I don't mean to single you out, but what is with the need of people to "scape-goat" players all of the time? Do you think they are going to win every game? Are people around here such perfectionists in their own lives that they demand greatness from everybody else? I don't get it. As a Rockets fan, I'm damned *proud* of what they've shown the last two nights.
This thread is hysterical. Some of you will find anything to whine about. We're without our 2 best players and still pushed the Suns to the limit. And what do you do? Whine about which scrub or backup player should be shooting. LOL. JVG is doing fine. The record proves it. The record while not having one or both of his best players demands you acknowledge it... I think before tonight's game they would be #1 in every division in the NBA except this one and the Suns' division. Surprise. They lost to the team winning this division and the Suns - arguably 2 of the 3 best teams in the NBA. They lost without TMac and Yao in one barely... they lost without Yao in the other. I, for one, am proud of this team - the rest of y'all can keep whining about which scrub should be shooting and how it's JVG's fault the Titanic sank.
The guy comes off the bench into a game to score. If you think he's put into the game to be a distributing PG, I think you'll find yourself seeing he passes very little. I believe JVG must ask that of him (to look to score), otherwise, we wouldn't see him play at all.
Agreed...but he bricks an aweful lot and is not a good passer. When rafer and lucas drives...you know where the ball's going. The only thing he has going for him is his speed and energy.
I am proud of the team effort as well but I do find JL3's play unreasonable. He went 1 against 5 for most of time he was on the floor, not to mention Suns ability to run fastbreak, it is simple wrong as we all know it takes 5. Right now he looks like a cancer to the team, can not get others involved in the offense, can not execute defense, can not shoot/rebound... Nobody blames him for the lose but I think most people are not thrilled by Jl3's play. Now, am I still wrong...?
That might be true, but then his shot selections were awful, I mean, against Suns, do not try to shoot the ball when the clock is still at 20/19, when none of your teammates were there to fight for a rebound, that is common sense right? Also, JVG might ask him to shoot more, but that doesn't mean he should not pass to others at all.
This is where you have to realize he is not a starting point guard. If he could do all the things you state above reasonably well, he could be. You're expecting him to be all those things and if he were, he would start ahead of Rafer. Before last night's game, I think he was shooting 45% (?) from the field. Were you saying he was a decent shooter before last night's game? Are you wrong? Of course not, he didn't play great last night. But you are wrong if you're saying he should be all those things right now. He's not and may never be, hence he's not an NBA starter at the moment.
JL III has had many good games, one game that didn't live up to the standards we hoped for with a squad that struggles with offense when neither T-mac nor Yao are on the floor, doesn't prove he isn't a good pg or anything else. It certainly doesn't erase the contributions he has made to this team this season. Rafer had a really good game last night. That doesn't mean that everyone who ever voiced a criticism of his shooting is all of a sudden wrong.
Well, not that he is not an NBA starter right now, I actually think he shouldn't play all these minutes, we shouldve played Bill, at least the guy who gets the potential and MAY develop, whileas with JL3 you get nothing but a couple of meanless points with the risk of hurting the team chemistry when hes on floor. For all the things I mentioned, defense, get others involved in offense, etc, I prefer Bill miles ahead of JL3 even considering his TO problems.
Likewise, I was just as proud of the collective effort. I wasn't trying to lay the blame on this loss at the feet of players. I was pointing out that to think that one guy blew this game for us is ridiculous. It's freakin asinine. Lucas did fine and I was glad to see him on the floor. His speed helped us match up better. I thought he had a great game. Yet, everyone seems to ignore the fact that it wasn't just JL3 that was going mason in the fourth quarter. NO ONE, could throw it in the ocean. It certainly didn't help that our key offense since Yao went down (Howard, Head) were just as impotent. Thence, we lose. We weren't supposed to win. We had a CHANCE to win but to beat the second best team in the league without your all-stars you have to be perfect. We were no where near that but still hustled forcing turnovers uncharacteristic of Phoenix. I still feel this squad could beat some teams. As long as JVG forces these guys to defend we'll be in the conversation like we were last night. But again, lets be happy with what we got and not with what we didn't see. The order was too tall.
Oh, don't misunderstand me. I think he's far too selish on the floor actually. I wish he would look to pass sometimes. It seems like he's never looking to pass. I'm just referring to some of the comments like he's not doing his job as a distribution style PG. I don't think that's his game, and I don't think that's what is asked of him. BUT...he needs to open his eyes/game up, and realize he can do some damage by setting his teammates up with his ability to drive.
I've thought that a time or two, on the benching thing. At times there's "JVG guys" out there making bad plays and time and time again are not playing effective winning ball (Juwan until recent, Rafer), and are left out there to either work it out and keep doing their crap, cuz they got his 'trust'. Then others like Novak and Spanoulis especially have a shooort short leash, or no leash at all. Frustrating sometimes cuz Spanoulis and Novak aren't the usual 11th and 12th Rocket's men who should never see time on the court. These guys actually have ability to contribute on a team if used properly. Can't forget what's gotten Lucas into the games more - Rafer suckin. Everyone saw a need for a guard who could go in and hit some shots because Rafer was bricking badly. Lucas was really the only guard to step up and make some baskets. Besides sometimes Head at the point, who the heck else was an option outside of Rafer to hit shots? I got upset with Lucas's shot selection at the end of the Suns game but in the short term he was at least a decent change of pace guy
I thought he was just fine. Van Gundy kept him in during crunch-time for a reason, beyond mere matchup considerations; at least he tries to keep the defense honest off the dribble, which is more than I can say for Luther at the moment. It's just a shame he couldn't bury those threes in the last 5 minutes of the game, ALL of which were in the rhythm of the offense. I will say this- it's always strange to me how he has to penetrate. Rafer Alston is very underrated in this area, and despite Lucas' apparent quickness advantage, it's clearly more difficult for him to create space. Maybe it's just his size- quicker feet, but a shorter stride. Any rationale person has to be optimistic after that performance. They kept the crowd in it- something, in the absence of a draw like McGrady, that involves more than just competitiveness- and they did a fairly good job of disrupting the ability of a team more capable than any in the league at dictating tempo: a carry-over success from the Mavs game. As a side-note: Bonzi Wells can put up shots so selfish you almost have to laugh, but he's still an efficient offensive player that could have won that game for the Rockets if Van Gundy's ego would just admit to his talent.
Based upon what do you prefer VSpan miles ahead of JL3? He's a horrific shooter, has been turnover prone, misses defensive assignments, etc. JL3 has done well enough for a backup until this last game. VSpan has done jack in the minutes he got earlier. JL3 deserves to play more, which ain't saying much. Is this "potential" only realized in-game? I mean seriously. Can "potential" not be seen in practice? In demeanor? In what coaches see behind the scenes? Hell even Novak admitted he needs to learn the offense. Or are fans the only ones that see this "potential" in VSpan? I remember the outcry over letting Boki go. Yeah Boki's still got potential. I remember how JVG was ripped by some for letting EG go for nothing. Yeah, check out that potential. I remember people blamed JVG in his feud (or seeming feud) with Steve Francis and Francis should be unleashed and not be turned into a "tamed" point guard. Yeah, Steve's exploded since he left here - boy, there's that potential again. JVG has done a great job with this team. The team played great against arguably the two best teams in the league while undermanned. I'll say it again... this team rocks and the coach is doing fine with what he has. Right now I'm hoping the fact he didn't lose faith in Rafer has allowed Rafer to turn a corner with this last game. We'll see, because if Alston can turn it around, he's more than enough of a PG for this team to win.
Because he has never gotten into shape and because of injuries, Bonzi has been anything but efficient on the court this season. He has the capability of playing efficiently but he has not done it for us yet.
