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Papanikolaou: Bounce Passing

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by ghettocheeze, Nov 5, 2014.

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  1. Mathloom

    Mathloom Shameless Optimist

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    I think he could use a bit more oomph behind his passes, but my feeling is that it has a lot to do with training - both technical and strength training. He'll get better at this over time.

    Meanwhile, a bounce pass can land perfectly in a player's hands without them having to lean down. Papa seems to have this technique down nicely. Obviously a straight pass would be better, but that's exactly why teams defend against them more zealously.
     
  2. FeaR

    FeaR Member

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    He won back to back euroleague titles, so he is for sure experienced but i don't believe that there are a lot of euro players ready to contribute right away. Some players adjust faster than others. My expectations for him was always to be a good bench player. No team gave him the freedom to play like that except for Rockets. When(IF) he finds his range, will be rather entertaining.
     
  3. john rapto

    john rapto Member

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    Greetings from greece. Hey guys, don't worry too much about how he passes. All that matters is that he helps the team win the game. When he's on the court he's not a liability. Who cares if his passes bounce?Howard doesn't seem to mind!;)
     
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  4. msn

    msn Member

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    our first POF?

    I kid, I kid!
     
  5. Akkuron

    Akkuron Member

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    Funny that you mention it, but so far all new Greek member that have popped up in the forums have been either level-headed for the most part, or more reserved in their praise (sometimes even critical) than everyone else. Lack of hype is serving Pap well.
     
  6. T_Man

    T_Man Member

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    Man I hope not... Really don't want a repeat of LOF..

    T_Man
     
  7. SemisolidSnake

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    I've been very impressed with his court awareness and passing. He's made several great dump-offs to a wide-open Dwight after drawing two defenders on a drive. He had a great pass behind him on a fast break the other day that led to a wide-open three. Every other Rocket I can think of in the past two seasons either takes that ball straight to the basket contested or tries a congested pass, often stolen, to another man in front of him on the break. Any weakness or awkwardness in some of his passes will go away as he gets more comfortable in the league.

    It takes two, though, and let's give Dwight the credit he certain deserves for being able to smoothly receive a tight wraparound bounce pass in the lane and go straight up for the dunk. That was the number one thing that drove me nuts about Asik: you had to present him a perfect pass like that (no bounce passes) and then hope to God he didn't put it on the floor or try to lay it up instead of dunking it. That just further limited him to being an offense nothing for us. This new Pap + Dwight combo on driving plays could give us an excellent additional weapon with which to carve up the other teams. I hope those two continue to fine tune it.
     
  8. Time Out

    Time Out Member

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    Hi guys iam one of those new level headed greek guys popping up now that Kostas is part of the Rox ;)..
    i have to say the way u guys treat kostas throwing your support behind him, even after games he clearly played far below expectations(see celtics game),is remarkable. Where i come from a player goes from hero to zero and back again in a blink of an eye amd everything he might had accoplished up to that point seize to exist..as u can immagine thats something that can weight down on a players psyche blocking his confidence and putting him on the backfoot not really knowing where he s standing ,but the way u go about your buisness giving him the time needed and excusing due to his lack of top level NBA grade plays,new team mates ,new country ,regulationes playing style and inexperience iam pretty sure you soon going to reap the rewards of his game ..
    go rox and keep believing boys he not going to let you down..
    BORN TO BE RED
    OLYMPIAKOS & ROX
     
  9. Granville

    Granville Member

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    There will be no Pap Smearing up in here.
     
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  10. chenjy9

    chenjy9 Numbers Don't Lie
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    Having had our share of foreign players, we are painfully aware what a challenge it is to translate one's game to the fast paced NBA level. It is especially challenging for players who were top dogs on their teams being regulated to bench warmers coming in. Some people are cut out for it (Dirk, Beverley, K-Papa) and others are not (Zhi, Vspan). It takes time to adjust and nearly all of us are ecstatic at the quick adjustments we are already seeing from K-Papa who continues to prove he is a remarkably intelligent basketball player.

    The vast majority of us view the game beyond box score, especially for newer players. Only stupid fans who are blinded by glitzy stat lines may be upset at KP. The rest of us sees the intelligence, courage, and vision that he plays with. He is rarely out of position defensively. He is good about helping when needed. He makes great passes, especially off penetration or to the open shooter or waiting big. He shoots when he should, even when he is missing (this takes a lot of courage in a new, high level environment). All in all, he is a very promising player that at least gives you great consistent effort in areas of the game that are otherwise under appreciated. Shots will eventually fall for shooters. There is a lot of games in left in this new season for his stroke to adjust. I am sure he will turn out to be a very good glue player!

    By the way, welcome to our community!
     
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  11. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    The 3 early pocket passes from Kostas to Dwight in the Miami game were beautiful. Clearly, they've been working on that in practice, and clearly those pocket passes aren't something KP picked up after joining the Rockets. A bounce pass can be made from any reasonable distance. A pocket pass is when the players are close, and typically you're crowded by the opposition, who can be between the passer and the target, and they're usually in the paint, around the basket (not always, of course), one of the things that makes them both hard to pull off, CP is great at it, and beautiful to watch when they work. That's always been how I viewed those passes, anyway. And it was obvious to me that it flustered the Miami defense. I've been intending to watch at least parts of that game again, and one of the things I'd look for is how the Heat adjusted. KP and Big D should have had more of those during the game, so the "bad guys" had to have made an adjustment.

    Papanikolaou is a natural passer. Some players, as we've all seen over the years, are excellent instinctive playmakers. Kostas is one of them. As others pointed out, he'll only improve as he gets used to the caliber of play in the NBA. I love the guy. He's The Natural, and will only get better, in my humble opinion. What a score by Morey!
     
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  12. Jimes

    Jimes Member

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    POFs are the opposite of LOFs. Mostly downplaying him and asking for expectations to not be too high. Doubt we'll see many POHs.
     
  13. SwoLy-D

    SwoLy-D Member

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    Why are you trying to put Yao down? He was a good passer. STFU, youngster. :eek:

    OMG OMG OMG OMG, it's NOT?!?!? :eek:
     
  14. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Member

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    There is videos of Papa passing?
     
  15. Zbed

    Zbed Member

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    I don't care of there are POFs because Papa is actually good and contributes.
     
  16. vator

    vator Member

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    Batkins' highlight video. Starting around the 27 second mark. Then from around 55 seconds to 1:30 is a nice little stretch of passes. Then 5:32.

     
    #36 vator, Nov 6, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2014
  17. Rokman

    Rokman Member

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    Everyone say it with me ..... PARSONS WHO?


    Ariza / Papa are BOTH solid replacements for Parsons. Love our 3 rotation and we still have Garcia.
     
  18. sugrlndkid

    sugrlndkid Member

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    Players in the Euro leagues dont play above the rim as much... So hence why DMo and Kostas excel at the drop pass...which imo is perfectly fine as along as the person receiving the pass can catch it. So far, there hasnt been much of an issue. These same passes wouldve been very difficult with Asik. Also by attacking the rim, he seemingly draws away Dwight's defender on a consistent basis...leaving a relatively easy layup/dunk for Dwight
     
  19. kemah

    kemah Member

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    lol


    My and many expectations for Papa were lower to begin with. I watched most games in FIBA and I thought he was Dleague bound. Training camp and pre season he kept stepping it up as the pace increased. I didn't expect that either. It gets tougher from here on out though and I am hoping he keeps stepping up. The NBA season is a grind.

    He will have some bad games now and again but what he need and I expect him to be able to do so is just put it behind and go get them the next time. I do think he is pressing his shot right and he acts relieved when he makes that basket. It is good that he wants to improve his offense but I love how he keeps earning his rotation spot by other means. He is an excellent defender. (He had really one bad game defensively) He has shown a mature playmaking skill that delights me a lot. He doesn't seem fazed when asked to do ridiculous stuff like play the 4 and guard a big top tier PF. It is stuff like that that assures him a spot in the rotation. He also doesn't shoot a lot of shots.

    I so far have been wrong on him and am glad.
     

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