Lopez sucks. He's one of the worst starters of the franchise' history.

Perhaps we are all spoiled on CP3 but I don't see anything but journeyman skills but look at a guy like Andre Miller compared to Vasquez... I am not saying throw him under the bus... so let's assume EG is healthy.. Who will play along with him on the existing roster... Derrick Williams might be available.. and the Wolves need SG help... Waiting on EG...

I think you guys drop the ball with that title, it just shows you are not serious.

Jack- I completely agree with this argument. Two free throws should equal one possession, so Player A used 10 possessions and Player B used 15 possessions. Have been saying this for a while and that is why I care more about True Shooting Percentage than points per shot. As for Vasquez, I really think it is a short term vs. long term thing. Neither side is universally correct. Each side is right but are talking about two seperate things. The pro-Vasquez people are correct in saying he is good this year and he is just doing what he needs to do with such a poor roster. The anti-Vasquez people are correct in saying that Vasquez's ceiling is not nearly as high as Rivers or Davis and him looking for his own shot or dribbling forever is hurting their progress long term. This is normally the case when intelligent people disagree; you see that when you pull the curtain back that they aren't actually arguing about the same thing.

Michael, I got another question for you. Maybe it sounds dumb, but here it is. Let me give an example here first. Player A shoots 10 out of 20 two pointers to get 20 points. Player B shoots 5 out of 20 for 2 pointers while he also gets 10 free throws using another 5 possessions. Why usually some people only saying they both take 20 shots to get 20 points, but ignoring the fact that play B used 5 more possessions. Is it because fouled by the other team is a plus?

I didn't have time to finish the podcast, but I did listen to some. I think it is just the title is too much eye-popping. Also not mentioning Vasquez's 17 assists in Timberwolves game. I know Ryan was also thinking about the bad things that Vasquez did. Well, come on. Just mention both to be fair. Return to the podcast. I remember Ryan asking about if Vasquez controlling the ball would slow down Rivers development especially after Gordon's return. I think that's babying Rivers too much. First, I think he will still get plenty of playing time. Second, letting him do too much that he can't do right now would hurt his confidence. You have to bring him slowly. Let him play if he can handle it. Otherwise, put him on the bench he can learn a lot there too.

i said today....read it before you make your argument

Vasquez has deficiencies? Of course! But... Selfish? Do you really think he's a selfish player? This is like some kind of persecution...

This is the only criticism I don't get. We might be wrong here from time to time, but to act like any of our writers has an agenda is crazy. We are all Hornets fans and want this team to do exceptional, but the fact is that some players are going to be great, others average, others below average, etc. I got bashed for hating on Aminu and Lopez earlier in the year but I was just stating my point of view from where I stand based on my knowledge of the game. Gerry V and Ryan continue to point out that Vasquez has huge deficiencies because that is what they (and most other NBA observers) see. Saying Ryan is wrong is one thing, but acting like he or anyone on this site has an agenda is just simply incorrect.

Well Michael, Vasquez is third in assists per 48 minutes with 12.6 only behind Rondo and Paul. Maybe you want a Point Guard that makes the points Hornets´Shooting Guards, Small Forwards and Centers are not making. Let´s bring Westbrook and forget about Vasquez. Westbrook will do whatever our SG, SF and C are not doing, and of course what vasquez is not doing. I agree Westbrook is better than Vasquez, but that would not solve Hornets problems.

Keep cherry picking stats that support your arguing while disregarding all the others. He is 40th amongst all point guards in PER, which I am sure you will say doesnt matter and will counter with raw assist numbers as opposed to advanced stats 40th amongst point guards, and that doesn't include Rubio and Rose, who have been out but are undoubtedly better. Just accept the fact that he is a great backup point guard. It is not a diss to him, it is a compliment for a guy who has exceeded what people thought he would be in this league

Michael, I have a question for you: do you know about other elite or good PG (present or past) that have overcome the deficiencies you see in Vasquez? slow foot? high TO? What can he do to compensate his lack of athleticism? Which of his good skills he should master, to perform better?

I never have said that he is one of the top 10, 12 or 15 PGs in the league. You have your reasons for ranking him in the bottom 7 starters and I respect that. I can not rank him properly, because I can not watch frequently all the other PGs, so I can only compare stats. I don't have the "eye-meter" that many people here use to say that he will never be a good starter, he will never learn new skills and/or improve his game. I wonder, how you people can say that, and affirm without doubt that Rivers will be a very good player in 2 or 3 years? I am sure you know that Aminu and Henry were drafted the same year that Greivis (#28), and they were #8 and #12... How were the comparisions between the three players then? How are they compared now? How is the comparision with Cole Aldrich, drafted by NO the same year (#11) and today with a career 7 mpg? You said he is one of the worst starting PGs in the league... but you didn't complete the idea saying "in one of the worst teams in the league". So, which is the cause? which the consequence? Someone could say that Greivis sometimes looks so bad because several bad team mates around him.. I don't want you to grade players relative to their contracts, I just think you should be more "fair" when make public opinions regarding your players, considering other positive aspects. How does he compare with his performance last year? Has he shown improvements? Ryan even "missed" a very good oportunity of saying something good after the game vs Timberwolves. Has someone commented that Greivis joined the elite 15-15 club this year? Is not worth to mention? One last observation: don't you think the players read and listen this blog? How many constructive critics can you find here? I really hope that the public and the environment at the arena is better than here...

I think he is a regular starting PG on the low side and getting better, may get into top ten for a year or two in the years to come, and then back to regular. Not bad for the payment he gets, leaving salary space for top 5 SG and SF.

So now we are changing the argument- I see. Okay, smart tactic if you can get away with it. He went from being a good point guard to a guy that we will acknowledge is one of the worst starters in the league, but we shouldn't grade him on that, we should grade him relative to salary. Okay, then sure, based on that argument, Vasquez exceeds his contract. Congrats you win. But the Hornets still lose because they have a bottom tier starting point guard. If you only want us to grade players relative to their contracts, then we can do that, and in that world Lance Thomas is a better player than Robin Lopez. Brian Roberts is better than Jason Smith this year and so on and so on. I acknowledged that it is not Vasquez's fault for being thrust into the starting lineup when he is not starter material, but if you want me or anybody else on this site to say he is one of the top 12 point guards in the league (above average), you are going to be waiting a long time for something that will never happen.

These arguments are just stupid. Since when do stats mean everything? And you mention all these terrible players, but how about all the assists he gets when he dumps it off to Ryan Anderson and again and again he drains 3's. Vasquez holds the ball until the end of the clock so many possesions and then dumps it off at the end. If the guy makes the shot, I would not call that a great pass. Also, there are so many oppurtunities for him to get even more assists. Last night for example he drove to the lane and had an oppurtunity to lob to Anthony Davis but it tried to float it over Hickson and got blocked. Look Vasquez has exceeded my expectations, but he just is not a good starting point guard. In order to evaluate a player you need to watch the game, and many of these little things turn into huge problems for our team. Also, what Michael is saying is that Rivers, Anderson, and Davis are our core. If we are ever going to be good we are not going to have Vasquez as a key player. This three players are who we are building around, and in a terrible season like this, their growth is what is most important. Vasquez may be playing much better than Austin Rivers and he might work just as hard too, but he is not going to get much if any better. He has established himself and a good back up point guard, but Rivers is only 19 and is going to get much better. He has shown the ability to knock down threes, which is surprising, but he does so many key things which is going to make him a great player. If you watched last night, even when he misses his ability to get to the goal is so much better than Vasquez. And opposing players actually fear him getting to the goal. One possession during the game he drove towards the middle and everyone came to stop him and he kicked it out to Anderson for a wide open three. No one does that for Vasquez. Vasquez is a good player, but just not a started. He has performed great this season for his abilities, but please do not look at his stats and make the claim he deserves to start. Maybe start watching the games. Do you notice how many times he throws to Lopez or Aminu at the end of the shot clock and expects them to score. These plays are just like turnovers and a starting point guard needs to be better than that.

Rebounds Per 48 Minutes Leaders - Qualified Point Guards PLAYER TEAM REB RPG RP48 1 Eric Bledsoe, PG LAC 64 2.8 7.2 2 Rajon Rondo, PG BOS 105 5.3 6.7 3Jason Kidd, PG NY 72 3.8 6.3 3Russell Westbrook, PG OKC 107 4.7 6.3 5Ramon Sessions, PG CHA 78 3.4 6.1 6Greivis Vasquez, PG NO 95 4.1 6.0

Well, there are 30 teams in the league. Someone would have to take the bottom 7... isn't it? How much is NO paying for Vasquez? Is his value/cost ratio adequate for a team like this? You mentioned 20 PGs better than Vasquez, but how much are they earning? Are these better PG willing to play in a small market like NO? I think is unfair to compare GV with these better PGs without mentioning experience (overall and as a starter) and salary. Everytime Rivers underperforms, you and other people use phrases like "he is learning", "he will be better", "he is a hard worker"... and this last one is the most disturbing, because isn't GV a hard worker? the other players are not "hard workers"? I believe GV has some good skills and also some bad skills to play the PG position... but you people always focus in the bad ones; I think he is in the top five rebounding PGs, and you haven't mentioned this fact. One of your comments was particularely discouraging: you don't care where Vasquez play because you are only focused in Rivers, Davis and Anderson. Well, let me say that as a team supporter, you should care about all your players, and try to think which is the best way to get the best performance from everyone; for the team's good

12.5 PPG / 8.7 APG / 4.1 RPG Tell me how many starters (PG) have numbers like these? And playing on a weak team like the Hornets? Vasquez is currently a Top 5 PG inside the league in assists. I'm not making this up. That's a fact. As it's also a fact that many who throw stones at Greivis are kind of Chris Paul' widows. I agree with friend baton_finn. Some people here haven't forgotten Chris Paul. Our reality is another. Understand that. I'd love to have Jamal Mashburn or Glen Rice instead of Aminu. And I'd love to have Vlade Divac or Alonzo Mourning instead of Robin Lopez. But that was all in the past, like Chris Paul. Therefore, I would be quite nostalgic (in the worst sense) if I wasn't satisfied with Vasquez. He isn't Chris Paul and he isn't an elite PG. But he's doing a good job on a team that honestly bit helps him. And what worries me most is that some people who criticize Vasquez are here praising whom? Lance Thomas! I really need a tranquilizer... Ah, here it's ... Sorry, but facts are facts: http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Assists.jsp