Vassilis Spanoulis named Euroleague Player of the Week

VSpan is getting old and older. NBA just wasn't meant to be for him

 

Way to go out on a limb there....

 

You might want to take a look at the minutes played by some of the NBA star players in those games. A couple of examples:
Dirk Nowitzki - 0
Kobe Bryant - 24
Kevin Garnett - 15
Kevin Love - a whopping 27
Paul Pierce - 26
Does that tell you anything about the way the NBA teams were treating those games?

 

It is silly to argue about what might have been. For V-span's specific game, talents, and preferences, there is just no beating the amenities and training facilities of Greece.

 

You don't measure how good a 3 pt shooter is with 3p%?? Yikes... This is why most euro fans aren't taken seriously.

 

Some of those European teams had their best players coming off the bench. And Barcelona was cruising against the Mavs, they even had then 17-year old Hezonja on the floor.

You misunderstood him, he said: "We will not use stats like TS,FG% ... (new sentence) 3P% and good defence are the most common things that every team want."

 

He is proof Jeff Van Gundy couldn't develop a rookie if his life depended on it.

 

Yao Ming may disagree with you.

--Captain Decker

 

Facts may disagree with you

 

That a particular statement is repeated over and over again does not make it true. Vassilis Spanoulis' inability to succeed in the NBA was not the fault of Jeff Van Gundy and is by no means proof that Van Gundy- who presided over Yao Ming's development- is incapable of coaching young players.

Spanoulis was a poor defender and rebounder. He was incapable of playing within the confines of the Rockets' offense, preferring instead to force difficult passes in transition that resulted in turnovers and botched possessions- in the rare event he was allowed playing time at all. Van Gundy wisely kept him on the bench the majority of his lone season in the league.

That anyone here would continue to clamor for his services despite his numerous shortcomings as a basketball player is laughable and speaks to a lack of perspective that has characterized this fanbase for years.

--Captain Decker

 

Your facts are wrong because Yao Ming did not play for jvg as a rookie.

You also are misinformed about vspans style of play. He is nothing like the player you are describing

 

I'm aware that Yao didn't play for Van Gundy as a rookie. My point is that Van Gundy nonetheless played an integral role in his development as an NBA player, something that you apparently missed in your half-assed review of my previous post.

If I am mistaken about his style of play, it is only because he played so poorly that I had no opportunity to watch him perform. As I've already stated, he spent the majority of his NBA career sulking as opposed to improving his game- not that he demonstrated much ability to begin with.

--Captain Decker

 

Didn't Rudy coach Yao his rookie year?

DD

 

I agree. He didn't even mention that V-SPAN couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat.

 

He played enough that anyone who watched the rockets knew what he was about. He also had that stellar Olympic appearance right before joining the rockets where he torched team USA. He has and still has plenty of ability. But it seems like you know nothing about him. He struggled on the court because he was a horrific shooter, he couldn't hit anything. Contrary to what you said, he was an extremely aggressive and active defender. That was the only reason he got playing time. His strength on offense was and still is off the dribble, creating movement in the offense and finishing around the rim. He was just a rookie in the nba when he was here, to dismiss him like you have is ignorant. He has proven in Europe thAt he is a hard worker and good player. You can't have no talent and dominate the way he does in any league.

He could be an nba rotation player and make pennies in the USA......OR makes millions in Europe and be a perennial mvp candidate and lead teams to championships

 

To be fair, while Yao did peak at 25 and 10 under JVG, he also limited his game... He developed one aspect of Yao's talent (being tall and having a post game), he restricted his development to the low post, laying emphasis on his stature and physique... Gone was rookie Yao who showed a natural free-flowing approach to the game, who showed flashes of being an instinctive passer, who surprised opponents with agile drives to the basket from the corner and high post on more than one occasion after baiting them with a *gasp* pumpfake... and demonstrated a soft touch from 15' out...

In his place, was a more mechanical Yao, a bulkier Yao, prone to overthinking the game as per his newfound role imposed on him by his coach, making sure he kept to JVG's plan for a low post, physical monster, neglecting everything else in his game... Focusing on imposing his physical strengths against his opponents... banging with the big boys...

Maybe, just maybe... His career could've lasted a few more years... if JVG had allowed him to develop all areas of his talents... and diversified his gameplan for Yao... It certainly would have if he hadn't put on all that extra weight and made it his main weapon...

By the time Adelman got here, mechanical Yao had no clue how to do anything else... You do recall Yao's remarks about his uncertainty over Adelman's approach, uncertainty about how he could fit in with what his offense asks and allows from a big man...

 

My favorite Vajajay Spanakopita memory is his mom coming over to live with him and getting upset over the way JVG was handling him.

That and DaDakota becoming the first and only VOF.

 

That wasn't JVG - that was this magic thing called age and time.


Every single NBA player, particularly big men, goes through this transition - it's particularly accelerated when you're already pushing 300 lbs. Look at Shaq with the Lakers vs. as a rookie in Orlando - hell look at the rookie jumping/dunking/blocking Hakeem vs. the championship era hakeem. Different players. Different styles. Didn't have anythng to do with Bill Fitch vs. Rudy Tomjonavich or Brian Hill v. Phil Jackson.

Watchng Yao hit the occasional 3 pointer or make a no look pass doesn't really mean that he had some alternative path of turning into a 7-6 David Robinson - recall, he got crossed over and fell on his face by Stephon Marbury too - as well as outquicked by a number of different players as a rookie, because "fast for his size" does not equal "fast for the NBA". He went down the optimal path, and really the only one.

 

How terrible, he went from being a soft jump shooter who could throw some nifty passes to the most effective low-post scorer in the NBA.

 

You don't understand. he was going to be a 7-6 injury free up tempo gazelle if only JVG didn't ruin him by making him lift weights.