<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Brian:</div><div class="quote_post">well, most of everyones shot that makes are swishes. sasha does force turnovers on defense at times with his hustle, but like i said, besides that he is worthless. the guy cant really guard anyone on D, he just annoys them. anyway, i do agree that i may have been too harsh on him, but still. its pretty sad how you were drafted to be a shooter and now even luke walton can hit shots more consistently than you</div> Forcing turnovers and getting inside players heads is component of playing D. As I mentioned, with some time and confidence, I'm sure he'll knock down more shots and become a useful role player giving some intensity for 10 minutes a game. He's young and he seems like a player willing to learn and he looks up to Kobe. His relationship with Kobe will definatly help his game.
^yeah I agree. I heard Sasha makes 90% of his shots in shoot around. Once he builds some in-game confidence, he will be a very good role player. Give the guy a break, he trys hard on defense, he gambles at times, but so does Kobe, and no one knocks Kobe for that. If it wasn't for Smush's explosive dunks and his sick ball handles, I'd probably prefer Sasha over him. Sasha in my opinion is a team player, while Smush is not too much. I also think Smush is jealous of Kobe and Sasha's relationship.
I don't have much faith in Sasha. I've never seen him as being an NBA player, and I don't think anyone would pick him up if the Lakers cut him. His defense is overrated because of this perception he gets under player's skin. When I see Sasha come into the game, the player he guards becomes more aggressive on offense. He doesn't scare anyone on defense, he's just a pesky player. Sometimes his annoying tactics lead to a turnover and frustrate a player. But for the majority of the time he's on the court, he's getting lit up on defense and gets completely lost in defensive rotations. I've always viewed Sasha as a two-way liability for the Lakers. He shoots a terrible percentage despite the wide open looks he gets. This allows defenses to double off of him because they know he's not going to hurt them from the outside. When he's on the court it's like playing 4 against 5 for the Lakers. Role players should specialize in a specific skill on the court to help a team out. Some players are exceptional shooters, some are exceptional playmakers, some are exceptional rebounders, and some are exceptional defenders. In Sasha's case, he doesn't excel at anything, and is relatively terrible at everything he does on the court. If he's playing great in practice, but it doesn't translate in live games, then you have to question his mental toughness.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Sometimes his annoying tactics lead to a turnover and frustrate a player.</div> That my friend is a valuable part of defense. Look at Gary Paytons early career. He used to get under peoples skin. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He shoots a terrible percentage despite the wide open looks he gets. This allows defenses to double off of him because they know he's not going to hurt them from the outside. When he's on the court it's like playing 4 against 5 for the Lakers.</div> http://www.nba.com/playerfile/sasha_vujacic/index.html Look at the stats, he is improving. His three percentage jumped a whole 10 percent. He is a solid free throw shooter, he is already showing signs of improvement on his offense, and he already has good(not great if your gonna quote me) defense. He is slowly gaining confidence and getting his shot. Look at Kobes stats his first two years, they weren't spectacular either. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">If he's playing great in practice, but it doesn't translate in live games, then you have to question his mental toughness.</div> Its.....his....sophmore year....he also is 22 years old.... <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I also think Smush is jealous of Kobe and Sasha's relationship.</div> ......don't really know how to respond to this..... <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I heard Sasha makes 90% of his shots in shoot around. Once he builds some in-game confidence, he will be a very good role player.</div> Thank you <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Give the guy a break, he trys hard on defense, he gambles at times, but so does Kobe, and no one knocks Kobe for that.</div> Thank you yet again <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Sasha in my opinion is a team player, while Smush is not too much.</div> How? Smush usually gets passes to shoot, and Lamar usually takes over the point guards role becoming more or less a Point Foward. Just because he doesn't have many assists doesn't mean he isn't a team player. I've seen him make some nice passes, sometimes bad passes but hey even Nash isn't perfect.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Franchise4Ever:</div><div class="quote_post">That my friend is a valuable part of defense. Look at Gary Paytons early career. He used to get under peoples skin.</div> The difference is Payton could actually play defense, Sasha can't. Let's not confuse giving effort with actually being effective. Sasha plays with a lot of hustle and effort, which I appreciate, but he's not very effective on defense. When he comes in the game, the Lakers usually surrender the lead and he's the main cause behind it. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Franchise4Ever:</div><div class="quote_post"> http://www.nba.com/playerfile/sasha_vujacic/index.html Look at the stats, he is improving. His three percentage jumped a whole 10 percent. He is a solid free throw shooter, he is already showing signs of improvement on his offense, and he already has good(not great if your gonna quote me) defense. He is slowly gaining confidence and getting his shot. Look at Kobes stats his first two years, they weren't spectacular either.</div> He shoots free throws well, but too, bad he doesn't get to the line. He settles for 3point shots, when he's really not a great shooter. He hasn't shown improvement, he's actually gotten worse. Let's look at his 3PT% and FG% from month to month. November - FG% 31.1% 3PT% 33.3% December - FG% 34.4% 3PT% 35.9% January - FG% 42.6% 3PT% 41.4% (his best month) February - FG% 28.8% 3PT% 20.8% March - FG% 38.3% 3PT% 41.2% April - FG% 26.9% 3PT% 28.6%
i agree that sasha has plenty of room to improve, but like shape said, i dont have much faith in this guy. the guy is still a skinny *** mo fo and it just makes me wonder if he lifted at all in the off season.
