Silas praises Jokic’s passing
Rockets coach Stephen Silas could not say he had never seen a center with passing ability on par of Denver’s Nikola Jokic .It has, however, been almost two decades. That ability, he said, also is not likely to be emulated any time soon.
“Two guys … come to mind as far as really great passers,” Silas said. “Bill Walton when I was little. He played for my dad ( Paul Silas) when my dad coached the Clippers (in 1984-85) and … could really, really pass. I was 7 or 8 at the time and I remember that so he must have been really able to pass. And then ( Arvydas) Sabonis, when he was with Portland (from 1995-96 to 2002-03) and couldn’t move, but he was able to earlier. He could really, really pass the basketball.
“Those are the two guys that stand out as far as guys who could pass like Jokic.”
Unlike other players who have been greatly influential, from players adopting James Harden’s step-back 3-pointer or Dirk Nowitzki’s onelegged fadeaway, Silas said emulating Jokic’s passing might require gifts that cannot come from practice. It could be like trying to copy Yao Ming’s height.
“As far as the future, it’s different,” Silas said. “The reading part of it, there’s the feel of the game part of it. It’s not a repetition type of thing where you’re working on the James step-back or you’re working on the 3-point shooting that Steph ( Curry) has. The passing is a lot more nuanced and a lot more based on what you see, reading things, as opposed to the reps of making the actual pass.
“How do you work on that to be a great passer like him? Maybe guys will explore it a lot more as they have the ball at the high post. Teams are playing more five-out. But he’s special, very special for me to only be able to name Bill Walton and Sabonis as guys like him. They don’t come along very often.”
Jokic went into Friday’s game against the Rockets averaging 8.8 assists per game, ranking fourth in the league with by far the most for a center. The Nuggets average of 21.9 points scored per game off Jokic’s assists, the most created by any player not playing point guard. That also makes him the focal point for opposing game plans, more so with guard Jamal Murray out.
“It very much starts with your Jokic defense and knowing when he has the ball,” Silas said. “He’s very much a threat to score, but one of his greatest gifts is his ability to pass the ball.
“You wouldn’t want to say, ‘Let’s make him a scorer.’ But his greatness is very much attached to his ability to score and to pass.”
Brown could return soon
With the Rockets playing a second consecutive game without five regulars, only guard Sterling Brown could be considered close to a return, Rockets coach Stephen Silas said.
Silas said Brown could be “day-to-day” after missing three games with a sore left knee. Guards Eric Gordon and D.J. Augustin and forward Danuel House Jr. likely are a week away from being re-evaluated, he said. Forward David Nwaba is out for the remainder of the season following wrist surgery.
“With Eric’s injury (a strained right groin on March 11), you really have to be careful because of the nature of how it happened,” Silas said. “It was a noncontact injury. House
(who sprained his right ankle April 4) doesn’t seem to be improving. He seems to be walking around and not being able to push off on that foot. D.J., with his injury (a sprained left ankle on Monday) … it was a serious injury.
“We need all four guys, we really do. Our depth has taken a big-time hit. It’s been hit, obviously, all season. We need those guys back.”
Position switch seamless for Tate
When the Rockets made a rare lineup change that was not forced by injury, it impacted not only the players at the positions involved with the change itself but the one Rockets player who had not missed any games this season. The move to put center Kelly Olynyk in the starting lineup with center Christian Wood also moved rookie Jae’Sean Tate from a power forward to small forward position.
He has, however, barely noticed the difference.
That is in part because of the Rockets offense that looks to keep all five players out on the perimeter with room to drive, fitting Tate’s style and skills regardless of his position.
But the matchups have changed. Rather than going against bigger fours when he could have a quickness advantage, Tate has played against wings where he can look to work inside.
The larger difference is on the defensive end where he must navigate screens set by the bigger frontcourt players he had previously matched up against.
“It’s definitely different,” Tate said. “It’s not as physical, that’s for sure. But you have to fight over screens and sometimes, running off pin-downs, it’s a different defensive focus. But it’s not something I’m not used to. My college coach ( Chris Holtmann) did a great job of preparing me and my couple years overseas guarding threes as well. I feel comfortable. I don’t have to use so much energy fighting with the bigs, so that’s pretty awesome, too.
“I’ve never been a guy that cared about the position or whatever people call me. I just want to be a guy that’s on the floor. The way basketball is moving, it’s position-less basketball, anyway. Sometimes, there’s four guards out there. I just think that’s how the game is evolving. That’s my game, as well.”