eh no need for me to add on more info that hasnt already been posted, but the guy does have a good shooting touch though.
Wow guys really hate him. Novak is a good kid who plays the game and follows the rule. IMO I take him over Luther just counting his shooting abilities. If he can work his way up, he can be a very good player. Basically, Novak is the superstar compliment type player. He punishes other teams for doubling superstars, and because of his size, bigger players are forced to be put on him.
Why can't we accept that he is what he is... A slow unathletic poor defensive player who has a good shooting touch. And why can't we accept 2 different coaching staff view of him and use of him since he's been drafted by the Rockets. By next year if Adelman can't find regular minutes for him in his rotation, I'll live with it that, Novak simply didn't deserve it.
Please tell me that you did not just compare Novak to Ray Allen and Dirk in the same reply!! Novak could not play with them if they were on their knees. That is absolutely hysterical.
How about size wise and Allen's shooting ability wise. Novak has quite a quick release and a combination of size. If he bulks himself up he could become a good player. Sheesh I didn't say he was gonna become those players, I just said he could become those kinda players if he develops that way. Of course its not easy, but I trust Adelman. Novak deserves minutes anyways, he has yet to have his potential proven. His shooting is too valuable to be wasted. In fact his shooting alone is good enough to get him in an NBA team. He just needs to work on the other factors to crack the rotation of the rockets.
You guys are nuts. Novak is a complete crap player and has next to no potential outside of shooting and to be honest with you, I'm not that impressed with his shooting. He couldn't get open to save his life. This happens every year where one player sits the bench and for some reason all of you think they are the next coming of Jesus. THERE IS A REASON THESE FOOLS DO NOT GET PLAYING TIME.
The difference is that this team struggles MIGHTILY on offense and here sitting idle on our bench is a player that is GREAT at shooting the ball...not average, not good, but GREAT at it. Yes, his D is bad, yes, he gets overpowered on the low post.... But you can gameplan around those things...... Ask yourself this question, if you were down by 3 and you could have anyone on the team take that shot, who would you want it to be? If the answer is Novak (and it should be) then the team needs to find a way to work him in as at LEAST a spot player. Are you guys forgetting how important Matt Bullard was to the Rockets championship teams, or are you just too young to remember? DD
someone else said it but ill reiterate: korver is much more athletic than steve novak. its not even up for debate. kapono can also drive to the basket and can easily play shooting guard. they're not athletes in the lebron james sense, but they're much more athletic than novak. bullard and kerr might be better comparisons but those guys both played much more aggressively than novak. maybe that'll come with playing time but if novak doesn't shoot the ball right when he gets it, he's pretty much useless. his pump fake is useless and just gives defenders time to crowd him. he has to work on shooting off the dribble and running himself around screens like reggie miller because nobody's going to leave him wide open in the heart of a close game.
Korver sure looked athletic when he humiliated Vasilis Spanoulis a number of times in 2007 - crossing him over and blowing by a guy who, according to one person, was the best perimeter defender on team ("please don't make me play man! It's too hard!")
Shooters are a dime a dozen - so where is our shooter? Oh yeah, Luther Head - no shot, no D, no pass, no IQ, mediocre handles which did improve somewhat this last summer. Rafer's D - for several seasons it is our guards who get murdered on D. Yao's D- no better than average. Gee it must be Battier and team D that gets us by. Novak needs more floor time to prove him as worthless as Head. I would be willing to forego head for some time in order to see what Novak can do - and this is a huge sacrifice on my part. 6th game performance by Novak should have shot him past Head on the rotation for next year.
Man, I was just thinking how we need to give Novak starter's minutes... ...so we can tank the season for Demar DeRozan
So far, all Novak has shown me is he would be a great circus performer. As an NBA player, it doesn't look promising. One thing that gives me hope is watching how Sasha Vujacic developed. Last season he finally showed a pulse and this season the guy is a key rotation player on a championship contender. It's on Novak to improve and if he doesn't show significant progress next season the Rockets should cut him loose or just accept him as a 12th/13th player on the roster who will be inactive half the time. Novak's poor athleticism is real problem. Guys like Korver and Vujacic look athletic compared to him.
Vujacic is a PG/SG who can handle the ball and is a decent defender. That's why he's able to stay on the court for the Lakers. Similar to Steve Kerr, who could handle the ball and run the PG position on top of his shooting. Novak is strictly a SF with no ability to dribble under NBA-level ball pressure. I'm sure I don't have to reiterate his lack of defense either.
Keep in mind that Kapono was basically noone until his 3rd year in the NBA. That is my hope for Steve. I don't think he will ever be quick enough to guard perimeter players, so perhaps he will have to bulk up a bit to handle defending some 4's or slower 3's. The good thing is that he has height, so that can help somewhat in his lack in speed.
I agree that if we can develop his game more he should play but Novak is somewhat of an odditiy though. Those similar wing players you mentioned, while not very atheletic, are much more atheletic than Novak and can move alot better with and w/o the ball. Bullard was a big body who could atleast box out and grab the rebounds that went his way. Novak either has to do some major speed and conditioning work in the summer to become a true 3 or some gain alot more strength and weight to be able to play as a 4. Right now, he is completely useless unless he is shooting. I know you think there are other guys like that but i have never seen a guys this great at shooting and this terrible at everything else, in the NBA.
It probably doesn't need to be repeated but I'll do it anyway. You can't turn a horrible athlete into a decent one or even a bad one. Novak is young and has more quickness and explosiveness now than he will ever have. The only thing you can improve is his weight and strength but he needs so much help there that it is unrealistic. If somehow he did bulk up enough to hold his own against PF (30lbs of muscle anyone?)he would likely be even slower and most likely lose his shot. Not to mention he would still look lost on the court even if he got as jacked as Carrot Top.
I like how alot of people here talk about Novak developing like he grew up in the third world and didn't start playing basketball till he was 17 or something. This guy is a coach's son, played at a pretty nice program in college and has had two better then average coaches in the NBA. Novak is a shooter, not a scorer. You might over look the fact that he is supercrappy in every other facet of the game if he was a scorer. To get an idea of Novak's actual upside, imagine a puny Michael Doleac if he was stuck playing the 3 all the time.
