i've watched some games, and vspan dribbles out the clock, takes bad shots, and puts teammates in bad positions with some of his wild passes. everything that you have seen luke do bad, vspan as well.
Why would Danny Devito start to like V-span? I think the other thing that everyone is missing is that the adjustment in the rotation due to Yao's injury was what ultimately put the kibosh on V-span's playing time. I think Van Gundy if anything liked the pairing of Yao and V-Span, running pick and rolls, drive and dish, making the defense make decisions. Once Yao went down, the nature of our offense changed and JLIII's shooting became more valuable in the offense. When Yao comes back he'll be in a better situation to show us his stuff, but if he keeps up the "woe is me stuff" and doesn't learn the game he's just gonna wind up in the doghouse at the end of the bench. Moreover, I think what Rafer and JLIII have proven is that Van Gundy will play you provided you give a consistent output very game, consistent energy, consistent defense and in the case of Rafer (consistently bad shooting). But as long as he can gameplan around his expectations of each player he can put the team in a situation to win any game. Right now he just doesn't have that confidence that he is going to get consistent results from him, so he can't gameplan around him. I can see he's frustrated with that cuz it is kind of a catch 22, he needs floortime to prove himself, but he won't get floor time to prove himself. Anyway now is not the time after tonights game maybe he can see some minutes in the softer part of the schedule.
His play in the preseason was utterly reckless. His turnover rate was unreal. I've posted the quote before, but preseason was basically an open audition for the backup PG role - and neither Lucas nor Spanoulis really took it by the horns. That's why it's apparent that he doesn't (or at least didn't) get. "Garbage" time minutes for a guy trying to get into the rotation isn't the time to go out and try flashy or risky things, especially point guards in a lower tempo offense. I think it can be said pretty definitively that what JVG wants to see out of him is the ability to not turn the ball over and not commit silly fouls. Shooting ability, passing ability, driving ability all come next. He went out trying to show everything he's got, and made a ton of mistakes in the primary areas, and then also showed he couldn't shoot. Maybe it's hard to fault a guy for trying hard, but you've got to commit to the team philosophy. He just didn't show that, so he went to the bench. Maybe it's the coaching staff's fault for not conveying the team philosophy well to him, but no one knows what's the case. From his comments, it sounds more to me like he was just rejecting the philosophy, but whether that's really the case is anyone's guess. I agree that it's something he can change, but he's got to want to do it. Once he figures out that he needs to focus on how he can fit with the team rather than how the team can fit him, he'll get another chance. My hope is that the last few days have brought things to the surface, solved the miscommunications, and all parties can move on. I know Van Gundy can do that - he did it with Bonzi just this year. The $64,000 question is, will Spanoulis do it? That has no relevance. Guys like Jaric, Delfino, Darko, and Peja have all complained about their roles before. And I don't think any of them, with the possible exception of Peja, had much of a case.
It doesnt matter does it. He has terrible practices in the past. Obviously he doesn't take it seriously enough. This is the NBA, if you want playing time, you gotta work for it in practice, etc. Noone is gonna care what you did back where you came from. Hell even Yao had to earn his PT from Cato when he first started, why don't you see if you can learn something from him about his work habits. http://www.clutchfans.net/news/1387/spanoulis_has_best_practice_of_the_year/
this is not a good enough sample size. What i see is 20 assists and 11 bad passes. Out of those, i distinctly remember 2 passes to juwan and 2 to deke which were quite decent passes but juwan and deke fumbled them. Not to say that it's their fault. I'm just saying that he still is trying to get a feel for his teammates and what theyre capable of. The same 4 passes to Battier and Yao would ve probably ended up as assists. Guess what , that immediately takes it to 24 and 7 which makes it look amazingly better... I'm not saying he is as good as those figures i just presented (he might be)...I m only saying i dont think we ve seen enough to judge him... JVG thinks he has and in the end thats all that matters.
I'm sure he works hard, but he needs to quit laughing on the bench all the time if he wants playing time. I dunno,maybe its just me, but smiling and laughing during a blow out game is a no-no for JVG to see.
@alex_jr: You're right that his problems can be corrected with time and practice. But the thing is, he was trying to make those passes despite NOT knowing his teammate's habits. It seems like he just expected to come over here from the Euroleague, do the same things he did there, and get away with it while tearing up the league. What he should have done is recognize that it was a new situation. Even if "basketball is basketball" he should have known that NBA games are reffed differently, so instead of trying to bulldoze his way into the league he should have taken some time, played it slow and low-key, and learn. Instead he immediately started doing the jump-in-the-air passes that most of the time ended up in traveling or TOs. I think Vspan has the potential to be a good player. Much better compared to Rafer at everything except for handles and 3pt shooting. But he's not there yet, and he doesn't seem to realize it.
I don't have a problem with V-Span complaining about his lack of PT. A player who is satisfied playing the minutes V-Span has had shouldn't be on a NBA team. I just wish he'd kept it in house. As far as giving him more meaningfull PT so he can develope, this is supposed to be the NBA not the NBDL. A couple of posters have already suggested sending him there and I totally agree with that. You show in practice that you deserve game PT. Then when you get game PT(no matter how much itis) you prove you deserve to be in the rotation. V-Span obviously has produced in practice, however he hasn't produced in gametime. So he will have to continue to produce in practice until he can bring to gametime what he does in practice. That is the NBA. As for RA, he's our best point guard by far unless you want TMac playing point. V-Span and JLIII are trying to battle for the backup spot and neither have proved to be the one. Therefore RA will get the starter minutes at the point. Now I'm not saying he's a great point, he's just the best we have.
He has promise, but he's proven that he's a turnover machine at the moment. I don't want him anywhere near my playoff team until he can fix that. He can whine all he wants.
I don't disagree with the article. If Bonzi is getting minutes now b/c he's producing decently on the floor. Our offense doesn't get stagnant when TMac goes out. It sure used to. It's not nearly as potent, but with Juwan being just about money on his shot, Head seeming to make his mid range shots as well as his 3s, and Bonzi getting to play now, we are doing ok. How long this will hold, who knows? Billy had his chance, and I'm guessing he'll have some more chances in some garbage time. He has to make the most of it. Development is meant for the D-league and practice, not during important parts of our games. I am pullin or the guy, as I do for all our players, but our team is doing well with what we have. Snyder and Yao aren't even back in the rotation.
I'm not advocating for Vspan to supplant Rafer. Its just that he needs playing time, and there are clearly instances in games where Vpsan could of been inserted to give Rafer a break. For some reason or another, JVG decides to put head or JLIII at the point instead, with the both of them being undersized shooting guards playing in that position.
Absolutely agree- great post! I don't dislike V-Span at all- I just want to see him play with some control, and I want him to make good decisions with the ball in his hands. Like I said before, if he is still a turnover factory, I don't want him near this team come the playoffs, where every possession will make a difference.
this guy can play let that be known, but i think he just needs to work hard this season, whether its just in practice.... i mean he really needs to take it to them in practice....its practice come on now....practice....and then the rockets organizations needs to put him in the summer league...to see how great he performs....so that if and when he comes back to his second season....he can have a lot more experience and actually be ready to perform on a higher level...but for now i dont think he quite mentallly ready and completely lacks the experience of a US guard.....
I totally agree with Rafer's ball handling aspect. Last time I watched Head handling the ball during the Spurs game, my heart almost stopped beating. Fortunately Head didn't make any mistakes. But watching him handle the ball is really a pain in ass. At least Rafer can get the ball to front court EASILY. He surely has a lot to improve. But I still remember the Francis time when we could not even get the ball to front court by our pgs. Rafer can at least FINISH that..
