Okay here is one opinion i have and i am not sure why JVG has not at least tried it. We all sit here and ask for a banging PF that doesnt look to score and will do the dirty work down low and be a bit of muslce to back up Yao. I say we have someone on our bench who does that but doesn't get a chance to play. Clarence Weatherspoon! He is a bit undersized but for his size he plays a mean PF or C when he does get into the game. When he has come in to play a bit of C when Yao and Deke are in foul trouble he does what we have been asking for all along. Reminds me a bit of Larry Smith or even Barkley. He isn't the biggest guy but finds a way to play bigger than he is. He bangs down low and doesn't shy away from contact one bit. We should stop babying our shooting PF's and giving them minutes when we have a great player that can rebound and give some help on the defense like that. At least give him a shot at it and see how he performs. Right now we don't need another shooting PF and we all know that. Weatherspoon plays his game and doesn't go out of his ability. Just a thought
Yeah I tried to make the same point: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=88063 I'll take the silence as everyone's agreement
I agree 100%. Van Gundy keeps running MoT out there and Mo is playing worse than any player on the team. Now Mo's offense has gone in the dumper as well. He is a black hole, he holds the ball and dribbles instead of taking the jumper or giving the ball up. He slows down an already slow offense because he is looking for his shot instead of getting the ball to TMac and Yao. But, every game Van Gundy has him out there taking minutes and Spoon is sitting on the bench. We need to trade offense for defense and defense for offense. Put Spoon in at the 4 and Boki in at the 3. Spoon gives you the defense and rebounding that neither Howard or MoT gives you. He doesn't hold the ball on the offensive end. And in Boki, we get a legitimate offensive threat on the floor to hit the 3 ball off the double teams of Yao and TMac. Spoon is by no means the answer at the 4, but he sure is the best defensive and rebounding option, and he ain't no worse at this point offensively than Mo and Juwon who have been getting the vast majority of the minutes at the 4.
"The Answer" at PF? Yeah, you could put Allen Iverson at PF for the Rockets and he would grab more boards than our scrubs!
I think Weatherspoon should at least get a chance, but right now he is behind Howard, Taylor, & Padgett. DD
no one should behind Taylor or Howard in my Opinion. Why is it so easy for other players to get into the doghouse with JVG but with Mo and Howard they just keep changing places when one is in the doghouse and no one else is given a chance. Boki messes up he is out for a 10 games. Mo messed up (each game i might add) so he brings in Howard. Howard messes up (each game as well) and he brings in Mo T... i mean when is that cycle going to end and see if anyone else can help.
Thats what I have been sayig all year. Put him in dammit! I'll make sure and yell his name tonight. When one of our weak 4's loses a rebound or they get scored on.
I also have been agreeing with this idea on a couple of threads. I wonder what Spoon did to earn the 12th seat on the bench?
Good post. I have been saying this for the past 2 weeks. give Spoon some mins. Lets atleast see what he can do. He can't be any worse that Howard or Mo on defense and I am sure he is a better rebounder than them also. We have used hustle players like Bowen, Sura, and Barrett to help us get a few wins. I think Spoon could do the same. JVG needs to atleast give him a chance.
Given that the qualities we're citing we need at PF happen to be ones JVG values and emphasizes, I imagine he would have given more minutes to Spoon now if he really did feel that Spoon could provide those things. Think about how unhappy JVG had been with the on-court performance and the amount of reshuffling he's done with the rotation. If JVG thought Spoon could help, he would have played him more now. I don't generally trust everything about JVG and his coaching, but I don't see any reason not to assume that he hasn't explored the possibilities of using Spoon and come to reasonable conclusions about his possible effectiveness.
Assuming one this is a whole nother ball game compared to at least trying it. We can sit here and come up with a million different ways and suggestions of how we want things run just like JVG but until he puts it into play in a real game then he will never know how it is going to work. Im sorry practive and thinking up how it will work out in a game and actually trying it in a game are 2 different things.
Well I know it was only the pre-season but Spoon put together some good games. He showed some hustle and decent defense. We wont really know if Spoon can help us out until JVG puts him in the game. Common Grumpy put in Spoon.
Now we finally get the truth. Van Gundy does way too much thinking and comes to reasonable conclusions that are wrong instead of playing the player and finding out. He apparently prefers to go with the known underperformer than to experiment with another player that he has passed judgment on.
Maybe he sits at home and plays on a PS2 with different lineups and whoever does well he puts in the game.
The most workable truest answer is that Mo or Ho has to be the starter and given 35 or so minutes per game. Padgett gets the remaining. The other two sit. The answer screams for a 4commitment. Really.
I do like the hustle that Spoon gives, I just think usually when he is in the game he is outmatched at his position. He's a solid effort player though and I agree with you that he should get some more minutes.
