It is just a comparison. To say that Nash is untouchable is preposterous in itself. He wasn't even considered an MVP candidate until he went to Phoenix and had the system built around him. In that time frame, he got catapulted from being a good player to being a hall of famer, despite only playing on one side of the court. Albeit it being a big early to make any comparisons. I can understand the optimism floating around. TBH, there are not that many point guards in the league to compare to with vision, so the Nash comparison is by no means absolutely outrageous.
It's the giddy season. Thank goodness, V-Span does look like he's got potential, maybe as much as or more than Nash when similar experience levels are compared. Remember, Nash took a few years to develop. Even Nash wasn't the Steve Nash until a few years ago.
You don't think it's a little outlandish to compare a guy who's played 3 preseason games in the NBA and looked good in one of them to Steve Nash? Nash wasn't an MVP before PHX but he's always been a damn good point guard. I won't say that VSpan can't be or won't be or likely won't be as good as Steve Nash, but I think it's really early to compare him to anyone.
Not all the time. Sometimes he drives to the lane and throws up a pretty floater that bricks. And sometimes he pulls up for a gorgeous jumpshot that bricks. He's a man of many talents.
the idea is to get the ball to T-Mac since he's the real creator as well as a primary offensive option. you're going to guarantee that "Baklava" (who coined that?) and Head won't be worse as a starting PG than Alston? Alston's been a starting PG for three years. Head has not shown he has the consistent skills to be a starting PG, and jury's still way out on Baklava.
It's a comparison, it doesn't mean he is anywhere on par with Nash. As for skepticism, well you seem to show it better than most anyone else. Read below... Wow, that sounds like dumpster kind of talk to me. You know what they say. "People with Glass Houses ought not throw Rocks". Before you start accusing people of being ridiculous maybe you should look at the man in the mirror.
To compare players' characteristics, no. The only thing I can nitpick on is the way the poster claimed how close they are as players - that in itself to me is overboard. But if you were to compare players based on characteristics, I don't see a problem, since there are not many point guards in the league that are actual point guards. I agree. He was a damn good point guard in Dallas, but that jump to hall of famer, is also premature. As I said, it is very early to compare, its just not out of this world as you claimed it to be. If I had my way, I would choose manu as a comparison way before Nash, and even then, it would be still a stretch as of now.
It's way to early to compare Baklava with Nash we can talk about this in a year or two Houston Chronicle: After the game we asked JVG if he can compare Spanoulis with Nash... JVG - Nash is a proven winner, Baklava still needs to be buttered, mixed with nuts and little sugar!
IMO, the very presence of TMac on the court may be an inhibitory factor to Skip's free flowing streetball playing style. Of course JVG's inflexible offensive scheme doesn't help liberate Skip either. How often do you see a superstar PG flourish along side with a superstar SG in the history of NBA? Can you imagine Magic Johnson coexist with Michael Jordan on the same team? The only exception I can think of is when Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars formed most formidable backcourts in the league during the late '80s. But the Detroit Pistons were one of those guard-dominated teams, unlike the current Rockets. TMac will always demand the ball, and create his own shots, virtually independent of playmaking PG. More often than not, it means Skip will have to play a secondary and supportive role, less imaginative and creative than what he likes to play, or is good at, when both he and TMac are on the court. That doesn't necessarily mean a bad thing for the Rockets, though. Someone has to adjust, and it might as well be Skip rather than TMac.
I know it seems silly, and it probably is. Funny thing is, last night when I was watching the game, I was reminded of Nash when I was watching V-Span, but not for the reasons you might think. See, I remember Nash as this little skinny white boy from Canada who played a couple minutes a game about 10 years ago for Phoenix. Then he got traded to Dallas, etc etc. I actually remembered a few snippets of seeing Nash play back at the beginning of his NBA career. That was what was popping up in my mind as I was watching V-Span. Here's Nash: Season TEAM G MIN FG FGA FG% FG3 FG3A FG3% FT FTA FT% PTS AVG 1996-97 Pho 65 684 74 175 42.3 23 55 41.8 42 51 82.4 213 3.3 1997-98 Pho 76 1664 268 584 45.9 81 195 41.5 74 86 86.0 691 9.1 1998-99 Dal 40 1269 114 314 36.3 49 131 37.4 38 46 82.6 315 7.9 1999-00 Dal 56 1532 173 363 47.7 60 149 40.3 75 85 88.2 481 8.6 2000-01 Dal 70 2387 386 792 48.7 89 219 40.6 231 258 89.5 1092 15.6 2001-02 Dal 82 2837 525 1088 48.3 156 343 45.5 260 293 88.7 1466 17.9 2002-03 Dal 82 2711 518 1114 46.5 111 269 41.3 308 339 90.9 1455 17.7 2003-04 Dal 78 2612 397 845 47.0 104 257 40.5 230 251 91.6 1128 14.5 2004-05 Pho 75 2573 430 857 50.2 94 218 43.1 211 238 88.7 1165 15.5 2005-06 Pho 79 2796 541 1056 51.2 150 342 43.9 257 279 92.1 1489 18.8 TOTAL 703 21065 3426 7188 47.7 917 2178 42.1 1726 1926 89.6 9495 13.5 MORE STATS Season TEAM G MIN REB RAVG A AAVG STL SAVG BLK BAVG TO 1996-97 Pho 65 684 63 1.0 138 2.1 20 0.3 0 0.0 63 1997-98 Pho 76 1664 160 2.1 262 3.4 63 0.8 4 0.1 98 1998-99 Dal 40 1269 114 2.9 219 5.5 37 0.9 2 0.1 83 1999-00 Dal 56 1532 121 2.2 272 4.9 37 0.7 3 0.1 102 2000-01 Dal 70 2387 223 3.2 509 7.3 72 1.0 5 0.1 205 2001-02 Dal 82 2837 254 3.1 634 7.7 53 0.6 4 0.0 229 2002-03 Dal 82 2711 234 2.9 598 7.3 85 1.0 6 0.1 192 2003-04 Dal 78 2612 232 3.0 687 8.8 67 0.9 8 0.1 209 2004-05 Pho 75 2573 249 3.3 861 11.5 74 1.0 6 0.1 245 2005-06 Pho 79 2796 333 4.2 826 10.5 61 0.8 12 0.2 276 TOTAL 703 21065 1983 2.8 5006 7.1 569 0.8 50 0.1 1702 Sorry it's so ugly, and I have nto done a comprehensive analysis of Nash's stats for his whole career. However, all I am really interested in is his stats at the beginning of his career, and compare them to what our realistic expectations of V-Span might be, and if they could conceivably come close. Nash's rookie season it appears that he played in about 90% of his team's games, and played roughly 10 minutes per game. --- V-Span may hit those numbers of games played, maybe not, but averaging at least 10 minutes per game does not seem unreasonable, especially considering our perceived weakness at the point with only Rafer and, maybe, Head and Lucas ahead of him. As a rookie, Nash scored just slightly over one fg and one ft per game, on decent shooting %'s , just very few attempts. Considering what we have seen of V-Span, it would not be difficult to imagine him averaging more points per game as a rookie than Nash did. V-Span knows the right time to attempt his own shots, knows when to penetrate and put up a floater, and knows when to draw defenders in and dish to a wide open Novak, for example. So, if Nash did not really score much in his rookie 10-minutes-per-game, then he must have been more active in other areas, such as in assists and steals.. Well, I don't know. The stats don't indicate that either. Nash averaged 2 assists and one turnover per game. That's not a bad a/to ratio, but you could already tell that he was not going to bother his head with ball-hawking defense. Nash average less than 1/3 of a steal per game. This was a portent of the future for Nash, as he nas never averaged more than 1 steal per game in his entire career. Contrasting that with V-Span's demonstrated style of place, which is decidedly 'in your face', especially defensively, it is easy to imagine him being a far better defender, generating far more steals, while at the same time still being able to compile at least 3 pts and 2 assists per game. The question mark is his turnover ratio. That's the thing we don't know - whether or not he will be able to keep the turnovers down, especially when some opposing coach decides to test him by having his own ball-hawk play some in-your-face defense right back at him. To me, that will be the deciding factor as to whether he can become a genuine contributor this season: turnovers. No matter what else he may do well, if he give sthe ball away when he's in there, then JVG will simply refuse to put him in the games. I don't know if it would be worthwhile to examine Nash's stat growth over his career, except to note that it wasn't until the 200 season (4th year) that he really began to come into his own, and that his 'MVP' years did not come until he was into his 8th and 9th years. What Nash did was come in, learn, and grow. Those who say that it is silly to compare V-Span to Nash are right, if the comparison is V-Span *now* with Nash *now*. However, comparing V-Span now with Nash in HIS rookie season, well, not only is that an entirely legitimate topic of comparison, it's also conceivable that V-Span's beginning could top Nash's rookie campaign. The real comparison will be what happens over the next 4 years and on. Phoenix gave Nash up for Kidd. Can't fault them for that - they're both excellent. I just wonder if some team out there might also be making these same comparisons, and thinking about trying to snatch him away in a trade from us the way Dallas did Nash from Phoenix. Morey will be in charge by that time, so hopefully we don't get snookered. (oh, and one other thing - even on his worst day, V-Span will never be as ugly as Nash. Nash reminds me of that movie that came around a few years ago - that remake of the Time Machine, starring Guy Pierce.. those Morlocks in that movie, they look exactly nike Nash. It would be cool if someone could dig up a pic of those critters and put it side by side with one of Nash.. it would be hilarious!)
V-SPAN , what can i say, a great prospect for the rockets, though i believe he showed flashes of commendable skill, though outweighed by the high turn over rate and not so flash shooting, he did improve alot in the 3rd game in all aspects. So i think we can all agree this guy has a bunch of potential, will he be the next steve nash or better as some people are commentating? maybe, but probably not. What needs to be understood here is that many players have a tonne of potential but end up flopping or being frustratingly inconsistent. What all rockets fans hope is not only for a skillful PG in V-span but also being able to bring those skills up night in night out consistently, (as nash does), but that is still a long , long , long .. LONG way away for bill. he is only a rookie after all and i dont think, though he may prove me wrong, that he will be the next Chris Paul and adapt to the NBA instantaenously, especially just coming from Europe and still learning to play with a new team mates and an altogether new style of basketball. And yes, as many have stated, these are still only preseaon games.... though a great oppurtunity for rookies such as v-span to hone their skills and prepare for regular season games, it is still against substantially weaker opponents, and if V-span expects to see any decent minutes early on in the regular season, he would have to string together a few VERY solid performances in preseason games for JVG's approval, because results are what matter most. Personally i think V-span does have the potential to be maybe not an all-star , but very solid PG as he has all the skills required, and if he can work on his outside shots, i think he will become the complete package with his already impressive passing ability, driving ability and defense and what makes this guy so likeable compared to JL3, for me anyway, is his aggresiveness, he has a true heart of a champion and his style as a gritty hardworker makes me optimistic about his steady improvement in his weaker skills right now, but for this year, he wont be touching rafers starting position as rafer brings more to the table, even at worst, rafer's dribbling ability is undeniable hence a safe hands to bring the ball up and his good passing ability are enhanced by the superb options this year in tmac, yao, battier and wells, and if rafer gets his outside shot happening it will be near impossible for anyone to take his starters spot. What would make me happy this year is too see V-span improve steadily in his outside shot, ball handling skills and cut down in turnovers, i think he already possesses a great drive and dishing ability and solid defence. Hopefully by mid season he will be recieving decent minutes as his skills would have been improved by then and he would have been more adapted to the NBA scene and his team mates. well there's my 2 cents, please feel free to absolutely smash me and abuse my unworthy opinions and comments as i am only just a noobie to these forums GO ROCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think he could have the motor, handle, and court vision, and passes of Nash, PERhaps even develop the pick and roll of Stockton, however comparing to Nash, Kidd, Manu, Sarunas M is one thing, BUT comparing to Stockton is a whole different thing. Nash isn't even close to what Stockton was in his prime. Stockton wasn't just great, wasn't just legit all time or hall of fame level he was special level.
I see very little in comon between Nash and V-Span except that they are both white and both pg's. I think V-Span is much more of a cross between Bob Sura and Allen Level. Not as good as a 3pt shooter as Allen though. Steve Nash has such a different style of play that I just can not compare the two.
I must admit, this is an interesting and insightful observation. The fact remains, he may not be the best fit. Frankly, I am still looking for a Sura type of player. I love that "in your face" style at PG. VSpan has a "Sura-like" court presence that I like, however, he has many adjustments to make. There was much not to like about Francis, but he was strong and aggressive on the offensive end. He played with alot of "heart." I will be thrilled if VSpan becomes what we are looking for, a tough, strong, aggressive PG with a decent shot.
