Alston and Head need to go they never show up when it matters most. We need a PG and a back up center. Alston is more of a point shooter than a pass first point guard i dont care what they say but he is a point shooter and cant even shoot or find a cutter. If we could combine Head and Alston into 1 player you would have a very good role player.
only reason why i wouldn't trade alson for t.j. ford, is because of his injury status. that's it. t.j. ford is alot better than alston. ford doesn't force things up, and he is very quick, and knows how to finish around the basket.
Rockets need someone who does exactly what Calderon does. Put Alston on the Raptors is he going to average 8.5 assist in 31 minutes? I think not. Put Calderon on the Rockets will he average 8.5 assist in 31 minutes? I think more like 10 at the least and would shoot so much better than Alston it would be sick. Atleast Calderon can shoot with consistency and find back door cutters with ease. The only problem is who puts up those kinda numbers besides Calderon? Nobody so Calderon is our only hope this offseason if we want to boost our PG play but we would have to give up something in return.
I truly believe Rafer is a pass-first PG in his heart. The problem is he is so offensively challenged that opponents bait him into shooting. Of starting PGs, Poodle-dog is one of the most disrespected scorers in the league and teams love it when he shoots. I know there are times when Poodle's brain seems like it's under the influence of drugs and he throws up dumb shots that just make you want to hit the screen. But for the most part, he shoots when wide open, which makes his sorry percentage that much more sorry.
I some what agree but there is also those times when he forces bad shots instead of dribbling in and out of the lane looking for open shooters or cutters he would rather dribble in the lane for a brick floater or a forced outside brick shot. Then there is times when he is left wide open and still bricks them its pathetic.
His pass first title is over rated. He just dont create for his team mates his assist come off fast breaks and swinging the ball to a open shooter but has nothing to do with being a pass first point guard which means creating in rhythem of the offense. Nash is some one you would call a pass first point guard. Kidd is some one you would call a pass first point guard. Alston? I think not. Pass first point guard is some one who runs around and through the defense looking to get his team mates involved and make them better. Pass first point guard is some one who reads the defense and exploits it with passing not by bricking floaters.
We get almost all the Raps games here in Canada and trust me when I say TJ Ford sucks. Every fan in the Rapsnation would love if someone took Fords huge contract from them. He is one of the biggest ball hogs there is and completely disrupts the flow of the game. They hate him up here.
Its not that he cant do it with T-Mac or that he dont do it period doesnt mean it cant be done. If he did this then it would make T-Mac a even more dangerous player because then he could score at will off screen any time he wanted too and its because Alston cant do it that T-Mac has to do it for him basically because he is the only one on the team that can make his team mates better. If T-Mac had someone who could do this for him it would make T-Mac better as well as take pressure off of him.
All Morey has to do is go after the best guy possible that has the best assist to turnover ratio, minutes, shooting% and you know he is going to fit in perfectly in the back court with T-Mac. Steals and rebounds are only a bonus but not that important. Morey needs a guy who is going to make T-Mac a better player. His PPG etc... is not important just a bonus. If he can create for others and shoot with consistency then that should be the target.
It's possible that Steve Francis might not fit in with the Rockets' plans next season since they had most of their success this season without him. I personally think that his NBA career is over.
Realistically, we're going to go into next season with our current PG rotation, which I'm absolutely fine with. Both backups will be better IMO - BJaxx is improving over the games, and AB will hopefully use the summer to take what he's learned, adjust physically and mentally, and come into training camp after picking up lessons from Rafer, Bobby and Adelman. Who knows, Maybe Francis will even surprise us. But I do know we have great resources - Jackson, Brooks, Head, Francis and Hayes are all players who could net us a NICE player in a trade. What intruiges me is that Joe Dumars always does things a half season before anyone figures out what needs to be done. So if the Pistons have a poor playoff showing, I can see them dealing some pieces, and Chauncey Billups would make us the #1 team in the league IMO. However, keep in mind that we need FT shooting, decent 3pt shooting, a good passer and with good size. So I think these guys would be very interesting to try to pick up and work in as backup PG's: Roger Mason of the Wizards Beno Udrih of the Kings I beleive both of them will be available as FA's this offseason.
Alston should nerver be refered to as a Point Guard!! He is not a floor leader and certainly does not know how to be a playmaker. He however is great at taking too many low percentage shots and great at setting himself up to shoot an exctremely low percentage , when he does so. He does have heart but it is about time that the coach brought Rafer down to earth by reminding him that his name is Rafer and not Michael. p
brooks + jackson for jeff foster + travis diener robbing peter to pay paul but it's not like alston doesn't play heavy minutes anyway and the rockets would get a lesser pg in return if they traded him. alston francis diener mcgrady head (free agent/draft pick) battier harris novak scola landry hayes yao foster (1st round pick)
Same as in the post championship years, Rockets biggest weakness was pg position, now it's a little bit different story because Rockets really don't need some all star point guard to be contenders, they have Alston who is pretty pure point guard, loves to pass, to shoot even more and is quick, Brooks who is very speedy, light and future of this team and Steve Francis who is benched by knee injuries, and can make pretty good comeback if he's healthy, so unlike past years Rockets are good at pg position...
I might want to point out to you guys that we are the only team in the NBA to have two guards averaging 5 assists each.......Rafer just needs to hit those 3 balls
