I'm not exactly sure how anyone can be comfortable with our current pg situation going into the playoff's. It just makes sense to go out and get a veteran pg for insurance purposes. The Rockets have the worst pg situation amongst the so called contenders, and I'm worried this could really hurt us when the games count. We're winning right now and that's great, but Luther Head should not have the backup pg duty come playoff time. JLIII or VSPAN, forget about it. Getting a guy like Atkins, Stoudamire, Hart, or even Brevin Knight will only make this team better. Whether they get 0 or 10 minutes per game that really doesn't matter, and I seriously doubt any of those guys would make a big fuss about playing time. The ultimate goal is to win the title and if you play any part of that then you should be fine. But you honestly never know what will happen. Rafer could go down with an injury, he could get ejected like in the Hornets game, he could be having a horrible shooting game (NEVER!). The point is that in any of those situations JVG would have a reliable option B, and all of us can let out a collective sigh of relief. I'd prefer an anti-rafer. Meaning someone who can still handle the ball, but plays better defense and takes the ball the the rack strong, ala J. Hart. He'd be a reliable, cheap backup with no ego attached. Those who disagree, just know this. This team is a freak accident, technical foul, or tear drop away from losing a playoff series.
I heard two seperate interviews from CD and Morey both saying that acquiring a big man was the top priority.
Rox225, I agree with you. I was more worried about having another PG than another center. But we used our major asset (TE) for a center. I don't like the path, but it looks like the path we have chosen. Remember Howard going down 2 years ago with no viable depth at PF? I think we have played into the same scenario. Jason Hart or some really low cost, low probability of playing, guy is about all that is left that could happen. It is somewhat understandable because of how well Alston/Head/Tmac have handled PG duties, but if any of them go down or in a slump like you say we have no viable alternative. Our strategy is risky, but it might work. And I don't like the idea of a big trade. I would not want to see Rafer go at this point. He knows the system and doing a lot of things well, I wouldn't even take a substantially higher profile/more talented player like Bibby or Dre or Ridnour + change for him. Too late in the season to gamble like that on a team humming pretty good without one of the 2 superstars. Now if we fall clearly short, like losing in round 1 or getting handled in round 2 where Rafer is badly beaten by some chump like Nash, Parker, Terry, or Williams, next offseason we should look to upgrade. But this is, and should be, Rafer's team. At the most we add an emergecy vet like Hart who will exchange teams as a buried bench player, but I really doubt even this will happen. I think our team in our front office's minds is set.
Top priority because getting a big man scrub to backup Dikembe was very possible, but getting a solid backup PG might not have been possible with the resources we had. I don't think we will get far into the playoffs relying on Alston and Head as our two PGs. The trade does secure us in the short term however.
Derek Anderson is a crappy player himself. Of course he is happy with that. I doubt Stevie would be. I have no idea if we are getting Bibby or not. I was simply responding to somebody else that suggested we were.
What YOU think we can do in the playoffs is irrelevant to why getting a big man was our priority. Not to be a jerk but clearly JVG has a lot of trust on Rafer ...and frankly, Rafer is slowly hushing all his critics. If the Rockets don't make any more trades, hopefully Rafer will prove everybody wrong about how far we go in the playoffs. Do I think Rafer can lead us? If TMac and Yao play to the best of their abilities, then I think Rafer will be fine. The final determining factor on this team is TMac and Yao. 99% of all championships will be defined by the play of their stars and not their role players. Role players just need to play their role. Stars need to play theirs.
this has been what I have been saying all along, but seems like 90% of GARM thinks that PG is the main focus for trades. however, since it comes from Clutch, or maybe because everyone thinks rafer and head are absolutely terrible and that vspan needs a crack, and if he doesn't there needs to be another pg to back it up, the rockets are going to do just that. there should be a crying face, be disappointed, but noone on the rockets will cry with you
I disagree. First of all JVG trusts Rafer only over the scrub PGs we have backing him up. AKA Lucas and Spanoulis, hence, why JVG was camped out at Mike James' door this past summer. Also, Rafer isn't shutting any critics up. He is still the 3d leading shottaker on our team with the worst FG% in the NBA. Just because the TEAM is winning doesn't make him a better player. Also, his playoff career statistics are some of the most abysmal I have EVER seen. If you think we can beat the Dallases, Phoenixes, and San Antonios of the league by relying just on Tmac and Yao, forget about it. They need some help to beat the elite. Look at the Mavs series two years ago, Tmac and Yao were clicking that series, but we still lost. Why? Cause all our role players except Mike James and Jon Barry sucked! I shudder at the thought of Alston taking shot after shot after shot at a 36% clip when Dallas doubles Yao and Tmac. Oh yeah, I also think it should be noted that our PG situation is so bad right now, that we are playing a SG, Luther Head, as our primary backup point guard. What will happen to Head when other teams put a full court press on him? I suspect turnovers. But hey, as long as we have Tmac and Yao...
We have Shane Battier and Juwan Howard this time....we can take the Mavs, just watch the beat down that is going to happen in 2 and 1/2 hours. DD
To be fair I was being a little bit facetious. Of course Rafer really doesn’t need to match “bums” like Nash, Parker and Terry. He no more needs to match them than opposing centers have to match Yao or opposing SFs match Tmac for them to beat us. But Rafer does need to keep the team running, make opposing stars work hard for their scores, and make some offensive plays when he is open, particularly nailing the open 3. If he doesn’t do those things we get killed in the match-up and he doesn’t keep opponents honest, and that is what we can’t afford. If he stays healthy and fresh enough I am cautiously optimistic he can hold his own enough. I agree Rafer is doing fine with his role, but a little more cautiously optimistic than you and JVG. Here I agree with TTRocket. I think there is a major bias that undervalues role players and having well rounded players throughout the line up and off the bench (preferably 6th and 7th man at least). The Detroit Pistons went to two strait NBA championships, winning one, and often beat teams with superior superstars (Shaq, Kobe, Wade). The Kings and Pacers and Blazers have also been major title threats in the last decade without MVP level players, but with balance and depth that allowed exploitation of particular match-ups and relying on team work. Further many teams lost titles because their role players were not good enough despite great play from superstars. When the Shaq-Kobe Lakers role players got outclassed teams like the Spurs and Pistons could sometimes beat them (and the Kings and Blazers nearly did). The Spurs lost to the Mavs last year despite Duncan being the most unstoppable force in that series. Heck the Rockets lost to the Mavs 2 years ago when Tmac was far and away the best player, and Yao was the 3rd best player on the court. Why? In each case the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and/or 7th players got outclassed, and more than made up for the superstar deficit in the advancing/winning team. So yes you need stars, even better with MVP caliber superstars, but you need the right supporting cast too. You need guys who at least can hold there own when playing off their superstars. Remember Tmac has never advanced into the 2nd round of the playoffs, ever.
cLEARLY YOU DONT THINK QUITE THE SAME AFTER LAST NIGHT WHEN HE MADE SOME CRUCIAL TO'S LATE IN THE GAME TO IMPACT THE LOSS
First, try taking caps locks off. Second, we didn't lose the game because of Rafer. It's easy to blame this loss on missed freethrows. 2/8 in the last minutes while Dallas went 8/8 at the FT line. HORRIBLE! Also, Luther taking a running floater off the backboard with 5 seconds left is an example of bad decision making that has nothing to do with Luther.
krosfyah - you should own up when Rafer doesn't do well. I agree Luther was not good yesterday, but how can you possibly free Rafer from blame for the loss but pin it on Luther? They had virtually the same game... only in Rafer's case, it's much closer to what he does every game. You guys seem to have gotten to a point where Rafer is responsible for nothing but wins... if he shoots poorly that's not his job. If he has low assists that's not his job. No matter how poor his stats are, it's not his fault because his job is just to "run the offense" - ie hand the ball to T-Mac... but if he has a good stat night, he's a winner. Pretty soon I'm expecting you guys to actually defend the position that Rafer is irreplacable because he can dribble the ball.
Rafer should be banned from the court in a close game in the 4th. We are in dire need of pg help if we expect to make it past the 2nd round. And I am in no way a 'Rafer Hater', just a realist.
I agree...I like Rafer, but last night him along with alot of things went wrong. Here's what scares me though...if all he can do well is "run the offense" - ie hand the ball to T-Mac, we don't have anyone that go just that when he sits down. Not Vspan, not JL3, and not Luther. We need a PG, either a starter so Rafer can come of the bench...or someone decent who can atleast get the ball past half court and pass it to T-mac.
Exactly, Rafter couldn't even get the ball to TMAC last night. What kind of point guard lobs a pass across the court to TMAC in the backcourt. That steal by Josh Howard was the turning point because that run by Dallas broke our tempo and the 9 point lead was history.
I'll agree that Rafer is no allstar and that he didn't have a particularly good game last night. In fact, Rafer also made a boneheaded move in the final 2 minutes of the game. All that said, why wasn't the ball in TMac's hands? HE IS OUR PLAYMAKER! I don't understand that. I sincerely hope we make a move to shore up our PG position ...this summer. But I'm not sold that we need to do so right now. We are winning, as it stands, and introducing another player that'll demand minutes and not buy into the system isn't going to help ...it'll make things worse. See Bonzi. I don't think Bonzi is helping us much right now. And Bonzi is a black hole when you pass the ball into him. I think he disrupts our offense more than he helps. I'd rather see them develop Snyder as he has prooved that he can produce in JVG's system at least as well as what Bonzi has showed and Snyder doesn't disrupt our fluidity on the court. The answer to every problem isn't TRADE HIM. I live in reality. Sometimes the reality of it is you just gotta work with what you have and wish for the best. I just don't see how introducing somebody like Stephon Marburry mid-season is going to help us.
