It also looks like he runs the pick and roll better than Rafer. Parker and Nash make it look so easy because they are quick and shifty, and VSpan seems to have a little of that going for him too. We are lucky to have him, and hopefully he can adapt to the NBA within a few months.
he has an uncanny ability to beat his defender, as many other posters have noted, but he needs to be able to either stop or change direction if people get position to draw a charge. if Qatar can draw 3+ charges from him, you can rest assured that NBA teams will have someone ready to do just that. but yeah, homeboy can break down the defense pretty well. his ballhandling in traffic was good, as well. solid 2nd-stringer. how tall is he? and how long are his arms? his arms look pretty short. i'm worried about him getting his shot blocked.
To me his biggest asset is his dribble penetration which allows him to either set someone else up (jumper) or set up his own shot on a drive. The Rockets have a lot of "stand around" shooter and not too many guys that can drive and dish and create. To me, the moment we lost out on Mike James (who offers the same thing) we turned to Vspan. Our offense is very stagnant when either Yao/Tmac are on the bench so having someone that is "fearless" and will attack the paint is huge. That's something that Rafer just doesnt do.
When I was in Greece over the summer I saw him play a little with his official Panathinaikos team. From what I remember he had a lot of turnovers, because he would do a lot of no-look passes. They where good passes, but sometimes his teamates would not see them, and it would result in a turnover. Also I think he led the league in the amount of charges he takes (somewhat of a flopper), but hes team always did better when he was on the floor.
Why do some people still say that his quickness is not that good. He always looks quick to me and every scouting report I have seen say's he is an excellent athlete. I don't know if this article has been posted yet but it comes from Draft Express. http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1437 It sounds like he has more than enough quickness to me.
Thanks a bunch for the clip, I like that both good and bad were displayed here. I've been a big V-Span guy for a year+ on here, but again we see that the quickness is OK for NBA-standards, but definitely below-average foot speed and jumping ability. I love the steal and flashy assist near the end of the clip, but the trailing defender caught up with him and may have forced the pass. The Rockets better put trailers out there with him. On the plus side, the enthusiasm and fearlessness will make it fun to watch him on the court. He shares alot of characteristics with Sura, but I don't see him grabbing quite as many boards. I picture V-Span as Sura with less rebounding and a bit better passing. And less fainting.
Yeah, I don't know what some people or looking at, it's like they want to support an opposing view for lack of a real opinion. Noone is saying he is Tony Parker,Chris Paul or even Rafer quick but he'll be able to get a step on most guards and that's plenty quick. Oh by the way I thought Draftexpress gave a very accurate assesment. Although the quotes,"He might not be mature enough to be a leader of such an experienced team yet" and " He will need to show that besides being talented, he is also a patient and stable role player" is not really accurate. He is a born leader who gets better every game. And the Greece coach understands this. So even though he still doesn't start he gets starters minutes and when the game is on the line he is in there. With the score tied 69-69 and 21 seconds left, the coach called the play for Spanu to take it to the basket and create something and that's exactly what he did. He drove the lane sucked in all the defenders and then passed out to a wide open Fotsis who missed the shot. And as for being a stable role player, he more than anyone else on hte Greece team sticks to the game plan. He does what is ask of him and always looks to pass first but won't hesitate to take advantage of an opening. In the end his teams always seem to play better when he is on the court and I don't know what more you could ask.
v-span may not be a better over all player then mike james. But i think he will have a better over all impact on the team then Mj would have.
There is a difference between lateral quickness and 1st step quickness. I was talking about 1st step quickness. On penetrating and getting around a defender, I think he'll be fine. Half of the issue isn't quickness, it's deception, which he does well.
Thanks for the video. I like his passing. He seems out of control when going full speed. There was this one or maybe two incidents in the clip where the timing of his pass actually put his mate in a bad situation. It would've been better if he went up and try to create contact and score, but it is FIBA not the NBA. His opponents are a bit timid on fouling, so I wonder how he'll react with an elbow to the chest in the NBA. He plays with a lot of heart and I think that's going to be appreciated and it's much needed. Overall, his stregth seems to complement rox weakness...as long as he is not injured.
I'll go out on a limb here and guess the author is referring to the quickness in which Span takes that first step and not the grace and style he displays when taking it. Ah it doesn't even matter... I don't need someone to tell me he has a nice first step. I can see it every game. But if there are still doubters let's see how he performs against one of the quickest NBA pg's, Barbosa in a couple of days.
I would venture to say that he is not close to rafers game yet, At point guard position anyway.Rafer has a superior handle, passing and NBA 3 point range. Span looks solid at level D competition but lets not get carried away.
Do you guys think JVG will cut him loose and let him penetrate if he thinks he can beat his man? I hope he does cause it doesn't seem like Rafer is let loose to do that. There were times where a scrub PG defender(most PG's in the league are bad defenders IMO) was guarding Rafer who he could take easily but he had to run the crappy play where Wesley comes off of a pick and bricks a shot. I know we don't think highly of Rafer but if he was able to abandon a play and penetrate every once in a while he would be more effective. I hope JVG cuts one of them or both loose so we can see what they have but then again our plays should be better this year now that we have some weapons and some health. I am sure we will employ the pick and roll with Battier and Rafer/Vspan so I am excited already. I think that is Rafer's game and it seems to be Vspan's as well. Maybe Yao will set some picks again like he did two years ago just to confuse the defense.
I can't say that i'm that overly impressed. To me, he just looks like a slower rafer. Don't get me wrong, he definitly has talent. He's got great ginobili-esque penetration skills and thats probably what caught the rockets' eyes. His finishing skills are seem to be suspect, will he be able to finish against the big 4's in the nba? If not than you need a good looking shot which he doesn't seem to possess. He is unselfish but a majority of his passes come from penetrating and throwing it out to the perimeter, rather than a pass that sets up his teamates for a high percentage shot. spot up 3s was a big weakness last year, hopefully battier changes that. Also, he heavily dominates the ball on his team. He is going to have to learn how to play off the ball, which lil lucas is great at. I think he is a great talent, but I really don't see the fit. As far as foreign guards go, it seems a player with a skillset of a sarunus would fit the rockets needs better. I hope he proves me wrong.
ok here are my two pezos! Like I said before, this guy will be huge for us...there's no doubt about that! His passing abilities I will not comment, you guys seen it... His shot, is probably his biggest weakness, the reason why he shoots like that is to get the most out of the shot....what he is trying to do is protect the ball during the release...he does not want to be blocked...again he is only about 6'3 - '4...on one side its good, on the other it sucks, because its not leveled. That means the ball could go easily right or left of the rim...you guys can try that and you will see how hard it is releasing a shot like that.... he definately needs to work on the release, I don't mind him jumping that high before the release, but the release itself sucks major ass.... he keeps the past very cool, this will have a great impact on yao to get setup for a shot...yao is not there to be runnin alstons fast past game...thats why alston will be our second man running the game when we need some fastbreak points.... did anyone notice how he takes charges...thats going to be also a big factor... man we got us a Atomic Bomb here he is 23/24, plays like a 28/29 old 6th year nba player... Thanks for the vid Spanoulis for President!
He is not a finished product. What does it take for people to get that? He will shoot better he will pass better he will play better and he will do that quicker than expected. How do I know that? Well I don't know for sure noone does. Their are more lottery pick busts than successes and he is a second round pick. That's why I have no respect for people who say this player will be a bust. Anyone can pick a rookie bust. Pick any player drafted this year and odds are you will be right. It doesn't take anything to do that. No go out on a limb and pick a winner amongst the losers and their you have something. And the reason I am willing to project that is not just his athletic ability but he has a winning history, every level he gets better. These WC's are a perfect example. He was expected to be a role player on a talented greek team and already he has surpassed that. And remember this is a young kid who has alot to learn but if you watch you will see him learn quickly and on the fly... by the end of the tournament he will be an improved player. And for those who say this is just level D competition well that is just dumb. our own USA with their NBA AllStars had their hands full with the level D puerto Rico team and hasn't won a WC or Olympics in a few years. So don't minimize the competition. So before you say this kid is a bust or is a role player at best or will never beat out Rafer. Maybe you could hold off on that talk and give the kid a chance to show his ability to succeed. He probably will.
