He is on a 10 day contract with the toronto raptors, in his 3 games played so far, he is averaging very good numbers, but beyond the numbers he has led an absolutely atrocious raptors team to 2 wins over minnesota and washington. Make no doubt about it, he is responsible for the 2 wins. The raptors broke a 12 game losing streak. Today in the washington victory Toronto had a total of 8 dressed players, 3 of which are NBDL 10 day contract refugees. Watching their games this season, there has been absolutely brutal ball movement, players standing around jacking up shots while the clock runs down, basically a similar situation to what's happening in Houston, except alvin williams, morris peterson is not as talented as mobley and francis therefore not as many wins for toronto. The last 3 games has also seen toronto's "big men" if you can call jelani mcoy, jerome williams, art long, etc, get many easy opportunities on the break and also in half court situations, now missed layups are a problem for toronto, however with skip on the team in Houston, Yao ming will get infinitely easier baskets than at the moment. This is probably the only chance that Houston has to pick up a legitimate NBA pass first point guard. It is not without risk, however since alston is below most teams radar at the moment, you could probably sign him very cheaply. He has had an unfair rap throughout his career due to his "streetball" reputation but this brief spell with Toronto has proved a lot of people wrong, already he is a fan favourite with Toronto and calls have been made to start him in place of alvin williams! Best of all, he can be signed as a free agent, no trades needed..
He is not signed by toronto, he is a 10 day contract NBDL callup player,. That means that you can offer him a contract without compensation to Toronto. So the only thing would be to convince him that Houston is a better destination than Toronto, looking at the talent levels on the squads and also the records of each team, it shouldn't be hard to do.
I'd rather have a more experienced Guard off the bench for the Rockets. We need a change of pace off the bench, and Alston is the same as Steve. I must say though, his shot seems to have improved and he gets to the rim with relative ease. If it were a choice between Rafer Alston and Moochie, I'd surely go for Alston, but if we're actually looking for a backup PG, I'm sure we can get a better one while getting rid of Mooch.
Rafer couldn't get any time in milwaukee...nothing will change in houston so I doubt he would voluntarily come to houston.
rafer is a pass first point guard, with very high bball iq, a very rare commodity in the league, the fact that he couldn't get any playing time in milwaukee means jack ****, especially since george karl is not exactly winning any best coaching awards. There are plenty of players who just need a change of teams to blossom, look at jermaine o'neil as a good example. He is blossoming in Toronto at the moment, don't miss this opportunity to sign him, because if he's signed with Toronto, he will command at least the MLE when he becomes a free agent this summer.
Sure...George Karl isn't the best of coaches right now, but what makes you think Rudy is going to give Rafer a chance? Are you familiar with a guy named Nachbar??? Anyone asks Rudy what he thinks of Nachbar, he'll say Nachbar is extremely talented and deserves playing time...well...uhh, has Boki gotten any burn on the court at all? You know Rudy is loyal to those who have proven themselves to him. Even Moochie's time is declining lately. Point is...if SF is going to get his 35-40 mpg...let's put it this way...You have to enter the tunel in order to have hope to see daylight at the other end of the tunel...Boki is in the tunel, but he won't see daylight for a long time. Well, if Rafer joins the rocks...he won't even have a chance to even enter the tunel, much less hope to see daylight. Have a seat next to Collier on the IR Rafe.
you are right, although james posey got his chance right away, fortuitously as it turned out, i wonder what's gonna happen when rice comes back? Skip has 3 years experience in the league, so he isn't a rookie like nachbar, I liken skip to jamaal tinsley, both pass first point guards that have high bball iq, but like to make flashy passes, although skip seems to have put that kind of play behind him now. People have asked for jamaal tinsley, well in my opinion skip is better than jamaal, he just hasn't been given a chance. If jamaal had been drafted by milwaukee and riding pine behind sam "i am" cassell he wouldn't be called the best young point guard in the game, which is what payton refers to jamaal as. If you wanted a pass first point guard as many around here seem to want, then skip is probably the only viable option, i can't see how you could get anybody else without giving up some core members of the team, now the greater question is whether francis can coexist with a pass first pg, ANY pass first pg, francis seems to thrive off making moves off the dribble, his repetoire off the dribble or on the catch is limited, so the pass first pg's effectiveness will be limited to some extent.
How is Rafer Alston's defence? Because that's important in any back up 1 we go looking for. For the record: 35% FG 34% 3PT 65% FT And he's been bouncing around pro basketball for four years. He needs to stick to streetball.
Those numbers are meaningless since they are from his seasons in milwaukee, where he plays nachbar minutes so to speak. This season, he's shooting above 60%, which is unsustainable but his value is not as a scorer but as a distributer with high bb iq and great passing. His defence is not so good, but he shouldn't be brought aboard as a defensive stopper. It is probably just a pipe dream, as i don't really see how francis could coexist with a pass first point guard as he is great off the dribble but not so great on the catch or off the ball.
How quickly we have forgotten we drafted Tito Maddox as a pass first PG with a decent shot and tight defense.
nothing is without risk, otherwise you might as well wait for LA to trade you kobe for glenn rice, the best teams always have to take a chance on players, skip has a question mark yes, but if you have seen him play in toronto this year, you will believe! If something is a guaranteed success, you will be paying dear for it. This signing has a great payoff for little risk.
I agree the stats don't mean much, but neither does the 60% shooting this season. I thought the rap on him in Milwaukee was that he didn't play under control enough, and was too often not likely to fit into the offensive set.
yes, his shooting % are not really important, that's not his value as a player. His two problems in milwaukee is that George Karl didn't really give him a chance at all, and their system is geared towards their big three, creating shots for themselves on the perimeter for ray allen and sam cassell and midrange for robinson. Skip's forte is facilitating good ball movement and especially creating open baskets for big men around the basket. And getting the team out running in transition. I have watched the toronto games he has played this year and if toronto's big men made every open layup oppotunity they've been given, skip would be averaging 15 assits per game. But when your inside presence consists of jelani mccoy, Antonio davis, jerome williams, damone brown, art long, you miss open layups, which has been happening.
Had the Rockets been interested in Rafer Alston, Rudy and C.D. would have moved to acquire him a long time ago. There is a reason he has been kicking around for so long -- and I don't know why for sure -- without anybody really investing in him. Toronto was desperate so they too a gamble. If Rafer is a player rather than a streetballer, he will make it. I wish him well. However, I am more curious about the progress of Tito Maddox. The Rockets DID see something in this 6-4 PG that they obviously liked. He has been on the IR (intense review roster rather than injured reserve roster) learning the way of the Rocket. I'll be eager to see the results once the Rockets trot him out.
