Is it athleticism, skill or the system you play in? Obviously you really need a certain amount of both athleticism and skill to play in the NBA. But I contend that in a lot of cases the system you play in is just as important. Even the situation you find yourself in can play a major roll in what kind of player you turn into. Some examples: Steve Nash – He was Jason Kidds back up in Phoenix for during his first 2 years in the league. Nelly and the Dallas Mavericks traded for him before his third year and his first two years in Dallas were anything but stellar due to injuries. Just when it looked like Steve Nash was not going to be anything but a scrub Robert Pack could not stay healthy and the rest is history. Nash was a very good PG in Dallas but became a multiple MVP playing in a different system in Phoenix. This is a combination where system and situation definitely helped Nash. Boris Diaw was nothing but a scrub in Atl for two seasons. Suddenly he gets traded to Phoenix and plays so well in a new system that the Suns barely miss a beat while Amare Stoudimire was injured. Steve Francis was a triple double threat almost every night in Houston. When he was with the Rockets playing in Rudy T’s iso offense the only real knock on the guy was his decision making. But the guy could flat out score, rebound and pass the rock. Since Rudy T has retired Francis has steadily gone down hill to the point that he has a hard time even getting on the court. DNP can be found by his name on a regular basis in the box score now. System and situation were perfect for him under Rudy T but not so good any more. Chauncy Billups is a guy that was just o.k. his first 5 years in the league. Suddenly he gets to Det and plays in Larry Brown’s system and the guy is considered one of the better PG’s in the league. He made stops in BOS, TOR, DEN and MIN before landing in DET…it’s highly unlikely he will be traded again anytime soon. So whats my point and why is this in the GARM instead of the NBA Dish? My point is that the Rockets have a lot of unknown commodities on the team. Some of these players may fit Adlemans system to perfection. This may be just the perfect situation for some of these guys. The 2 players I am most interested in finding out how they play under Adelman are Novak and VSpan. I think both of these players have a chance to play up to their strengths a lot more in the motion offense. I believe this offense will more closely resemble that which VSpan was used to playing in Greece. I here a lot about how we have little or no talent outside of Yao, TMac and Battier. But I also remember how almost everyone on this board thought we had the talent we needed to compete with the Suns, Mavs and Spurs going into last season. No one really believed Utah had better talent going into the season. When we got Bonzi the whole board went nuts thinking we had a legit shot this year. What a difference 1 year can make. It still pisses me off to think we could have had Mike James at the all star break plus Bonzi. I know Bonzi can play in this league and I also know he has played well for Adelman. I think MJ would have been our version of Bobby Jackson this year. Anyway I think there are several players on the team that can and will be very good NBA players if given a chance in the right system. Boki while not a star is starting to prove himself a very valuable NBA player. I shudder to think what most on this board would have thought of Peja after his rookie season if he had been a Rocket. I imagine he would have been viewed similar to Boki.
Wild guess, but I think SamFisher and some others would have been all over him, calling him Euro trash, citing the inferiority of foreign leagues and pointing at his abysmal shooting % as proof of his uselessness (see: VSpan). Year Team G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 98-99 SAC 48 1 21.4 .378 .320 .851 0.9 2.1 3.0 1.5 0.8 0.2 1.10 0.90 8.4 By the way, nice post, crash.
Im looking forward to seeing if Reafer can become a better player under Adelman if is still our starter. Look at what Bibby acomplished under Adelman and since Adelman. The overall BBIQ on this board went **** sometime after we drafted Ming. Most people here think we have to have allstars at every position. One word comes to mind when thinking of either of them. BAGAGE! This team needs to pick up some veteran players who new how to win. Players like Derek Fisher for instance. Look at what he has done for Utah. He would of been alot better pick up than either one of those guys. We keep picking up rejects and low bbiq players like Bonzi, Swift, Snyder, Francis and Griffin. When will we learn these type players are more miss than hit? I am optamistic that Adelman can have a positive effect on our younger players. Moreso than Gundy for sure. Heres to Novak and VSpan becoming allstars.
It would be nice, but I think even Adelman cannot do anything about the fact that Rafer just cannot shoot.
I would guess that he will seek to use Span's strengths rather than his weaknesses. In other words, probably not ask him to shoot 3 pointers but rather emphasize his ability to attack the basket. Durvasa, would it surprise you to know that V-Span shot better than Rafer did on 2pt baskets? V-Span shot .422% from 2pt range......to Rafer's .388% Stats for the year DD
The fact that Rafer Alston has been in the league for 7 years, so we probably have a pretty good idea of his ceiling. In Spanoulis' case, it is less clear, as he was a rookie last season. But I'm sure you could have figured this out.
Are those stats on the link you posted? I don't see anything other than FG% which has Rafer at 37.3% to V-Span's 32.4%. I think the most interesting stat on that link is which Rocket has the highest FG% - Chuck Hayes at 58%. (followed by Deke at 56%!) I guess its fair to say then that field goal percentage doesn't tell the whole story.
Compairing FG% between 2 players that have such a gap in attempts/minutes is kind of silly. VSpan didnt really get enough playing time accurately judge him. Hopefully Span and Reafer can both excell under Adelman.
I guess I just wouldn't describe Rafer as a player who "can't shoot." He was one of the league leaders in 3-pointers made overall, and he was one of the best 3-point shooters in the 4th quarter as well. He's a very poor finisher around the basket, but at least he's a threat from outside. I agree that he probably won't improve under Adelman. But it's not so much the shooting (Spanoulis is clearly a worse shooter), as it is the fact he's over 30 and he doesn't have much game inside the 3-point line.
how can you not say that all three have major influences in an nba player being a good one? even with skill a player may or may not be able to play well in a particular system. example A - Stormile Swift, he sucked for us because he has little bbiq but the guy has alot of athleticism and if he were traded to the suns he would most likely prosper. without much skill you aren't going to be able to contribute to the team that your one but you don't have to have just shooting skill just a skill that you possess that's better than the rest, example hayes - the guy can't shoot free throws to save his life but he has energy and can rebound. athleticism always helps in being a good player but as you can see from yao you don't need much to dominate if your 7'6. i think you have to have a mixture of all three in order to flourish as an NBA player, not knocking on samfisher or anyone else whos picked just one of those answers, how can you not say that the type of system you play for doesn't contribute to how well you can play? turning someone into a spot up 3pt shooter instead of letting him post up will effect his game and mentality.
Hindsight is 20/20 my man. I would've called Peja's rookie season trash and rightly so, so I'm not even going to go into V-span's rookie season. Respect that he has passion and heart, too bad it hasn't resulted in anything yet. I'd be one of the first to delight if he had a Monta Ellis-like turnaround. He clearly hasn't. They only say you have potential if you've done nothing so far.
If you think Rafer is a "threat from outside" you are dead dead dead wrong. Sure, he is at the league average in terms of %, but teams leave him WIDE OPEN for his shots. Yes, he has hit many 3s, but he attempts 7 per game. If you look at the statistics for our 3pt gunners past and present(Sura, Barry, Battier, James) you will find that every single one of them had big jumps in 3pt % after coming to the Rockets. Wide open 3s are in abundance here, and our 3d leading shottaker is Alston who is Ryan Bowen inside the 3pt line, and barely average behind it. We're not gonna beat the elite with him.
There is truth in your words about making an apples to apples comparison. However, I think there is enough data about Rafer to know he is not that great of a player. DD
Golly gee, a thread turns into an exclusive Spanoulis discussion. The grass isn't always greener (or browner).
Boris Diaw is OK. He plays like a b****. He's very soft. Steve Nash is the MV3...thats why he looks good. trust...
