kyle Korver or Jason Kapono or Travis Diener some sort of 3 point freak? They are all white for starters and they all shoot 3 pointers well. Oh and Kapono was really good in the playoffs against Magic, he averaged like 15 ppg How come Novak doesn't enter the 3 point shootout?
so what ELSE did Peja Stojakovic do really well besides shooting? Steve Novak has the same height and almost the same weight as Peja, so with enough training on defense i can see Novak being a key contributor next year.
Jopatmac- Your best post ever. I like everything you said because it is true and intelligent. If the coaching staff keeps Novac in Houston during the off season and begins to work on him and develop a game plan for his special contribution to our team, then we might see what we all have been waiting for, for two seasons .
DaDakota really loves unproven potential. If he was GM I'm sure our starting 5 would look like: Yao Swift Novak Gay Spanoulis with [insert marginal all-star, say Maggette or Miller] for T-Mac coming off the bench.
Ya know..every NBA team has a Novak. They got some slow white dude who can shoot lights out but rides the pine and gets garbage minutes. Spurs got Bonner. Celtics got Scalabine. Toronto has Kapono. lol And you can go on and on and on.
This is like asking a turtle to run faster..impossible. I mean, yeah he may be able to improve a bit..i mean his team can improve a bit by help timing and defending better but individually.. defense is based on quickness and instinct..so you either got it or you don't. Novak isn't quick in nba standards nor does he have the instinct
