http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap;_ylt=AoFxcMI5MCTFtDqBRYlyRke8vLYF?gid=2007010130&prov=ap So what happens when the Rockets have their first game back to the leather ball? Does T-Mac struggle? He's been on fire lately, he seems to have gotten used to the ball. Is it even that? Is it just that since he's not injured anymore, since he's feeling good, he's shooting well? Another one i'm worried about is Luther. Does he struggle? He seems to be very comfortable with this new ball, and he was a good shooter last season too. Maybe the transition period is very short for him. The one guy on this team i'm hopeful for is Rafer Alston. Hopefully he hasn't liked the new ball very much and that is the reason for his shooting woes. Anyone want to bet he shoots better than average this game? I'm not sure how Juwan feels about the ball because ever since he tweaked his shot in practice a little while ago he's been on fire, so that was probably just his shot form rather than the ball. The Timberwolves have played with the old ball again and after starting out slow, they picked up immediately. Also interesting was that Garnett, one of the biggest leather-advocatin'-new-ball-hatin' players in the league, had a breakout game shooting the ball. He dropped 32 points on 12-18 shooting. Pretty impressive. The Sonics actually play a game before tonight so that's good and bad for us. The good is that they'll probably be tired and downtrodden because they play the Mavs before traveling our way. The bad is that they have a game to get used to the ball whereas this will be our first one. Shouldn't be that much of a difference but it might be considering Ray Allen is a shooter.
I just hope Alston' shooting percentage can go up to .400 Don't worry about the ball. These players will get used to it soon. They play leather ball for more than 20 years.
I wouldn't worry about it too much because you got to remember the Rockets have been practicing with the old ball for a while already. I know that they'll still need adaptation to game time situations, but I feel that they're readily prepared for the ball change.
Alston isn't shooting THAT badly anyway... he shoots mainly from the perimeter, and is hitting over 35% of his shots from out there His overall % is just low because he mainly shoots from the outside 76% of his shots are jumpers - he makes an adjusted 47.4% of those (not bad!), while he only takes 23% of his shots from 'close' range --> hitting 49.3% of those. Again, comparing him to someone we would ALL consider a pure shooter (Michael Redd) - he takes 67% of his shots as jumpers, making an adjusted 45.6% of those. The difference in the 'overall' % is that Redd is a great finisher at the hoop, making 65.7% of his close shots. I would love it if Alston could make that % on his 'close' shots - but if he could, I think we'd be talking about an All-Star! What this team desperately NEEDS is a PG who takes care of the ball (better than 2:1 Assist/TO ratio); who can plug the open 3 (35.2%); and who can get the ball to people in the rights spots! I hate to say it, but there aren't too many point guards who can shoot better than Alston who we could afford and who could get the ball to Ming and McGrady and let them go at it! Just as an aside: Luther Head is draining an adjusted 60.1% of his jumpers - and he takes 78% of his shots from out there Anyway - to get back on topic - I hope Heads shot doesn't dry up!
i don't think it matters though i'm glad stern wised up and listened to people actually playing with the ball.
Rafer is capable of making many more assists per game than this system asks him to do. We've seen stretches where TMac was out last year where Rafer was averaging 8-10 assists per game. However, the point guard in our system gets rid of the ball quickly and usually is not the one to throw the ball into the post, as that's done from the wings. We also tend to make quite a few passes before making a shot. This just is not a high assist offense for a point guard, especially with TMac being your primary playmaker and Yao pounding the ball inside. If Rafer could shoot like Luther, he'd be making 10 million a year. If he could shoot like Luther and finish strong inside, he'd be an all-star. The only way this team will ever have a better point guard than Rafer as our starter is if we develop one. We can't afford a proven free agent that has better skills than Rafer. I'm sure the instant rebuttal here is Mike James, but if Mike wasn't such a ball-hoggin headcase, he wouldn't have been available for the MLE. Pick your poison. I'll take Rafer for now.
there shouldn't be a difference or an adjustment period (longer than a few days). these guys played with this ball thier whole careers. this is the one they wanted. on a side note, the jazz have been practicing with the leather ball the whole season.
I actually think the leather ball should really help Rafer's 2-point percentages at least. I've seen that many of his floaters and layups just don't get a friendly roll -- and correct me if I'm wrong but it sure looks worse than it did last year. I think a return to the familiar leather would help more of those inside shots. If so it would certainly help a lot for him to be able to finish inside and be a more effective penetrator.
There's a 50/50 chance he shoots better than his average anyway. And I wouldn't be too impressed if he shoots 5-13...which would be better than his average.
Alston FG 3PT FT 0506 .379 .327 .692 0607 .373 .352 .729 The new ball made him a better FT and 3 pt shooter but a worse 2 pt shooter? doubtful.
No ... he became a better 3 point shooter by practice, I think that's obvious. Even though he's cooled off significantly from the start of the season, it's still clear that his 3 point shot has improved from last year. That should have nothing to do with the ball. OTOH -- his 2 point % could be affected because the microfiber ball tends to bounce differently on the rim, and that effect is probably exaggerated because of the types of inside shots he takes (running floaters and layups). I don't expect leather to cure those problems, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised if more of those blasted floaters start to go in the hoop this year.
well unfortuantely keep hoping........rafer is a BELOW 40 % shooter for his career. mabyee the new ball will cause him to shoot fewer threes , thats what i am hoping for. rafer handles the ball well and until this season was a good passer, that is what he needs to concentrate on. he needs to do something about that shot, and if he cant he needs to drive more. rafer does seem like a nice guy though, so here is to hoping.
Isn't that what I was saying And tiger0330: As for Spanoulis: we all know Gundy lets rookies ride the pine. Van Gundy hates turnovers, players in their first few seasons in the league make turnovers, Spanoulis will sit. I haven't seen enough of him playing to say any more than that... [did you really care what I thought? Or are you accusing me of spin-doctoring to cover Alston?] NIKEstrad: If Alston hits 5/13 from 3pt land (where half his shots come from) we win the game. And am I incorrect, but weren't you the person defending Mobleys low .400s shooting % ( a few years back) by arguing that an increase of 20% in someone's shooting % might only translate into 1 or 2 more points per game?
i dont think rafer will shoot better with the leather ball. if anything, he shoots better with microfiber, as did mostly everyone. if u saw his shots they usually hit the rim a lot, the soft microfiber ball allowed it to hit the rim gently and sink in because it's soft. that wont happen with the leather ball. it'll bounce away once it hits the rim.
