[閒聊] Nachbar的機會
Nachbar's chance to shine at hand
Focus on forward in summer play
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/1992177
The crowd that filled the old arena first buzzed and then built to a roar at
the mere sight of Bostjan Nachbar. The game was stopped so he could be
introduced and celebrated again in a more suitable and official manner.
Nachbar was back, back on the floor, back in Treviso, Italy, where he was
remembered fondly a year after he had left to take his talents to the Rockets.
As part of the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program, he returned to the
home of Benetton Treviso to help run a clinic a year after the Rockets made
him a first-round pick and put him on the shelf for what amounted to a
redshirt season.
In Italy, fans knew why the Rockets considered Nachbar a valuable commodity.
At the Summer Pro League, however, he returned to the NBA as another raw
talent struggling to find a niche.
Nachbar, the only former first-round pick on the Rockets' summer-league team,
has gotten the sort of playing time and touches he never saw as a rookie. But
in two games, he has made just four of 18 shots. On Saturday, he made just
one of nine attempts and had four first-quarter turnovers. He finished with
10 points and eight rebounds. But with their presumptive go-to scorer unable
to lead them, the Rockets made just 25.6 percent of their shots and lost
86-79 to the Raptors at the Long Beach State
Pyramid.
"I think it's just rotten shooting," coach Jeff Van Gundy said, discounting
two-a-day practices as impacting the Rockets' shooting touch. "I could try to
make an excuse. But it's rotten shooting."
Van Gundy was similarly pointed in his assessment of Nachbar. Though he
praised Nachbar's efforts, particularly defensively where the Rockets' new
coaches have placed their greatest emphasis, Van Gundy expects more.
"We are trying to have him get a chance to play a lot and to evaluate him,"
Van Gundy said. "But what he needs to do is to play well. That's what he
needs to do.
"I don't think in those terms as far as trying to figure out why (a player
struggles). He has to find ways to be effective. He's fine defensively. He
had eight rebounds.
"When you play with a great post man and a penetrating point guard, you have
to make people pay for double (-team defenses) and help (defenses) and be a
knockdown shooter. And really, when you look at our team, that is one of the
areas (where) we have to improve team-wide."
The 6-9 Nachbar, 23, will be given every chance to improve in the Rockets'
three remaining games.
"Obviously in the summer league, the coaches are trying to get me more
touches and put me under pressure a little bit," Nachbar said. "Our practices
have been great. It's a learning process for all of us. And I sat out all of
last year. Of course I feel it. When I was on the court, it was like a year
since I was in a game with pressure on me, knowing I'm the scorer, I'm the
go-to guy.
"It's a new beginning for me. It's going to take time, but I'll get there."
If a season spent waiting for a chance to play did not steal Nachbar's
confidence, a few days of wayward shooting could not.
"Mentally, it was very hard," Nachbar said about last season. "I expected a
lot more. But after the trade for James Posey, and when Glen Rice got healthy
, and (with the Rockets) being close to the playoffs, coaches gave time to
players with more experience who they trusted more. It was tough being quiet,
staying on the bench. But that's what I had to do.
"I was working hard all season. I didn't play in the games, but I had a
chance to work hard in the practices because those were the games for me."
Now, he has a chance to play in real games, or as close as summer-league
games are to real games. He might be the only Rocket in Long Beach likely to
be with the team next season.
Tito Maddox, last season's second-round pick, was more solid at the point in
the second game and showed the defensive pressure Van Gundy demands. But he
made just one of six shots. Maddox could earn an invitation to training camp.
Malick Badiane, this season's second-round pick, was as quick and bouncy as
advertised and had 11 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes. The Rockets
were led by forward DeMarco Johnson, who had 17 points but was limited to
26 minutes by foul trouble.
But the summer league is as much about improvement as results, especially for
Nachbar.
"He hasn't played a lot in a year so this is very important for him," Rockets
general manager Carroll Dawson said. "The feel of competition when you
haven't played a lot is a shock when you first come back. I think as it goes
along, it's going to get easier for him."
But if Nachbar had forgotten what it feels like to be the star, he was
reminded last month in Italy.
"It was good to go back, see old friends, old teammates, coaches and
everybody," Nachbar said. "I went to see a game and the whole gym stood up.
Everyone was clapping. It was great. Fans started cheering my name. It gets
kind of wild in Europe.
"It's good when coaches and teammates trust you and know you'll be the guy
with the ball in your hand and will make good decisions. It's a great feeling.
But if you don't do it for a long, long time, you need time to adjust."
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