Those horrible 3 pointers in OT by Rafer and his foul on the made 3 pointer by Blake just so Rafer like. You could almost script it. I bet George Karl was just laughing his a** off when he saw Rafer jacking it away in OT.
While I would never wish injury on a player, Rafer Alston DID lose this game for the Rockets, on BOTH ends. He fouled the three-point shooter TWICE, and he missed several GIMME shots. That effort down the stretch was pathetic. I like Rafer, but we need a second option at the point and who actually PLAYS. Lucas barely plays. V-Span never plays. Luther is not a point guard. CD and Morey, don't be afraid to use that $4.2M trade exception, or Bob Sura's contract, in order to get someone. Or convince JVG to play his young PGs a little. Either way, Rafer cannot man the PG position by himself. He's just not good enough.
wow, creative. actually the whole team lost this game not only rafer. even battier played poorly at the end. well, while i'm writing i'm sure the next fire gundy thread will pop up.
Yeah...it was JVG's fault he didn't take rafer out...He made some big mistakes down the stretch, so I don't blame that poster for his comments because, frankly, he missed everything and played poor defense. Before I read this post, I was asking myself is rafer fouling out the only way jeff is going to bench him...
I think all the negative vibes on this forum has gotten to Rafer and is starting to hurt the rest of the team... ergo... STOP THE RAFER HATE
What Alston did in the fourth and OT made Rox lose this game!! It is his foul. Why does JVG think it would be good for Rox to let Alston and Head be on court at last 8 min??? Tell me why, please!!!
JVG admires those who try. Rafer tries. He's like a Charlie Ward. Rafer also listens and is coachable. I can see it from JVG's eyes. There are other perspectives though.
awo86 has been tossed for a few days for wishing injury on a player... you can make your point without that. It's not cool around here. That said, I have no idea how anyone can defend Rafer for the fourth and OT. Wow, just wow. Imagine if Lucas III or V-Span did any of that. The time to get a competitive point guard to play behind or possibly ahead of Rafer is long overdue.
From JVG's perspective I can see why he left him in. A coach has to send a message to his PG that he has confidence in him. You guys are making it sound too simple.
i've been thinking, i think the fans have had pretty good intutions about rocket pg's. let's reflect on some historical hatings: a.) francis for being a ball hog b.) moochie, nuff said c.) tyrone lue for just sucking now rafer
I agree that Rafer is the primary reason for tonight's lost. On offense, 2 overtime 3-point jackups with only a couple seconds off the shot clock. On defense, 2 fouls on game-defining 3-point shots, one of them being a 4 point play. Even though it seemed T-Mac didn't want the ball at the end of the 4th quarter, he still took a shot. That shot was made even harder when Rafer cut TOWARDS T-Mac and brought his defender along with him. Rafer should have cut towards the basket instead. Rafer Alston hits 3's when they're good shots, misses them when they're terrible shots. The unfortunate thing is that he takes a lot of bad shots. And he NEVER hits that "tear drop" or "floater." It may be the team's or the coach's fault for letting the Nuggets back in the game, but Rafer lost the game for the Rockets.
THIS QUOTE IS EXACTLY RIGHT. Alot of you are seeking the source of the problem and it is not Alston or JVG, it's T-mac. The only reason the Alston is taking those shots is because T-mac is not demanding the ball in pressure situations. Unfortunately, this is what we have to deal with until Yao returns, and T-Mac feels he has significant help. A player of his magnitude and contract should have his hands on the ball in 80% of the possessions in overtime. It's really heartbreaking to see this is the type of player we have invested so much in.
Rafer was pretty horrific tonight. He played a great first half and then made consecutive bone-headed plays down the stretch. It wasn't the shots that killed me though (although the running, prayer-shots have got to stop) because he'd been hitting from 3 (3-4 at one point) all game and those were open looks, but his defense REALLY hurt us. He fouled iverson on a 3 late in regulation, and then Blake on a 3 for a 4-point play in OT. Inexcusable. However, I don't understand why TMac wasn't more aggressive in the OT, or why Wells wasn't even in there. He helped us build the 12 point lead, and then you pull him? Why not put him out there instead of Luther, who did nothing as well in this game? And the one game he decides to sit Lucas is extensively is against the one team Lucas would have thrived against. Doesn't make sense. To make a long story short, Rafer was a huge reason why we lost this game but I don't think JVG's brain farts towards the end is inexcusable either.
