You basically pointed out everything that I came into this thread to point out so I have nothing much to add. We are 5 years into this guy's career and he is just now starting to show the flashes of why he was drafted number 15. The real tragedy here in my opinion is that we didn't take Tayshaun Prince with that pick. I bet that he wouldn't have gotten traded because he was able to knock down open shots and play defense at a much higher level, attributes that JVG looks for in players to surround T-Mac and Yao. Boki was extremely inconsistent both years he was here. You could tell he had talent but he didn't knock down open shots very well and his much ballyhooed slashing ability often resulted in missed layups. I don't know, I'm happy to see that he actually is starting to be a decent player considering we have a history of drafting guys with high picks like Bryce Drew and Mirksad Turskan or however you spell his name. Guys who aren't even in the league. Good for him but I will go on record as saying that if it is going to take V-Span or Novak 5 years to finally start being a good player than I'm all for trading them ASAP for players that can help us win right now.
Did it take 5 years for him to develop or did it take 5 years before he was finally in the right situation to develop?
what am i trying to argue? well, if you read some of the posts you would notice a few saying that boki's performance was indicative of his overall consistent ability. my point is that it came off of wide open shots due to doubles of carter, and that his points didn't come off of our defensive focus.
option two in order to fully develop you have to give the guy the right tools time, patience and believe, I mean you can see who has talent and who doesn't
The Rox routed the Nets, GREAT! Boki had a big nite, good for him. I'm fine with that as it was during a blow-out.
Eh, maybe but the NBA is all about fitting into somebody's system. There are plenty of talented basketball players out there who just can't or won't play the way they are asked to play so they don't make it. They don't just roll out the ball and say score and get a man on defense. That is just how it is. You have to adjust and you have to make it work. Like take Billups for example. He always had the skills but he didn't understand the game like he does right now. It took him several years to develop into the player that you see right now. You can't just blame it all on his situation or the system. He had to grow as a player as well. That said, some systems definitely fit some guys better than others but the really good players can play in any style and this is in no way an attempt to bash Boki. I think that the Boki that we see right now could possibly come back here and succeed in our halfcourt set just like he is succeeding in New Jersey's uptempo motion offense because he is just a flat out better and more confident player now than he was 5 years ago. He got pretty decent minutes in NO but at the end of the day he was just extremely streaky.
interesting question would be, what if we took Boki at #1 and Yao at #15 ...... I bet you if boki sucked, he'd still be on the team.... I will always be a Boki fan where every he goes... =) as also with Steve Francis!
Should have just stopped there. Too bad JVG didn't know how to cultivate his talent, nor utilize his skillset correctly. And you are inaccurate in your assessment before being traded to the Hornets Boki was shooting..... .476% from 3pt range. Sure he was struggling inside the stripe but his 3pt shooting was very good in Houston his last year. Not to mention .3 turnovers a game....WOOOOHOOO that is a lot, right? Boki stats DD
Actually I believe the trade was Jim Jackson for David Wesley with Boki thrown in to make salaries match. And the team was NOT going to win it all that year, it was obvious...should have been building for the next few years. DD
On the "alleged Boki snub of Mac", after further review, it looked like BOki did not see Mac extending a helping hand. Mac reacted rather too quickly. In the replay video, Boki was clutching for a hand but he missed Mac's hand twice unitentionally (it seemed). Mac, it looks, just overreacted. All is well nonetheless.
LOL, yes we should tank every year anytime there is any doubt as to whether or not there is a championship shot. Yes that 50 something win season was nothing compared to the majesty of waiting three years for Nachbar to be able to hit a jumper as a backup for a mediocre Nets team that is competing with the Knicks for the 9th playoff seed.
Nachbar would be the 6th man on this team EASILY and yet the vast majority of fans are "so glad" he is gone. What a joke. Actually right now Nachbar is worth more in a trade than anyone on this team other than Yao, T-Mac, Battier, and if he keeps this up through the rest of the year and playoffs, he will be worth more than Battier as well. There are a lot of fans that have been warped by JVG ball. They no longer understand that there is more to the game than "system" basketball and that JVG picks and chooses his players and anyone he doesn't want for whatever reason he sets them up to fail. It really is shocking to me that only 1 out of about 10 Rockets fans can grasp this.
I understand this point of view and I consider it correct. Added to it JVG just won't coach/develop anyone who is not already proficient at the NBA Game. As much as I like JVG I must say that in this instance he has not helped the Rockets because of his win now philosophy.
Maybe I'm just totally blind, but I didn't see this posted yet: NY Times on Nachbar A Highlight-Reel Dunk Shows How Far Nets’ Nachbar Has Risen By JOHN ELIGON HOUSTON, March 9 — Nets forward Bostjan Nachbar slashed down the middle of the lane, launched himself toward the rim and, before anyone could react, his knees were dangling in the face of Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert. Nachbar had nearly jumped over one of the league’s best shot blockers to throw down a one-handed dunk Sunday that earned him the top billing on highlight reels and had his teammates screaming in disbelief. Among those teammates was guard Eddie House. “Everybody assumes white men can’t jump,” House said before the Nets practiced here Thursday. “But he can jump. He’s an athlete, has a lot of size, and there you have it.” That play was perhaps the defining moment of Nachbar’s fifth N.B.A. season, which may prove to be a breakout year. Nachbar, who is from Slovenia, is showing that he is more than a spot-up shooter. He is displaying explosiveness toward the rim and showing the versatility of a slasher, the qualities that led the Houston Rockets to draft him in 2002. “In Europe, I was never designated just as shooter or just as slasher or just as one thing,” Nachbar said. “I think I was just designated as a forward who could shoot, drive and pass.” When the Nets played the Rockets here Friday night, Nachbar hoped to show the Houston fans more than he did in his time here. Nachbar’s best numbers with the Rockets were in his second season, when he averaged 3.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.7 assists. A month into his third season, he was traded to the Hornets. He joined the Nets in a midseason trade last season, a deal the Nets made primarily to save money. Nachbar said that his disappointing play in Houston was the result of his own deficiencies and the system he was playing in. As a rookie, he played for Rudy Tomjanovich, who left after the season. Jeff Van Gundy took over, and Nachbar had problems adjusting. If Tomjanovich never left Houston, Nachbar said, his career might have gone differently. Under Van Gundy, “I don’t think I was used the right way,” said Nachbar, adding that he had no bitter feelings toward Van Gundy. “I think they were trying to make me a different kind of player than I really was,” Nachbar said. “They were looking for somebody who is a tough-minded defender, who is only a spot-up shooter, who is not going to try to create something for himself, who’s going to make no mistakes, basically. As a rookie and as an inexperienced player, that was pretty tough for me. It didn’t work out.” Van Gundy, while praising Nachbar, said he did not feel the system contributed to Nachbar’s inconsistency in Houston. “Good players play well, average players play average, bad player play bad,” Van Gundy said in a telephone interview. “Now, he’s getting to do it all.” This season, Nachbar, who is 6 feet 9 inches and 221 pounds, has developed into one of the Nets’ best reserves. He was averaging 8.2 points and 3.2 rebounds through Thursday. He has matched or passed his previous career high in scoring, 21 points, four times. He had scored in double digits in five of the Nets’ previous eight games, including a career-high 26 points against the Toronto Raptors last month. In that stretch, he shot 54.2 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from 3-point range. Nachbar’s penchant for attacking the basket has been the most startling aspect of his rise to prominence. His first step is a blur, and he never seems hesitant when he rises to the basket. Maurizio Gherardini is familiar with those scenes. He was the president of the Italian club Benetton Treviso when Nachbar played there and is now an assistant general manager with the Raptors. “Boki’s an unbelievable athlete,” Gherardini, referring to Nachbar by his nickname, said in a telephone interview. “If you let him jump, he can fly out of the gym. He’s one of the greatest jumpers I’ve ever had on any of my teams.”
My only response to that is, a wide open shot is a wide open shot. You either hit it or you don't. He was not hitting open shots while he was here. Let's forget everything else - if he had been able to make open shots, he would've gotten playing time. At least that's my guess.
