I agree 110%....to me, from what ive seen of spanoulis, in my opinion he is our best defensive guard without a doubt. he may not have an outside shot, but neither does rafer! spanoulis is a physical guard, he's played in big games before overseas, and its time to get him at least 10 to 15 mins. i feel he can bring the same energy and tenacity as maybe bob sura did a couple yrs ago. van gundy says the team has no heart....well, put in guys who have been dying to get on the court!! part of the blame has to be put on van gundy....he has novak sitting on the bench, v-span, kirk snyder. those guys may not be matt harpring, but they all have some type of skill that can be utilized.....juwan howard is giving u nothing....novak will at least be a threat to knock down a 3, spanoulis will bring energy and defense, and snyder can slash to the rim....why not use these guys??
if u wanted vspan to have an impact on this team in the playoffs, u should have called for this in the regular season. It is not vspan time, and it will not be vspan time as long as this season progresses.
I did not say that read my previous comments... I think JVG is not using Luther correctly, he puts too much pressure on Alston and Battier is not offensive enough
I would play him just to throw a different look at Williams. V-Span is the best defender out of our PG's.
Nobody's talking about playing him long minutes. Just a few minutes when Tmac is on the bench. He would work fine with Yao on the court. Yao can't take it on the low block every play. You have to mix it up to keep them guessing at least a little. Plus Vspan makes a great entry pass and when he drives he can find the open man better than anyone not named Tmac. The kid is a winner and has ice in his veins. Something lacking from some of the other guys. To me it's a no brainer but of course we have a coach with No-Brain er.
Spanoulis>JL3 when Head aint hitting shots Spanoulis>Head in this sereis Spanoulis>Snyder real freaking simple
Utah is closing out the shooters too. Don't forget that. They are a playoff team and one of the top 7 teams in the whole league. They can beat anybody in the East save for possibly Detroit and they may be able to beat them. So, sure they are clogging the paint. And they are closing out the shooters. That's why quickness is a premium here. And if they are going to lay in Yao's lap, all the more reason to have a small, quick point that can take it to the rim and use Yao as a convenient pick.
I do not think that VSpin will play. JVG said in the chron.com he will paly the same players he has used before. It means Head, Howard, and Derk, already 8, not anything more, I guess.
I have already said some minutes would be fine with me, just that I wouldn't count on giving him more minutes as being a huge difference maker at this point... for various reasons stated by me and others previously... and think it could be detrimental in some ways. I agree with what you posted, though, save for the last line, and I'm sure we just agree to disagree on that one. Regardless, bashing JVG really isn't constructive at this point.
I'm sure you'll agree (well, somewhat sure) that at this point (i.e. through the success of the Jazz in the last two games) they seem content making things tough on the stars, and daring the rest of the team to beat them. So far they have not. yes, they are pressuring the whole team well, but you know my point. Our game plan works best with a supporting crew of perimeter shooters hitting open shots. Still waiting for that... but... yeah, anyway. If they're in Yao's lap, chances are they're comfortably in the paint. This makes things harder when considering VSPAN's potential to help. That's all I'm saying. I'm not contending that he has no place, or that he couldn't be useful. I'm merely saying that I don't think he is THE difference maker RIGHT NOW... part of it is how our team operates as a whole... and part of it is because of who got minutes throughout the season, regardless of why that is. I still have faith in the rotation, and expect them to come around. Might not happen, but I like the chances. Maybe if Vspan DOES get a few minutes, he can parley that into more time to shine later. I think we all agree, that would be a good thing. But right now? I'm still not sold on the idea that the time is now (see thread title.)
at this point in the season... if JVG put's vspan in... you know that JVG is giving up. Cause it's too late to put him in now... should have done it a little more over the season.
that is right, in vg's system, I hope he plays in games where the rox are the ones blowing people out. fine, vspan may help, but to say that he will play is pretty much a foregone conclusion. Those of you who absolutely despise VG, sorry, but no go for vspan.
Here's what they are doing. They are doubling 111 when they receive the ball, forcing the ball out, then they are attacking the perimeter shooters. It's very simple. You need somebody on the perimeter that can upfake and take the ball to the hole off the throw outs. We ain't got it with Rafer and Luther out there. I personally think that Luther is going to still have a tough series. Rafer can get his shot off a little bit quicker, but he is not accurate. He's about due for a good shooting game after the first 4 subpar performances. That's the way he runs, about 4 games off, 1 game on. So, Rafer is due for about a 6 for 10 shooting night with 4 for 7 from distance, to bring his numbers back up to the 38% range from the field. I don't think Luther is going to be able to improve. The one guy they are keying on after 111 is Luther. They know he can shoot it and they ain't giving him time. They are forcing him to put the ball on the floor. As long as Rafer is shooting poorly, they ain't going to adjust anything on him. They'll gladly let him jack as long as he is shooting 33% from the field and 30% from 3. If he starts to heat up, look for them to swing out on him and try to force the ball to Howard or Battier. Bottom line is Rafer and Howard ain't hitting their shots and they are one trick ponies. It's too bad we don't have a guy that can hit the 3 and drive to the basket and finish like Boki. But he just wasn't good enough when he was here. And it's too bad VSpan can't hit the 3 ball. Of course, if he could hit the 3 ball, then he would be earning about $10 million per and we couldn't afford him. So, we are stuck watching Juwan clang that line drive off the front of the iron and watching Rafer helplessly, hopelessly misfire time and again. If your offense is predicted on shooters hitting shots off the kickouts, you've got to have shooters that can shoot it. Otherwise, you get bogged down, just like what we have gotten. In the playoffs, the team that takes the ball to the basket best usually wins. And I think that ultimately will determine this series right here. Whichever team is the most aggressive driving the ball to the rim will win it. You can analyze about turnovers all you want. But when your starting point guard is shooting 33% from the field, and less than 30% from the 3 point line and is putting up less than 1 point per shot, well, I don't mind a few turnovers if we can get to the rim, collect fouls and free throws, and get in the bonus early and force the defense to adjust to stop the penetration.
He was pretty good, that pass between the legs to Howard was sick. Can't belive Juwan made the lay in.
Spanoulis wont get a chance in houston unless we get a new coach, i think JVG has a personal grudge against him and if Sapnoulis leaves houston i think he will kick ass and make houston fans feel like **** cause we got rid of him
Rafer and Howard came around. I hope they keep it up, because I hear what you, and others, are saying, but I had faith they'd play better, statistically speaking. And play better they did, undeniably... as did others. They were mostly due. Even Head hit a couple of clutch baskets after getting booed early in the game more than once. I was thinking "That won't be good for him now" but JVG stuck with him and he improved. Go figure. I like Vspan as much as anyone, (well, maybe not ANYONE but I think he's good and I was glad we got him) and I'd like him to have gotten, or to get, more time... but i still stand by my posts (Do I have a choice? ) I must commend you on your verbosity jpotmac, don't know if you were going over the top to repay me or if you just roll that way, but I laughed either way. Good points all. I always try to keep my posts short... but... well.. you see. It almost never happens.
