I think Lucas made a mistake signing here. He is not really a PG, he is more of a 2 guard in a PG's body. He is great when he has the freedom to look for HIS shot first. He is kind of like Calvin Murphy was....though not as good. Lucas is NOT the type of player that has good vision, he is adequate at that.... DD
I like V-span and think that he hill turn out to be a major asset for the Rockets, but I just want to point out again how ridiculous it was to start comparing him to Nash after a couple of pre-season games.
I don't mind the comparisons....the guy has Nash like vision, but it took Nash about 3 -4 years to really come into his own. I think Billy is a year or so away from really competing. It depends on what the organization has in mind for him. If they think he is the PG of the future, then they may have him as the backup PG, and if he plays well...he stays in the game, if not....we have other options. DD
Especially when you just got back from a family member's funeral. Absolutely inexcusable. Luther will be the backup point. All of you who think it will be someone else are delusional. Spanoulis is driving JVG crazy.
Luther shoots too much to be the backup PG...... I think Luther may be on the bubble as far as rotations go.......he could go anywhere from a starter to the end of the bench..... DD
Head can be a backup 2 as well. Span's strenght is 1 but a little bit rusty now. Other than that Span cannot be a 2 yet. I don't see that in him.
Could be, but V-span is a better defender, as is Synder..... It is going to be interesting, I think JVG has to get some type of rotation down so players are comfortable..... There is even some talk of starting Novak....which would be incredible.... DD
And he could have signed with PHX and played really well there, getting a good contract afterwards... Loss for him
In an unRocket-like move, Houston signed Little Luke for the long term with time to develop into an NBA caliber 1. I applaud the vision. I hope it pans out (and that Luke III has the court vision!).
Do you honestly think V-Span is ahead of Luther in the rotation? Ain't no way. End of the bench? How does Luther's preseason put him on the end of the bench?
Not so incredible. Mobley was pick #41. Think of it as payback for Langhi, Collins, et al. Re the PG situation, I wonder whether this call will end up being made on the defensive end. I sure as hell don't want Lucas getting pick-and-rolled into guarding a 6'8" guy in the paint. The other two guys are more versatile. Spanoulis coughs up the ball too much, but maybe he's taking extra risks because it's preseason and he's trying things out (not a bad idea). He's good with his feet and good at stealing. I can see Luther being, in effect, more of a backup SG. Frankly, I see Lucas more likely as trade fodder.
I think that V-span is a much better PG than Luther is....yes. However, I am not convinced that V-span's turnover issues can be fixed right away....a lot of them are on moves he is accustomed to making and he has to earn the officials respect before they give him those calls. He gets called a lot for palming when making a move...which is something that Tmac, AI, and so many other players do but get away with it...V-span is a rookie. I think if the Rockets want to develop V-span they will put him into the backup PG role and let him grow.....JVG will yank him when he plays badly, and leave him in there when he is going well. Head, is the odd man out, he is too small for a SG, and not a good enough passer to play PG consistently. I think he can play, but not sure what role he is going to have on the team. And, shooting 0-10 as a SG.....I mean man.....what a chucker ! DD
I'm not talking about long term; just right now. Forget 0-10 because there were special circumstances. Luther is still a much better shooter than V-Span and makes fewer mistakes. Sure, V-Span's TOs have been the new palming rule but sometimes he just makes bad passes. At this moment, the only player V-Span is "much better than" is JL3. If the Rockets want to avoid a slow start to the season, they can't afford to give big minutes to such a turnover machine. It's about winning games right now, not developing one player. As the season progresses, V-Span will better gauge what works and doesn't work in an NBA game. But he's not there yet. If Rafer keeps shooting well, he may lead the team in minutes played (early on) if the backups aren't up to the task.
Which of these 3 was the starting PG on a WC championship squad? V-Span didn't start and Greece didn't win.
I think that we're missing an idea here. Everyone seems to want to pick two guys and say, "that's it, 48 minutes filled". The advantage of being the team we are, is that we have 5 PGs. The natural thing to think is, this is bad. But it doesn't have to be. We've got 5 players that give us very unique looks. Worst to first: J. Lucas III - He brings in speed, size and shooting. The guy has proved he can shoot, he just needs to find his shot during games. Size? Yes, size. Earl Boykins is difficult to deal with at times because he is so small that defenses aren't used to defending players that small. Also, JLIII is lightning fast. We've all seen him run up the floor. It doesn't take long and that's another weapon for him. L. Head - He seems safe, but you'd have to have Battier and McGrady out there to help with the ball handling. If Luther plays point, you can expect teams to pressure the ball. Ball pressure makes Yao the number one option. If you pressure, you can't really sag in on the post. If you want a shooting PG and Yao to score, Head is probably a good option. V. Spanoulis - Risk vs. Reward. This guy is going to change the pace of the game, make some amazing, gutsy plays and teams need that personality every once in a while. Don't forget that he's probably our best defensive on ball defender. He'll be useful against penetrating guards and the league is full of them. If he's turning the ball over too much, no problem, pull him and put in one of your other 4. R. Alston - He's our best traditional PG. If traditional is working, work it and work him. He looks like he's improved his shooting in the offseason and he was always a high assist/low turnover guy. Why not? Defense. He's not the best defender we have and he will probably be a weakness against Jason Terry, Steve Nash and Tony Parker, but that's what we have options for. T. McGrady - When we are losing the battle at the PG spot and it's killing us, go with Tracy. I would think that this is a last resort type of move, but playing Tracy at the one makes him the playmaker, so he won't get bored out there. Also, the challenge of stopping a PG might prove worthy of his efforts. Tracy is one of the best defenders in the NBA when he wants to be. I hope McGrady can find his competitive fire and do what's asked of him. I think JVG will be the biggest factor here. If JVG can figure out a way to get Tracy involved defensively as a stopper, we're going to be a team that isn't afraid of anyone. O. verall - I think the team should mess around with the other team's pyche. If you change the pace on the defense, they'll have to adjust constantly. That instability is our greatest weapon and it will take a team unit to make that happen. Think about how important an offensive coordinator is, he's got to pick plays that keep defenses off balance. Think about how a change up thrown just at the right time can make even the best hitter look dumb. Control the pace and control the game, make the other team 'look dumb'. We've got to start outsmarting other teams. Once they pick up on what the Rockets are trying to do, make a change. Once they've got everything figured out, do it better than they do. This team needs to start playing the game with their head more than their body. It's easier on everyone. Go Rox. p.s. Can Battier play the point? Or maybe Battier can be the PG without bringing the ball up, like a player-coach type?
My guess is that Gundy told Lucas to pass to Head so Head could look for his groove. But he never did find it - maybe it will show up at practice.
when you go 0-10 you KNOW its not because he is cold, its because his mind is NOT ON BASKETBALL if he was bad at shooting like wesley and stuff last year, he would have at least made one or two out of 10 but 0-10 is just him missing the first two and getting increasing frustrated and annoyed, coupled together with what he has being through Hope he is alright, and Hope he gets his touch back
Giving these unreliable PGs more time means more losses. You can't afford to give them more time. IMO, Rockets need to acquire a real NBA caliber PG ASAP.
