It looks like we are about to begin another season with Rafer Alston as our starting PG. As we all know, Rafer has struggled more often that not trying to be a reliable 2nd or 3rd scorer. Thankfully, this offseason we've added a legitimate 3rd scorer in Artest as well as an efficient outside shooter in Brent Barry. Barry's minutes are expected to be somewhat limited due to his age but Artest is expected to contribute significantly for 30+ mpg. Discuss how you think Rafer's role will change this season and whether or not you think he will be an adequate PG to lead us through the season and deep into the playoffs. If you think he's adequate, why? If not, do you see Morey trying to make a move during the season to bring in an upgrade? These were some of Alston's numbers from last season: 13.1 PPG 5.3 APG 2.2 TO 39.4 FG% 35.1 3PT% 12.5 FGA (career high) 1.9 FTA (lowest as a Rocket) Source: Rafer Alston Statistics - Basketball-Reference.com What do you project his statistics will look like at the end of next season? Do you see any chance of him approaching double-digits in assists per game and being among the league leaders? I've heard some people say that Rafer improved last season but the statistics don't really support that claim. It still concerns me when I look at his shot chart from 07-08 combined with the fact that he didn't even get to the line two times per game. Basically, he not only doesn't penetrate and get to the basket enough but also is an inefficient shooter from most other areas of the court. I hope that the new additions not only result in a decrease in his shot volume but also bring him back over the Mendoza Line of NBA shooting for the first time since the 04-05 season.
Of course,he is not gonna be depended on to score anymore,but he WILL get even more open looks then before....that will either make or break him.His assists will rise and he HOPEFULLY will be getting or flirting with a double-double every night(ala 9pts,8asts,2stls average)That may be wishing too much but with the weapons we have now its not completely out of the question
Hopefuly Rafer can play like he played in the 2nd hald of the season last year or we will not be good. I hope his floaters and over improved finishing inside will continue. About once or twice a game he takes a quick 3 in transition or after an offenssive rebounds , those need to stop , he should distirbute the ball to the better shooters/scorers.
My explanation of Rafer's importance is I guess it just shows how coveted a trait ballhandling seems to be. A guy who can dribble without getting the ball stolen must really be some kind of calming influence over an offense... Only 4 people got double digit assists last year, then only 2 other players got over 8 a game. I think McGrady still will take assists away from Rafer by controlling the ball as much as he does. So I dont think Rafer gets any more than 6.5 per game.
Rafer is really underrated here. he is a very good passer. he rarley commits turnovers and he has excellent court vision. he is very hard to contain off the dribble. it's his finishing that lets him down. he also has great hands on defense. As for his role, i see being more of a playmaker instead of the third option which he was last year. 10 points 8 assists 3 boards . those would be awesom numbers to get from him.
finally, rafer will play a role that he's capable of and where his strengths will be used the most. we all know he's not your reliable 2nd or 2rd scoring option, but as a pg on this team he's a very good fit. he brings the ball up the court very quick and with very few turnovers, plays good defense and is good at running the fast break. we know he's streaky with his shot but at the end he's still not the bad shooter people on this board think he is. in fact, if you look at the 3p % of all starting point guards of last season you'll find out he's better than most of them. since the open 3 will be the shot he'll have to hit this season that's all that matters. for his price there aren't any point guards out there that the rockets could get while still getting better. so, rafer will play a big role like last season, but this years role will be a little different. we still need a better backup for him, though (or barry has to prove that he's still able to handle 15 mpg as a part time pg).
Thxs Brooks, lets start this! Let me start off with I am not one who thinks his stats increase noticeably last year. I do however think there is a HUGE potential in his stats raising this year. But like AceballerGTR said, this will make him or break him. I am seeing a make. Last year, he was looked to as a 3rd or 4th scorer. I tend to feel a lot of his shots were pressured because YnT couldn't get open or what not was the case. Don't get me wrong I have seen quite a few open bricks. But when called out on inconsistencies, I have to say he does have a variety of off days and hot days, either/or but almost never in between? But looking past that, he is in the same percent range as other in his pay rate. There is no denial on that, if I have to I will move or copy/paste from the other thread we mistakenly got caught up in. I might have to do that anyways so others can get a glimpse. There is a easy fix to this so called inconsistencies. This year if he isn't feeling it he has 4 primary legit scorers and a guarantee that at least 2 will be on the court at a time. To this degree, Rafer has absolutely no excuse for not hitting 10 plus assist per game. At the same time, this should take a butt ton of pressure off him hopefully resulting in a increase percentage for 3's and deep 2's. Honestly I do not understand why he doesn't penetrate much. He is a great dribbler. Bring that Skip to my Lou to the courts more often in my opinion. But the question with that is do we want him at the line? I believe he is only 78-79 % FT shooter. Correct me if I am wrong. Being among the League Leaders in assist this year? Guess it matters on how well he can read Scola and Artest and how often he can find YnT. If he doesn't hit 10 though there is something wrong. I'd also like to see Brooks work on his passing. My hoping stats for him would be 8PPG, 10APG, 2SPG, 1TO. With an 45-50% from the arc. 45-50 percent isn't too high but its higher then a lot of other PG's in the 5mil range. You can't ask TOO much of him, shooting like Nash or assisting like Paul, those guys make 3 times as much as he does. Another topic on the inconsistencies, again he is still shooting the same percent as a lot of PG's in his pay bracket. Whether he is cold one day or hot the other, it happens. If it does happen more to him it's whatever as long as his percent doesn't drop from where it is now. If he is cold one day then hopefully he will have 15 assist or more to make up for it. If he is hot then maybe 8
What I expect out of Rafer? Less scoring, more dishing. And higher 3 point %. 10 ppg, 8 apg, 38% from 3 point. Thats legit for me.
When you have a loaded team with more than two offensive options, Rafer doesn't have to take on a scoring load that is too heavy for him to realistically carry. Look at the Celtics last year- Rajon Rando, a poor outside shooter, only had to concentrate on distributing the ball and play great defense. If he gave them *any* outside shooting it was just frosting on the cake. The same with everybody on their bench- James Posey, Eddie House, Leon Powe- they were so deep and played such great defense that if any of these guys stepped up offensively then the Celtics were usually going to win. If the Celtics needed consistent offensive production from Rondo, or Posey they would have been in trouble. We remember when Posey was with the Rockets. With depth he's a nice player. As 2nd, or 3rd option he's nothing special. I think the Rockets have enough depth and play good enough team defense that Rafer and the bench can flourish since the pressure won't be on for each of them to put up big numbers offensively. If one player doesn't step up to help the big three (well, four), then somebody else will. I am excited about this team and think Rafer will do fine.
BrooksBall... why are you going to start a new thread? I already finished this argument in the photoshop thread. Plus, you forgot to include the post-season hot shots. Yes, I know that the number of made/attempted shots are low because he only played 4 games in this past post-season, but I see a lot of red. I'm just looking at the big picture. I don't care if he doesn't play like Steve Nash, Deron Williams, or Chris Paul during the regular season. I know you do though. Plus, he has a lot more options this season. I think this is going to be a great season for Rafer if everyone is healthy, including Rafer himself.
I am afraid rafer will have to play off the bench in the upcoming season because:" tmac is contemporary magic "
Go away. T-Mac couldn't guard the majority of the NBA's starting PG's on a regular basis. IMO Rafer SHOULD shine this season. I believe he's the right player for this team.
I want Rafer to average 6-8 FGAs and to improve his pathetic FG%. I want him to play fewer minutes because (hopefully) the Rockets will have viable alternatives (AB, Barry, ???) and Rafer can be yanked out of the game when he plays like a dog. joesr, I'll tell you why Rafer doesn't penetrate much: He is an extremely poor finisher and abhors contact. When Rafer goes towards the rim, good things rarely happen. He needs to stick with spot up shooting. Beyond the shadow of any doubt, Rafer is now the 5th best option on offense behind Yao, Tracy, Artest and Scola. His shot selection should reflect this and he must refuse to be baited into shooting by opposing defenses. The 3/15 and 4/17 games should cease. We are going to have to live with the fact Rafer puts so little offensive pressure on opposing PGs that they will have plenty of energy to torch him on the other end.
I agree that Rondo is a bad outside shooter although his mid-range game did improve considerably last season. He also avoided shooting 3s knowing that wasn't his game (took only 17 all of last season). He also shot 49.2% from the field. That is good for 11th best among 180 guards in the entire NBA. Conversely, Alston was ranked 126th. So, Rondo's FG% was nearly 10% better than Alston's. That's a HUGE difference. Rondo also got to the basket 405 times to Alston's 271, playing 220 less total minutes, or 7-8 less games while finishing at a higher rate. Of course, Rondo benefited from playing on the a team with three top-flight scorers. This had to open things up for him. Maybe, Rafer will get that same benefit this season and take advantage of it. I think there is a good chance of that happening if our Big 3 stays healthy. I would like to see him get to the basket more though, regardless of who else is on the court.
Same numbers but with less attempts because the addition of Artest opens the court for him. He's also bumped down 2 spots in the scoring pecking order from 3rd to 5th(Scola bumped him last year and that's when his efficiency started to pick up). We won't see anymore forced shots with the shot clock winding down form Rafer anymore.
10 assists is unrealistic. Same goes for 8 assists. Its not like the rox team is filled with a lot of shooters, where all rafer need to do is penetrate and pass it to a wide open shooter. Its much harder to get your assist, when the players you are passing to is, yao and scola, who operate at the low post, where unless they take the quick baseline jumper, it will not be counted as an assist. and tmac and artest, who will get the ball at the high post, and will do their stuff. Hence, the important number for rafer will be his shooting, where this time, he will have even more open looks. And if you are not shooting above 50% with that many open looks opportunity, you are certainly not pulling your weight.
Please remember that the Rox is nearly the only team in the league that has two guys averaging 5 assist a game. We really have two point guards out there. In comparison to alot of other teams.
Keep in mind that we all expect too much of Rafer. I seriously wish that people would get off his back. Compared to Moochie Norris, Mark Jackson, Charlie Ward, Bob Sura, Mike James, Rod Strickland, Andre Barrett, Luther Head (at PG), John Lucas III.... Things could be a lot worse. What can Rafer do when T-Mac is playing Point-Forward and Yao is injured? Piss off haters apparently. What can he do with a healthy Shanghai Shark, Ron Ron, and T-Mac on the floor at the same time and doing what they should be doing at their respective positions? Piss off the haters.
