I am concerned about the Rockets as a whole. Alston is not a guy who can carry a team offensivly for ant stretch during a game but I do think he can be effective running the show.
Nice, somewhat relative, but doesn't address my concern of his play LATELY, just his skills and fit here overall. Had not seen the thread, regardless... so thanks... I guess.
Possible? Anything is possible. Probable? that's very debatable. When here, James didn't prove he COULD take less shots per game, from what I saw (not looking at stats, YRMV), and I think this was part of the reason for moving him. He took his shots, sometimes when he shouldn't. I'd also like to know from one of you stat-heads what his percentage and totals were when he was here. I disagree about not needing another ball handler, When TMAC was bringing the ball up, because no one else seemed able, he was wearing down in games. We needed a ball handler to take off that pressure, one who wouldn't take shots when the passes should be to Yao and TMAC. The comment about his lack of ability to pass to Yao is somewhat valid, but his assists here had been good for the most part... but mainly...to the point... Again, this adresses the James/Alston debate, but the thread was centered around Alston's commitment and professionalism after the chips were down, not whether or not the James/Alston trade is a bust. I'm not even saying he lacks these things, just wondering what other people saw/thought lately. Funny thing is, I've gotten maybe a handful of replies here that even remotely address this, because all the people on James' Jock are too worked up about blaming JVG for trading the guy, and don't see the intent of the post. Maybe I didn't make it clear, but if the title didnt explain, I think the original post did....though you'd never know it, reading 90%+ of the replies.
This is the most informative post I've seen regarding my question, and the point in the quote about time management is quite poignant. Thanks for that. I'll consider this and maybe relax on the guy a bit, since my biggest complaint was watching him dribble the clock out (seemingly deliberately, but apparently if anyone has an excuse, it's him. Perhaps JVG ((not a jvg basher here)) should shoulder the blame for putting the ball in his hands with that amount of time.)
well, u cant talk about how bad Alston sucks without mentioning how he got here and who we traded to get him, which takes us to James...and please, stop saying James took his shots and didn't give enough touches to T-mac and Yao.. James was the perfect fit for us, just because he shot the open jumper when he had it (usually off the double team on Yao and T-mac and that's the same way Vernon, Mario, KEnny, Bullard and the rest of the good guys made a living in the Hakeem era)... he was the perfect fit for us, and dont say he couldn't handle the ball well .. I bet u he is a better ball handler than Alston.. just because Alston dribbles between his legs and used to be in AND1 doesn't make him a good ball handler.. ball handling is how many TURNOVERS you get when u get the ball taken away from u or when u dribble it off your foot (we've seen it a 100 times with Alston).. and you were just talking about how stats are not a good way to grade a player. well, alston's assists are just numbers.. most of them are simple passes (that my little brother can do) to Yao down the post and Yao turn around J right away (so Alston gets an assist).. Alston Sucks.. his play was a big concern when we first got him, is a big concern right now, and will stay a huge conern until we trade him for some trash and get rid of that player... I said it in my last post, he might be a good player, but he doesn't fit with the Rockets at all.. I might do a better job as a PG than him.. (not really.. I am a 5'6 HS student )
please.... assists are just numbers.. they dont mean anything unless u r Jason kidd or Steve Nash.. u gotta watch the way the dude plays, he sucks.. I dont see any crazy (on target) passes that makes him a good "TEAM FIRST" PG.. I bet u John Barry can pass the ball better than RA by 100 times..
No problem. The thread is only a few days old, so it should take into account his play of late. I wasn't trying to step on your toes, I was curious as to what people thought of Alston as were you, seperate of the MJ trade and thought you might find it interesting. The title and initial post of your thread doesn't make it clear what you are asking, and that is what seems a majority of people are focusing their attention on. Should have just come out and asked the q: is he a quitter, does he have a loser's mentality? I think a majority of people would say no to both accusations, even his detractors. fwiw, I think perhaps I was too hard on him, but I still believe that his weaknesses do not make up for his strengths. He isn't starter material and even though he would be a good backup, he wouldn't be an ideal one either. But most likely, we are stuck with him as a starter for at least another season.
he is not a quitter, and he aint got loser's mentality.. but he is not a good (or even average) NBA player... he should stick to Street Ball and And1... or he should go to another team that he fits in well...
rafer isn't on the level of nash, stockton, magic..anyone like that. not even close. But he is a point guard. And a passing one. So why are we expecting him to succeed on a team with no one who can score around him? No one to draw double teams, no one to allow him space to penetrate..? I think the one thing we might be seeing is that, in a lost season, he loses focus...doesn't try quite as hard as he would otherwise. More prone to defensive lapses now than he was early on. But I think he'll be fine next year...and be at least capable as a starting PG for this team.
Thanks for clarifying. All this might be true, but Alston IS on this team, and the original question was, did his play of late make you wonder if his attitude (seeming to give up, which even in last night's debacle, he didn't seem to be doing) seemed, to anyone else, to support the notion of him not having the heart of someone we WANT on our team. I didn't say anything about stats not being a good measure of a player... I said I wasn't looking at the stats while posting my last comment. I don't know if I think he's a starter, or not, or whatever, I just didn't like seeing him appear as if he was a quitter or tanker. Knowing what I know now (thanks crisco) and watching him last night, I tend to think his problems lately have been just fluctuations in his play, whatever level everyone sees that as, and judging most of the responses I've gotten, I'm kinda sorry I asked in the first place. Made sense at the time, but.... Anyway, Not being the greatest is one thing, giving up and quitting is another. Crisco is right, maybe the title of the thread wasn't clear enough, but again, I thought the original post spelled out clearly what I was asking.
His numbers this season worry me, because he’s not going to get a better chance to produce than he did this past season and his production was pretty mediocre. He played nearly 40 minutes a game, he had the ball in his hands more than anybody except maybe Yao, and was allowed more freedom than he ever will. If 11 and 6 is his production basically as the 2nd option on a bad team, what will his production be like as the 4th or 5th option on a good team next season, when he won’t have the ball in his hands as much and he’s probably going to be asked to do a lot more spot-up shooting (not his strength)?
Alston is doing FANTASTIC!!! When we need a higher draft pick the most, he fully used his brick skill and really stepped up.
that was my bad CrazyDave, but everytime we mention Alston, I go crazy and start bashing that stupid trade.. but this was not the right thread .. it's just that I am really mad at that trade and I still imagine James playing with the ROX... and the Question if the thread is clear and it makes sense to everybody.. but once I started posting, I went on and on and on and eventually went off-topic .. I apologize for that and I really appreciate the way u cleared that up, I've seen some crazy posters who just go off on u because u went a little off topic..
Rafer Alston is a good example of why streetsmade players in the nba are RARE. THEy have low bball IQ/IQ with no college education in basketball. He lacks the fundamental of making an open shot and he is far from a playmaker point guard that the rockets need. His assists are from ballhandler passes not playmaking. So his lack of playmaking and lack of scoring ability makes him a liability.
college education in basketball? wtf? i don't think that has anything to do with it. rafe played college ball at fresno state. t-mac didn't play college ball and he has excellent ball iq.
