Yeah,everyone seems to agree on that from what I read in this thread. (didnt get to see the game). That's nice to know... I'm still surprised by his bad shooting because his pre-NBA shooting was very good and his stats very commendable... Maybe it's a confidence issue because he knows that despite all his slashing to the basket/ft etc. the shooting is what will get him minutes... I hope he gets his touch back over the summer and with more minutes next year. Because from what I know of Span in europe his 1/4 2pt and 0/3 3pt tonight was more likely to be around 3/4 and 1/3 (which would put him at 20 pts...) Regarding the rest of the game, Looking at the re-cap and box-scores, it seems that Utah utilised their starters just enough to get the win while JVG went deeper into the bench (rightly so in my opinion). I mean, 10 min of Yao or 10 min of T-mac (not even both) would have stolen the game for us. So in that respect I don't think our bench/scrubs did that badly.
I think he can learn to protect the ball better and cut down on stupid TOs since he has the natural pg skills. but I just can't see his shot getting significantly better. how old is he? 24? how many players at his age and professional experience level magically improve their shot if they never had one? and it's not as if we are talking about just a 3 point shot...v-span has NO MID-RANGE shot either. I really want him to succeed since he is so much more talented at creating compared to rafer but his shot is just so horrible.
therein lies the key...he DID have one... Although i'm just as stumped as anyone regarding where it went though. I suggested it's nerves because he knows that his shot is what will give him minutes....
The level of defense is totally different in the NBA.. guys are alot bigger, quicker and more physical..
I totally agree! I don't expect him to have his Euro stats in the NBA. However, other ex-euro players , like garbajosa,ginobili,parker etc. probably dropped about 4-5% on their shooting in the nba... (Parker for example went from 57 to 52%) Spanoulis went from 62 to 33%. That doesnt seem right does it?
Let me correct this, I just realised the euroleague stats page does separate 2pt / 3pt percentages and not total FG ones... Parker went from 52.7 down to 52% (i.e. no difference). Garbajosa actually raised his shooting stats . Ginobili went from 45 to 38.6. Span from 53.4 to 33.8 !!! Surely there's something else here than simply the more physical game...
It sure seemed like Tom Nissalke liked V-Span a lot, and that guy knows a lot about basketball. V-Span can be good and already does some things very well, but he needs to shoot better and minimize his mistakes. I do think both of those things come with playing time and familiarity. For instance he had 2 horrible passes last night, and I wonder if those were passes to a spot in the offense where his teamate was supposed to be or just really bad passes? Either way, they are his fault because a PG has to make sure the pass is completed. I loved how he attacked the basket and TOOK ON CONTACT.....If Rafer would do that his shooting percentages would not suck so much and he would get to the free throw line....which we need. DD
I think we got to see a little of what Snyder, Lucas, Jake and especially Vspan can give this team... who cares about shooting % Steve Nash was close to 200 in his rookie year
It's a catch-22. He's not going to get the PT that you think will help his shooting form and decision making (2 things that you either have or you don't, imo) if he continues to shoot like crap and turn the ball over. I love V-Span's heart and courage in the lane, but hate his on-court judgment and terrible shot. Personally, I think what you see is what you'll get.
Well than how did Steve Nash ever get better? I think V-Span will be MUCH better next year........ DD
Vspan shot horrible last night, I am not talking about the three point shot, I don't think he will get better there anytime soon, but his midrange did not go well.... like DD said he had 2 bad turnovers, it looks like he was not 100% into the game ...he needs to be 100% at the court to get the time he wants
What makes you think Nash was ever bad? That guy who posted Nash shot .200 hit first year was high when he posted that, so I hope that's not your source. He shot 42% from the field his first season, 42% from 3. His assist-to-turnover ratio was better than 2 to 1. I think that Span can and will improve, within his skill-set. But he's not a high percentage shooter and won't become one. He's a turnover machine and that will continue. You're not going to find many players who were poor shooters and high turnovers who reversed those over the course of a career.
