Novak guarding Shaq

[WashDCWarrior]

Got a chance to watch the Houston-Miami preseason game last night and it was pretty unreal watching Novak playing with all the big name NBA guys and having defensive assignments against Shaq, Wade, Mourning, Walker, etc.  I thought he held his own.  Who would have pictured that a year ago?

It was great to see him in there and he looks like he'll be in the rotation.  He scored 17 points (15 came in the the last 6 minutes of garbage time) and grabbed 6 boards last night.

If there was a stat for points per time of ball handling, he'd lead the league.

[NYWarrior]

i know its only pre-season, but i had no idea SN would be so effective playing at this level.  Teams will adjust and he'll struggle at times like any player,  but he seems to be just as efficient in the NBA as he was in college

[77fan88warrior]

No one could have thought his defense and rebounding would be where they are. I remember the tail end of 04-05 season all too well.

[Longstrangetrip]

He looked like he did last year to start the BE season against my barking flea bitten dogs! Smooth as ever. Nice to see him and also Quinn out there, love seeing all these Big East guys in the league now. I was surprised that Quinn actually looked kind of big, well as big as a 6'2" guy can. He always looked like a 12 year old when I watched him at ND.

[LastWarrior]

I missed the game... was there any Wade/ Novak moments?  Guarding, taunting, joking, etc??

[WashDCWarrior]

There was one where Wade split a double-team going behind his back, and Novak ended up about 8 feet away after the move.

It wasn't on Novak, but Wade got someone to fall on his a$$ after a studder step and calmly knocked down a jumper.

[WashDCWarrior]

Could Diener be dealt to join Novak and the Rockets? I'd be all for him going anywhere that will have him play more than mop-up duty.  I have no idea how credible of a source HOOPSWORLD is, but still found it interesting.  Check it out.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_19066.shtml

Rockets: Considering a Marquette Connection?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Bill Ingram
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Oct 23, 2006, 11:42 
 

HOOPSWORLD has learned that the Orlando Magic have had a discussion with the Houston Rockets regarding former Marquette point guard Travis Diener. The word is that the Rockets are one of the two teams currently showing interest in Diener, who is not likely to land a spot in Orlando's rotation despite some solid play in preseason.

Why Diener? A couple of reasons. First of all, he'll come highly recommended from one of his former running mates: Steve Novak. Second, he's a tremendous shooter, and the Rockets have made it clear that their theme for the 2006-07 season will be to shoot early and often from downtown to try and keep some of the defensive pressure off of Yao Ming in the post.

As a sophomore Diener helped Marquette reach the Final Four in 2002-03, but his personal accomplishments didn't stop there. As a freshman he set the record for three-pointers made by a freshman (47) and also led the NCAA's in three-point field goal percentage (44%). As a junior Diener became the first player in Conference USA's history to lead the league in both points and assists. During his senior year he led Marquette in scoring with 19.7 points per game to go along with 7.0 assists and 1.35 steals. He graduated as the school's career leader in three-pointers made (284), second all-time in assists (617), and third in scoring (1,691). In other words, the kid knows how to find open teammates, he can knock down threes with the best of them, and he would seem to be a great complement to the Yao Ming-Tracy McGrady offense. He is also an excellent defender, which would make Jeff Van Gundy happy. Or at least less sad.

Diener was given a shot by the Magic, who don't seem to have an actual roster spot for him. He played better than 30 minutes in each of their first three preseason games and put up the same kinds of stats that he did while playing for Marquette. Against the Charlotte Bobcats he scored 10 points and dished out six assists, he then put 14 points and nine assists on the board against Chris Paul and the Hornets, and against the Spurs he compiled 23 points and seven assists – all three games were wins for the Magic. In those three games Diener shot 52% overall, 64% from three, and didn't miss a free throw in 10 attempts.

There is a catch, of course. The Magic are looking for a big man in return if they are going to deal Diener, and the name that has reportedly come up in discussions with the Rockets is Dikembe Mutombo. For that reason alone it is hard to see the Rockets making this move. They're already playing small ball at the four. If Yao Ming goes down with an injury – heaven forbid – the team would have no good options at the five. If they were to deal Mutombo for Diener they would almost certainly have to sign a free agent center as insurance. Maybe someone like Kelvin Cato, who is currently unsigned and might be worth the vet's minimum.

Diener is an attractive player; there is no doubt about that. He and Steve Novak could certainly keep defenses busy trying to cover the perimeter. But does it makes sense to bring in another small body while sending out the most reliable – and only - back-up five on the team? Not without an additional move.