Right now we're stuck with Rafer..... His lack of conscience and ability is reinforced by our offense,our coach, and our injury situation....It's tough to watch. I think Spanoulis will get there eventually and shine as our starting 1. JL3 is strictly backup material. In the meantime we need to deal for a hybrid 1/2 that can Dup, handle the rock,and drain the outside J that Reefer can't hit to save his life. Circumstances have dictated that we make a move...We need to sustain our position until Yao gets back. A healthy Yao and Tracy cover a multitude of sins at the pg position.Even so,once we get it solved the Rockets will become a MUCH more efficient team.
And Rafer hasnt been shut down. He Lucas may only drive in one direction, but rafer only takes ill-advised jump shot. They guy is NOT a STARTING pg in the nba. I would rather have a pointgaurd by comity. Yes they have won the last few games, but they have played crap teams. COme playoff time, he is a huge liability. Among Stating pgs in the NBA, I would consider him between 25-30.
Fine he's between 25 and 30 among starting point guards...I'd give him the benefit of the doubt and put him around 15-20, but whatever. The reality is V-Span and Lucas III as starters would be 30 out of 30. Alston is not the best point guard out there, but I don't think its fair to say he's a liability. I have yet to see him lose a game for us. Sure we'd be better off with a better point guard, but the solution isn't putting together a point guard by committee. Lucas is playing really well right now and I think he's a great spark plug off the bench, but he's not ready for starter minutes. First and foremost, he plays at a very fast tempo. That's good in theory, but it doesn't really mesh with how the Rockets are set up...it certainly wouldn't work with Yao in the line up and it won't work with the line up today - I don't think we want to empty Deke and Howard's tank that much faster. And V-Span...well there's a reason he's not seeing much playing time. I hope Spanoulis becomes a good player, but he's not there yet. Alston may not be anywhere near NBA elite...but he's the best we've got. So unless you can come up with a trade where we don't lose Head, Snyder, or any of our starters besides Alston (and right now I'd even be reluctant to trade Howard...let the flaming begin) for an upgrade point guard, I'd be happy with what we've got, stop complaining and just be happy to see a team that is learning to play together so well.
You're going into European basketball where we have to factor in styles as well. Someone like Corey Maggette would have problems playing in Europe, certainly not because of a lacking in the talent department, but his playing style clashes horribly with European basketball. He's not a good shooter and so much of his offensive game is based off isolation plays, often breaking up his own team's offensive flow. And not knowing how to play off the ball just dooms him. Sure, by being stronger and more athletic than everyone else will still allow him to produce, but teams might not want him on their team or he might end up hurting his teams. There is just not the emphasis on the pure PG in Europe like the NBA. Sarunas got away with playing PG there but he would be picked off repeatedly if he ran the spot full-time in the NBA (and the Pacers don't, usually putting him at the 2 spot.) And Olympics/World Championships/International basketball in general is difficult to judge. Sarunas looked like a superstar playing against the United States in the Olympics and was the best player in Europe. Now it turns out, he's not a very good NBA player.
Antonio Daniels is a guy I've wanted for almost his whole career. I think we've been in discussions for him a few times over the years. ....lot of Mad Max in him.Daniels has really been an enigma since he was taken 3rd or 4th? I would rather have more size and D than Watson brings...great handles though. As far as Crawford goes,I've always thought him to be a jack...albeit a talented one...not sure how he would fit in here.
All 3 guys are shooting fairly abysmal this year. Watson was a very effective shooter a year ago and he is a very, very good defensive point. Daniels is an enigma. He sure hasn't done much in Washington since he signed that MLE deal. And his shooting has been poor this year. But he has a reputation is a great defender and has been a very effective shooter in the past. Crawford is the x-factor. He would be the taller point that some have been talking about. He can handle really well and he's got the kind of body and quicks that Van Gundy could mold into a very tenacious defender. And although his shooting numbers are very bad this year, dude always seems to be there in crunch time. I think he would gel really with 111 and Battier because he's got the ability to shoot it from outside or finish inside. If we could pick him up for Sura, Bonzi, and a first rounder, I'd do it.
That would be ideal. I think V-Span is just trying to do too much right now. He needs to master the point guard fundamentals and cut down on his turnovers. We all know the adjustment to the NBA takes at least half a season for most international players.
Right now, I don't think V-Span is doing much at all because he doesn't play. Perhaps if he got a little floor time we could gauge some progress.
You make a good point, but remember he is playing against Rafer and JL3 in practice also...and apparently he is 3rd team right now. JVG can't experiment with him during games at this time, we have won the last 3 games largely because we have averaged only 10 turnovers per game. Especially without Yao and Bonzi we can't afford to give away any possessions while the guy cuts his teeth at the point guard position during games. I love the guy's potential, but he's just not rotation ready yet. Check out his shooting percentage and turnover/assist ratio. Not pretty.
http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2007/01/getting_the_point.html This is a reply by Feigen to some poster: Maybe there's still a chance Rockets will go after Diener?
I'm not asking for much, just give him a couple of minutes to finish up the 1st and 3rd quarters and give him 10-12 minutes when we lead by 30 points in the 4th quarter. With Rafer throwing up all over the place, now is the time to give V-Span another look with some spot time.
Me too, but again as a PG so much is determined by whom you are playing with... If you pass the ball to a cutting Deke it is not the same as a cutting Yao. One is a turnover the other 2 points and an assist. Particularly at PG who you play with has a lot to do with your stats. DD
thats again bad statistics, he played just a few minutes and numbers like this would not make any sense right now
Our turnovers have actually gone down since Deke is getting extended playing time. It's a matter of not passing him the ball unless it makes sense, like Tracy does. TOs aren't affected so much by who you play with; assists definitely are. I would think by now V-Span has a good idea of who can catch passes.
