VUJANIC, MILOS stats

[BigBuddy]

There must be someone on here that can tell us the way they record assists overseas?

It depends on which arena you are in F.eg. if you feed a guy in the paint with the ball and he gets fouled on his missed layup attempt, some will write down an assist immediately, some will wait until at least one free throw is made and some will demand two point from the line. And more than 1/3 WON'T consider it to be an assist.
There are no strict rules.

 

[jbeecham]

I don't think the NBA gives an assist either if a player catches the ball and is fouled while shooting, but misses the shot......no matter how many free throws he makes. I always thought that they should award and assist is the player makes both free throws.

 

[George O'Brien]

It depends on which arena you are in F.eg. if you feed a guy in the paint with the ball and he gets fouled on his missed layup attempt, some will write down an assist immediately, some will wait until at least one free throw is made and some will demand two point from the line. And more than 1/3 WON'T consider it to be an assist.
There are no strict rules.

Now that is weird. In the US there is no assist on fouls, but guys get assists for passing to someone who has to dribble halfway down the court.

Realistically, the stats don't mean much except that a lot of Suns fans question whether Vujanic can play PG. They note that he doesn't get many assists in Europe.

Actually assists are somewhat deceptive anyway. Marbury got a lot of assists, but has never been a good distributor type PG since all of his assists are on kick outs.

Bibby is a pretty good distributor, but he plays on team that passes the ball extremely well so assists are spread around. Eventually the same thing could start happening to Nash as the Suns players are learning to hit the open man. Nash will never be really low in assists due to the way the Suns run their fast break, but it could decline in the half court set. Doesn't matter as long as the Suns score.

Change in subject, during the discussion about the streak of 10 plus assists in consecutive victories it struck me that no one has mentioned that assists were not tracked until the 70's. My guess is that Cousey probably would be holding the record if they had measured it earlier.

 

[SirStefan32]

Now that is weird. In the US there is no assist on fouls, but guys get assists for passing to someone who has to dribble halfway down the court.

Realistically, the stats don't mean much except that a lot of Suns fans question whether Vujanic can play PG. They note that he doesn't get many assists in Europe.

To the best of my knowledge, you don't get assists in Europe for either one of those cases- assits on fouls, nor passing to someone who has to dribble. You only get an assist if you pass to the guy who immediatelly takes a shot and scores.

Another thing in Europe is that you always have 5 guys who can pass, so you are not as dependent on your PG as you are in the NBA.
Vujanic can play the point as well as he can play the off- guard possition, but he is a scorer at heart. It's hard to compare him to an NBA player, but if I had to compare him to somebody it would be either Marbury, Billups, or Iverson back in his college days.

I think he would be a perfect fit in Los Angeles. With three other playmakers on the floor (Odom, Bryant and Butler, and I guess Divac when he comes back) he could really make some noise.

 

[Joe Mama]

Obviously you have seen more of Vujanic than I have, but I would not have compared him to Marbury. Everybody who watched the Phoenix Suns when Marbury was here knows his two biggest weaknesses. First, dominates the ball, so the other players are not getting involved. They end up standing around and watching him. Second he does not push the ball very much. From all reports the coaches the coaches begged him to push the ball up the court at every opportunity, but the most they could get out of him most times was a light trot up the court.

I think I've seen in six games of Vujanic. He did not dominate the ball when I watched. He was looking to score or pass to an open man. He was good at finding people for easy baskets instead of just kicking out every time for jump shots. The biggest difference I saw between him and Marbury was that Vujanic pushed the ball at every opportunity. I really got the feeling watching him that if the coaching staff told him that his primary job was to get opportunities for his teammates he could play a lot like Steve Nash. I said the same thing last summer a few months before the Phoenix Suns even signed Nash.

Joe Mama

 

[SirStefan32]

Joe, you're mostly right, and that's why I said that I find it hard to compare him to anybody in the NBA. You are absolutely right as far as pushing the ball goes. Vujanic LOVES to run. As far as Marbury dominating the ball, it is really not his fault that other stand around and watch. Even if somebody is dominating the ball, other players have the responsibility to move without the ball.

Now, having said that, judging from your description I would say that you've probably seen Milos in the Olympics and/or in the World Champioship. He has a different role on the National team. When he played for Partizan, he was always looking for his shot first (being by far the best player/ scorer on the team.) I haven't seen him this year yet, so I am not sure what his role is now.

See, my point is that he can do BOTH, he can push the ball or play in half court set. He can distribute the ball and he can look for his own shot. He does all of this equally well, which is why I think he could contribute to the Suns or any other NBA team.

One thing he is extremely good at is driving to the hoop, drawing opposing big men, then passing to his teammates for easy dunks/ layups. And I have to mention that he is a very smart basketball player, just like Divac, Sabonis, Bodiroga, Marchulionis, and other great European players.

Stefan

 

[sunsfn]

Vujanic has played 8 games so far..........how many games does he play with the team he is under contract to, and when would he be available to the suns if he decided to come over?

I do not know if Vujanic will come to the US this year or not.
But I would like to see him play and hope that maybe the influence of D'Antoni might make him think about playing here. I am taking the stance that he can play in the NBA right now, and is the age to help a team immediately.

If the suns continue to win on a regular basis as they are now, there will not be any trades to improve this team until after the season is over. If Vujanic would sign a contract with the suns, this might get them to trade for another big man that would help immediately, along with players and the Chicago pick.

 

[Joe Mama]

Actually most of the games I saw Vujanic play in were the Euroleague games on NBATV. You are right. He was a scorer first in the games I saw. However it was easy to see that he has very good passing skills. I do think he could help the Phoenix Suns. I think he would be a great point guard off the bench to spell Steve Nash for 15-20 minutes per game. I just don't know what you would do with Barbosa at that point.

Joe Mama

 

[hcsilla]

From all reports the coaches the coaches begged him to push the ball up the court at every opportunity, but the most they could get out of him most times was a light trot up the court.

lol, very true.

 

[SirStefan32]

Actually most of the games I saw Vujanic play in were the Euroleague games on NBATV. You are right. He was a scorer first in the games I saw. However it was easy to see that he has very good passing skills. I do think he could help the Phoenix Suns. I think he would be a great point guard off the bench to spell Steve Nash for 15-20 minutes per game. I just don't know what you would do with Barbosa at that point.

Joe Mama

If Vujanic signs (which he will NOT) Barbosa can go, absolutely no need for him. Vujanic is to Barbosa what Tim Duncan is to Jake Tsakalidis.

 

[sunsfn]

If Vujanic signs (which he will NOT) Barbosa can go, absolutely no need for him. Vujanic is to Barbosa what Tim Duncan is to Jake Tsakalidis.

WHAT!! That is not right no matter how good Vujanic is..........Barbosa is going to be an excellent player in this league in a couple years. He is fast, can shoot and will be a very good point guard as he learns the game, and of course learns how to speak English correctly!

I have only seen highlights of Vujanic, but that comparison can not be right.

 

[George O'Brien]

The buyout for Vujanic last summer was too high for the Suns to get him last summer. I'm not sure this will be as much of a problem this summer unless the Suns are forced to use their MLE money to meet another need.

Right now it looks like Barbosa may be a year or two from being the answer at PG. From what little I've read, Vujanic appears more likely to be a major contributor than any of the college PG's the Suns might take.