His attitude reminds me of AI - he is confident and seems to keep attacking even when his shot is not falling, even MJ. Now if he can just stay sane and not go the route of MJ and sound a bit wacko..... His attitude is good for this team and if his skills are good or can improve to NBA level then he can fit with this team where one of his jobs will be to help take pressure off of Yao & Tmac and by moving aggressively he may open up opps to get the ball back to Yao & Tmac for easy scores. The double teams either break away from the 2 stars or they let VS cut to the hoop to finish uncontested. It will be interesting and fun to see if this team can move and pass, and keep to's low.
I'm excited but have to understand where he is coming from. It's a new country. Alone, that's tough to adjust to. New rules. That'll take little time, not that hard to overcome, but expect quite a bit of unecessary mistakes cause of it. New teammates. I think his personality will blend in just fine, his game, that'll take some time. New Coach. That's where it gets tough, he has to understand Van Gundy's playbook and perform it. Usually a Van Gundy guard just has to shoot the 3 at a very efficient percent and defend for his life. Vasilis is going to need some altering to be a Van Gundy guard. Or Van Gundy will need to alter his ways around Vasilis. That's the most interesting part of it. Nonetheless, I'm excited to get a European twist with a driving game. I like the fact he can create his own shot, is a combo guard, and is unusually quick on his feet for a Euro.
"He is wild. I'll tell you, people in Houston will love him." It's good that Patrick Ewing won't have the chance to show him what his version of "wild" is...
We'll see soon enough. The season starter is close enough. And no doubt there will be reports before that for sure, and then there's the preparation games.
It's one thing when people refer to Mike James as MJ when we're in a thread that is specifically discussing Mike James, but I had to read that sentence about three times before I understood that: 1. You were not going so far as to compare Vassilis Spanoulis to Michael Jordan. 2. Why you think Michael Jordan sounds a bit wacko. Seriously, there is only one MJ in basketball.
Exactly what I was thinking. Richirich, you should be ashamed! Spanoulis sounds a bit cocky. For you "old school" Rockets fans, do you remember Derrick Chievous? He talked all kinds of trash about "I can get my shot off against anybody", etc., etc. after the Rockets drafted him. The only things I remember him for now are his FT shot (gaping mouth and all), his bandaids, and having his shot swatted back in his face... repeatedly... to the point he got whiplash. I hope Spanoulis isn't another Chievous in-the-making. His confidence and talk doesn't mean squat since he hasn't played in the NBA yet. I hope he's even 50% of the player he thinks he is because that would make for a big cog on our team.
^On that, it can be a bad thing. I prayed the Greek players would stop shooting three's after they should have realised they were building a brick wall with them(minus Kakiouzis) and rely on drives and two point shots. but no, they had to be heroes, including Spanoulis. Granted, he's young, but someone must let him know when to stop going long range when a field goal is achievable. 'Course, given the NBA range for threes, he'll prolly not use that weapon much, to keep his stats up. Thankfully.
Lol somebody tell me to quote next time. Sometimes posts here are too fast. On topic, Spanoulis is not cocky, but he does believe in himself. Some things are lost in translation(pun not intended).
All I know from what I saw in the Greece vs. USA game was V-Span can play better defense than I thought and he is incredible on the pick and roll. JVG will give him some clock, but it won't be without their growing pains ala. Manu Ginobli and Popovich. I see him coming off the bench at the 1 and 2 for Rafer or Snyder depending on the matchup and probably getting 20 to 25 minutes.
I can't believe no one caught the "Kill Bill" mention in the article. The reason why ANYONE calls him "Kill Bill" is because a poster on this site, Clutchfans, Babelfished a foreign article that resulted in the now famous "Kill Bill" translation. Do his teammates calling him Kill Bill? If so they got it from this site. (too lazy to search for it)
After reading this article I still the feeling JVG will not play V-Span that much. I wish the Rockets would bring a new coach that is not in the Doom and Gloom state of mind 24/7. This guy needs to allow the team to play and not be in constant control of the game, let the players play.
Looking at the stats from the last 2 games, it is really hard to get a read on this guy. It looks like when he tries to drive through the cracks and penetrate (like in the US game) he is efficient, but when he relies on his jumper too much (like against spain) he is much less so. I didnt see either game, so someone else may be able to elaborate better. Essentially this guy is still very much a question mark. I am hoping that what he said is true... playing with better players will make him a better player. I'm hoping that Yao's post presence, Battier's shooting, T-Mac's overall ability, and Alston's passing will open things up and allow for Span to rely on penetration more, and when he does have to shoot the J, it will be wide open shots from good ball movement.
it took until the posts clearing up that it was mike james and not jordan for it all to click. it was doing my head in that span was being compared to jordan. im really looking forward to seeing him play, i reckon it will take a few months for him to really hit his straps though imo
I hate to be negative, since I too am excited to see him play, but I think his overconfidence might bring a lot of surprises once he gets into the league. Playing against USA ballers is one thing, but playing with them is completely different -- and I just don't think the Greece style of basketball is going to be make as smooth of a transition into the NBA that V-Span seems to think it will. But I still love the attitude, and the obvious passion for the game. We could really use someone to keep the emotional and excitement level high during the game... that desire to win has been missing for some time now, and V-Span seems like he could provide that spark similar to Cassell's years with us.
Just as our superstars have trouble adjusting to int'l ball so too will it affect KillBill playing in the NBA. The differences in the rules may appear minor, but the officiating is very different because of the speed of the game. Apparently V-Span's Eng;ish is quite good, but basketball is only baketball when you're drilling shots. Otherwise the NBA is a different world. The key to his success will be how well he can penetrate in the NBA. Yes the outside shot on this team is important but what I've seen from this guy he needs to develop the stop-n-pop game (ala Sam I am). To tell you the truth I'd be quite happy with him on our bench with just the possibility that on some night he's on fire. Over time I hope he'll be better than that, but his aggression and court vision to me look extremely promising. And who knows? Perhaps his attitude may end up being a great help to him. Right now he's just a very nice 2nd round pick. There's just no reason to be negative about his short-comings.
i'm very excited. i hope it doesn't take him long to make a huge impact on the team and become one of the key role players.
