Franics is a better rebounder than Alston. James is not. Alston was actually a pretty good rebounder for a PG.
I got through checking out Rafer Alston's career stats, and I found that last season, he attempted more three-point shots per game than any one of his previous seasons in his NBA career. Another thing, after checking his career field goal percentage, I find it difficult to see a team would even want to take him and the remainder of his contract in a trade. Speaking of three-point shots attempted, this brings to mind the number of three-point shots the Rockets attempted last season. They attempted the third-most number of three-point shots in the league last season, and of their 97 points-per-game average, 26.6 percent of that scoring average came from beyond the arc, which is the highest of any team in the league in that category for percent of team scoring from beyond the arc. This indicates that the Rockets were basically a team last season that lived and died by the three-point shot, which is pretty much the reason why they didn't go far in the playoffs. Two other teams (Phoenix-26.1 percent, Golden State-24 percent) were right behind the Rockets in that category of percent of team scoring from beyond the arc, and neither one of them made it past the second round. Offensively, playoff games and playoff series are won by scoring more inside the paint. What we should all hope for in Rick Adelman's motion offense is that the Rockets will be less dependent on the three-point shot, and get more points inside the paint, which involves taking higher percentage shots.
I would say trade MJ instread of Skip and Head. With SF coming in, MJ is redudent. A SG soul stuck in a PG body.
You mean francis is redundant cause we have james already, which made the pickup a bad move. Too many people here have francis colored glasses on and are reliving highlights from 5 years ago and not seeing francis for what he is today.
1, Alston is unable to create his own shot. 2, He is the pass first pg only because he has nothing else to do. He passes the ball to TMAC and wait for an open shot. 3, He can hit 37 open shots if he tries 100 times. 4, He is unable to defend any one of the top west pgs like Nash, Parker, Williams, Davis. 5, Why should we keep him while we have a better version as Brooks. TRADE RAFER
If James accepts a role off the bench, like the one he had last time with Houston, I say keep James. He has trouble as a starter when there is talent around him. He gets lost in the shuffle and his confidence goes into the crapper. He needs to have a significant offensive role when he is on the court for him to thrive which is why he would be productive as part of a second unit.
I hope we keep Rafer. He should channel his old Skip To My Lou persona and go streetballin' on everyone. He'll be like the J-Will of the old Kings team but better. Definitely need to keep Rafer as some kind of victory cigar for garbage time
Great post! To win in the playoffs you must have interior scoring. Either a post pressence like Yao or a guy who can get to the rim like Tony Parker. The Spurs have been so successful because they have balanced scoring with Duncan and Parker able to score in the paint and Manu drives to the goal plenty. Plus, they surround their interior with good shooters in bowen, Finely, and Big Shot Bob to name a few. I hope we see a Rockets team next year that can score in the midrange and the paint not just jacking up threes and force feeding Yao.
Perfect! Only 3 posts and you know more than many people here. Not to mention those wide open shots were WIDE open because 2 guys were covering T-Mac and 3 would converge on Yao whenever he touched the ball. That was the main reason we were able to make so many 3's last year. We didn't exactly have a Peja or even a Bullard on this team. Everyone but Yao and T-Mac were standing still behind the 3 point line waiting for Yao to kick it back out. JVG didn't really know how to draw up any real offensive plays that included such complicated things as creating screens, moving w/o the ball, and spacing Yao out so someone could attack the basket.
I'm not gonna argue with 1-3, but for 4, there are no point guards that can actually defend the likes of Nash, Parker, Williams and Davis. Rafer does a solid job of keeping them in front, but its not his fault that williams caught on fire and started owning everyone (including bruce bowen later on) and also... brooks? better? who knows.. maybe he'll be allen iverson, but i dont wanna bank on that and i really dont trust mj and francis to play the point and run the offense. In other words... KEEP RAFER FOR NOW, ONLY TRADE HIM IF IT TURNS OUT IF MJ AND FRANCIS CAN ACTUALLY RUN THE OFFENSE!!
The thing with #4 is that on the Rockets team, there is more chance that Battier would be asked to defend those point guards ahead of Alston, even Tmac might be asked before Alston so Rafer wouldn't be asked to defend them so it doesn't really matter if he can or can't defend some of the best point guards in the league.
James and Alston are a wash when it comes to rebounds. Alston only got as many as he did because of all the minutes he played.
This is true, but if Scola is half of what most of us expect from him we will not need a PG to create his own shot nearly as much this year. On paper we have alot more scoring options and there is no question that Rafer's minutes need to be cut. He played 10 minutes more a game than his career avergage last year due to our horrible depth at PG. That isn't really true. If it was then Head would have been a capable substitute considering anyone can pass the ball to TMac and Head is a much better spot up shooter. The reality is that Rafer is much better at running the offense, feeding the post and finding the open man. He also shot 529 of his 1020 shots from 3. When you shoot that many 3's of course your FG % is going to be less. That being said his career 3 pt FG % is higher than Francis. Rafer is an above average defender. Most of the times his "man" burns him, it is on pick and roles which none of our bigs were able to cover particularly well. At least that was JVG's out look on Alston, and for all the grief Jeff takes for his offense, he certainly knows a good defender from a poor one and is not afraid to tell it like it is. Francis has certainly never been more than an average defender himself. Early impressions have Brooks more in the Mike James/Steve Francis/Allen Iverson mold more so than a pass first PG. Brooks certainly looks great so far in summer league, but then again lots of players look great in summer league and do nothing in the real season (JL III last year?). While I certainly hope he can live up to his summer league hype, I'd much rather see some real games and then decide, rather than make an assumption now. The bottom line is if you want someone to run the offense, keep turn overs low, and find the open man while taking the occasional spot up shot then Rafer is our best option. If you want someone to dominate the ball, create their own shots and score then Francis or James are obviously better, which in my opinion makes them ideal back ups in a Sam Cassel/Bobby Jackson role. Francis and James are also better inside the 3 point line and finishing penetrations. Francis is a much better rebounder, but a below average player at running a fast break or feeding the post. And for all the grief Rafer takes about his shooting %, from 3 pt range he has a better % than Francis, with James being the best of the three by a 3% margin.
Generally, when judging a man's defense you look at steals, blocks, and also rebounds since that can show hustle and determination. Francis beats out Rafer in every single category. So how does one just assume Rafer is the better defender? Isn't his nick name Skip to my Lue, not Stick to my Glue? Also, when determining the better PGs in the league, their defensive abilities rarely come into play since they have the least effect on a team's overall defense. Kidd, Nash, Parker, Wade, etc. are not judged by their defense. The only PG that has ever really stood out and received notoriety for his superior defense in my lifetime was Gary Payton. Therefore, arguing Rafer should even be a backup on this team for his defensive abilities is laughable. Also, when a scoring PG is one of the team's main scoring options, he usually gets double teamed since no one man can stop a little guy running around with a basketball going through screens. Battier is already our premier perimeter stopper. Before we had him it was T-Mac's job. We still have both of them. Not to mention 1, 2, and 3,s generally don't attack the rim against us because of Yao will throw it back in their faces. On a further note, I specifically recall Luther Head being praised for his defensive abilities by JVG when we drafted him.
Yup, thats the only way you can judge hustle and defense. Signed, Bruce Bowen Shane Battier Raja Bell Tayshaun Prince Nash and Parker not so much, but wade and kidd are definitly known for thier defense as well as thier offense. Kidd especially; you often see him matched up with the likes of kobe bryant and lebron james...
