Thabeet sucked it up in his last game as well. in 27 minutes - 6 rebounds, 1 block, 2 points. So far he had just one OK game and three not so OK games. I was hoping for a bit better. I see him going back to d-league again next year. NBA draft workouts have to change. Players need to be put into 5 on 5s that resemble NBA game scenarios. Thabeets lack of IQ would have definitely popped up and raised questions. He would not have landed in top 20.
Bollocks. Teams will always draft on potential and a 7'3 proven shot blocker from a strong program will always be a lottery pick. Teams are acutely aware of what its like to try and develop raw players. Some teams just can't get away from potential though. In no sane world should Patrick Patterson be drafted lower than Thabeet or Jordan Hill and yet that's exactly what happened.
Patterson's never played like this in his senior year in college; in fact, he displaced a lot of passiveness and played soft all year 'round. Leeb called him a "backseat player" early in the season because that's how he played in college and in SL. If he played this aggressive in college I'm pretty sure he would averaged something like 20/14.
Thats why I think the NBA draft workouts needd to be changed. All they do is measure how high they can jump or wing span, see how fast they are and how well they shoot etc.... Those things cant determine how they will perfrom in NBA gametime situations. Thats why the NBA draft workouts need to include scenrios that do resemble NBA games. When a team asks a draftee to come work out for them, include a half an hour 5 on 5 game with NBA plays. Ask the coaches to order the draftee to try execute various plays used in games. Those type of exercises and drills can give a better indication as to how they will perform in this league. ATM they just base it on their potential - which is a huge gamble, thats why you have a few busts in the top 10 every year. Change the workouts to base judgements on practical facts rather than theoretical stats.
That comes from confusing being unselfish and team-oriented with being passive. Terrence Williams is definitely a driver seat kind of guy.
"The man who invented the boxscore should be shot" I wish you guys would actually watch the RGV games before talking about how good/bad he is playing.
LOL, haven't see any games. But I'm not even impressed with his stats. They've lost 3 of 4 games since he went down there. He's averaging a pedestrian 7/7 in 30 mpg, a 7'3" dude playing against much less physical players than he will face every night in the NBA, and he's getting 7/7. The only thing that looks right about his game is his FT stroke. And it looks like despite getting lots of blocked shots, the opposing bigs are having their way with him. BJ Mullens, Sean Williams, and the small ball lineups of Idaho, they've all piled up points on him. If you have seen games, give us a report. Am I accurate or is he showing something down there?
jopa- You havent seen him play right? I've seen numerous post about rubio and he's been terrible since being drated. Do you have another opinion of rubio despite you not watching any games.
The other teams were running plays to pull thabeet out of the lane. Mullens and walker didn't score on him straight up, they usually ended up scoring off of pick and rolls. Walker in particular shot a lot of jumpshots when guarded one on one by him.
It will be a process with Thabeet, and he might actually get worse before he gets better, because he needs to break old habits that might have actually made him look better on the boxscore. In short, watching the boxscore is a really ****ty way to track a young players development. Watch the games, or shut the hole.
Obviously Thabeet has a lot to learn. However, it appears obvious that the Rockets did not send Thabeet down to the Valley to impress everyone with his statistics in the D-league, as some players are inclined to focus their efforts on, but to work on his fundamentals and to learn how to play within the Rockets system. No doubt Thabeet could fly around the court and routinely get double-doubles in the D-league, which he did when he played in the D-league when he was still with Memphis. But who cares about that? He needs to apply himself to doing things thoughtfully and in a fundamentally sound manner. If that distracts him from generating the stats that someone who is 7'3" will almost automatically be able to generate in the D-league, then fine. Let Thabeet focus and work on his game down there. His stats are not a good measure of his growth or his success at this point. Fact is, the Rockets will not have a good sense of what the have in this player until about this time next year. Assuming there is no NBA lockout, that is.
They have enough data to make an evaluation. You seem to be dismissing the entire season's worth of data that comes from the college basketball season. GM's are never going to be able to say "come in and practice with my 4 other starters for 5 hours". I think someone like Terrence Williams would be screened out on the interview with the Rockets. You can judge how a prospect will respond by picking his brain at the interview. Peyton Manning supposedly had an interview that blew away the Colts management when he was drafted, whereas Ryan Leaf did not. Follow the careers.
Mike Batiste played in the NBA. Not the D-League. Also, he has never been an MVP in the Euroleague. He has never made an All-Euroleague first or second team even. Your knowledge about basketball outside of the Houston Rockets is extremely limited.
Shakur was cut from numerous teams in Europe. Morris Almond was all-world in D-League and has been cut from numerous teams in Europe. There are many such examples. Jerrells played terrible in the Euroleague and his team has been openly looking for a replacement.
