BTW, JVG should not blame VSpan alone for the team's bad performance in the 4th quarter during the news conference.
Not to mention, WTF was JVG doing by having any rotation players in the game at all in the 4th quarter? What about injuries????????? V-Span JL3 Novak Padgett Hayes Should have played the entire 4th quarter...and Hayes could have been replaced by Synder if active. Why risk any injury to a key player.....just mind boggling. DD
No...tonight's bench performance disproved your point, it proved that if the bench got more PT....we'd lose more games. These guys have shown ZERO improvement since preseason. I mean, yeah 2-4 performance from Novak is nice ("Mr. Morey tells me great efficiency") but he was just as lousy in all other areas. The bench needs to be improved. We have nothing at backup PG suiable for a playoff team. Uhh, we were -17 even without those guys playing hte whole time. Put Padgett and Spanoulis in longer the game might even be within reach for Phillly. Snyder was out with the flu, by the way (and stop calling him "synder" dammit!!!!)
Remember when Tony Kukoc destroyed the NBA his first year here after being one of the most decorated European players ever? How about Vlade Divac? Dirk Nowitzki? Drazen Petrovic? Oh, that's right, because NO European player has ever come to the NBA straight from Europe to be a primary contributor to a playoff-bound team. But, if you guys were patient, you'd be much smarter and wouldn't spend all your time complaining on a bulletin board about things you don't really understand.
Just as I say he is growing on me, he shows his petty self. You can not b**** about a player going to the media and then turn around and go to the media yourself. That is a classless act by JVG. Two wrongs do not make a right ! DD
No, it means that if you play ONE of your bench players with the upper echelon of your teamates, they would get comfortable on the court and learn to play the NBA game. But, if they only get practice and shootaround, they will NOT be ready to contribute if called upon...due to injury or other reason because they have had no time to develop. DD
Yeah, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli stunk it up their rookie years !! Look, I get your point Jeff, patience, but a lot of the key Euros got to play their rookie years and it expedited their development. That is the point a lot of people are trying to make...not that someone like V-Span should be starting, but that he should be groomed to play....and have a chance to play his natural postion (PG) with some of the better players on the team. PG's particularly need better players around them to make them look good. DD
JVG gave Span a pass for speaking out, and was just pointing out that Span better damn well have backed up what he said on the court. Which he obviously did not. Okay, two things that don't add up here... The Span Apologists...or Spanologists if you will, seem to be saying his natural position is point guard and by handling the ball more he would play better and turn the ball over less? If he turned the ball over twice in 5 minutes at shooting guard...and you want him to handle the ball more???? But it has digressed to the point where the best argument for playing Span is that he is the least worst option. Which I don't think is even close to being true right now.
I agree based on his performance tonight....... Luther should be primary backup PG...and that is RIIIISSSSKKKYY ! DD
... it does not mean that. You could put me on the floor with McGrady and Yao and LeBron and Garnett and I would still suck. YOu're just making stuff up to suit your viewpoint with no inkling that it will work, you're just arbitrarily deciding "Say if my FAVORITE player played more, he'd be better" --- the answer is, not if he sucks and is not good enough to play at this level, which according to you has no chance of happening. Well guess what, it happens, players bust all the time. I know it sucks when its one of your favorite players but that doesn't make them immune to it. PS his natural position is NOT PG and never has been. I know you think ifyou post it enough it will be true, but it won't. THe guy is a combo guard whose specialty is scoring by driving the lane. While I am not one to cling ridiclously to 1-2-3-4-5 labels, that does not bode well for his "natural" positon being 1, especially considering he didn't play it all the time at his previous level.
I hope a trade will come to fruition. I haven't closed the book on Span, but he needs to take a few steps back and work on his game to crack the rotation again.
This "not his natural position" argument is getting really old, really fast. T-Mac, Head and Wells are all able to slash to the basket from the 2 spot. They're all able to rack up assists when slashing. If you're game is drive and dish, you can do it from the 1, 2 or 3. Ridiculous to say our 2-guard's role doesn't include slashing, and ridiculous to say that especially when Yao's out. V-Span played poorly. Even at the 2, where he's played before, he shouldn't have 0 assists and 2 turnovers. The only valid argument here is Lucas' piss-poor play. Maybe V-Span, in extremely limited minutes, ercieved extremely limited, last-ditch touches. I haven't seen the game yet. But if he played bad, just say he played bad. Doesn't mean his career's over. It just means he played a bad game. Oh and DaDa you are assuming the rant was directed at V-Span. Personally, I think it was directed more at Lucas, but most likely both of them. A coach can't say his players played poorly anymore? Jeez. Like I said, he should improve his 3-pt shot in practice, and drive to the basket more if he's playing the 2. This is quickly becoming the Dan Langhi obsession, though Spanoulis has more talent in his pinkie than Langhi ever had. I hope this turns out differently, but while he's learning, tell it like it is.
Wouldn't it only make sense that if V-Span was surrounded by players who are better shooters, passers, rebounders and defenders that he could play better? He'll recieve better passes, the team will have more possesions, the help defense will arrive for him, and the shooting will create space for him to drive more. Maybe I misunderstood you, but it sounded to me like you're saying it doesn't matter who you play with.
No, I just have experience as a PG, and know EXACTLY what I am talking about, where you clearly don't. I am not saying that V-Span played well tonight...hardly. I am saying that blaming a guy in the press conference for speaking out to the media is hypicritical. Not to mention that V-Span only played 5 total minutes tonight....and JVG seemed to be blaming him for the collapse in the 4th quarter.....At least his comments were directed primarily at him. Do I think V-Span deserved to sit after his comments....YES.....but you can't b**** a guy out in the media for b****ing to the media...that is petty. I am happy the Rockets won....but I am not sure what JVG expects when he throws out there 5 guys who never play together......that is what you are going to get. Which is EXACTLY my point about us being one injury away from having to rely on guys that HAVE NEVER PLAYED...that is stupid. And to say that playing with better players does not matter.......that is assinine....simply dumb..... Passing the ball to Tmac or Battier, or Head is a heck of a lot better than passing it to JL3.....SHEESH ! DD
You did not address a single point that I made - namely the HUGE Logical leap you are making by assuming that Spanoulis will automatically get better and is ready to play in the NBA now - something that we have NOT seen yet, all throughout preseason, in Nov and Dec, and again tonight. The only reason why you assume this is because he's a pet favorite of yours. You also did not address (and have never addressed, despite the fact it's been raised to you many times) that your "playing out of position" argument is not only not an excuse for his poor play, but not even correct given what we know about his "natural" position. You just blurt out "Tony Parker". That doesn't help me. he's not Tony Parker. He's Spanoulis. Who sucks a lot more than Parker. though I do find it hilarious that you are touting your irrelevant experience of playing PG on NBA 2k7 as making you an expert.
He certainly looked poor out there tonight, no doubt about it, and I don't want to see V-span shooting 3 pointers....V-Span could have driven on those instead of shooting them...no doubt. I will stick by my point that if he played with the starters, he would improve a lot faster than playing garbage minutes. Just ask Tony Parker how quickly he got used to the game, or Manu Ginobli, or Dirk Nowitski, or A. Bargnani......you have to play to get better. Look, I am tired of this argument....until V-Span plays....or EARNS playing time, it is a waste of time. I am VERY happy with the win tonight...but JVG tossing his players under the bus is unprofessional IMHO. JVG should be the bigger man..... DD
I know but by playing they got better, and were PRODUCTIVE sooner than if they sat on the bench their whole rookie years...which is precisely my point. I don't think we are going anwhere in the playoffs with Rafer as our starting PG... The sooner we can get another PG ready...be it next year or the end of this year the better. IMHO. DD
