He has the passion that several players on the Rockets lack. He and Scola keep me interested. I love to see players play with fire in their eyes. Never quit! He looks like he is chucking at times, but he actually shoots a good percentage. Now Ron is another matter: great when he is hitting, but volume shooting usually doesn't end well.
Actually I've been saying all season that we finally have a team that almost entirely has this fire! Wafer, Landry, Scola, Artest, Yao, Battier, Dik, Barry, Brooks, they've all got that passion for the game and that tenacious poise that a team needs. Of course they make mistakes, but the team finally plays with passion and its hard to complain about what this squad has accomplished thus far.
I like his game a lot. He keeps attacking rather than jacking up shots. He's aggressive. He has turn into an offensive force for the Rockets and maybe the X factor for them in the Playoffs. He has become a go-to-guy when the superstars are not on the court. I also want to say that Artest and Lowry is better off at stand shooting than off the ball dribbling shooting. I think if you look at the stats of them shoot while stand and shoot while off the dribble...you will find their field percentage is much higher for standing than off the dribble.
yeah he just gets uber-pumped whenever he makes a good play, maybe it's the excitement of getting his first stable opportunity in the nba, but it definitely makes me happy for him. i remember during the jazz game he was taking it recklessly to the hole on fast breaks even when the numbers didn't work in our favor, but he's passing out now whenever he drives and can't find a good shot. his improvement throughout the season has been quite noticeable, and he says he watches a lot of film, that's the type of worker this team needs.
Me and my roommate were saying the same thing. Let him be the guy who makes the entry pass into Yao. He is the only guy we have with the combination of first step, finishing ability, and handles to get to the rim consistantly. I really like that he has shown more calm to his game. I think the set we had with Ron passing and Wafer cutting is perfect at the end of games..we got an easy layup and a Landry dunk. problem is that Artest eventually went all black hole on it.
i was thinking we'd resign wafer for 1.2-1.5 mils per for 3 years. lately i've been thinking 2.2-2.5 mils for 4 years.
I have a feeling Von is gonna ascend to super star status in these upcoming playoffs. He is a sleeping giant.
I am BEFUDDLED about the love for Von Wafer. What I see when I watch him play is an out of control, ready to run, and quick to shoot player. Is there something I am missing? The guy averages as many shots attempt as he does minutes played (I am exaggerating, but that's what it looks and feels like). Him and Lowry both make me nervous. Lowry would be most effective starting with the main group. Without Yao in there, these two love to try to be heroes. I call it selfish. Again, they put up the numbers tonight (at least Wafer did), but I would NOT be suprise if Wafer shoots us out of the playoffs -- Luther Head 2007.
um wafer is in there specifically for that reason, to shoot the ball. when the opposing team's defense notches up and all our other players are playing hot potato with the ball on the perimeter, afraid to make a move or take a shot, von wafer is the guy who is unafraid to try and make something happen. complaining about von wafer shooting too much is like complaining about dikemebe mutombo for trying to block too many shots.
Von can certainly get out of control, but it seems the more he plays the more under control he gets. Does he shoot a lot, yes.....but that is his role, his job is to go in and create havoc by putting major pressure on the defense. This Rocket's team sorely needs creative players who can get to the cup....THAT is Von Wafer, it is what he does, and he does it with great efficiency...more than 44% shooting and 40% from 3pt land...that is not just good, that is great on this team. IMHO, he should be taking minutes from both Ron and Battier, as he provides something COMPLETELY different and missing from this Rockets team....when he comes in.....and does his thing it opens up the floor for everyone else. Think of it this way....how many scoring droughts do the Rockets go through.....? A lot, right? Now, how many of them were with Wafer on the floor? ...Exactly...!!!! DD
wafer's passion is just the product of his appetite for a big contract. I bet he will start to suck once he get an above mid-level contract, and the bigger the contract he gets the worse he will suck. I hope the GMs of the other 29 teams also know that and refuse to offer him more than what our team will afford, then we'll re-sign him flatly.
I have not really looked into that, what kind of statistics are you looking for to describe the role he has been given by Adelman? Or how would we be able to track scoring droughts, that would indeed be interesting........I am just going by what I percieve, I don't see a lot of scoring droughts with Wafer on the floor. As for his efficiency, I looked at his FG% both overall and 3pt%, which are both danged good. But how do you measure energy and passion, and how it infects the rest of his teamates? Remember last year whenever Carl Landry would do something exciting the team would pick up, I see that same thing happening with Von this year....the Rockets have so many passive players, that they need a little unbridled enthusiasm.....I love what Wafer and Landry bring, they play hard, and it seems to get the rest of the team to play a little harder too trying to keep up. Not sure that is actually quantifiable though. Did you ever find the stats from our last discussion about Von and Artest, and their contributions to the effectiveness of the lineup overall? I would be very interested in seeing what both of their effectiveness is with Von or Artest and the following players as a 5 man unit. Brooks Yao Scola Battier To do as close to an apples to apples comparison as you can, even though they have not faced EXACTLY the same opponents and situations, which makes them not completely accurate but as close as you can get. DD
When Von is on the floor and has the ball, their entire team shrinks a little to the inside because they know whats coming. Because of this, when Von penetrates, he can easily find open shooters because the defence has collapsed on him. When Shane drives to the basket, you never see help defence come. Thats Von's effect and the reason why we've stretched our lead in both of the last two games when hes come on.
I think Von has the potential to develop into a full time NBA starter. Many are predicting him to be a full time back up for years to come, but he is still developing. With confidence and maturity, he could settle into a starting role on some team, hopefully the Rockets. As was talked about in another thread, I would rather see him starting at the 2 guard and Ron starting at SF, although I won't complain with our current record. Battier could still get 25 to 30 minutes a game coming off the bench, but it is time he ended his starting role, IMO. Ron is not good coming off the bench, IMO. Von has passion, speed, athleticism, a 3 point shot, the ability to beat his man off the dribble and he can finish with dunks and not just wussy layups. With more confidence and maturity, he can be a full time legit starter. Let's see how he does in the playoffs. If he raises his game level, look out Tmac or anyone trying to get that starting SG position next year. Tmac will need time to get back to his former self, if he can. Von's summer work will make all the difference.
