That always seemed to be T-Macs job with Rafer as benificiary since nobody gaurds him. For someone with his handles, he sure has a hard time getting into the lane.
I honestly don't think that we should trade Alston. He's the only PG who actually plays like a true PG. James, Brooks, and Head are more of scoring PG than traditional PG. Hehe.. my first post
I actually like Rafer. He is solid PG. He is not that creative but is a decent passer. He had great handling and he does not turn the ball over a lot. The bad side of his game is that he cannot penetrate well. He cannot kick out the ball during penetration and he can only make floaters after penetration. His shooting is OK to me. The lost of the playoff series showed that we need more players that can attack the ring. So, I’d like to see Steve back home. If we do get Steve, we can: 1) Keep Rafer, trade Luther, and let Steve, MJ have some time on both PG and SG. Modify the playing time according to the opponent and situation (regular or playoff?). 2) Trade Rafer, but keep Luther if possible, we cannot lose two of our 3-pointer shooters of last season at the same time. And I’d like to have Luther for one more year. I personally think that Luther will be great this season because he does not have to play PG which he is not good at. If we do not get Steve, we should definitely keep Rafer, and I like the combination of Rafer, MJ, and AB.
Just some stats/analysis for consideration Alston Year FG% FT% 3PT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG 06-07 37.5 73.5 36.3 3.4 5.4 1.6 0.1 2.4 13.3 CAREER 38.4 72.7 35.8 2.7 4.8 1.2 0.1 1.7 9.6 Francis Year FG% FT% 3PT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG 06-07 40.8 82.9 37.8 3.6 3.9 0.9 0.3 2.3 11.3 CAREER 42.9 79.9 34.3 5.6 6.1 1.5 0.4 3.6 18.4 Advantage Year FG% FT% 3PT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG 06-07 SF SF SF SF RA RA SF SF RA CAREER SF SF RA SF SF SF SF RA SF
what the hell do you think we got MIKE JAMES for? i didn't say we didn't need to address the position, but why get rid of Alston when you have him AND another solid PG? I'd rather have 2 proven PGs that can play rather than one any day of the week.
So tell me what he does? I'm seriously not sure. He brings the ball up which unfortunately no other guard on our team could do last year. But outside of that, really what does he do? He shot tons of 3s at a mediocre clip. He shot under 40% overall. And for a "pass-first" point guard, he really didn't exactly set people up in an offense than didn't flow through him. The offense flowed through McGrady and Yao, hence T-Mac getting more assists than Rafer. Not to mention Rafer's assists came primarly from dumping the ball into Yao, not Steve Nash like pick and rolls or kick outs from penetration. The point guard on the Rockets now is like the point guard for the Rockets in 93-95. We just need a guy to make a damn shot and play some defense. Kenny Smith could at least do one of those functions. Rafer really doesn't do either. (although to be fair, some people overly-criticize his defense but really its nothing to write home about) In my mind, I struggle to find very many positives for him. he just isn't that good. Rafer can't penetrate and instead shuffles his feet for a good five seconds while pretending to dribble penetrate. Then comes back out and hands it off to someone. I won't cry if he stays here and honestly he still has value. You can't have too many guys who can handle the rock and not turn it over (one of Rafer's few good attributes) But I wont cry if he's gone either.
DON'T TRADE ALSTON!!! i agree the dude is a nice guy. and he is more of a PG than mike james. with more scoring options available on this team, he will shoot less. and he is a pretty good passer.
rafer alston is a pass first, ball handler. this is what we need. if he could only shoot a little better he would be a great fit. james should not be starting with yao and t-mac. our bench with james and bonzi can handle themselves with the scoring load. francis will not help this team if you take the last couple years into consideration. i'm tired of alston haters.
I like Rafer, he is SOLID. consider his price tag, he is a bargain. Pass first PG who has great handle and also plays solid defense is pretty hard to come by.
im not a francis lover, although i wouldn't mind him being here as a potential 3rd or 4th guard (pg or sg). I just merely questioned your statement regarding which pg was better suited for this team, that we have no idea how the offense is going to be run. its just pure speculation as to which pg is better suited for this team. I don't care how many games youve watched, as ive watched probably the same amount, but you just cant tell if francis or alston is better for this particular team and coach.
If you look at stats per 40 mins or 48 mins (depending on what website you use), you'll see that Rafer only beats Francis in career 3PT% and TOs. Per 40 mins, SF gets more rebounds and points. The per game statistics are sometimes misleading.
Agreed, although results play out similar in the career pg analysis. I assume that if you apply the per 40/48 stats to 06-07 you would have a similar result. I still think that if you can add SF for the LLE and trade Rafers MLE contract (with filler) for another solid role player, you are better off than not signing SF and keeping RA.
All that said, Rafer, Sura, Landry and their choice of Novak or JLIII for Mike Miller and a second round pick.
I might give Rafer a chance because Adelman's offense fit his style of game. A lot of time under Van Gundy, you see Rafer getting the ball and speeding up the court only to find out that there's no one to pass the ball to?? BUT.... I still prefer Steve Franchise...simply because he's got the size and the athleticism to attack the rim and the size to play D. Steve need to accept that he's not a guaranteed starter though!!
Dude, hasn't your hyperbole gotten you into trouble in the very recent past? Something tells me your anti-Rafer stance is heavily influenced by your man-crush on a certain Greek mama's boy.
If you think he is going to shoot less, you don't understand basketball. This is not baseball where on some teams (not the Astros) you can hide a 200 hitting shortstop to make your defense better. In the NBA, with four scoring options on the floor, Rafer will always be the one left open because the other defenders will require help from (rafer's man). They will work the clock to try to get somebody other than rafer open and on some plays it will work, but eventually you will see a lot of what you saw last year with Rafer holding the ball when the music stops and trying not to break the backboard with one of his cruise missles. Of course, rafer could learn to shoot over the summer!!
i have no problem with rafer. all adelman needs to do is convince him that his little floater isn't a good shot. and he'll be fine. KEEP rafer!,,,but as soon as he puts up that floater, bench his a** and bring in the rookie (brooks).
