Agreed. I used to not think this, but it seemed like ever since Gumby got here, that you can always count on a pro-Gumby article from Feigen right after some controversy (such as the V-Span complaining article). It's like "right on cue, here's Feigen, the cheerleader, with his pro-Gumby article."
It never ceases to amaze me how many people on this board will insist that some guy on the roster is really, deep down, a great NBA player, no matter how badly he sucks before our very eyes. Those of you who will go to your graves swearing that Stromile Swift still has untapped greatness in him -- I have no illusions that any amount of minutes will convince you Spanoulis belongs right where he's sitting.
I don't see anyone saying he is great now, at least not me. I think most people are saying to give him some time to develop to find out if he is going to be a piece to the puzzle. We have seen enough of Rafer to know that he is NOT a piece to the puzzle. And, I also agree that the Rockets are not going to win anything as long as Rafer is the primary point guard. I just want to see others tried at our weakest position. DD
Of course there is proof. We have seen him play, and have seen the team do worse when he is playing. Vspan shows potential at all of the things you mention. He isn't there yet, and is a long way from being consistent at that kind of thing while still being able to protect the ball. But the team should not sacrifice for V-Span. He also shouldn't complain about it when he hasn't shown that he's ready. I don't think JVG is going to intentionally make the team worse in order to prevent V-Span from playing.
I don't know why everyone says we should develop him. You don't sacrifice games to develop a player when you have a team that is not only a playoff team, but potentially a deep playoff team. If we were a lottery bound team or a team battling to get the 8th seed, then yeah develop him, but that's NOT the case. JVG doesn't have the luxury of experimenting. Coaches don't pick their rotations purely on how well someone does on the floor during games, JVG said early in the season those pre-season games meant far less to him than how people were doing in practice. You can get better with practice. I'm sorry V-Span doesn't want to become a spot up shooter, but with the team we have now that's what he needs to be to get playing time. I don't think Rafer is good, I don't think John Lucas is good, BUT I'd much rather have the ball in either of their hands than V-Span...especially with his attitude. He needs to work on his game, shut up and just be thankful he's in the NBA. He can whine all he wants about how much this sucks...but I think he's making more money than he did in Greece...I don't feel all that bad for him.
That Rafer Alston argument for getting playing time for Spanoulis is a tired one. Just because Rafer Alston has played horrible you don't put a more struggling player who has not grasped the NBA as a remedy. Two wrongs don't make a right. John Lucas who has also struggled has done more with almost the same minutes than Spanoulis and Ryan Bowen was played more than he should have because of injuries.
As I've mentioned before, no one here is claiming that the guy is going to be ALL-NBA. It is perfectly justified to question the coaches decision on playing certain players at a position that is lacking. I think it has more to do with the fact that Rafer has not silenced his critics, and never will. Just b/c Yao is out doesn't mean Rafer has to revert back to his AND1 days of throwing up shots. He is the PG on this team and I'd rather have Battier/Head/Wells or even Novak putting up 15-25 shots a game.
Wow, not a bad article from Feigen. I agree on how he needs to stop complaining and just work on his game and pay his dues. You can't be serious. V-Span's play in the preseason was horrible. When your PG averages more TOs than assist, that isn't exactly considered good. Yeah, he showed some potential of being a good player, but at the same time he also showed he was a long way from being ready to contribute. V-Span's biggest chance to earn time was the preseason, and he didn't cash in. If V-Span works on his game as hard as he complains about playing time, he'll be in the rotation, probably even able to start.
what proof? you saying that the team played worse doesn't mean that they did. can you provide me with specific examples? did the offense bog down? did we give up big leads? do we give up big leads even if vspan isn't on the court? from every game i have seen him play, the only complaint i had about vspan were that he dribbled too much time off the clock before making a move. his turnovers were not as horrific as everyone here thinks. he was DEADLY when breaking down his man, and got to the rim AT EASE. those are specifics demonstrating what vspan can do for this team off the bench, when tmac is sitting down, that this team vitally needs when our offense devolves into passing around the perimeter and then firing up a 3 at the last second. these arguments have all been made before, the bottom line is that one camp thinks the sparing minutes vspan has gotten, playing out of position, are enough to say he should be benched. the other camp is saying there is no way you can say vspan deserves 0 minutes just from looking at his limited playing time, and especially given the rockets' desperate need for a change at the point.
i wasn't saying the fact that rafer is struggling completely warrants vspan getting minutes. i was responding to someone asking 'when has playing worse ever gotten you MORE minutes,' and i simply named a few players off the top of my head that answered that question.
I think a comparison between VSpan and Stro is not appropriate at this point in VSpan's career. VSpan has only played 18 games. Stro has not gotten better over the course of over 6 YEARS. Stro is what he is, a great athlete with no brainpower no drive. There is no way after 18 games that you can determine what VSpan is.
Yes. absolutly right. Yao's first few games are much worse than Billy. till now, he still is TO and foul prone. give play time to estanblish confidence. I think most of our fans belive V-span can help the team when he has confidence. Come on, CD, Alex, jeff, this guy has market value also. And our fans like to see him to play.
The official voice of the Rockets strikes again!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Spanoulis is not going to play better until Jeff Van Gungy stops trying to make him into something that he is not and gives him the opportunity to be what he can do best. Spanoulis is a creative guard not a shooting guard!! JVG needs to play his players to the best of their attributes!!
His TO's were every bit as horrific as they were made out to be. The proof was that our offense couldn't get a shot because V-Span turned the ball over. In Preseason he was called for carrying the ball multiple times in multiple games. I know it is different than in Europe but he kept doing the same thing over and over again. He also hasn't been able to shoot. He needs to improve both areas in order to get some playing time. In the regular season even his defense hasn't been as good as it was in the pre-season. He just hasn't shown that he deserves the PT right now. He has shown flashes of everything that you talk about. It will be fun to watch him as he is able to do that more consistently. Right now the Rockets need to worry about winning, and let V-Span improve his game.
I bought a Spanoulis Jersey before the preseason games starterd - I am a big fan - But Feigan is right and it was an excellent motivational tool to use - It is obvious that Spanoulis is sensitive about what people think of him, his image, etc. He READ THIS COLUMN. Hopefully it hit home and he'll Zip it and work harder to improve his skill. I think he Will. He has that kind of drive and determination and he will use it to get better. Bottom line he played and did not help this team offensively when he did. He was a liability on the court offensively. Was he playing out of position, Did JVG have the handcuffs on ? Maybe. But the bottom line he's a rook in the most competitive league in the world and although us fans want to see him right away out of selfish wants - the bottom line is ne needs to pay his dues and IMPROVE.
