Head and Alston aren't going anywhere. We collapsed everytime Alston was taken out of the lineup and Adleman let Bobby Jackson run the point. Alston is the best playmaker that the Rockets have. As for Head...well Adleman still says that he understands the offense the best and makes the best cuts. He also shot the highest percentage in preseason.
Head making his mark in camp
Like Alston last season, guard not to be ignored
By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 3, 2008, 11:22PM
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James Nielsen Chronicle
Luther Head has a lot at stake at Rockets camp with the addition of veteran guard Brent Barry. ( James Nielsen / Chronicle )
The news kept coming, and if Luther Head let himself look at it that way, it was not good news for him.
The Rockets signed Brent Barry, a veteran with championship rings best suited to play Head’s shooting guard position.
They traded for Ron Artest, who can play many positions, with shooting guard near the top of the list.
And with Head’s position on the roster seeming tenuous, the Rockets were clear about their hopes to cut just a bit of salary to move under the luxury tax threshold at a time they were just a bit more than his $1.96 million salary over the tax line.
Don’t worry
“Just (think about) getting better, learning,” Head said. “You can’t really worry about guys coming, if you’re going to play. I think that was my big mistake last year, thinking about the guys coming in and if I was going to play, so this year I’m just ‘whatever.’ When I’m called upon, I’m going to play, try to learn this offense and get better each and every day. Wherever it falls, that’s where I’ll fall.”
Last season, the Rockets collected point guards, trading for Mike James, signing free-agent Steve Francis and drafting Aaron Brooks, all to replace the incumbent Rafer Alston. Alston beat out each newcomer at training camp and in the preseason.
This season, they added Barry and Artest, veterans with greater size and two-guard credentials than Head’s, but Head has not surrendered.
He is not beating out Barry or Artest at the position, but he has turned heads with his play, much as Alston did last season in training camp, giving coach Rick Adelman reason to look for ways to work Head into his rotation.
Seemingly easy to forget in the Rockets’ crowded roster — with nine guards in camp — Head has stood out and earned praise after nearly every practice.
“He’s playing very well,” Adelman said. “You have to look at him and Brent together, see how you can get him on the court. He’s come into camp in great shape, and he’s played well every day. He just runs all day long. He’s got a lot of weapons. He can shoot it. He runs the floor. He cuts well. I’m really pleased with the way he played.
“I think we have enough flexibility in our roster we can find a place for him. That’s the ideal situation, that enough guys play well enough, it’s going to make a hard decision to how you dole the minutes out. Luther knows what we’re trying to do in this system, and he’s one of the better guys at cutting. And he’s a very good shooter. He’s been good every day.”
Adelman has played Head with Brooks in an effective fast-breaking backcourt, but also with Barry to provide the potential for ball-handling help when Head is at the point. Head and Barry have worked well together, with both having the shooting range to provide spacing for their cuts. Both are among the Rockets’ best players moving without the ball.
“It’s good to know two positions, but it’s all about playing,” Head said. “It’s about whatever I can do to help.”
If he can crack the rotation, it would be a significant comeback from the post-season. Caught in a bad matchup with the size of the Utah Jazz’s backcourt for a second-consecutive season, the 6-foot-3 Head struggled badly. He made 11 of 36 shots in 2007 and just one of 14 last season. Head, however, said the struggles had nothing to do with the post-season.
“It’s just one of those things,” Head said. “I didn’t get to play much last year because of the matchup problems. I think Rick saw the matchup problems and saw that it would be best to go to some other guys. I’ll get my chance. Hopefully, when I do, I’ll have some success.”
Plenty of time
A week ago, he might have seemed unlikely to get that chance. There is still an entire preseason, and some tough decisions, before the Oct. 29 season opener. But Head has made it impossible to assume he won’t play his way into that opportunity.
“You saw it happen with Rafer last year,” Head said. “I don’t think about anybody else that’s here. It’s about me trying to find what I can do to help the team. I do what I can do, catch-and-shoot, getting good cuts. This year it’s about me trying to find my spot.”
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