Morsatun

When Toronto acquired Greivis Vasquez as part of the Rudy Gay trade, no one expected him to be an elite PG. The most optimistic thought that given his stats form last year, he could be a cheap serviceable solution at PG when Lowry is traded. The most pessimistic thought that he could at the best be an average back up PG with a height advantage. The main reason for the lack of enthusiasm was Vasquez’s speed (or lack of it).

After 9 games, perspectives about him have change. He started playing average, had one half decent game at the beginning, and then he has consistently gone down. He has been shooting so poorly, that there has not even been much space to complain about his speed. Even worst, while in the first games it looked like Amir and Greivis could become a really deadly combination in the pick and roll, Vasquez’s assists are also down, and particularly the ones in picks and rolls are almost non-existent. A clear example of the situation is last game. A game where Toronto dominated pretty much all the way through, and that looked like the perfect opportunity for Vasquez to have some extended minutes at the end of the game, and what did he get? 15 minutes of play. The reason: well, during those 15 minutes, the Raptors lost by 8 points.

The question now is: Is Vasquez this bad? Is he going to bounce back from this slum? Is his mediocre performance affecting the likelihood that Lowry will be traded sooner rather than later? If you look at Vasquez carrier including college, I can only think of one period when his performance deteriorated this much, it happened in Memphis and the coach benched him for about a week, and then he came back and play better. The problem is that I am not sure that is an option here. I don’t see Casey benching him any time soon. So we can only wait and hope he gets his act back together soon.

TORaptor4Ever

I think that he's still having a bit of a hangover from his time in SAC. Just seems as though he's lacking confidence... and he's not getting time to develop much of a rhythm in his limited minutes. I HOPE that what we saw of him in N.O. wasn't a fluke... because he looked pretty decent back then.

Carlos Danger

I've noticed that he hasn't impressed in his first 9 games. Hope he picks it up, but he's heading towards free agency at this rate.

N64

Darren Collison had a stint in NO his rookie season where he looked unstoppable and I don't even know where he plays now. Not sure if it was the same coach though

bjjs

He is in a slump, so no, he is not always this bad.

Morsatun

I also think so, but I am not sure how long that will take, and if he can get his confidence back playing limited minutes

jeffb

Hopefully those three 3's in the 4th quarter yesterday gets him going. He is certainly better then he's shown so far.

LOG

from what I've seen in the past he is not this bad, but we shouldn't expect miracles. He is one of the worst defenders at guard position in the league, he is also one of the slowest players. Having said that if he cuts down on chucking 3's and plays his game he is a good back up pg

fancylad

i don't think he's been that bad. His shooting seems alright. The thing that strikes me is that he is slow and he seems to lose the ball easier than most PGs.

jeffb

I think he is a very good backup PG and has shown in the past that he can be a pretty good starting PG as well. He is slow as fuck though, it appears to me that he's maybe trying too hard and trying to do too much. He needs to settle down and get more comfortable because at this point he looks anything but..

TORaptor4Ever

Yep. Less looking for his shot (unless he's wide open) and more moving the ball. He's big enough to help out some on the glass too.

niggles

Bingo. I think he's trying too hard because he's thrilled to be here after Sac and wants to impress, but trying too hard is getting in his way. He's better than he's shown so far.

Morsatun

I agree, but I also think he is feeling the pressure about his future. At the beginning of the season he was looking at backing up his stats from last year in the starting spot at Sacramento, and therefore, expecting a decent multy-year deal at the end of the season. Now he is fighting for time as a backup PG, and looking at a qualified offer as the best possible scenario. That has got to put pressure on you.

creative1mm

I worry about his lack of speed.. maybe it isn't that exposed being backup pg.. but I hope Lowry can continue to stay healthy because our team looks fragile.. like an injury away from really struggling

DocHoliday99

Oh, 100%. GV can pass and well but I think some fans should give him a pass too. It takes a little while to learn a completely new system to run, to learn the habits and trends of his team mates, etc. At least I think it would, wouldn't it? Thread is a bit premature considering all the games Vasquez has played already prior to coming here.

LX

One thing that concerns me is how much the pick and roll has been taken out of the game by Thibs' system. I think maybe that makes it really hard on a slower pg that lives on pick and roll execution. I have really liked this guy in the past, but could see where i might end up wanting to see Buycks more.

gustavochinzy

can someone tell me the positives of Vasquez ? I feel like we got nearly nothing in return except for a smart salmon

LOG

p&r with Val and Amir, and also dishing to shooters

DonMughal

Addition by subtraction.

Thug

Bingo.

Took the words right out of my mouth.