Rafer Alston's Defense

[CheezeyBoy22]

I think Morey has been one of the best things that has ever happened to the Rockets. He's made great trades and has picked great talent from the draft. He's done a great job.

But one of the things I don't want to ever hear from him again is about how great Rafer is on defense. That is joke within it's self. He doesn't turn over the ball that much but damn he gets burned a lot. He gets killed by soo many PGs. He can never contain Billups, Parker, Nash, Paul, Williams, or any fast PGs. Hell, even the Grizzles' PGs kill him. That's pretty damn bad. I know Nash and CP3 didn't score much in our wins this year but it wasn't from him.

You can even talk smack about him trying to the John Stockton stop and pop. He did that like three times in the Nuggets game.

This is not a thread about getting a better PG because it's not going to happen. There's no one else to bring in. Kirk Hinrick is hurt. Earl Watson isn't any better than him. We have like close to $5mil in expiring contracts but no one is going to take that right off our hands. The only way is by trading someone in the core. I don't see that happening.

[DaDakota]

He is good at playing the passing lanes, but he is not a good one on one defender, and he gives up too many wide open shots to talented shooters.

Luther and him on the court with JR Smith and Billups was murder to watch...they sagged, and Billups and Smith buried wide open 3pter after 3pter...it was the worst perimeter defense I have ever seen.

U
G
L
Y

DD

[fmp087]

I never really liked Rafer's defense and feel it is overrated. But unfortunately we have nothing better so he gets to play. We might be able to get past the first round with Rafer as the starting PG, but I don't think we will get much further unless he shoots in the high thirties ~38% or if by some miracle in the low forties which is of course highly unlikely.

[EGYPT]

Rafer is terrible in every stat, but I could not hate him anymore than when he runs the fast break by himself and stop and takes a shot with no ROX rebounder in sight, like he shoots a 40% percent or something. Even with the tear drops that are very close shots they never drop. he is shooting 32%


I think hundreds if not thousands of people in this city can shoot better than 32% of wide open shots if they were to get 6 mill in salary.

[EssTooKayTD]

With our PnR defense being semi-weak, but not horrible some of those open looks are from that. Also, the way our guys help and rotate leads to a slight opening for guys to get shots off. With perimeter defense rules HEAVILY benefiting the offensive player, what can you do?

I in the boat saying Rafer's defense is above average. Rafer plays through/around picks better than pretty much any of our other guards.

It's a fine line for defending guards in the league. Be aggressive as to not give them clean looks at the bucket, but so much as breathe on them and you are going to get whistled for a foul. I think our guards do a pretty decent job considering how the rules are now.

Our guards get to the cup too. Rafer just doesn't finish well. Brooks does. Head when he's not rushing something and committing a turnover. Tracy when he chooses to drive.

Then again, you are trying to say we should find a PG that can defend the best of PGs in the league. Show me someone who CAN stop those guys consistently.

[leebigez]

This horse has been beaten over and over. I said they shouldve traded rafer and got a backup and start brooks. I still feel that way. What you saw defensively is nothing new. He always gets killed by top notch pg's and his offense isn't good enough to offset them either. Watson is a better pg than rafer and he's a helluva defender and tough as nails. The guy from Indy, Jack wouldve been a good compliment to Brooks imo. Like DD says about Tracy, I'll say about Morey, he's just scared. He's scared to make another move or so because of chemistry disruption I guess. Rafer is not a starting pg on a championship team. Yes he's a low turnover guy, but that's mainly because he gives up the decision making process to someone else. He's a good open court player at times, but he's not a good finisher. For Brooks defensive shortcoming against the big post up pg's which counts 3 or 4 in the league, they have problems staying in front of him. One of my next deals is I'm going to see how many penetrations and penetrating passes Rafer makes.

[CheezeyBoy22]

Then again, you are trying to say we should find a PG that can defend the best of PGs in the league. Show me someone who CAN stop those guys consistently.

No... I didn't say find someone... I was stating that Rafer is not as great as Morey makes it seem. It's not about Rafer finishing or anything like that.

The issue I have is that you can't stop every PG but you can at least be able to play some defense or be able to score to keep up with them. You can't have CP3 score 30 points and have Rafer score like 8 points. No way man.

[Hayesfan]

No... I didn't say find someone... I was stating that Rafer is not as great as Morey makes it seem. It's not about Rafer finishing or anything like that.


Rafer is a very good team defender. He knows how to move his man into the help defense and then quick to recover. The problem comes when the help either isn't there or isn't fast enough to cover the PG in question.

He isn't a great one-on-one defender, but he isn't horrible either.

[haveatry]

Did Rafer have several steals in last game vs. nuggets?

[redao]

no defense can slow down today's elite PGs.
there are just too many elite PGs in NBA.
no elite PGs care to play defense.

-----a PG's defense = a center's dribble = useless anyway---------


what we need to do is to take advantage of the PG friendly rules and PG's general lacking of defense to score a lot from PG position. .

simply, we need FTs from PG.

[CheezeyBoy22]

Team defense is one thing but you have to be able to defend somewhat one-on-one. Rondo sucks at shooting but he can defend.

Just like Bullard and others have said before, you can't always get beat off the dribble and expect your bigs to back you up. You put them at a disvantage. Foul trouble and things like that.

[Jeff Who]

Well, he is a good team defender. You can't argue with that. He is also pretty quick and has got quick hands which makes him over the average on the ball defender.

But yeah, he has had his problems. As DD said he is giving up too many easy shots. But sometimes you just can't do anything if you play Billups or Davis who are bigger then you. You can't teach size, but I agree. His defense may be a little bit overrated.

[JeopardE]

The Houston Rockets have a 96.7 defensive rating when Rafer Alston is on the court. The only two Rockets with a lower number are Von Wafer and Shane Battier, and both have played way less minutes. Rafer's defensive efficiency numbers have been consistently outstanding for years, not just on the team but league-wide.

This "Rafer is an overrated defender" argument needs to die a horrible death.

Yes, he's a bad shooter. Yes, he doesn't finish well around the basket as he should. But he is NOT a bad defender. Sometimes the opposing point guard is just *that* good.

[ORLY]

you are talking about 1on1 def or what. rafer actually did fine on def in my opinion. too many leet PGs around, few of em did good jobs on def anyway and i wont expect rafer can hold CP3 lol. rafer is just a role player who fits this team and needs to work on his shooting, thats it.

[King1]

Overall, Rafer is a solid defensive player. Definitely above average. A lot of people say he gets burned by Chauncey Billpus, Deron Williams,ect....those guys burn everyone. The NBA has made it very difficult in general to be a good individual perimiter defender. That's why there are only a few guards ever mentioned when it's discussed (and the only reason Bruce Bowen has been in the league for so long).

People seem to underestimate team defense here a lot (as well as intensity and hustle). I think Rafer's erratic shooting blinds everyone on the board to the other things he does well. That's fine, he's ben brutal shooting the ball, but he does help this team in a lot of other ways.

[EssTooKayTD]

No... I didn't say find someone... I was stating that Rafer is not as great as Morey makes it seem. It's not about Rafer finishing or anything like that.

The issue I have is that you can't stop every PG but you can at least be able to play some defense or be able to score to keep up with them. You can't have CP3 score 30 points and have Rafer score like 8 points. No way man.

I only brought up Rafer and his finishing ability (or lack of) to illustrate that it's not just our guys getting burned. It's just how the rules are set up now. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

As far as someone like CP3 puttin' down 30, it's ok if Rafer doesn't. As long as our team collectively can outscore their team, who cares how many points a star player or position player gets? Right?

[jVgOwnsYou]

morey says that Rafer is an underrated defender which is true. He is a solid team defender. If a PG has a big scoring day on his, that's ok if he didnt get others involved and we win the game.

rafer is the best defender we have at that position by far. I think that's what Morey means. Love Rafer or Hate Rafer, the dude aint going anywhere. He is going to be a Houston Rocket, because we will not be able to find a team that will A. Give up a good PG and B. take rafer and his contract on.

Personally, I feel like if Rafer would just stop taking stupid shots, he would be a pretty damn good starter for us. Problem is, he has to take 3 or 4 shots a night that just make u scratch your head.

[abc2007]

Rafer's defense is so overrated!

I don't think a team with a good defend pg can have the 4th quarter crash problem.

[DaDakota]

the last few years our defense has been championship level our team's problems are on offense.

DD

[jVgOwnsYou]

the last few years our defense has been championship level our team's problems are on offense.

DD

Isnt that why we have added guys like artest(despite what everyone is saying, this guy is a legit 20 PPG if u need him to be), Landry, Scola, BrooksBarry.....Throw in a healthy Yao.

[King1]

the last few years our defense has been championship level our team's problems are on offense.

DD


This is correct

[King1]

Isnt that why we have added guys like artest(despite what everyone is saying, this guy is a legit 20 PPG if u need him to be), Landry, Scola, BrooksBarry.....Throw in a healthy Yao.


Artest is taking shots like a 20 ppg player. He just isn't making them. I have no idea why Yao is playing this poorly. There's no reason for it

[bj3175]

on the ball defense is good in establishing pressure. The problem is his oof the ball defense when his man gets to the spot he wants and his man gets the ball where he wants on the court.

[Grandpappy]

I started noticing this last year when Alston played Tony Parker: Rafer seems to have a way of neutralizing the better point guards in the league. Like he gets up for certain games, and his defense and offense look better than the season averages.

He hasn't got a chance to play many upper-echelon PGs this year, so it's definitely a small sample size, but here's what he's done against the top 3 guards he's played so far:


VS. Jason Kidd (2 game averages)

Kidd - 7.5 PPG | 43% FG | 10.5 Assists
Alston - 9.5 PPG | 37% FG | 6.5 Assists

(Kidd season averages - 10.8 PPG | 47% FG | 8.6 Assists)


VS. Steve Nash

Nash - 10 Points | 40% FG | 3 Assists
Alston - 15 Points | 64% FG | 4 Assists

(Nash season averages - 15.1 PPG | 51% FG | 8.1 Assists)


VS. Tony Parker

Parker - 15 Points | 42% FG | 7 Assists
Alston - 12 Points | 50% FG | 6 Assists

(Parker season averages - 23.9 PPG | 55% FG | 6.1 Assists)


I guess my point is that Rafer seems to look better on both sides of the ball when we need him most, and that's all I can really ask for.

Problem is, when it's the playoffs, the other guy's gonna be up for the games just as much as Alston. And that's seven games in a row of finding exploits.

All in all, based on what I've seen in the few years Alston's been here, I would definitely rank him as an above-average defender at the PG.

[thiuronium]

the last few years our defense has been championship level our team's problems are on offense.

DD
The key problrm of our offense is we are poorly officiated. We can't do much about it.

[BrooksBall]

Rafer Alston's Defense = www.rustyhardin.com (http://www.rustyhardin.com/)


I have no problem with people defending his defense.

The problem is that he is offending so many other people with his offense.

[jVgOwnsYou]

Artest is taking shots like a 20 ppg player. He just isn't making them. I have no idea why Yao is playing this poorly. There's no reason for it

In all seriousness, Yao really hasnt played that poorly. He has just been less aggressive on offense. He's playing smarter at both ends, but less aggressively.

Tomorrow night he'll have to score going up against Camby. The Clippers have no one who can come even close to stopping Yao. If the double comes, he'll have to continue to do what he's been doing and find the open men.

Artest is playing better each game. His FG % is still low but he is taking better shots lately, and he is a much better passer than people give him credit for. I think he'll be fine.

[EssTooKayTD]

In all seriousness, Yao really hasnt played that poorly. He has just been less aggressive on offense. He's playing smarter at both ends, but less aggressively.

Tomorrow night he'll have to score going up against Camby. The Clippers have no one who can come even close to stopping Yao. If the double comes, he'll have to continue to do what he's been doing and find the open men.

Artest is playing better each game. His FG % is still low but he is taking better shots lately, and he is a much better passer than people give him credit for. I think he'll be fine.

I agree, Yao is just fine. He'll clean up his game a little, and hopefully we'll have the 20/10 guy back.

The Artest front...I don't know man. Most of his attempts look very forced to me. He looks nothing like the guy who was one of the main guys at Sactown. Then again, everyone should get some adjustment time. Tracy went through the same deal when he came here.

And his passing, I hope you are right. what I've seen so far, is, well...not too good. I really hope I'm wrong there though.

[DaronMalakian]

Sorry but, you know some of basketball?

Rafer is not a good, but a VERY GOOD defender; you have to consider that in a p&r against Yao, Yao is defending the p&r (...) In other words, Rafer has no help from Yao at the flash, because Yao has the order of don't going out to the three point line, so it's doubly difficult for a Rockets' PG to defend a p&r of an all-star player (already dangerous for itself).

[knote32]

the last few years our defense has been championship level our team's problems are on offense.

DD
I disagree, our defense is horrid............just disgusting horrible defense.......

[Easy]

JVG said Rafer was a good defender. Morey said Rafer was a good defender. I seem to remember Adelman said the same thing.

So...

[jVgOwnsYou]

JVG said Rafer was a good defender. Morey said Rafer was a good defender. I seem to remember Adelman said the same thing.

So...

Hes our best defender at that position. Period.

[jVgOwnsYou]

Hes our best defender at that position. Period.

by far

[rockets_fanatic]

Brooks is not a starting point guard. Please understand this. Brooks is a scorer, when our team needs someoen to just run the offense. Rafer is good at that, not great but good. However when we have players out or Rafer hits some open shoots, he decides to not run the offense but take bad, forced shoots.

However, we are not going to get much better unless we give something good away.

[jVgOwnsYou]

I agree, Yao is just fine. He'll clean up his game a little, and hopefully we'll have the 20/10 guy back.

The Artest front...I don't know man. Most of his attempts look very forced to me. He looks nothing like the guy who was one of the main guys at Sactown. Then again, everyone should get some adjustment time. Tracy went through the same deal when he came here.

And his passing, I hope you are right. what I've seen so far, is, well...not too good. I really hope I'm wrong there though.

a few of his attempts are forced, yes...When he's going to the rim he's looking to draw fouls and he's just not getting the whistles. I like that he is attacking the basket aggresively because that will eventually free up yao for rebounds and put backs if artest doesnt score or get fouled.

Alot of his jumpers that look forced are the result of a bad possesion and the shot clock winding down...Shots that Mcgrady normally takes. Nothing wrong with them...

So far this season hes been our most consistant stand still 3 point shooter, and thats always going to be important in our offense.

His passing could be better, but I think hes still trying to learn where his team mates like to catch the ball.

[jVgOwnsYou]

Brooks is not a starting point guard. Please understand this. Brooks is a scorer, when our team needs someoen to just run the offense. Rafer is good at that, not great but good. However when we have players out or Rafer hits some open shoots, he decides to not run the offense but take bad, forced shoots.

However, we are not going to get much better unless we give something good away.

With a healthy Tmac running the show, Brooks can be a starting PG IMO. or atleast a PG that can play 30 mins a game.

[K mf G]

Rafer is a very good team defender. He knows how to move his man into the help defense and then quick to recover. The problem comes when the help either isn't there or isn't fast enough to cover the PG in question.

He isn't a great one-on-one defender, but he isn't horrible either.

i agree
our help defense mainly from yao is horrible

[rockets_fanatic]

With a healthy Tmac running the show, Brooks can be a starting PG IMO. or atleast a PG that can play 30 mins a game.

Have you watched Brooks with the ball in his hands? He is best utilised with the ball in his hands. We need him with the second unit when Yao is out of the game. You honestly, want to put up with Alston being our 6th man, taking 10-15 shots a game?

Alston is out best option as a starting point guard and Brooks is perfectly suited as a scoring point guard, coming off the bench.

[jVgOwnsYou]

Have you watched Brooks with the ball in his hands? He is best utilised with the ball in his hands. We need him with the second unit when Yao is out of the game. You honestly, want to put up with Alston being our 6th man, taking 10-15 shots a game?

Alston is out best option as a starting point guard and Brooks is perfectly suited as a scoring point guard, coming off the bench.

Brooks with the ball in his hands can stagnate the offense and can lead to poor shot selection and turnovers....Brooks recieving passes off of rotation can blow by his man and make an easier passin space, or he can score off the dribble, or can the open 3.

[rockets_fanatic]

Brooks with the ball in his hands can stagnate the offense and can lead to poor shot selection and turnovers....Brooks recieving passes off of rotation can blow by his man and make an easier passin space, or he can score off the dribble, or can the open 3.

That is why he will not start. If he is making the wrong decisions with the ball in his hands and has poor shot selection, wha is to say he takes a contest jump shoot instead of continuing to swing the ball around? Or drives into the paint before Yao clears the lane?

[jVgOwnsYou]

That is why he will not start. If he is making the wrong decisions with the ball in his hands and has poor shot selection, wha is to say he takes a contest jump shoot instead of continuing to swing the ball around? Or drives into the paint before Yao clears the lane?

Tracy will be making those decisions....Brooks job becomes so much easier...

[Ziggy]

Rafer plays intelligent defense. When Mutombo is sitting back there Rafer is monumentally better. A shot blocker does wonders for Rafer in particular. Oh well, if you are nit picking Rafer's defense you probably don't get much sleep at night.

[rockets_fanatic]

Tracy will be making those decisions....Brooks job becomes so much easier...

So an offense is one pass? What happenes when Yao passes out of the double team and it ends up in Brooks hands? You said he takes bad shoots andn turns the ball over. SO he catches it out of the double team. He shoots instead of swinging it one pass to Artest for a better shoot? Or drives and runs into Yao?

[GermanRoxFan]

JVG said Rafer was a good defender. Morey said Rafer was a good defender. I seem to remember Adelman said the same thing.

So...

you know what the stats are saying?

they're saying that the rockets are #2 in efg% allowed and #4 in pts allowed per 100 possessions while rafer is playing (ranking is based on how well all the other teams defend with their starting point guards in the game).

so, really everything indicates that rafer is a pretty good defender.


what really amuses me, though, is that people here call him a bad defender because he can't stay in front of chris paul or because he gets abused by chauncey billups. well, this is the nba, folks. those players can't be stopped individually on a regular basis by anyone. you might limit them individually or force them into your help defense. but really stopping the likes of chris paul, deron williams or steve nash? how's that supposed to happen? especially with the current rules?

imho, rafer does a pretty solid job on defense. he's certainly no lockdown defender by any means, but he's pretty solid at almost all aspects of defense. that's the reason why he's so underrated defensively. he doesn't stand out on one thing but he minimizes his errors.

i'd rank rafer as our 4th best overall defender behind battier, hayes and artest.

[Crush]

No... I didn't say find someone... I was stating that Rafer is not as great as Morey makes it seem. It's not about Rafer finishing or anything like that.

If morey gives that impression it is more beneficial to team morale than if he acted otherwise. As well, it may lead to more favorable trades for Rafer in the future :cool:

[worzel gummidge]

you know what the stats are saying?.
That it's Yao not Rafer that makes the Rockets a better team defensively.

[northeastfan]

you know what the stats are saying?

they're saying that the rockets are #2 in efg% allowed and #4 in pts allowed per 100 possessions while rafer is playing (ranking is based on how well all the other teams defend with their starting point guards in the game).

so, really everything indicates that rafer is a pretty good defender.


what really amuses me, though, is that people here call him a bad defender because he can't stay in front of chris paul or because he gets abused by chauncey billups. well, this is the nba, folks. those players can't be stopped individually on a regular basis by anyone. you might limit them individually or force them into your help defense. but really stopping the likes of chris paul, deron williams or steve nash? how's that supposed to happen? especially with the current rules?

imho, rafer does a pretty solid job on defense. he's certainly no lockdown defender by any means, but he's pretty solid at almost all aspects of defense. that's the reason why he's so underrated defensively. he doesn't stand out on one thing but he minimizes his errors.

i'd rank rafer as our 4th best overall defender behind battier, hayes and artest.

As much as I think Alston is horrible on the offensive end, I have to agree with you; he plays *decent* defense; otherwise, the Rockets could not be as good as a whole on the defensive end.

[DaDakota]

That it's Yao not Rafer that makes the Rockets a better team defensively.

Yep yep.

DD

[Ikorose]

Rafer is an above average defender at PG.

His man to man defense is good, not Bruce Bowen, Battier-esque, but good enough. His team defense is among the best at his position.

His self-defense is legendary. Look at the percentages he's holding himself to.

[Shroopy2]

Oddly one, just one game or not,
Rafer and Brooks tied Billups and his backup Carter in total points (31)
So they held their own.

Head and the frontcourt got outplayed. Should not be happening for the supposed depth at the Rockets frontcourt.

[GermanRoxFan]

That it's Yao not Rafer that makes the Rockets a better team defensively.

i like how yao defends not only his man but also alston's man at the same time. :rolleyes:

you know, there's such a thing called team defense. something where 5 players of a team are a part of.

also, i think jvg, morey and adelman just confused alston's defense with yao's.


it's pretty obvious that rafer is the devil.

but did you know? rafer's #7 among all point guards on the assist to turnover ratio list and has the 3rd lowest salary among all starting point guards not on a rookie contract.

[ColomboLQ]

i like how yao defends not only his man but also alston's man at the same time. :rolleyes:

you know, there's such a thing called team defense. something where 5 players of a team are a part of.

also, i think jvg, morey and adelman just confused alston's defense with yao's.


it's pretty obvious that rafer is the devil.

but did you know? rafer's #7 among all point guards on the assist to turnover ratio list and has the 3rd lowest salary among all starting point guards not on a rookie contract.

All that tells me is that he is overpaid. ;)

[DaDakota]

but did you know? rafer's #7 among all point guards on the assist to turnover ratio list and has the 3rd lowest salary among all starting point guards not on a rookie contract.

Great...number 7 huh? Wow !.....his contract is not the issue, it is a fair price for his talents at this point in his career.

His defense is one of his better attributes....for sure....

Because his shooting and shot attempts...well.....not so much.

Rafer may not be the devil, but he is certainly a lessor demon.

:D
DD

[CheezeyBoy22]

If morey gives that impression it is more beneficial to team morale than if he acted otherwise. As well, it may lead to more favorable trades for Rafer in the future

Morey isn't going to trade Rafer at all. He is in his contract year next year which leads up to 2010. That's $5,250,000 that will be coming off the books.

The Rockets are in a good position come 2010. They are only commited as of right now $28,040,600 for that year. Tracy, Alston, Scola, and Barry will be off the books come that time. I expect them to sign Scola back but I do see them being of the major players come 2010. The Rockets are only a few teams that have some money to play with. I would love to get Amare.

[heypartner]

fwiw: Billups destroyed Jose Calderon last night. Winning by nearly 40 points

I think us West fans might have underestimated Billups all these years. Denver is playing great, right now. No shame in the Rox having an dead game on the tail end of a back to back on the road, missing 2 starters and Barry...in high altitude.

[DaDakota]

fwiw: Billups destroyed Jose Calderon last night. Winning by nearly 40 points

I think us West fans might have underestimated Billups all these years. Denver is playing great, right now. No shame in the Rox having an dead game on the tail end of a back to back on the road, missing 2 starters and Barry...in high altitude.

Agreed, I was much more upset with the San Antonio loss and the Indiana loss, the Denver loss was expected.

Though I would have like for both Rafer and Luther to be in the same zip code as JR Smith and Billups instead of letting them shoot wide open 3 pters...but you can't have it all I guess.

DD

[pmac]

LOL, wow you guys are crazy. Defense is one of the few things that Rafer is good at. He does all that he can.

He just gets blown by for the same reason that Wade may never have to learn how to shoot, you can't touch a guy on the perimeter nowadays. If he's quicker than you he should be able to get by you. The league wants quick guards to light everybody up so there's really no way to stop them.

The only thing you can really do is lead them to the shot blocker, Rafer does that.

[jVgOwnsYou]

So an offense is one pass? What happenes when Yao passes out of the double team and it ends up in Brooks hands? You said he takes bad shoots andn turns the ball over. SO he catches it out of the double team. He shoots instead of swinging it one pass to Artest for a better shoot? Or drives and runs into Yao?

All that I said was Brooks plays better when he is complemented by someone like Mcgrady. Someone who knows how to run an offense and get guys open shots. Brooks is quick with the ball in his hands, but I'd rather him be the one who finishes the play rather than starting it. When he is the primary ball handler, he tends to just try to speed drive past his defender to the basket, and that leads to alot of low percentage shots and turnovers.

To me he is at his best in transition obviously, and he is also better suited playing off the ball where he can move around the perimeter, get open, recieve the pass, and knock down the open three....If the defender runs out at him, he gets an easy step to the basket, and he can get into the lane with alot of space to get a shot up or to make a pass.

[BaMcMing]

Rafer is a very good team defender. He knows how to move his man into the help defense and then quick to recover. The problem comes when the help either isn't there or isn't fast enough to cover the PG in question.

He isn't a great one-on-one defender, but he isn't horrible either.


I agree with you chica. I think this thread is WAY OFF! (As Rafer likes to say....)

Rafer recovers extremely well, and he almost always contests shots. Defensive Efficiency is measured in many ways. Deflections, contesting shots, knowing where the help is coming from....

It's not just about stopping you're man one-on-one. After all, no body stops the Chris Paul's, Deron Williams's, and such. The best and only thing you can do is have a game plan to contain these types of PG's. And Rafer does his homework and sticks to the plan.

[zzphilipjulia]

This horse has been beaten over and over. I said they shouldve traded rafer and got a backup and start brooks. I still feel that way. What you saw defensively is nothing new. He always gets killed by top notch pg's and his offense isn't good enough to offset them either. Watson is a better pg than rafer and he's a helluva defender and tough as nails. The guy from Indy, Jack wouldve been a good compliment to Brooks imo. Like DD says about Tracy, I'll say about Morey, he's just scared. He's scared to make another move or so because of chemistry disruption I guess. Rafer is not a starting pg on a championship team. Yes he's a low turnover guy, but that's mainly because he gives up the decision making process to someone else. He's a good open court player at times, but he's not a good finisher. For Brooks defensive shortcoming against the big post up pg's which counts 3 or 4 in the league, they have problems staying in front of him. One of my next deals is I'm going to see how many penetrations and penetrating passes Rafer makes.

We can not start brooks before rafer. First of all, brooks is worse defender than rafer. Second of all, brooks can score more than rafer, but other players will score less because brooks can not assist.

[kinderegg]

He sucks on both offense and defense ends. He plays just because we dont have a choice. Period.