V Span is our only natural playmaker! His abilities should be adapted to the NBA game and then he should be the Rocket's starting point guard, some time in the future. The quicker the better as far as I am concerned.
I think many people discount Stockton's greatness in comparison to the current generation of point guards because of his lack of flashiness. If comparing Vspan to Nash is crazy, then comparing him to Stockton is just incomprehensible. I think that vspan has the grit that Nash doesn't have, in fact, his motor might be even greater than Nash if we take all things into consideration. Let's just say, he seems a little nutty.
No he doesn't. That's just how it might seem because the Suns just run and play no D. Think back to Nash running half court or pick and roll with Finley and Dirk, Nash and V-Span certainly remind of each other with the way they attack and kick and find open teammated with outstanding court vision. Span is a POINT GUARD I cannot see why some people cannot see this. Not only is he a point guard, he's not just a natural or pure one like Alston, he's a gifted one, and there are few of those around now, Kidd, Paul, Nash, etc.
Alston is the starter for the last 3 years?(may be more like 2, I could be wrong) because we pretty much didn't have any options at the 1, Sura was solid but his body was done . We could not swing any deals for a legit proven 1. I agreed with you on TMac as a real creator and that is why I'm confident that either V-Span or Head would not have been worse as a starter than Skip.
the continued bashing of rafer is perplexing to me. Sura was special in that he was so agressive, and so emotional in pulling teammates up, and that's just not rafer. He's a pass first point gaurd who doesn't turn the ball over. He needs to drive more, and he needs to hit his open shots from three (both of which I think he'll do more this year if we can open up the lanes), but he's still a great point gaurd, a starting point gaurd. As for a general/vocal leader/agressor/dictator I don't think it needs to be the point gaurd. we got some fire in our belly now with wells and snyder, and I hope battier can lead as well. I don't think it's TMacs nature to pull teammates up, and I don't think it's Yao's either, but I don't think it has to be a flashy point to do it either.... Fact is that Rafer does his job on offense well, and he executes cleanly. He's a very good, but quiet floor general. Defense is another issue, which if anything is his downfall, not vspan, not jlIII , not offense.
Ya, I think the classification for VSpan ought to be more in terms of Kidd than Nash. Nash is a notoriously poor defender, but a great shooter and passer. Kidd is actually a "big" PG who defends well and shoots very poorly but has passing skills. Don't fall into the comparisons of VSpan to Nash just because he is the "PG du jour" of the last few seasons.... ...anyway, I think it's probably feasible that VSpan will eventually take over Rafer's playing time by the end of the year(maybe not start, but probably get more playing time). The reason I say that is Rafer's strengths aren't utilized in the Rocket's offense. He's too small/not a good enough finisher to get into the lane and find open teammates in the half court set and his jump shot isn't good enough on the pick and roll to make that effective either. Couple that with the fact he is a smallish PG who gets pushed around on the defensive end and it's clear that Rafer would be better served on a more uptempo team. He is however a reliable ball handler and that's chiefly why we brought him here - to get the ball into the offensive sets. If VSpan can at very least keep his TO ratio down and bring the ball up to get into the offensive sets, the Rockets get a same value out of VSpan they do out of Rafer plus VSpan is a bigger defender(and apparently a little better defender too). If Vspan shoots as well Rafer(a low benchmark) I don't see why VG doesn't increase his minutes to get him more playing time as the year progresses. If we see this happening before the All Star break you might even see Rafer in some trade talks before the trade deadline. Now if the Rockets get some turnovers and play a little more transition style offense like VG has been suggesting, then Rafer might prove to be more valuable asset and all bets are off at that point... Mark my words....
This is the first game I've seen and like I said in the other thread, I loved his game...He was commanding, creating and hustling on every play...He just needs to be consistent...
wow i guess i didn't aim high enough when i said this in the rudy gay thread http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=2531822&postcount=10
I dont quite agree with you sayign steve nash is a hall of famer. he has had some good stats the last two years, but his career before that is not deserving of the hall of fame. I dont even agree with him being mvp last year. He is also a defensive liability. At this point I do not see Nash getting into the HOF.
No, I don't think it's ridiculous to compare Spanoulis to great PGs like Nash and Kidd. It does not necessarily mean w'ere anointing him immediately with future hall-of-fame or even allstar status. All it means is that he has "it" -- the right qualities you look for in a great point guard, and that he has tremendous upside. We're still at least a year away from getting a true grasp on just how good Spanoulis is going to be in this league, but you can't deny the following: - He has exceptional court vision, better than you'll find in your typical PG. - He makes great passes. - He has the ability to penetrate and finish. - He is a pesky defender with a knack for steals. - He is a fearless player with a champion's mentality. - He is a quick learner and a teachable player. I was quite impressed with the progress he made from game 1 to game 3. In the first game he was a disaster waiting to happen; by the third game he had the entire offense under control, barking out orders, creating shots for his teammates, knocking down timely jumpers and engineering a win in crunch time. Man. When you know *this* much about a rookie after three preseason games, you'd have to be straight up lethargic not to be excited. Obviously some of us need to turn it down a little with the "starting by the end of the year" talk -- to be honest, he could be two years away from truly demanding a starter's spot and still has a long road ahead of him. He is still yet to be tested against top-notch NBA competition. His jumper really needs work. I really don't expect him to be more than third-string point behind Alston and Head this year. But I like what I see, and I like it a lot.
Good post. I still say it's crazy to compare him with Nash. We may as well compare Novak to Larry Bird. V-Span's ability to finish in the NBA is still to be determined as is whether he has a "champion's mentality". His court vision, passing, quick hands and energy set him apart. I'm hopeful, but remember Derrick Chevous.
I am a VSpan believer and fan. I can't wait to get his jersey when it comes out. I hope it is on NBA store next week.
Sorry, I mean to follow that with a "....but he isn't even a started yet so let's not get carried away just yet." comment. I mean 6pts, 4 reb, and 4 ast. isn't exactly the stat line of legends...but we'll take what we can get here in Houston.
Overrated by Charles Barkley... But still a damn good player. He would be a great player for almost any team.
