[CHRON] Inserted at one, Rockets' Head makes case for more minutes

The reason Head isn't trying to dunk a lot is SIMPLE.

He lacks the strength to finish at the NBA level.

Many of you may be shocked to know that Alston can do windmill 360 dunks - yes I've seen it before, but he can barely finish even a layup at NBA level.

To dunk on the NBA level without power to finish through and over people you need to be on an open break away.

Head can easily convert lobs into dunks for example as long as no defender comes near him, if someone does as in 90 percent of cases he does not have nearly the strength required to finish.

Ben Gordon may be of very similar height, length, athletisicm, leaping ability, but he's muchmuch stronger and more powerful.

And there is an enormous difference from Amare's 38 vertical or Swift's 40 vertical to Head's 39 vertical in that the force and explosion is much much less for Head because he is soo much smaller.

Every added pound moving that fast and exploding into the air creates that much more force and power.

Head simply lacks the NBA body to finish dunks.

 

Luther should be top 6 in our rotation.

Let him develop and I definetly think he is a Mobley type player. Maybe not quite so productive. But in that mold.

 

You could say the same for David Wesley, for example, or even Bruce Bowen. Yet they still did/do a great job defensively.

I've seen Battier play a lot since he came turned pro (in fact, he's my favorite player from 2001 class, along with Joe Johnson), and I'll always take his tenacity/intelligence/skill on D over some athletic freak who's lacking in those departments.

Just to make myself clear, I'm not against Battier at 4, I'm only against him exclusively there... so I like this JVG's statement: I'm not sure we won't start games bigger and work down. And I'm in favor of giving Hayes serious PF minutes hoping he could become our Udonis Haslem-like guy.

Exactly.

 

call me shocked . the only person i've ever seen do a 360 windmill was Vince Carter in the slam dunk contest. there is no freaking way Rafer can do it.

 

He was in the And1 tapes, Skip 2 my Lou. But hell, I've seen an even better dunk on youtube, some crazy guy did a 720 dunk!

 

I don't think so. He runs fast and shoots fast like Mike Bibby. If he proved he could play better at 1 than at 2

 

the and1 player done one it was sick

 

Just an impression that struck me from watching Rafer and Luther both run the point - is their style, speed and pattern coming across midcourt and setting up the offense looked amazingly almost identical.

My guess would be with VG commenting and coaching during the last game about guys not being in the right position - is the coaches are precisely coaching Rafer and Head on the pace and positioning of the PG's - since both are much more familiar with VG's system - they are expected to freelance less.

I did not get the same impression from Lucas or VSpan - but perhaps because their personal styles are still dominant and they have not had time to be coached into the VG system. Plus both of them seem consistently faster - and a little out of control at times - vs. Rafer & Luther.

Anyone else notice the Rafer/Luther similarity?

 

it wont matter because bonzi could come in at the two and grab a lot of boards. but dont underrate battiers rebounding. he may not get the actual snaredown, but he'll tip it out to tmac or one of our guards. oooo sura was especially good at grabbing those

 

So much for your credibility.

His "tenacity/intelligence/skill" isn't lost when he's playing at the 4 spot. Had one of the lowest opponent eFG% in the league playing PF last year. Wells and Snyder are certainly better defenders at the 2 than Juwan or Novak at the 4.

 

is it just coincidence that the chron title of this article has Inserted, Head and case in it? hmm...

 

Wow, wasn't there any other vocabulary available to describe that?

 

BS, pure BS.

 

Care to elaborate?

Incidentally, I found this:

http://www.momentumsportsgroup.com/news_jgraham.html

Predraft combine scores for everyone... Notice Luther's bench press numbers. Ultra impressive for a skinny guy like him.

 

I agree. I think it has more to do with a combination of a lack of height and a largely perimeter game.

 

I think its more of that he lost a bit on his vertical

 

Could very well be.

Also, Rafer dunking is a part of his legend. He may have been a very good dunker, but I've never seen it. I've seen the first mix tape and I don't remember any dunks from Rafer, much less a 360.

 

I believe that Head should be our backup point.
JLIII still needs a lot of work and so does V-Span...

 

i think it will be a Backup Point guard by committe...Van Gundy will play the matchups and depending on who is playing well in that stretch...I don't think there is a sure shot backup....

 

why would he have lost some of his vertical?