Thanks for posting the video. Thabeet has to work on his fundamentals, but the good news is that they are all correctable. He brings the ball down before going up for the hook -- a big no-no. Yao used to do this in his first few years as well, but he eventually learned to keep it up. You can also see differences in their hook shots. Yao's arm is fully extended and he flips his wrist. Hasheem more "shoots" the ball with the hook, which will lead to some inconsistency. I don't know if he's improved on this issue as this video is old. But these are fundamental problems which the Rockets should easily recognize and correct. I'll give him the summer and training camp to show improvement.
IDK why people think the guy is incapable of learning. Big men take time, that's well documented. The guy has hardly played, everyone deserves a 2nd shot at least.
Why I hold out hope I am wrong and this guy flips a switch and becomes the next great thing and an anchor for our defense for the next 10 years, lets be real. This is a 3 inch taller Jared Jeffries with worse defense. It might be different if he had some unbelievable work ethic or something, but all signs point in the opposite direction. Whats worse is people have zero patience with Hill already. With Thabeet its going to be 10x worse.
The difference is some people here will root for him to fail just so they can be right about something. There is a difference between making a realistic evaluation of a guy then seemingly happy that he's failing and then bragging about it. I don't have high expectations for Thabeet either. But I do realize that the Grizzlies dont' have the best history of making all-star talent. Even drafting in the top 5. I mean They have these guys and they don't give them consistent minutes, it's like they destroy their confidence right out of the gate. You draft a guy #2 overall, he's gotta see the floor. There are lots of guys given up on only to prove their original teams wrong. What are they doing with Xavier Henry? You're right people are going to whine and complain about every mistake he makes, it can't be helped. Just like with Hill, Big men take some time. Every now and then you get a Blake Griffin or Dwight Howard but most of the time you get a guy that has to learn the hard way. Perkins surely wasn't the defensive presence he was first coming in the league, same can be said for Bynum, Noah, etc.
Hasheem will greatly improve over the Summer with all the bigs in the organization that can help him: Dream, Deke, Sikma, and CD can help him with low post hook shots. As per the now, he is 7'3" and can be use to clog up the lane and block shots and rebound. I hope RA plays him and lets him get some good minutes.
This guy probably reminds Yao of Yi. Yi shows flashes and does just about everything Thabeet does. Yao probably wonders why Rox didn't try to get Yi who has a better offensive game.
So... he can't dribble. He can't dunk. He can't make a 3 foot turnaround jumper. What is he good for?
Interior D. I actually think when we play him that he should just stay on the defensive half of the court and not be allowed to cross the mid-court line.
What? He has highlights videos of nothing but dunking. Alleyoops, put backs, hooks, fast break fed dunks, PG dump off dunks. He dinks , hooks, and blocks shots. He is not gonna be a finished product with how much time they played him over there.
That's what I was thinking - at least he wasn't brick-rimming shots a la that Dorsey video with CD. This guy at the very least should be as good as Dalaembert some day. And if he gets the right tutelage from Houston's centers-past, and develops a passion for the game, the sky is the limit.
When they first start the drills the ball last touches Hasheem's palm when it leaves, for Yao it touches his fingertips. Hasheem's hand is perpendicular to the floor, Yao's hand is at about a 60-70 degree angle witht he floor. Later in the drills when Hasheem starts flipping his wrist the results aren't so good. He tends to move his arm forward close to the top of the sot, moving his hand toward the basket, especially his left hook shot. He needs to keep the ball close toward himself, moving towards the defender increases the chance of a block or poor shot. The ball should go straight up and then the wrist flipped to shoot, like Yao. He may have bigger hands than Yao but that still isn't a good excuse to shoot a hook shot Shaq style like that, especially when you can't power your way to the rim like Shaq. He doesn't have extraordinary leg power, but he sure is tall (Forrest Gump style).
This guy is 24 and is massive. Without any injuries Hasheem Thabeet could turn into a a beast and we all know how big guys especially with his frame turn out as late bloomers. At worse he can be an average center which is pretty good for Rockets who are missing a decent shot blocker and a defensive threat. He started playing basketball at the age of 15-16 which is pretty late but given the development and the potential he can be one of the best centers in the league. He is 24 remember that.
some negatives that can be easily fixed watching that video - 1st drill with Yao, around 1:40, he does not guide the ball to the rim, he just pushes it with his palm. I am not sure if his hands are just small, because during all of the shots he did, the ball was not in his whole hand, his fingers were not around the ball. He might have corrected this until now, if not, it can be fixed. - around the 5 min mark you can clearly see that he brings the ball down about 10 inches before leaping in the air. He makes a step, and while doing it, brings the ball down. An easy fix. - there are few other occasions where he keeps the ball around his belly area, where yao keeps it high around his chest. my plan for the fella for his first year here + great diet, hit the gym, put some muscle on + fundamentals 2-3 hours a day + play a few diff sports, this is always a big plus, gives you balance, I know that for a fact + needs role models + work on his hand release, see if there are some hand movements he can practice to keep the ball in his whole hand
I want to sympathize with the Mutombo comparisons. But here are Dikembe's first two years in the NBA. 91-92: 71 games started 16.6 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 3 BPG 92-93: 82 games started 13.8 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 3.5 BPG All while shooting about 50% from the field. I had no idea that he started so fast in Denver. He did complete college at Georgetown and was more finished when he came into the league for sure.
This. Plus, Yao's release on his hook is at the peak of his jump (What? Yao can jump?! ) compared to Hasheem's "throw up" hook. Therefore, harder to block Yao's hook compared to Hasheem's. And, Hasheem's hook relies more on full body motion than Yao's, meaning when Hasheem is fouled by being bumped, more likely he'll miss the hook for an "and 1" compared to Yao. Hasheem will never be the offensive weapon at the C, but he at least have to develop some moves for certain offensive situations. But he's in the right place to learn those.
Just because he went number 2 doesn't mean a thing. We can name a ton of players that went 1 or 2 that didn't deserve it. One thing we have to remember is that being that tall and in College you will have a huge advantage and look a lot better then you really are. I mean look at Shawn Bradley. He was a beast in college because of his sheer size. Thabeet had the same luxury at UConn. He was bigger than everyone and caused a problem just by staying active and plugging up the middle. He has a long way to go but I just don't see him doing well for a long time because he is going to need a lot of playing time and some serious big man coaching which I feel we have.
If he can kick a ball like that, he should be able to shoot a jump hook. With another 10 years of hard practice, he should have it down.
