Team USA is still the best in world, no one can beat them in a 7-game series. But they are no longer dominant. Look at this tourney, which opponents they really blow-up? Against Team China, they should have won by 40-50 points. In fact the last 3 matches, against China, Angola and Greece, they even let their opponents led(though that were only in the 1st quarter). But do you ever saw that happen with the TRUE DREAM TEAM, i.e. Team USA 1992? The Dream Team is dead, what we see here is Team USA!
If you were really letting Spanoulis' play "speak for itself," what's with all of the threads about him? You are a complete zombie about that guy.
I think he had a decent game against the USA, but the rest of his team was horrid.... V-span did not shoot well but he did well on other areas, passing, defense and attacking the rim. Sure he could have shot better, but so could the entire team...... I look for the positives, not the negatives. DD
Hmmmmm, a fair point.......I looked for positives with Rafer too, but at some point, you have to realize he has peaked, and this is all you are going to get..... And with Rafer that is substandard NBA point guard play. DD
I do agree that Rafer's upside at this point is limited, but here's where I disagree completely: I believe THIS year we will see exactly what Rafer's best PG play will look like. I say that not because he's improved his game, but because the team will place fewer demands on him than any other NBA team he's ever started for. He won't be required to score as much; in fact, with the arrival of Artest and another year under the belts of Landry and Scola, he'll arguably be the #5 scoring option at most points. Last year, he was the #3, and the #2 if Yao or T-Mac were out of the game. And those aimless drives into the paint will most likely bear more fruit with Artest helping to stretch the defense. Now if there were just some way we could get Rafer to take it to the rim with attitude instead of lofting those teardrops and floaters. Every time he tosses up one of those shots, I feel like someone hits me in the head with a hammer. Now that I've employed common sense to defend Rafer, let me preserve my reputation for sanity by saying that if this team had a truly solid PG, it would pretty much be a lock to take it all this year. Artest is not the X-factor on the Rockets now, Rafer is.
I agree with what you are saying to a point, but part of the reason Rafer shoots so much is that other NBA teams do not guard him and he is wide open and has to shoot, that is not going to change at all. He is the weakest link and not by a little bit but by a country mile. Either Brooks or Barry is going to have to provide that extra PG that can shoot for when Captain under 40% is struggling...you know....pretty much 65 games a year. DD
You obviously didn't watch the playoff series with Utah last year if you don't think Rafer is one of the most important and necessary pieces of the Houston Rockets.
What you mean game 6 when Rafer was injured and the Rockets were only down by 14? Come on, it is a fallacy to say that Rafer is good because the Rockets need him so much..... He is needed because the team has not developed or gotten a quality player to supplant him.....not that they haven't been trying, just none have panned out yet. Mike James Steve Francis Aaron Brooks to name the latest 3......... Thank GOD the franchise can see the problem because so many fans can not. DD
"not at all"? Alston shot 121 less 3s in 2008 vs 2007. That will continue to drop with the addition of a true 3rd star who opens the court for everyone, plus the continued emergence of Scola and the addition of Barry. I expect Alston's playing time to go down as well. If we develop a more uptempo game to get the entire team more FGAs, that is Alston's strength. If you actually think opposing teams will pack the lane into some 5 on 4 zone leaving Alston open while preventing TMac, Artest and Yao from being open, then you seriously underestimate Adelman's ability to use three stars and a solid passing PG (Alston) and PF (Scola) to burn zones.
I hope you are right HP, really I do...I agree Alston excells in the uptempo game, he is great at that, but passing in the set pieces, he always takes the safe route, hardly ever passes to a cutter..... The one think I am happy about is that if Rafer struggles, we have legitimate options in Barry, and possibly Brooks ....... That can only help the team. DD
see the quotes in the SacBee article about the conference call, yesterday. Adelman has a history of using Artest on PG...with a specific mention of Artest taking Nash, for instance. I suspect between Artest, Barry and Brooks, Alston's PT might drop 3-5 mpg, down to 29-31mpg range...especially if he has to continue shooting as much. Should the court open up, making it easier for everyone to get easier buckets, Alston's PT might not change much...but in that scenario, everything should be more efficient (read: less reliance on Alston).
Which is good for everyone.....personally I am hoping Brooks steps it up this year. Or maybe a miracle like: 1. Luther learned to dribble or 2. Francis comes back.... I think Brooks is a more likely scenario. DD
Do you realize you were responding to the scenario in my post where Alston's minutes <b>do not</b> change much? Basically, i see two scenarios in our quest for a ring next year: <ol><li>Alston's mpg go down. If Adelman can't figure out how to lower reliance on Alston's shooting, he now has the option of lowering his minutes by going to Artest guarding PGs with Barry/TMac running the offense. Adelman has used Artest on PGs. And there is also precedence for TMac and Barry as playmakers.</li> <li>Alston's mpgs do not go down, but in this scenario, his 3pt attempts are going down due to the presence of a 3rd star creating a better, more efficient offense. This is the scanario most cf.netters expect to happen.</li></ol> The scenario of Alston platooning more than last year with Head or Brooks is not anything I was mentioning, nor do I think it is necessary.
No, I was responding to your point about less relience on Rafer, the minutes don't bother me as long as we don't have a sub 40% career shooter taking the 3rd or 4th, or even 5th most shots on the team. DD
