He seems to have a hard time making his entry pass. NBA players tend to have longer arms and quicker response. His entry passes get deflected/intercepted a lot. Need to adjust to that. He releases his jumper on his way DOWN, I noticed this a few times again GW. Did he do this before? Don't remember seeing him do that in the world series. He is more confident 18feet and closer, his 3 pointers are a disaster. With T-mac down we need our wing players to step up. Unfortunately we only have Vspan and Head to work with offensively to create things. Anything else on Billy?
He makes his jumpers un-neccesarly hard because he doesn't use his body but just his wrists. He is just adjusting to the NBA game, he'll be fine!
In all aspects of the game he has not adjusted to the speed and athleticism of the NBA game yet. Entry passes, cross-court passes, drives (where he often gets blocked or self-adjusts himself into a miss) are all problematic right now. He has also had a little problem with pick and roll defense...but everybody in the league seems to have that problem. And, yeah, he really can't shoot. I think the last game was the first time hereally tried to take some mid-range shots and I hope he continues that (and hits them) because right now he is pretty useless from long range and only sometimes effective with layups.
This is the most concerning thing of all. if you want to be a PG for the Rockets, you better be able to spot up and knock them down because you're going to get a lot of open looks. He never has been a great shooter either so it's an issue.
If he couldn't develop a 3pt shot in europe, I doubt he develops one in the NBA. Tony Parker had an ok but not decent 3pt shot when he came over. He shot 30-33%. In the last 3 years his attempts went from 2.7, to 2.0, to 0.5 last year. It wasn't working for him as well as his penetration, so he took it out. He still works very with Duncan. I hope V-span, even without a 3pt shot, can work with Yao as well as the Parker-Duncan tandem.
I'm bothered by Vspan's drives into a flooded paint, and then bailing himself out w/ a reckless pass or poor shot. It's evident that he was good enough in Greece that he could do this frequently, but in the NBA he's still not there yet. I also agree w/ the inconsistent long jumper. I don't know if he'll improve his outside shooting, but I think when he gets more used to the level of NBA defenses, makes better decisions, and gets more experienced I think he could be on the level of a Manu. He's still a rookie, it would be a bit too much to expect more out of him now.
Billy's biggest problem is that he can't make a wide open shot. If he improves his shooting he'd get a lot more playing time.
Not sure why it would take long for him to develop. According to some posters on this board he's as NBA-ready a prospect as there ever has been in years, and is far better prepared for the NBA game than his american counterparts, even ones with lots of significant big-time NCAA experience.
Don't forget that he is better at penetrating and finishing than a rookie Sam Cassell. As for his range shooting I think that, at 24, he has very little potential to greatly improve (he was poor in Europe and is now trying from a greater distance) which is why I hope he works exclusively on his mid-range. Even though it also is very ugly it will be much easier for him to develop because he at least has that range. As far as the speed/athleticism we will either know by the end of this year or by early next if he will ever figure it out.
the part that perturbes me the most is that i hardly see him running or moving on offense during penetration. he catches and passes immediatley and sometimes even waits for help without creating. he has the ability, just can't wait till that part of him explodes
Dude has played a quarter of a season in the NBA and has broken into the roation - That's a pretty Huge 1st step - by mid season dude is going to be a force as he adapts to the speed of the NBA game. He is adding a TON to the team in terms of athleticism, hustle, energy and quickness. His Shot WILL improve and he will improve his decision making in the paint. I am convinced he is going to be an NBA stud - just give him a few more months !!!!
yeah the guy needs to get better but be realistic. He is still thinking a lot out there rather than just playing. But thats fine, there will eb a learning curve. dont get upset at him b/c a lot of people over hyped him. it will take time
I wouldn't call his long jumper inconsistent. I've seen him air ball wide open 3s quite a few times. Instead of taking the 3, he should just pump fake and dribble toward the basket and then pull up a midrange jumper. This is also an option for our other guards when their 3s aren't falling. It's rather odd that these days the only guy that shoots a midrange jumper on our team is Juwan aging Howard
The guy needs time like any other rookie. He's still got ways to go in order to become a solid player but he will become more efficient in the offense during the season... He's still learning and the position he is playing right now is the most difficult for a Euro baller...
Yeah, you're right about the jumper, I think I was just trying to be polite about it. Good point on pump fake and dribble. I think we're relying a little too heavily on the 3, and the only good penetrator is Tmac. We need some more shots inside the 3.
His main problem is his TOs. He is not a elite player yet but he has the same TOs as a elite player. That kills his game.
