Bah, Spanoulis went out of bounds to cover the guy inbounding the ball and fouled him. Boneheaded move, and the game is on the line with Panathinaikos down by 3.
My first time seeing the guy and only caught the end of the game, saw two offensive plays, he tried to create, looks like a lefty, drove the lane using a left handed dribble both times, couldn't finish either time because a defender got there and he had to pass out. Looks like an average athlete, looks about as fast as Andres Nacioni of the Bulls so I don't think he is going to be a lock down defender against the speed of NBA PG/SGs. Didn't try one perimeter shot so can't say about his outside shooting but from the short time watching him, his tendency is to create rather than take a perimeter shot. He didn't light my fire so my first impression is what is everyone talking about when some on this board say "dump Wesley and make Spanoulis our SG".
Yes, not only that I'm on record that as desperate as we need some help at PG/SG we are not going to pay this kid 2M year to be a Houston Rocket this year.
I'd offer him a 1+2 type of contract if we bring him over (is that still legal?). We don't even know if he can play on the NBA level. This league is a totally different animal than Euro League.
I still think we should have gone for Earl Watson when we had the chance. I don't know why Denver let him go if they needed shooters. That guy is a pretty good shooter from what I've seen.
He played yesterday on NBAtv, from what I read on another forum he looked really good, did anyone else catch the game?
For the Wednesday game, euroleague.net has him listed with 3 pts and 3 assists and 5 TO. Doesn't sound too impressive. The game before that he had 25 pt and 1 asst and 2 TO. I like his stats over the year, but I do not like all of the TOs I keep on seeing.
I watched the whole game Saturday of Panathinaikos and Vasilis Spanoulus. He reminded me a lot of a quicker Manu Ginobili. On the plus side he has a very quick first step and, and can change directions on a dime just like Manu. He is a great finisher to the basket with good leaping ability. When he was on the floor, he was there go to guy, constantly causing havoc in the paint for the opposition. On the minus side he looked like an average passer, shooter and is a little turnover prone. His turnovers came from just bad passes against a zone. I think part of his turnovers can be alleviated when he plays in the NBA because he will not see to many zones in the NBA. I think because of his quickness and ability to finish he will flourish with the rockets. Have him come off the bench and put him in a pick and roll situation with Yao or a PF that can shoot, he will excel. Just like a lot of players around the league, his shooting will improve. If it does, he can potentially be an NBA all-star quality point.
Everything I have read about Vspan is similar to the comments above. It seems that one of his greatest "skillset" is his ability to DRIVE to the basket and finish. That is something this Rockets team VERY much needs. We need a slasher, someone that can create their own shot. If Vspan can be a nice energy bench guy to do just that, then he will be a welcome addition.
His defense was average at best. I think his defense can improve under JVG. I did see him make some good steals on bad passes made by the offense.
