[06/28/11] After practice interviews with Williams, Patterson and Thabeet

Not about being a good interview, but more about what he said and how he said things.

 

I agree! I like PPat. He is intelligent and a great worker and humble. It sounds like in his interview he was being kind to the rookies but Him and Hill were beating up on those guys. I suspect Bud was beating up on Parsons too. Of course that is to be expected. They all have a lot to learn. But he did have a few good things to say about Morris that I liked to here. One was his footwork out on the perimeter. That was my biggest concern once I knew he was our pick... much more than transferring his offense to the three. And then I heard David Thorpe say no prob. He can guard threes and I thought that is a big relief. And to hear PPat reiterate that makes me feel more confident that he will be our future SF. Still unlike some here (unless we trade Bud) I don't expect him to start. (OOPS... I meant to say I don't expect him to start on opening day. Of course I expect him to start eventually. If he isn't starting at the 3 by season's end than bud better be playing Bird Like or we made a trade for Iguodala or something like that)

Also I especially loved what Patrick said about Donatas. Hard worker agressiveness around the basket. Everytime he is around the basket he is looking to finish. Doesn't back away. Takes advantage of all his opportunities. Doesn't give up is a good competitor. All the exact opposite of what the scouts were saying about. Which caused him to drop. When it's all said and done Donatas might end up being the surprise of the draft. It's funny because everyone had Donatas in the top ten in the draft last year but because he was asked to play more as a perimeter four this past season his inside post numbers dropped and so did his stock. It made him look a little soft to the scouts (We owe a big shot out to the stupid scouts) but he is much bigger now than last year. ANd he is just as agressive and the kid is only 20 and looks his body can handle more weight. I think by the end of the year he will be playing some back up at center. ANd that will present a problem for teams the same way Mehmet Okur made problems.

 

Obviously the most important information we learned is that Thabeet likes painting and photography.

 

Listen to Patterson praise a guy who plays his same position.

Hill seems like a good guy with some legitimate skill, but he is mentally fragile and needs a nurturing environment to succeed. PPat and Lowry and Hayes provide that.

 

Yes! Something to talk about. It is so great to hear the things that we have been hearing about J. Hill over the past couple of weeks. Shooting threes and staying ready. Just so good to hear positive talk about Hill. Thanks Pats!

 

TWILL still thinks he's a PG...

 

There was never really any doubt about Hill's talent. His problem has more to between the ears. He really looked lost a lot of times last season, and being confused made him lose the aggressiveness he showed the season prior. If he ever learns to read plays and make good decisions on the court then you can remove the "bust" label on him since that's his only glaring weakness.

Problem is with summer league canceled we really can't say if he improved in this area. He might have all these nifty post moves from Mchale but if he can't apply them properly in real game situations its useless. OTH, if he pans out I think we're gonna have too much talent on the roster. We'll have 3 legit PF prospects, and I expect one or two of them to get moved out to give us an upgrade at a position.

 

I'm pulling for him, but I wish he'd spend less time shooting threes, and more time in the weight room. Lots of protein, Jordan!

 

This interview made me question him a lot more. Working on his boxing? WTF? He should have been working on his shooting, he couldn't hit anything when he played in short stints last season.

Not only that, seems like he still sees himself as a top rank prospect, instead of saying he used the time to improve himself he talked about getting back to the player he was. I know its just words, but sometimes the way these players say it give us a glimpse of how they see things, and honestly I don't think he has the work ethic and humility to fulfill his potential.

 

About T-Will boxing:

1) He might have already figured out he won't be in the league long. Working on another marketable skill could be a good thing.

2) He's such a dick, he'd better know how to take care of himself in a fight.

 

Lol, this place never ceases to amaze me. Terrence spends, literally, 3 seconds talking about boxing at home when he's not on the court, and some people complain that he doesn't spend 25 hours a day playing basketball.

Boxing is a tremendous way to stay in shape. I commend him for doing it.

 

Am I the only person hoping Hill's improvements and drive might lead him to becoming a decent 5? lol. Anyways, Patterson's a legend, great demeanor and attitude, especially liked the way he didn't put Morris down at all and gave an honest evaluation despite him arguably being competition for minutes. TWill seemed ok, I guess the questions about his playing might have been tough to field when he's not seen minutes for the Rockets. I say good luck to all 3 of them and our Rookies and let's have a good season if/when it happens.

 

Well, I believe all of our rookies, Pat,Hill,Twill, and EVEN Thabeet will get their minutes and might show us something they learned this off season.
We just have to support all of them as Rocket fans.

 

hallelujah

 

I really like PP's attitude- real pro. Next to Shane Battier, Jisung Park of Manchester United, this guy is my third one.

 

patterson says he plays video games 5 hours a day, t-will says he boxes

Patterson good, T-will bad!

 

Williams is not a sf, he's a sg. Now, that doest mean he can't play there in bursts, but he's more 2 than 3. I can say chase is more 2 than 3 also which still have the rockets overloaded at the 2.

 

I see Hill being as good a center as Biedrins by the playoffs, but there are questions.

Will the Rox play him there? Will they bring in somebody to be ahead of him? Will they trade him? Will he maintain his determination all season long?

I have my fingers crossed.

 

I don't count T-Will any more than I count Thabeet. He has to cross a threshold that says he's definitely part of the team. Right now, he's just a PITA with potential.

 

Yeah and Morris is and will be more of a 4 than a 3. We still do not have a natural 3 on our roster (our best are probably Bud and Parsons). I really hope it doesn't take us as long to get a true 3 like it is taking us to get a Center.