Yes! I think Adelman knows Von has potential. Cmon the guy coached in this league for how many years? What I think Adelman is doing is providing a spark plug in the second unit, which many posters here agree with. How many times have we see the 2nd unit go on a scoring run explosion compared to the 1st unit? Too many. Wafer may not be the entire reason but a huge part of that. You ever see those plays where we get a defensive rebound, or a steal, or a offensive collapse by the opponent and the Rox will QUICKLY hand off the ball to Lowry and Lowry will run up the court breaking through transition and ditching the ball to an OPEN Wafer who already set himself up for the open 3? It is in those moment where I jump up hoping Wafer makes that 3 and when he does, it is nothing but a joy to watch. And usually that play would end with the opposing team calling timeout and us having the 'important' momentum in the game. That play always ALWAYS gets me up. You want to know why the Rox are exciting to watch this year, well that play is one of those reasons. Yes, that play is nothing new and we have done that play for years, but watching Von's facial reaction (which he does EVERYTIME) after the shot is intense and really pumps you up as a fan
I see Wafer as a viable candidate for Most Improved Player Award. Do you think this is even up for discussion, or are they looking at the Danny Granger's, Kevin Durant's, and Devin Harris' of the world? all of them improved their scoring by 7-9 points, but then again , so did The Legend of Von Wafer.
you probably mentioned the player's that are up for serious discussion as far as most improved. it could be jameer nelson too? i think von isn't going to get any consideration this year, but he's getting a little more publicity nowadays, and will get much more notice down the line especially if he performs well in the playoffs. keep this up and increase productivity by a bit next year (time will depend on artest's deal and mcgrady's health), and von will be in the running next season for most improved player IMO. he has that type of potential, and i think he can make major noise off the bench, like leandro barbosa used to when healthy. i believe von's ceiling is higher than barbosa's.
I understand what you are saying, but I wasn't comparing their styles of play either, just the talent to be starting overall. There is NO question that Battier is a Much better defender than Von is. But there is also NO question that Von is a Much better offensive player than Battier is. So the question is..what gives? I know that everyone says defense wins championships, and that is true. But Shane has lost a step this year and gets beat a lot more regularly than before. I just think his game is better suited to come off the bench and be a stopper, leader and yes...an offensive threat coming off the bench; while he is not one in the starting lineup because of everyone else. I think part of Von's eractic play is do to him wanting to PROVE that he has arrived. Just like Ron is trying to PROVE that he is ready for another big contract this year. Ron makes some bone head plays to, but what he brings to the table is much more valuable, so a lot of that is overlooked. I am not saying that Von is a Ron, but I am saying that what he brings to the table overall is better than his eratic moments. He can be eratic for 3 quarters and then in the next quarter go on a 10 point spurt all by himself with his aggressiveness and passion. That wins games! What did you see wrong with his play when he started? This team needs what he brings in the starting lineup!
Brooks and Wafer would be a horrible starting backcourt defensively. And Yao would never get a shot. Remember, teams usually don't front Yao from the start of the game so we need guys that give him the ball early on. Save Wafer for when defenses start comitting to Yao.
I think that Von should stay in his role as a bench sparkplug for the rest of this year. However, looking at next year, I would strongly consider putting him in the starting line-up if we can flip-flop Lowry and Brooks. Lowry is a more pure point gaurd who obviously can't score like AB but seems to play well with Yao. He also runs the break well with Wafer when they're in together. AB could come off the bench as the offensive sparkplug using his speed and shooting prowessto help carry the offensive load for the 2nd unit that might include Battier, Landry, and Dorsey (Mutombo's replacement). 4th quarter minutes would go to the hot hand.
I can see this....nicely put.... I don't care about starting so much, just get him more PT. Another great post, so much rep to give out and so little time. DD
I think Battier's best strength is his 3 point shot. They double Yao and it leaves battier open. IF battier wanted to post up he could, he just choses not to since there is Yao and Scola... He does have some success with his post up game, but I would prefer him to shoot the open 3....Wafer has more energy and speed so it really helps the second unit..Battier wouldn't have that
Wafer is a good generator of offense and energy for this team. For all his flaws he's a shot creator, one of the few guys on the past few years I'd trust enough to get SOME kind of shot off. He can drive strong and quick to the basket, and he's also able to rise high on his jump shot to shoot over defenders. Can agree with this. It maybe apparent its just Brooks isnt point guarding enough in general. Cuz I've thought Lowry playing alongside ARTEST seems to work good. The AB/Artest combo to me sometimes has similarities to a light version of Tmac/Artest of two guys needing to shoot to be effective. But for this team AB/Artest and Lowry/Wafer is a good balance. Cuz AB/Wafer would be ineffective facilitating for the team. And Artest has better passing skills than Wafer. Brooks can catch and shoot better off an Artest pass and Yao Ming kickout as well.
While I understand a point you are trying to make, your comparison of Wafer's chucking to Dikembe's shot-blocking is logical fallacy at it's finest. You do know there is a greater risk (and potential harm) in shooting so quick and so often than there is to Dikembe going up for a shot block, don't you? I've yet to be bought on Wafer. It's not like his stroke is something to marvel at, so while his shooting % may be great now, I think it's only natural it will drop. Are we going to say Ron Artest 3pt % should allow him in the 3pt contest? And that he should shoot as many as he wants, because at one point, he was shooting like 43% from 3-point land? I like Von Wafer's slashing. That's about it. But he does not play within any noticeable system. He does Von Wafer. And sometimes, he does Lowry too. It would be interesting to see him play off and with Yao.
The bottom line to me is that Battier isn't a starting 3 on a championship team. One of the best 6th men in the league, a help like Posey was to Boston...YES...but starter on a championship team..NO. If not Wafer, then if Tmac comes back, sending Artest back to the bench won't work, if both of them are here. Battier has to go to the bench next season or we just won't win a championship, IMO. (Unless we shock the world this year)
All I'm saying is that if Von Wafer, whose shooting I have absolutely no confidence in, shoots the Rockets out of the playoffs, someone owes me money.
The kid is electric coming off the bench BUT, only if he could learn how to pass the ball a little more would really add to this game maybe even earn a starting position somewhere.
You do know he shoots a higher percentage than: Battier Artest Brooks Lowry Barry Simply put, he shoots better than any guard or small forward on the team. His 3 point % is as good as Barry's or Artest's and is better than Battier's, Brooks' or Lowry's.
Let's hope he keeps it that way in the playoffs. His recklessness is something to worry about in the playoffs. Others will call it heroics. You know when sometimes a player takes a really bad shot that, even though they made it, the commentators say, "I don't think I like that shot" or "I don't think his coach is happy about that shot" ? Well, this is how I feel about Von Wafer. I don't think his 3-point shot is as good as Artest's. If you are simply going to go by percentage, then Artest's 40ish% from beyond the arc should allow him to shoot it as many times as he please -- why question a 40% 3point shooter? With some players, the % is bound to go down.
You can't help but like the guy. He's learned a lot. Sure, he needs to find his teammates sometimes rather than always think score, score, score, but as far as we know, he might be doing what the coaching staff is telling him to do (more or less): Shoot, beeyotch! I could do without that hairdo Wafer's sported this year. Looks like he went to the barbershop with a 1976 edition of Playboy magazine, pointed to the centerfold and said, "Make my skull look like that." Otherwise, he's been a great find, and I hope he keeps improving, and that Morey manages to keep him around (which I think he will).
