I’ve been in Vegas for the Vegas Summer League for about a week now, and a couple of days ago I was able to talk about 15 minutes with Rockets’ second round pick Steve Novak. Humble and nice guy. Now that the Rockets have completed their five games here in Vegas, Novak’s stats were pretty good, especially in the first 3 games where he averaged over 18 points per game and shot 12-of-22 (54.5%) from three-point territory.

He dropped off a little bit in the fourth and fifth game, but maybe that was a result of fatigue (which Novak confirmed). After all, the Rockets had played 5 games in six days, and before getting to Vegas, they had some very hard practices.

Novak wasn’t alone. Everyone seemed to drop off statistically after Game 3, including John Lucas III. But Novak and Lewis got some props from ESPN’s Marc Stein in this article, who also was here in Vegas. And although Novak only shot 5-of-13 from the field (2-of-7 from downtown) in the final game yesterday, he scored six of his points in the final 3:40 to help hold off a late fury from the L.A. Clippers.

I was able to get some time with Novak and ask him a few questions so Rocket fans could get to know their recent draft pick:

* I asked if he had been contacted by Yao or T-Mac yet, and he said not yet. Most of his communication has been with the Rockets’ assistant coaches, especially head assistant coach Tom Thibodeau who is coaching Houston’s Vegas league team.

* I wondered how he had become such a proficient 3-point shooter, and he said it was mainly through determination and hard work along with a natural shooting touch. When he was in the 8th grade, he was 6’5”, and he realized with that kind of height with much growth ahead of him (he’s now 6’10”) that if he worked hard, he could accomplish his goal of reaching the NBA.

* I asked who he has been compared to in his career, and for obvious reasons, everyone in Houston he has come across has been comparing him to former power forward and three-point specialist Matt Bullard. I think those comparisons will continue to be made throughout the year and beyond, but before arriving in Houston, he said he been compared more to Pat Garrity.

* Just like everyone here in Vegas, Novak has been impressed with John Lucas’ play. He said Lucas is easy to play with, and that Lucas’ head is always up when he dribbles it up court, which is always a plus for teammates.

* I told him I had noticed Lucas being pretty vocal with his teammates when plays didn’t develop as he expected, and asked Novak if that kind of demonstrative behavior was causing any issues on the court. Novak replied he has always played with point guards who have an “edge,” and point guards are expected to be leaders, so he didn’t mind how visibly agitated Lucas was when things didn’t go as planned.

* One of Novak’s other Vegas teammates — Pat Carroll — had been lighting it up over the first two games (5-of-9 from three). Novak said that when his teammates are hitting three-pointers, it’s contagious and makes it easier for him to hit his own treys.

* His agent is Doug Neustadt who is also the same agent for Travis Diener, a former Marquette player and teammate, Boris Diaw, and Sarunas Jasikevicius. He said he talked with Diener before selecting Neustadt.

* I had noticed that the Rockets’ offense in Vegas was putting their forwards more in motion rather than having them park beyond the three-point line and shoot spot-up threes. I mentioned I anticipate that won’t happen much once he starts playing for the Rockets with Yao posting up down low and kicking it out to him for open threes. But he thought the team was trying to get him accustomed to doing different things offensively.

* After the Vegas league is over, Novak is heading back home and workout before coming to Houston in late July or early August (or whenever the team wants him in Houston). I asked him how long it takes for him to lose the touch on his shot without practice, and he said it doesn’t take long – maybe one day. So he’s going to keep practicing his shot before he comes to Houston.

* I asked Novak if he was ready to carry around veterans’ bags around on road trips and run errands for them, and a big smile came across his face. “I’ll be glad to carry as many bags as they want,” Novak replied, “as long as I get that per diem.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 12th, 2006 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Rockets' off-season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.