THis is a little random but has anyone seen how BOKI has been playin this preseason? From his stats he hasnt looked to bad. Today so far he's played 4 minutes with 11 pts.
Rafer is NOT a starting point guard Period- with or without V-SPAN. He consistently gets beat by the faster PG's and his shot is really suspect. But for the situation we had- Rafer on a championship caliber team will have to come off the bench. I am happy at least now we are talking about competition at a particular spot- competition is good. But in his defense he is nowhere near JHO status!
Rip and Chauncy do pretty well. but neither are anything close to superstars. Kidd and Carter are also good, but both have seen better years. Marbury and Francis are a joke without the punchline; i.e. they won't see too much time on the floor together. Pippen was practically a point guard on some of those Bulls' teams. the last example of a HOF championship backcourt i can think of is Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe. then again, the Pearl was shackled as soon as he arrived in New York.
whoa.... why all the negativity towards rafer he's shooting less b/c he doesn't have to he's like 50% from 3 and overall so far averaging like 8 pts pushes the ball well/gets team set up well he's not a turnstile on defense (despite what some of yall are claiming) and he's a VETERAN, u know, the kind JVG likes sure VSpan has loads of potential, and he's looking very promising, but lets not jump the gun and say he's ready to take rafer's starting spot this season
He's our Steve Nash~ Would like to see him play some Pick and Roll with Yao, that should be pretty scary for the opponents.
Trust me when I say I'm not knocking his overall game, which I've been rather impressed with the past 2 games, but goodness that shot is ugly. He puts his feet so close together he almost looks like he's going to lose his balance. One of the first fundamental things you learn about shooting a basketball is to get your feet set at a good width (usually shoulder width). He also shoots by relying way too much on the strength of his arms, not his legs. Another blatant mistake in the art of shooting. Someone really needs to work with him on that, and if they can eventually get him to the point where his shooting is no longer a liability (or maybe even becomes an asset) he will be a very scary matchup on the offensive end. But right now, I think that's holding him back considerably.
I made the same observations. There is no doubt his shooting mechanics will improve now that he's in the NBA. This is why he can't hit the NBA 3, because it's extremely difficult to hit from that distance with only the strength in your arms. Once this guy's shot is more polished, and his experience allows him to cut down a turnover or two per game, we are looking at a super solid piece. I love his mentality... He's exactly the kind of warrior (mentally aggressive) you find on championship teams. Like Mario Elie, Otis Thorpe, Gary Payton, Zo, Jordan. With every game that passes, I'm more and more impressed with the front office's offseason make over. Great job.
We have the next Steve Nash !!! This is a guy who you pay the price of admission to go see. I am not ready to shift over the MVP award yet. But if that exhibition last night did not get you excited - nothing will.
I live in Dallas and watched all the Nash vs. Robert Pack debate when he 1st came to Dallas. I remember when Nash could not stay healthy and when Dallas almost gave up on him before he became good. Nash is with out a doubt a runner and a gunner but he has never been a pesky defender the V-Span seems to be. As a matter of fact Nash has never been even a decent defender...not in Dallas and not in Phoenix. The only resemblance at all that I see in V-Span and Nash is the fact that they both push the ball hard and both like to drive to the basket. V-Span does not have the little floater that Nash loves to use nor does he seem to have any of circus type shots under the goal that Nash does several times a game. Nash is not nearly as physical as V-Span seems to be but his outside shot is light years ahead of V-Spans. When I compare V-Span to a cross between Allen Level and Bob Sura I am comparing him to Point Guards. Level always was a point guard and Sura was a point guard when he played for the Rockets. V-Span is a better passer than Sura was and looks to be a more natural point guard than Sura but his hard nosed style of play, his size, athleisism and pesky defensive style all remind me of Sura. Like Sura he plays at one speed and that is all out all of the time.
Good and accurate commentary. I would add this. Because of his strength and the fact that Nash is anything but, VSpan's style of finishing around the bucket is to get an inch of space by creating a little bit of contact and then floating up the shot as the defense falls back or flies by. VSpan has that ability to hang in the air and get the shot off. While it is not as pretty or creative as Nash's dipsy doodles in the lane, it is very effective. The area where he most resembles Nash is with the left hand passes and the high degree of accuracy with those passes, being able to put them right on the shooters shooting in the perfect position to put up the shot.
If he can develop a decent shot, and learn how to balance between letting go and stepping on the pedal, he will be at least become a very very solid player, with hopes of becoming a premier one. I think when it breaks down to it, its his attitude that is the difference maker. I think this guy is very mature mentally, and it will take him a long way in this league.
I remember watching the Mavs 5-6 years ago and they had this skinny Aussie who couldn't shoot worth a darn. Bricks, air balls, passes into the stands - I'm thinking, this guy will be back in Sydney next year. Long story short - you know the rest. Steve Nash went from all-scrub to All Star. Don't know whether or not Vspan's career path is comparable, but I think we ought to give him a chance.
I remember watching the Suns with him and KJ and thinking that if they would trade KJ, they could get a huge asset and Nash could be the starting point and be just as good as KJ.
