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This off-season rafer must dramatically improve his shot

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by rocket3forlife2, Jun 12, 2006.

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  1. rocket3forlife2

    rocket3forlife2 Member

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    Maxwell 38.93% 29.78
Cassell 41.75% 29.55%
Smith 47.96% 40.45%
Elie 44.64% 33.53%
Horry 45.87% 32.25%
Bullard 34.51% 32.47%

Alston 37.9% 32.7%



    maxwell could drive better and made up what he couldn't do on offense on the defense.
    horry better slasher made shots when we needed
    bullard,cassel,smith,elie=clutch,clutch,clutch did I say clutch?rafer alston turns into mr turn over man in the 4th quarter.
     
    #21 rocket3forlife2, Jun 13, 2006
  2. rocket3forlife2

    rocket3forlife2 Member

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    afer wasn't our problem last year, what was wrong with our team was the fact that the players we had playing our swingman positions (SG / SF) couldn't hit a jump shot or have success driving the lane.

    No it wasn't all his fault...but it's also not all Ryan Bowen, David wesley,juwon howard,stromile I can't hold on to a open pass swift either. Just because it wasn't his fault don't mean he is the right point guard for the rockets either. We need 4 more players that is either very aggressive going to the rim or can knock down shots around Yao
     
    #22 rocket3forlife2, Jun 13, 2006
  3. rhester

    rhester Member

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    Yes we need to upgrade Rafer. He needs to be coming off the bench.
    He does a good job of taking care of the ball and pushing tempo up.

    But he does not have a consistent outside shot and he does not break down the lane and get to the basket, he is a very average defender who could use more strength and length.

    He is average, serviceable.
     
    #23 rhester, Jun 13, 2006
  4. verse

    verse Member

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    improved shot selection will always increase your %, yes, but parker's rise was attributed to more than that change. he changed his form. he started using his thumb more on his jump shot to balance the ball...as he did naturally on his tear drop. he also properly aligned his elbow and started using - consistently - the same release point on every jumper. this all led to increased confidence which, inevitably, increases your %.

    further proof lies in a 6% increase in FT%.
     
    #24 verse, Jun 13, 2006
  5. imoffg33

    imoffg33 Member

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    to be completely honest, our point guard needs to be an nba player, not some guy who thinks that he belongs on and1 videos. dump him fast
     
    #25 imoffg33, Jun 13, 2006
  6. txppratt

    txppratt Member

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    problem solved...

    SIGN MIKE JAMES! :cool:

    we could do ALOT worse...
     
    #26 txppratt, Jun 13, 2006
  7. solid

    solid Member

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    Precisely correct.
     
    #27 solid, Jun 13, 2006
  8. rocket3forlife2

    rocket3forlife2 Member

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    Parker has mastered the art of the lay up...if he gets close to the bucket he knows exactly where to put the ball on the glass to get the ball in. When you get really good at laying the ball up you can lay it up form the free-throw line...I know because I was once very good at it when I got by a defender when I played.rafer needs to master something because he is average at everything so he tries to make up for what he lacks in skill by getting the ball up the floor fast.
     
    #28 rocket3forlife2, Jun 13, 2006
  9. rockbox

    rockbox Around before clutchcity.com

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    The PG is seldomly the person who feeds the post since he is the shortest person on the court and in poor position to do so since he is most often at the top of the key with the ball. If you rememember the old teams, it was almost always Elie, Horry, Drexler and Maxwell who fed Dream. The 2 and 3 are the ones in the best position to feed the post.
     
    #29 rockbox, Jun 13, 2006
  10. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    He was only playing 20 or 30 mpg back then; here he was playing 38!

    I've noticed that in JVG's offense (and RT's) it is frequently the SG or SF who does it, which is why a lot of the "Francis doesn't pass to Yao" stuff from back in the day was kind of silly.
     
    #30 SamFisher, Jun 13, 2006
  11. Rockets111

    Rockets111 Member

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    It's funny how whimsical alot of you are. First, you want a PG who can shoot and drain 3s and make defenses pay--so Matt Maloney and Kenny Smith. Then that wasnt good enough so yall wanted a PG with speed, quickness and range---Steve Francis. Then HE wasn't good enough. So then yall wanted a distributor; someone who can pass, run a team, play solid defense and hit some shots---Rafer Alston. Now who do yall want?? We've went through any type of PG there is.

    Alston will suffice. I'm convinced he'll find his stroke next year. He makes great decisions with the ball (3:1 assist/TO ratio, or so) and is a nice defender (did well against Iverson and Kidd).

    Plus he has an unselfish mindset. All he's concerned about, and he's said as much, is getting Yao and Tracy the ball. Period. That's the kind of PG we need.
     
    #31 Rockets111, Jun 13, 2006
  12. Rockets Dynasty

    Rockets Dynasty Member

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    Rafer should do better if yao and T-Mac can stay on the court.

    He shot the ball better in Miami and Toronto but he didn't have so much pressure on him there offensively.

    Last year he just had too much pressure with all the injuries.

    But yes he still needs to work on his shot, but I don't think it's as bad as some think.

    The thing I liked about Rafer was that when Yao and T-Mac were player he was having 13 assist 1 turnover 14 assist 0 turnover type games, which is exactly what the Rockets need from the PG spot.

    I'm really not concerned about the Pg spot as much as others seem to be. There are much more pressing concerns on the team, like SG, a scorer off the bench, a 4 who can spread the floor, a decent backup for T-mac, a 3 who can score, a guard that can hit an open shot from off guard etc.
     
    #32 Rockets Dynasty, Jun 13, 2006
  13. Rockets Dynasty

    Rockets Dynasty Member

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    That's not really accurate.

    2003-2004 Miami

    31.5 minutes per game

    37.1 3 point %

    2005-2005 Toronto

    34.0 minutes per game

    35.7 3 point %


    Actually if you saw him in Miami he was a gunner there. The big problem Rafer had was he suddenly had to become a major scorer because of injuries to Yao and T-mac hich he is not.

    Yes his shot needs to get better, but still put him with Yao and T-Mac healthy and he will do better with less pressure.

    And if the team had a better backup Pg (Spanoulis perhaps) he would probably be playing more like 34-45 minutes like he did in Toronto anyway, the main reason he played 38 minutes last year was again injuries, and I mean with no Sura was Brunson really going to get that many minutes?

    Rafer isn't the problem with this team.
     
    #33 Rockets Dynasty, Jun 13, 2006
  14. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    :confused:

    What's not "really accurate"? His minutes per game go up, his 3 point percentage goes down.

    I notice you skipped 2003 (20 mpg/ 39%). Not really accurate of you to do so.

    The more he plays, the worse he shoots. Coincidence? Possibly - but it's a mathematical fact that over the last four years, since he became a regular, his minutes have gone up and his 3pt% has gone down each year.

    .

    Yeah he is a problem. His defense is sh-t and he can't run a break, and he stinks at finishing, and his skill set is not really needed on this team. Plus, % or no, he seems to miss a lot of wide open shots.
     
    #34 SamFisher, Jun 13, 2006
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2006
  15. Rockets Dynasty

    Rockets Dynasty Member

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    He made more 3 points in less minutes each year depending on the situation of where he was ranked as a scorer on his team's offense.

    In other words, in Miami he had to do less he was a gunner there, 161 3's off the bench........at a good %

    that is a GUNNER.

    Of course his shot well suffer becoming the #1 or #2 scorer on the team because of injuries.

    There is no mystery here at all. it is one of the reasons so many fans want a player like Redick because his percentages and 3's are made being the TOP OPTION.

    People seem to fail to realize that percentages can be skewed based on variables. Rafer is not a pure shooter, but he's better than people think because he was too much a focus of the offense last year.

    It's one of the reasons why people need to understand that players they think might be able to shoot in the league (draftees) might not be able to actually, whereas pure shooters can.
     
    #35 Rockets Dynasty, Jun 13, 2006
  16. rocket3forlife2

    rocket3forlife2 Member

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    I agree...its good that he get's the ball to Yao and t Mac, but that shouldn't be his only job. The point guard spot is the most important on the team and having a one dimensional point guard isn't going to cut it theses days. We are depending on Yao and Tracy too much.
     
    #36 rocket3forlife2, Jun 14, 2006
  17. Shroopy2

    Shroopy2 Member

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    I'm with you there. Looking way back, always thought they overrated the 3 pt "specialists" on that team. They shot in volume and made them when it counted but they didnt have but 1 maybe 2 marksmen shooters. There are some players from that 93-94 team you omitted off that list:
    Player /FG % / 3ptFG %
    Scott Brooks /.491 / .377 (played more games and minutes than bullard. a key regular season contributor to that team)
    Hakeem Olajuwon/.528 /.421!! (haha, lets see Shaq try that)
    Richard Petruska /.435/ .467 okay who cares

    A better indicator of the case against Rafer is the 94-95 team. Each players 3pt % went up substantially that year from the previous year:
    Player /FG % / 3ptFG %
    Vernon Maxwell / .394/ .324
    Kenny Smith / .484 /.429
    Sam Cassell / .427/ .330
    Clyde Drexler / .506/ .357
    Mario Elie / .499 /.398
    Robert Horry / .447/ .379
    Pete Chilcutt / .445/ .407
    (under 200 minutes played)
    Scott Brooks / .538/ .471
    Tracy Murray / .400/ .422
    Tim Breaux / .372 /.240

    Its still valid the point that the Rox had championship success with average to suspect shooters the 1st year. 2nd stats show that there's a chance of shooting% going up getting used to the 'system' in place perhaps?

    I think Rafer's issue is he doesn't hit 2 point shots :mad: Clanked jumpers, blown layups. He does need to shoot better overaal. If his overall shooting percentage were higher, say near 42% his current 3pt% would look more adequate.

    (btw, i found it ironic that Rafer's 2004 season most similarly compared to the 2004 season of Mike James :eek: according to http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/alstora01.html)
     
    #37 Shroopy2, Jun 17, 2006
  18. prv1981

    prv1981 Member

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    Thank you. Its hard to fit pieces to a puzzle when most of the pieces are broken. All I hope for is a year where all the parts dont break down. :)
     
    #38 prv1981, Jun 18, 2006
  19. Yetti

    Yetti Member

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    Alston needs not only to improve his shot but also his determination to pass the ball to Yao Ming when he is set up and calling for it!!
     
    #39 Yetti, Jun 18, 2006
  20. rocket3forlife2

    rocket3forlife2 Member

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    That's what we want for them to ba able to make them when they count.
     
    #40 rocket3forlife2, Jun 18, 2006
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