Wait...so there isn't a strong correlation between general IQ and basketball knowledge? FIRE GUNDY! Hire Stephen Hawking!
true. I agree. On a side note, I'm very thankful that Pat Riley stuck with a failed Plan A, again and again and again (thank you too, John Starks)!
I am nauseated with all the "JVG won't develop players," and "give VSpan a chance" crap. Billy is the Rockets 12th man. Billy may soon slip further and be on the inactive list if the Rockets proceed as they have suggested and add somebody via the TE. So those thinking that VSpan is a contributor this year are in serious denial of reality. VSpan is irrelevant this year. What part of irrelevant is not understandable? And before you blast JVG for allegedly not developing youngsters, look at how the Mavs have used Ager. He has played in only 19 games and is averaging less than 4 minutes a game. Both those numbers are significantly lower than Billy's. So how many Mavs fans do you think are screaming, "Fire Avery he won't play Ager."?
Yes he had turn-overs but he had a LOT of positive contributions to his team. The kind of contributions that our all-star players are doing here. I'm talking about points, steals, assists, and most importantly, his defense. Thus, DD's point, that a player can still contribute to team's success even though he's prone to TOs.
There is no guarantee that strengths will transfer through different leagues. Weaknesses, however, always do. Take an extreme example - go play in a league of 8 year olds. Any adult with a semblance of basketball skills would probably dominate the scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, etc. But if you can't shoot jumpers in that league, you won't be able to shoot jumpers in a different league. He hasn't shown the points, assists, or defense in the NBA. If he did, maybe there could be a case for more playing time.
I am SO GLAD we're not the coach. How in the hell can you blast JVG this year. Do I always agree with his tactics? No. Do I think he plays Vspann enough? Maybe not. But this talk about developing talent for a deep run into the playoffs. (Insert Jim Mora Quote here) We need to worry about getting there first. With all of the injuries we've had its amazing that we are in the position we are in. Personally, hosting a playoff series, being favored, winning more than 50 games - all of those things are more important that the confidence of "The Michael Jordan" of Europe. Billy needs to wait his time. Everybody has to wait their turn. Instead of us clammering for JVG to play him more, why don't we jump on superkid's back about learning to shoot? Seems to me that is the problem here. I don't care what you did in Europe, College, the WNBA, or anywhere else. Learn to shoot kid. I'm trying to picture telling my HS coach that I wanted more playing time because I had been a star in the rec league in middle school. Yeah not happening. Mike
Mike, the entire point is we're trying to improve the team. Nobody is complaining how good we are right now even without Yao. We can not improve by only playing only 8 players out of 12. And for the others who are firing bullets without knowing the target first, pls read the entire thread to understand what we're trying to discuss here.
No, you are not "trying to improve the team." The team does not suddenly get better when start playing your 12th guy more, and your regular rotation less. Why is that so hard to understand? Would Dallas get better if they played Ager? Do you think Suns fans are screaming to see more of Jumaine Jones? And I am certain that if the Jazz would just let CJ Miles get off the bench that he could fill the void of a missing Boozer. Get real man. And all this nonsense about "only playing 8 players out of 12," just makes me boil. Name me ONE NBA team that has a 12 man rotation. Would you explain why you think the Rockets should do something that every NBA team knows is ineffective?
The Rockets play a simple offensive system - let McGrady and Yao create shots for themselves and for other players. There are 2 commodities in JVG's system that he looks for in every guard to play in that system - long range shooting, and defense. Because we don't need a second player dominating the ball, trying fancy passes. McGrady needs the ball in his hands to be effective. What he needs are shooters on the floor to pull defenders away and to shoot when he draws double teams. Which is why Rafer spent the offseason practicing 3s. Rafer, Head - these guys are doing what JVG wants in a guard (and add Battier, even though he plays SF). It's not about Spanoulis or any other player. It's about winning, and winning within the current system. If you can't do that, don't expect to get playing time. If Spanoulis wants to be the next Bob Sura circa 2004, he needs to develop an outside shot and generate more than 1 assist per turnover (which is still up from his preseason numbers). I love his guts and his hustle, but he's not ready for NBA production.
I agree with you, but why would I care about his production with any other team? This is a Houston Rockets board! If Spanoulis can produce with the Rockets, I'll be a big fan. If he goes to another team, I could care less how he does.
Great point, this makes a lot of SENSE to me... This, on the other hand, makes CENTS. And this, makes it exactly two cents.
Not really. All VSpan has demonstrated is potential. An occasional good pass, a decent steal... He plays good defense, but he also makes mistakes by being too aggressive going for steals. Basically, he might be good one day, but right now he isn't. I can't believe this thread has 3 stars. You guys go on and on and on and on about a scrub. It's hilarious. He might be good in a year or two, but he isn't the answer and isn't a good fit for the team right now. If he could hit an open shot, then he would be good.
He needs to work hard on his game and have positive thinking. Cut down on TOs and show he's a reliable option in practice.
VG uses double standards, he can tolarate some other players TO or low shooting percentage, VG trusts them and make them gain confidence and game expericen on court. But VG did not give a little bit of those above to SPAN. I do not mean all the blames should go to VG, Span did something wrong and he should be the first one to change the relationship with coach. I never doubted Span's capability, he is and will not be Nash, but I do think he can be a better player that Rafer, not mentioning Lucas.
Exactly. This is the reason why people are so into VSpan because of the potential they see from him but yet Jeff is not doing about it, YET. I think Billy needs to sit a year to learn more and become better, not doing it on the floor during actual games. If Van Gundy did it Juwan Howard earlier in the season for no apparrent reasons at all, he can do it to Span who innocently complained about playing time. And Jeff never likes it. Billy isn't bad at all but he aint ready this year. I hope this clears up now some issues on VSPAN. There's no need to reply negatve comments and definitely no need to hate Billy under this circumstance. If there's a rocket player who reads this board, it will be Billy. I heard he has been trying to connect with the fans earlier and I'm sure he's one of the readers here. Go Billy. Go Rockets. Go Clutchfans. *********** THREAD CLOSED ***********
V-Span has potential, we all know that, but a player with only potential and seldomly any results (what? 1 game against the Wizards?) does not belong in the rotation of the team with the 5th best record in the league. He is rightfully behind Alston and Head, and I wouldn't want to see him take away minutes from either with how they are playing. Not any more...
