Greece plays tomorrow morning at 11:00am Central, so some of us may get to have our first look at a future Rockets PG, if he gets some playing time.
Uuh-Ooh, another project will be declared a bust. A lot of the people here will be disappointed because what they'll get to see is not what they would have expected. Spanoulis is the 10th to 12th player on the greek team. Not because he's so young but because there are better players on this team. Expect him to get not much playing time and expect him to not run the offense. He isn't the playmaker, so I question his true pg skills. He has talent but he probably isn't better than Luther Head right now. He would not have made the roster even if he had not signed his big contract in russia. I hope he proves me wrong and can show that he could have made the NBA this year, but I doubt it will happen. Maybe he will be usefull when Mooch, Ward, Sura, Barry and Wesley will be gone.
Guys, I've watched the Greek team in the quarterfinals of FIBA Europe..VSpan barely plays and I think there's a reason for that. Among the other players there, I'm quite impressed with Calderon and Ukic. They are ballhawk PG's who can score and make plays like Tony Parker...
Greek 67 to France 66. 1pt victory, with a Greek player nailing a 3 with 3 seconds to go. Spanoulis had M/A = 0/1, 1ast, 1reb, and 2 personal fails in 9 minutes of play. Parker for France was the highest scorer of either team with 20. Greek advances to the European Championship Titles decider, playing the winner of Spain (without Gasol) and Germany (with Notwitzki). In other news, Lithuania and Slovenia (with Nacbar, although not a starter) have both qualified for the World Championship at Tokyo next year. -G'day-
The Raptors rapped him up quickly as a FA I believe in August. They gave him a guaranteed contract. Now I understand why (according to Da Wink report).
I do understand and agree with all you said, as I didn't guarantee we would be seeing him in today's game. Given Greece's success, even being 10th to 12th player at this point might not mean he's so bad after all, no?
Looks like the game will be repeated later this evening for those that missed it. Don't read the above posts if you don't want to know the outcome.
Given that the Greek team is completely inferior to anything resembling an NBA team, a 10-12th player for them barely deserves an invite to training camp. I don't understand the fascination with this guy, Badiane, JWilliams, and some others. Looks like Vspan did us a favor by going back to Europe.
Yeah, my initial post wasn't directed to you, so there's no argument about it. And, of course, I didn't say Spanoulis is a bad player. I just said that he isn't the player we need right now (Speaking of the next 1-2 seasons). He is young and he has talent, but he isn't NBA ready. He has to work a lot on his game to be a contributor for a contending team in the NBA. We have young guys in Mike James and Luther Head who are the same type of players. We desperately need a young player with true PG skills, which V-Span has not. At least not right now. Of course he was a pick of the second round, so the Rockets didn't make any mistake by drafting him.
You folks crack me up. Obviously, a bench player for a national team is not NBA-ready. But if we see that the players who are playing ahead of him on the national team are kicking butt, there is certainly hope that there is enough game in the guy that in a year or two, the guy could be earning some rotation minutes on a team that features an unproven rookie PG, complete stiffs as backup PG's, and the productive ones are either hurt or will be leaving/traded within the year. Apostolic, wouldn't you have said the same thing about the Italy team that kicked our butt last year? You think last year's Hornets would easily win a series with Greece? The teams in these tournaments usually have two or three NBA-rotation veterans, and maybe an all-star too. Yet Greece is in the final.
The V-Span First Half Report for those who missed: <B>The Good:</B> Some quotes from the announcers: After a nice interior pass for an assist - "Good quickness, you can see why he's a NBA prospect" On defensing Tony Parker: "Smart play" and "Great D" (the latter of which happened right before Parker somehow got away with running right into V-Span and then hoisting up a three after V-Span went flying the other way). <B>The Bad:</B> A couple of quick fouls trying to stay in front of Tony Parker, (one of which I thought was bogus). Missed both 3's in the first half. <B>The Ugly:</B> One of those misses drew nothing but backboard!
One thing we should all know by now: Playing the grueling 82 game NBA schedule against NBA competition is completely different than playing in Europe or anywhere else. Forget about a series; let's talk 82 games, with the NBA physicality, strength and speed, the travel, the 4 games in 5 days, etc, etc. The team we sent to the Olympics had as much chemistry with each other as an expansion team during training camp. On top of that, the coach was at war with 1/2 the players! If the Greek national team played in the NBA next year, they'd be lucky to win 5 games. Just imagine night in, night out, playing teams that have been through a training camp and developed chemistry with each other. Then we would find out how many NBA rotation players they have. And Vspan is their 12th man; gimme a break! I stand by exactly what I said. If he isn't among their top 2 players, he isn't worth a roster spot. At this point in time, he is well below Boki. If the Rockets took a midseason break and played the Greek national team for 10 consecutive (somehow) meaningful games, do you honestly think any of the games would be close? Yao or T-Mac could name their own point total, from 0 to 60, and we'd still win each game easily. The intensity level & the physical demands of NBA basketball are a huge cut above Europe.
I think people are disappointed with Spanoullis because he had a breakout year last season and everyone was looking for more. He was one of Greece's best player last season and one of the best players in the Euroleague, we thought we would at least see him in summer league. But for a guy who was their leading scorer last season, you have to wonder why he is at the end of the bench all of the sudden.
I think you're arguing against points I am not making. Did I not say a bench player for a national team is not NBA-ready? A year or two, then we'll see. I don't pretend to be an expert in Greece basketball, but the starter is a long-time veteran. The 2nd stringer Zisis impressed me greatly today. Took it to the rack with authority, and coolly made his shots. He's got confidence, and I think V-Span is lacking it right now, so he deserves to be 3rd string.
T-2, this is what I was responding to. Being a 10-12th player on Greece's team DOES mean he must be bad (or injured). And no, the teams in those tournaments DO NOT usually have two or three NBA-rotation level players. That is a joke! The combination of speed, strength, skill, physicality, 82 games and the grind & travel would be too much for most of the top European players to make NBA rotations. Sure, there are a few who could and they choose to stay in Europe, but not many.
