Rick sends Von to the locker room (UPDATE: Adelman says issue settled)

IDK man, Adelman is notoriously known to be patient to a fault...and he lost patience on Wafer Wednesday night.

 

Sure it's not only Von's fault, but at least he's not winning when he plays.

Just for reference, Wafer is the only bench player who sees regular minutes with a negative +/- in 8 total games. Lowry +0, Hayes +4 , Landry +29.

That should show you something here.

 

Well as I said he is still young and it's his first playoffs year. His enthusiasm
and fighting spirit are good signs though not listening to the coach is not. But then, I believed coach knows he is good young eager lad. So I don't think there will be any bad blood between them.

 

Wafer has gone from playing around 17 minutes per game in the Portland series to playing just 7:51 and 9:23 in Los Angeles. Some of this may have to do with Vujacic or Wafer's level of play, but my guess is that it is more about the matchups.

Adelman's been going with the Brooks-and-Lowry backcourt more this series. Apparently he sees a matchup advantage against the Lakers backup backcourt when he goes small. And given how effective it was in Game 1 and first half of Game 2, (though not so much in the second half, IMO) you can't blame him.

Unfortunately, the 2-PG backcourt has eaten into Wafer's playing time. From Wafer's perspective, he's visibly frustrated because he's playing 10 minutes less in the second round against the Lakers, a team that he probably feels he does his best against. Of course, this doesn't excuse his behavior, but I can see why a young, emotional player would get upset.

It will be interesting what happens in Game 3. Now that Fisher can't play, the Lakers' backcourt rotation will change, and so the matchups will change. I wonder how Adelman will adjust and how it will affect Wafer's minutes.

But no matter what happens, Wafer has to keep his cool. As another poster said, Wafer needs to take the Chuck Hayes approach and keep himself focused and ready for anything, whether he is given 20 minutes or 3.

 

^^^^
Oops, I forgot a good chunk of Wafer's minutes in Game 1 went to Barry (6 minutes) and not the small backcourt. So there goes my theory.

 

I thought he has back spasm during the Blazer series. He was said to be hardly able to move. If he has not fully recovered, he should sit.

 

I'm going to guess it was already mentioned in this 20 page thread, but this isn't exactly unprecedented. Not only has Wafer acted like this before yesterday with the Rockets, but he's done in previously, going back to his days at Florida St.

The guy thinks he's better than he really is for whatever reason. He was called for an offensive foul, missed a long jumper, and then I believe was substituted out for Battier. If you're pissed that you're being substituted out for Shane, the best defender we have to guard Kobe, your head ain't straight.

 

Von is forcing his shots from outside...that's why he got benched. And to top it off, he hurts the team by turning over and driving at trapping defenders.

 

Haven't seen RA's reaction but during the press conference he seemed pissed so my guess is still that Wafer will be gone next season. If Wafer does anything stupid, I'm confident he will not be a Rocket anymore. Von better keep his cool and put his damn ego away, selfish b*stard.

 

Upon learning Von's antics, we should go into another direction..remember we have James White..and Morey is a God. He can find that bench player who can score, shoot 3 and a pace changer.

 

James White didn't prove anything. He might be the next Joey Dorsey. Finding a diamond in the rough like Von Wafer isn't as easy as you may think, it doesn't come along that often. We need to stay with Wafer.

 

Friedman:

Finally, it should be noted that Von Wafer was a full participant in practice this afternoon; one day after being sent to the locker room for his tantrum during the second half of Game 2. Adelman addressed Wafer’s status for Game 3, saying the fourth-year guard will dress and be available to play Friday night.

“It was a situation that happened and we talked about it,” said Adelman. “It’s over with and we’re moving on. He didn’t like coming out and he doesn’t have to like coming out but it’s his job to accept that. So we talked about it.

“This is not a one-time thing, it’s a couple things have happened, and it was not the right time. It’s all about the team and that’s what Von and I talked about. It’s not about individuals, it’s not about me, it’s about the team and you’ve got to trust your teammates. You don’t have to like anything, but it’s my job to coach the team and your job to play. So it’s over with and we’re moving on.”

Wafer concurred with his coach, saying, “It’s behind us and we’re trying to move forward. We’ve got the predicted champions tomorrow and everybody just wants to win, everybody’s on the same page, it’s just time to move on.”

http://my.nba.com/thread.jspa?threadID=5700036638

This doesn't sound too well at all, they're just putting it behind them because there's no team to deal with it. In the off-season they will probably deal with it and expect Wafer to be gone. Too bad, the guy has amazing talent but is like most NBA players thinking they're better than the rest. Still cannot believe it, because Wafer comes across a humble guy and says he does not like to draw too much attention but this suggests otherwise.

 

Agree 100%. I always think James White is better than Von Wafer, but he has no chance to prove that.

 

I believe it's not that big a deal in the going forward kind of way. I don't believe it will affect VW's FA status - he'll get what he earns from this series - and the next two!

 

What the hell has the guy done besides some fancy dunks on Youtube?

 

But can't you leave your ***** till the offseason? The team is going all out to win the serials and you jumped out to become a distraction? Don't you understand that this is going to have a negative effect in your contract talks, too?
If you would do the same thing, you head is not straight either.

Sorry for the bluntness, but what else can a team oriented fan say? I really don't care your stats and you can see it.

 

Hmmm, this sounds like another superstar on the team. I hope Wafer does not become another Tracy.

 

Yeah, he hasn't had the chance, and the Western Conference Semifinals is not the time to give him one.

 

Please elaborate on this ridiculous statement.

 

I've seen the TO issue brought up a few times. If you notice, most of his TOs come from his dribbling too much. He is not a good ball-handler. Vujacic will get up on his quick just to fluster him. It's worked on more than one occasion and has resulted in TOs. Get the ball out of his bands.

Let him get his shots off the dribble.