Your opinions on Rasho

[SickDSM]

First off, i'm a wolves fan. I just want some spurs opinions though. I've always been a rasho/wally hater. It was especially maddening to watch the playoffs and have Marc Jackson do a better job against shaq. Even though i hate both wally and rasho, i really don't want to get rid of either of them because what else we'd get in return. Upon learning that Kandi would be taking his place, there was no love lost upon Rasho. My question is, where does all this enthusiasm come from? Shortly after the season ended i understood the talk of recruiting him based on the fact that he'd be somewhat cheap and still be able to get a big name guy. I'm not going to start a KG vs. TD debate but we have a pretty damn good PF in garnett so i don't see the whole "playing with a guy like duncan he's going to have a better year" thing. Also, KG tends to want to pass more often and his scoring is more towards the outside. Which one would think that would mean more rebounds and tip ins rather than a paint player. McHale is a very good teacher, i think that if rasho would have been playing on another team he wouldn't have the skills he does. I don't think that he has much offensive talent but i've seen it pointed out that is an improvement over Drob. But isn't a defensive, rebounding center what's needed to compliment TD? I honestly think that there is less uncertainty over kandi's attitude than rasho's toughness. Since your main rival seems to be LA, who would defend shaq in the fourth? Willis or Rasho? Again, i'm not trolling, i just want honest opinions.

[greg9683]

Like you said, KG likes to stay outside more and shoot. Duncan likes to play in the post more.

Duncan gets a lot of attention so Rasho can slip in for the rebound on offense. Rasho is an effective shooter and he has some nice post moves. He'll help spread the floor and keep teams honest. If not, he can hit the jumper. Last year was a career year for him and I'm certain he'll improve upon that.

On defense, Coach Popovich stresses that point greatly and Rasho knew what he was getting into when he signed. He took an offer for less than what Twolves offered him. Having Duncan protect the key with him should help because KG guards many 3's as well as 4's. Having Duncan by your side on defense can benefit greatly. Rasho did average 1.5 blocks last year. He also plays many games and is a hard worker.

Kandi has had a bad work ethic since the beginning of his NBA career. How old is he now? 27, and he's still yet to prove a good work ethic. It was his career year this past season and he really didn't show his worth there.

Also, Tim Duncan encourages his teammates much more than KG. KG is more athletic, but Tim Duncan has the better basketball IQ. Many players have improved greatly due to playing with Duncan. Steven Jackson is a prime example of that.

As far as LA, no one can stop Shaq. The way you beat the Lakers is not by Shaq. It's by Kobe. In the years we got beat, Kobe beat us in the forth quarter. That is why we got Bowen.

[SequSpur]

IMO, Rasho is weak. I think the move was stupid, but hell where else do the Spurs go? I mean they want NICE, community guys and aren't willing to risk a chance on a medium to high risk problem child type of player...

We just won another Championship. Duncan is the best player in the NBA, so does it really matter who plays that position?

[Nbadan]

I think that VoraciousWolf, a frequent poster on the SD (http://pub97.ezboard.com/fspursdominionfrm1.showMessageRange?topicID=1027.t opic&start=21&stop=40), analyzed Rasho's strengths and weaknesses very effectively with these scathing comments..


* 7'0" 248, he's fairly weak and skinny for 27. I wouldn't expect him to get any stronger.

* Only a 64% freethrow shooter last year, his best percentage ever.

* Only averaged 6.5 rebounds per game in a little over 30 minutes...at seven feet tall.

* Plays horribly in the playoffs, gets more fouls, rebounds less, blocks less, shoots worse.

* After his 5th season in the NBA he's still only an 11 and 6 guy.

* His career high in points is 24

And weigh that against the positives:

* He can hit the outside jumper (but not the three)

* He's a halfway decent shotblocker (1.5 per game)

[theballaplaya]

Good stuff NBADAN!

Rashoweak better beef up and grow some Championship sack. Sheyitt. I ain't playin bro.

Its bad enough my homeboy jax got kicked to the curb. Sheyitt.

Ain't no headbands left in this mofo.

:fro

[timvp]

I'm not a big Rasho fan but if Pop likes him and thinks he'll work, I'll go with Pop's track record. He always has seemed weak to me.

Believe.

:white

[greg9683]

Coach Pop is good at getting guys to work hard. Of course, having Duncan always helps too. Flip is one of the best coaches out there, but Pop is better in my opinion. He laid out what he expects from Rasho. Rasho took less money to play for Coach Popovich. I'm sure, Rasho will be ready to show people he can play this upcoming year.

[Jimcs50]

Rasho will be a good player for SA.He is a step up at the center position compared to the aging DRob.

[spurster]

My impressions of Rasho is that I'm not impressed. If he can increase his RPG to 8 and PPG to 12, then I'll be ok with this.

BTW, 6.5 RPG is not all that horrible. That ranks 40th in the league.

[Spurminator]

My question is, where does all this enthusiasm come from?

For example...?


My opinion... Rasho will prove to be an adequate role player. A legitimate offensive weapon on the inside that can also block shots when an opponent is forced baseline. I would seldom run plays for him, but as long as he can hit that 15-footer to draw out the opposing center or discourage big double-teams on Duncan, he'll do.

[Patrick Davis]

Rasho wasn't my first choice, but he'll do. He came to SA mainly because Pop has more faith in him than they did in Minny. He'll do what the Spurs need, and his market value won't really go up, so if he does good enough we can keep him.

[sportcamper1]

Rumor has it that Rasho DOES NOT have any drug problem, sexual addictions nor any bad attitudes that need correcting…. He was light years ahead of the available candidates…:lol

All the Spurs staff needs to do is define his role. AKA stay out of Tim Duncan’s way…

[kohai]

Offensively, he'll give us pretty much what we have come to expect from the 5 spot in this offense: nice jumper and a few putbacks. Working with McHale, he has also developed a passable post game for when Tim may be on the bench.

Defensively, he allows the Spurs to pretty much stay in the same scheme: funnel your man to the baseline shotblockers. About the only real shortcoming is his body-up defense, but if you're using last years playoffs as an example, there are very few who CAN body up with Shaq.

I like him for the simple reason that he WANTED to be here, and took less money than Minny was offering. I'll reserve judgement on him until I actually see him play in our system.

[SAmikeyp]

All the Spurs staff needs to do is define his role. AKA stay out of Tim Duncan’s way…

that is it in a nutshell.....he can rebound and put back misses. He will also get open looks when Tim is double teamed.

[wolves unleashed]

Hey SickDSM just wanted to say welcome to the boards. Stick around and post.

[Ruby Ridge]

My initial reaction was disappointment when Rasho was signed. I guess it was more due to expecting some high profile free agent (i.e. Kidd) to sign with the Spurs. But consider this.....

How many great centers are left in the league? After Shaq, our own Tim Duncan who plays power forward would be the best center in the league. Also, take into account when a center has a mildly good season, they are often way over paid the following year. We have picked up a servicable center for a long term deal at the price that gives the team flexibility to pay other players. Rasho's game compliments Duncan. I would have rather had Elton Brand but he and Tim play similar games and would be getting in each other's way. I would rather have had Jermaine O'Neal but there are questions about him wanting to be the focus of the offense and he would be option 2 here.

Rasho can block shots and hit the outside shot and gives Tim room to operate in the post. He is going to get in foul trouble against Shaq. While David Robinson played defense as well as anyone against O'Neal, there were quite a few times he was rendered impotent due to foul trouble. Rasho is no David Robinson but on the other hand, he is not that far from the 2002/03 David Robinson. His health is not a question the way David's was.

The Spurs can no evolve into a different type of team. The perimeter is much better and more athletic. The defense will always be there with Popovich as coach but now the motion offense may actually take hold with the players we have.

So, I'm not excited about Rasho but I am excited about the team. I have in Popovich who is high on this guy and he seems to know what pieces fit when he is assembling a team.

[baseline bum]

I haven't been as disappointed in a signing since the Spurs got stuck with Samaki Walker in 1999-00. I'd rather have started Rose and Duncan at the 4/5 and signed Odom instead.

[ChumpDumper]

I'm lukewarm about the guy. I'm glad a competent center has been locked up for a while at a decent price, I hope his numbers increase a bit, but it won't be the end if he plays the same. Most folks poo-poo his defense of Shaq--so what? No one in the league can guard Shaq straight up. The two guys who had a snowball's chance in hell of doing so both retired. We were spoiled we had one of them for so long.

[KoriEllis]

I'm not high on Rasho (or Hedo for that matter). I think he'll have to work hard here in SA to be productive. I hope he's willing to do that.

I know that KG yelled at him a lot in Minny and he was still soft and not working hard. Maybe he needs a coddling approach to get motivated. I guess I just wish that he would be self-motivated -- that a strong work ethic was in his nature and that he could nix the "deer in the headlights" look and toughen up. He's not frail, but he plays frail (I'm not sure that makes sense).

Anyway, Pop is a great GM and I hope that the reason that he's been so high on him is because he sees something in him that most people haven't.

[ChumpDumper]

Slavic solidarity, baby!

[Ghost Writer]

I'd be happier with Olowokandi than Nesterovic.

'Kandi has more of an upside, being a former #1 pick and all.






:cooldevil

[timvp]

No one in the league can guard Shaq straight up.

Exactly, Chump.

A lot of people complain that Rasho gets eaten alive by Shaq ... but who doesn't? No one can guard him. You can double team him with two Mack trucks and he's still going to get 30 and 15.

Against everyone else, Rasho will do.

[Ghost Writer]

We have to hope Rasho's offense and ability to draw centers away from the hoop will make up for his so-so shot blocking and physical presence down low.




P.S.

He can also run the floor surpriosingly well and finish on most breaks.

Maybe this is the year the Spurs will run. With Hedo and Carter instead of Jack and Speedy, I doubt it.

:cooldevil

[kohai]

The Spurs aren't EVER going to be the Mavs, if that's what you're thinking, GW. They've already started running more the last year or two, or hadn't you noticed?

[timvp]

The Spurs will always be a controlled break team. There is no reason to be a fast break team. Last season, the Spurs did a great job of scoring points off their transition game.

Name the last fast break team to win a Championship?

[greg9683]

Just a little stat to throw in.

Our Kmart averaged 0.91 blks/game in the wonderful east last season.

Rasho averaged 1.51 blks/game last season.

[Spurminator]

The only team I see the "downgrade" from DRob to Rasho affecting us is against LA. And that's not even a sure thing, since Rasho will hit that midrange shot with more consistency than DRob did the last couple of years.

Against all other teams, this is an upgrade, and probably a significant one. Unless Yao Ming turns into a dominating force, there really is no other team in the league where Rasho's man-on-man defense will be a big factor in the game. Sacramento won't be running plays for Brad Miller. Raef probably won't see the ball much with the other 4 options on the floor. Same story for Kandi. Tsakalidas?

Against teams who didn't often go to their center, Robinson's talents on defense were not as necessary. His help defense was still superb, but Rasho has proven he can block shots as well. On offense, DRob was a liability that Rasho will not be. We now have 4 legit offensive weapons on the floor to start every game, as opposed to the 3 we had last year.

[Ghost Writer]

When you have speed and you're facing older opponents, you should run and get easy baskets in transition, tiring out the competition.

Think, people.


:cooldevil

[ChumpDumper]

Rasho's mobility had to be a big factor in Pop's decision. I think taking that into consideration, Rasho might be the best choice all-around from the available centers this summer. That might not be saying much, but that is the state of the league.

[D Fish]

Although Rasho is below average defensively against Shaq (which is irrelvant anyways), he has a nice hook shot which he used to score on Shaq a fair amount when he was with the Wolves. Also a good shooter from 15 which will bring Shaq out bit more. Besides, he only faces Shaq 4 times out of the regular season. Any other time, if he lives up to his potential he's good for the Spurs long term next to Timmy. Only concern would be his defense, but Pop will preach it to him until he drops.

[KoriEllis]

Ghost, I'm still on the fence whether Kandi or Rasho have more upside. I'm not crazy about either one. But for whatever reason (or many reasons) the Spurs feel Rasho will fit in and succeed here and they never gave Kandi any serious consideration.

I'm not saying that the Spurs' brass was definitely right, but at this point, we have Rasho. So I guess I'll just have to save judgement until we see him playing here.

[greg9683]

It's funny that Kandi got no offers out there. Denver didn't even give him an offer. Anyone wonder why? :)