Luther Head needs to go...

[kingsboi]

I don't mind Head on this team for now. He has his good shooting days and his bad, atleast he tries on defense while being undersized and he occasionally attacks the basket. I just don't think it's necessary for him to be playing as much as he has been playing lately, but that's all on Coach Westphal.

 

[TTown Kings]

these threads are stupid and are getting really annoying

 

[bajaden]

I'm pretty the only person playing defense on Kobe Bryant when Luther head was on him was Kobe Bryant.. Luther Head is what.. 6'2 6'1? with a PG body, has terrible dribbling skills, cannot run an offense, looks constantly lost on offense, and his favorite shot is a pull up three pointer in transition... I'm pretty sure the minutes will be better given to Pooh Jeter who can actually handle the ball/distribute, and shoot, or why not move the minutes to Donte or Garcia

Just so you know, I'm not a big fan of Luther Head, so this is more about being fair. Head, according to his measurement records at the NBA pre-draft camp showed him being 6'2" without shoes and 6'3" in shoes. He has fairly long arms and is an above average athlete with just under a 40" vertical. He was a very good shooter in college and has a lifetime 3 pt shooting percentage of slightly over 38%, which is pretty good and a little above average in the NBA. He's know for being a combo guard and he handles the ball just fine. He's also a decent passer of the basketball. He has a lifetime assist to turnover ratio of very close to 2 to 1, which is also considered good. He built his reputation as a defender, and is known for being able to defend both the PG and SG positions. Right now he is struggling big time with his 3pt shot, and mostly because of taking poor shots.

Now if you want to criticize his shooting, I think you have plenty to criticize. But just because he's not shooting the ball well doesn't mean he flat stinks at everything else.

 

[keflanag]

Again a lot of it is shot selection. Not all, but a lot.

Poor shooting is one thing. A guy could just be slumping. But Head is playing like a complete idiot on offense. He looks like an out of control college kid (one of the reasons I am not a huge fan of the college game), except he's not a kid anymore. And that's not a slump thing. He can play in every game of the season, he can be given Reggie Miller's shooting gifts, and leaning off balance off the dribble threes with 16 seconds to go in the shot clock are still not going to be going in. He needs to have the ball taken out of his hands and be told "you go over there and stand still" by whoever has the ball at the moment.

I completely agree with this with respect to the Lakers game. But I've actually been pretty happy with his role in the offense the other games. If anyone played some reasonable defense on Kobe that game, he would have been pulled after some of those shots, but I think Westphal looked the other way because of his D.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Head was a good shooter in college. What the hell happened to him in the Pros. He can't shoot worth of s*&^t. Reminds me of Douby. Great shooter in college but blows in the pros.

Head is a career .386 three-point shooter, and was shooting .375 form deep for us this season before his ugly game against the Lakers (where he was for some reason leaning in to every shot he took). I think one game is a bit of a small sample size to say he "blows in the pros". .386 is a fantastic career percentage.

 

[Tetsujin]

Let me get this straight. Now were going to do psychoanalysis on opposing players to determine whether our players did a good job on defense or not.

Bill Russell wasn't a good defendsive big. All of the other teams just took it realllly easy on O when they were playing the Celtics.

 

[swisshh]

Offensive execution???

bingo

Guys make their shots at a higher rate when they aren't stretching out just to grab the pass.

 

[mac]

Head was a good shooter in college. What the hell happened to him in the Pros. He can't shoot worth of s*&^t. Reminds me of Douby. Great shooter in college but blows in the pros.

Like you said, Quincy Douby, JJ Redick and Adam Morrison would like to have a word with you.

 

[jtt]

Just so you know, I'm not a big fan of Luther Head, so this is more about being fair. Head, according to his measurement records at the NBA pre-draft camp showed him being 6'2" without shoes and 6'3" in shoes. He has fairly long arms and is an above average athlete with just under a 40" vertical. He was a very good shooter in college and has a lifetime 3 pt shooting percentage of slightly over 38%, which is pretty good and a little above average in the NBA. He's know for being a combo guard and he handles the ball just fine. He's also a decent passer of the basketball. He has a lifetime assist to turnover ratio of very close to 2 to 1, which is also considered good. He built his reputation as a defender, and is known for being able to defend both the PG and SG positions. Right now he is struggling big time with his 3pt shot, and mostly because of taking poor shots.

Now if you want to criticize his shooting, I think you have plenty to criticize. But just because he's not shooting the ball well doesn't mean he flat stinks at everything else.

He actually takes wide open shots everytime. He just cannot shoot for the life of him.

 

[rainmaker]

He actually takes wide open shots everytime. He just cannot shoot for the life of him.

The fact he's made 429 3's on %.386 for his career, says differently.

 

[bajaden]

He actually takes wide open shots everytime. He just cannot shoot for the life of him.

I will agree that if your charging down the floor at high speed and pull up just outside the three point line and fire up a shot while all your momentum is carrying your body toward the basket, its a wide open shot. Unfortunately its not also a good shot. Head is a good 3pt shooter when he stops and gets his feet and body set. He's not a good shooter when his body is moving. At least not from long distance.

 

[cuad]

Over the summer I was quick to call Luther Head "Quincy Douby 2.0," which I've seen now and then in game threads so far. He won me over though, with that defense on Kobe. I hope he settles down with his shooting, because we could really use him.