Just wondering who will JVG go with in the last 6 minutes of the 4th once the playoffs roll around? Who do you think JVG should go with? Both have a low bball IQ, but Head is much better in a half court setting with a consistent shot and ability to cut to the basket. Rafer tends to panic and throw up floaters, and his three-point shooting is extremely streaky. However Rafer has much better handles and takes pressure off McGrady when bringing the ball down the court. Defensively both have improved this season, but neither does a great job of denying PG's who can penetrate. Mod: Please delete if a similar thread has already been posted.
Rafer. Definitely Rafer. Both if Head isn't too big a defensive liability. Head has proven over and over that he can't deal with pressure and traps.
I say he can play both of them if theyre having a good night,head at 2 tmac at 3 battier and yao etc.. Alston brings it up,distributes,tamc fools the defense,luther positions for a shot in a corner or anywhere,same for battier alongside other duties. and yao does his thing.
You got it all wrong. (1) Their bball IQ's are not low, just not as high as TMac. (2) Rafer is better than Head in a half court setting and (3) Head tends to panic and ends up with TO's Anyway, JVG will and should leave Rafer on the court, at least both if needed.
It's really surprising a player who hails from Illinois struggles so much with breaking presses and traps. I guess you get spoiled with Deron Williams and Dee Brown taking over ball handling duties. Still, this weakness isn't exposed when the floor is spaced properly.
Did yall see who was on the court at the end of the Clippers game? Head, McGrady, Yao, Battier, and Rafer That's who you will see at the end of a tight game on the offensive side. If there is a defensive stop needed, Chuck will be in for Head. Then he will come right back out and Luther will be in on the next offensive play. That's my guess.
You can't go wrong with Rafer especially in crucial minutes, just don't make him shoot the ball...he can control the ball like no one else in this league..
I disagree. Rafer's strengths lie in his ball-handling and his ability to push the ball up the floor after a defensive rebound. Luther can come off screens and knock down jumpers, spot up and knock down jumpers, penetrate at times, and he moves much better without the ball than Rafer. Rafer has made countless bad passes in crunch time, when he can't execute a simple isolation play drawn up by JVG.
Good question. I think Van Gundy will go with Rafer because the chance of a turnover is lower. In a close game situation you primarily want either Tracy or Yao to shoot so you need more of PG that can safely get the ball to Yao or Tracy under pressure. Still a tough decision though as Head has proved to be pretty clutch in many late game moment.
Yeah definitely Alston, Head might have some nice clutch shots but down the stretch we need to have an offense set up to get it to Yao!
Down the stretch in the Play-Offs, The line-up will be like this... 1) Rafer Alston 2) Luther Head 3) Tracy McGrady 4) Shane Battier 5) Yao Ming That's how its been so far this season.
rafer might not shoot that well in quarters 1-3, but he has hit some big 4th quarter shoots, for example the first washington game nevertheless both can rotate in and out in the last 6 min
If you want someone to handle the ball in the final minutes, Rafer is the better choice. Luther isn't a great ball-handler under pressure. If you want someone to take what could be the game-winning shot, Head. There's better chance of Head drawing defensive attention than Rafer. That ends up in either Head possibly being open or taking a defender off of Yao and/or TMac in those final seconds.
Bingo......we have winner. Now I know the alternative argument is to say "Let TMac bring the ball up" but that takes too much out of him if it becomes his job. He brings the ball up when he wants too and that''s perfect for us. Rafer's flaws are his shooting overall this season and occaasionally he doesn't play good defense (for the most part I think he does a good job). Whoever said he has a low basketball IQ is way off. That's one of his biggest strengths. You have to have a pg in there and Rafer is the pg. Head can't handle the ball well and his decision making is very questionable. Right now he's a pure spot up shooter who thrives off Yao and TMac. If you were to put the ball in is hands in the clutch we'd be in big trouble. Put it like this, if Head could play pg you wouldn't hear everyone calling for a backup pg.
In general.... Head's too indecisive in getting into the offense. Apart from the difference in purpose Rafer instills in the rest of the team while on the court, he also instinctually reads the defense and swings the offense into motion on the opposite side- Luther's most glaring weakness as a point guard. In addition, Luther, despite being the same height as Rafer, unneccesarily hesitates with his entry passes when asked to assume that role with Yao on the court. It may have something to do with the designed rub-off play between the two, but more times than not the post-man is left with only 10 seconds on the clock, or a bad shot is forced from the top on a ball reversal. In the context of the question.... Much has been made of Head's inability to handle the ball, and for me the concern extends only to his inability to penetrate using high screens when the offense breaks down. The fact McGrady takes over the point guard duties make it moot. If we're going to look at this as it applies to Utah, I'd go with Head. For one, he knows Deron Williams better than anyone. Alternatively, if Fisher is in the game, they have similar tendencies in how they use screens, which is a knowledge Alston would lack defensively. Yet I don't think you get away with running him at the point at all against either Dallas or Phoenix, where he'd likely be picked up full court by Harris and Barbosa; it has more to do with their personnel than tempo.
