I'm from Greece and I'm Panathinaikos, so I saw a lot of Vasilis Spanoulis games with Panathinaikos. He is really hard worker and he wants his team to win. He is great defender, he see very good the court and he can pass really well. He also can score good but he need more time to NBA to score better for 3 points shout. He was on of the best greek players in World Championship this summer in Japan . This man really works hard and he can really do well in NBA too. GO V-SPAN!
He is our starting point 1/4 of the way into the season at the latest..and reminds me of cross between Sarunas Marciulionis/John Stockton.
with all this excitement, I'll jump on the bandwagon....jvg is the new zen master...hey OmegaSupreme, good call...
Im not going to predict he will be the next Steve Nash or Manu Ginobili, but I like how he seems to hustle 100% of the time he is on the floor and he will take a full speed charge anywhere on the floor. He seems to have only one gear: Full Speed. He seems to be a pretty good passer with excellent court vision. But I think he will need some more time than 3 preseason games before we declare him a starter. I see him third on the depth chart behind Alston and Head, if we decide to play Luther at the point. I do like his future and potential though.
Let's not get carried away. I liked what I saw from V-Span last night, but he has quite a ways to go before we start comparing him to Nash.
Tell me about it. After the first two games, some guys wanted to put him in the dumpster. Right now, the praise is ridiculous. But oh well, that's what forums are all about.
Watch him suck bad the next game and this board will be demanding a trade He impressed me last night. The dude looks like he has a lot of potential. Here's hoping he continues to improve.
Well, there are some things that you can't really teach, and that is the individual's attitude and court vision. In most cases, you either have it, or you don't, and these are two things that Vspan already has. The things people complain about him are usually in regards to his shot and his tendency to "play out of control." All those will come with time. Anybody can develop a "decent" shot if they worked hard enough at it... and by decent, I don't mean anything pure like that of Peja.
Please... The next time JVG meditates will be his first. He probably thinks Zen is some form of japanese currency. Comparing JVG to a Zen Master is like comparing Osama Bin Laden to the Dalai Lama. As for being a Master, well you just might have something there. I am sure Mr. Van Gundy would prefer all of his players address him as Master Jeff. Yes sir Mas'er Jeff I'm switchin' on pick n roll defense just like you said Mas'er Jeff... I won't talk to the media about my Big Toe Mas'er Jeff... You're right Mas'er Jeff it's them stupid shoes and not your 8 hour 2 a days running your 7'6" 310 pound big man too the ground. Oh and everything VSpan showed on the court last night he has been doing for a while, in the WC's and last season. So if you want to give JVG some credit, give him credit for allowing him to display it a little more.
while i do believe that he will improve enough to be a starting PG, i don't think that after 2 bad games and one average one we are calling him an all-star and comparing him to ginobili. he had an average game against second and third stringers. he did improve alot, but he still has a lot to go.
On a sidenote. It is not like Ginobli plays in control. Although his style has matured, it is what makes him so special, his unpredictability. I think these are innate basketball senses that Vspan also possess.
Here is something that I don't understand, watching Skip running our team is just painful to see. For starter: when Alston is on the floor, there seems to be a lack of energy and flow, he does not hustle well and more than a few times got beat by his man. Skip is not tough so you don't see him mixing it up or take a charge once in awhile like V-Span. That leaves the other parts of his job which he has to be strong with like: passing and shooting. I keep hearing passing is his strong suit but frankly I don't see it. He misses open guys more than I care for and his bread and butter seems to be bring the ball up and gives it to TMac(is that the only player he's capable of passing the ball to? ) As far as his shootings ....well, you guys be the judge, he still can't knock down the open jumpers. Here's why I don't understand , what do you lose if you start one of the other guards be it Head or Kill Bill? I can guarantee you they won't be any worse than Skip so Alston can come off the bench which I think is much better suited for him instead of being a starter.
A solid player indeed. He knows how to make plays even when time is running out. The reason why he sucked during the first few games was the player that he was setting up for the play were scared of shooting the ball. Last night, it went pretty well. I really can see his potential. Defensively, he's willing to get a charge even preseason games. How much more during playoffs. Ginobili, you found your match!
How ironic this is coming from the man who wanted to put him in the dumpster before he played 1 game. The praise is not ridiculous. It is based on what they saw last night. Granted he will have negative games but the kid definitely has upside and that is something to be excited about. As for your comments about negative posters, most of the posters I read have been positive. This only a sample what many posters were posting. Contrast that with your post after his last game... This after only playing 4 minutes. Well yesterday he played 20 minutes still not a definitive but certainly a better sample. I find it very amusing that you call out people for being ridiculous for seeing potential. Is it possible that you are the ridculous one who has misjudged Billy. Why can't you just admit that you were way wrong about Vspan and his ability and his speed and quickness.
One thing I predict for the coming season: Because of the V-Span love, Rafer is the new Juwan Howard. Some of you guys are going to rip him mercilessly and nothing he does will ever be good enough because he's playing ahead of your precious V-Span. The concept is known as scapegoating, and some people cannot exist without it. Abusive parents do it to one of their children. Bullies do it at school. Bosses and supervisors scapegoat people at work. NFL fans do it a lot to starting QBs (not just in Houston). Unfortunately, several Rockets fans do it here and the rest of us have to wade through the garbage. Houston Rockets 2006/07: The Rafer whinefest on Clutchfans. P.S: I'm not Rafer's biggest fan. His major flaws aren't in question.
Wow. Is this post meant as a joke? I didn't read the whole thread so it's possible I am missing the VSpan-Nash connection, but even mentioning VSpan in the same breath as Steve Nash, two time MVP, future hall of famer, etc. is a little preposterous.
Comparing V-Span with Nash IS ridiculous. For you to say I wanted to throw him in the dumpster before the preseason is just silly. But since you are his longtime advocate here I'd expect that kind of comment from you. FYI: Being skeptical and wanting to throw someone in the dumpster are two different things.
I don't think Head or VSpan are ready to start, yet. Your analysis of Alston is on target. I was open-minded about him until about half way through last season. By that time I had seen enough. He is the weak link in the starting lineup. Might be a nice guy, but has an unimpressive NBA game. I think VSpan has a chance to displace him but it will take a while. Yes, he dribbles around a bit and then passes the ball to TMac, pretty predictable.
