Maybe if the Rockets could do that they'd do it in a heartbeat. It gets them under luxury tax. What team would take on Rafer's contract without dumping a bad contract of their own?
I tend to agree. Francis's shot was off, but maybe because it was his first game and he had some jitters. He can hit from the perimeter once he settles in.
I loved the original post because I know how he feels. Steve is really my all time favorite Rocket. He may have done some dumb things, but he always played to win. I can't bear watching Rafer Alston play anymore. I hope to heck the Rockets come to their senses and start playing a point guard who can actually play point guard.
Rick right now is confused on how to make the team play. He's trying to fit rafer and james into his sacramento kings concept of offensive flow but it isn't working. He feels rafer and his unselfishness will help get his offense going and steve is a disruption because he like to handle the ball and break people down one on one. Rick see's james and alston as elements of mike bibby. Mike is unselfish will move the ball and at the same time he could shoot the basketball. He is trying to force his sacramento kings game plan on the rockets and it isn't working.He also is trying use van gundy principles by keeping chuck hayes in the starting lineup,the mixture of these things are not working and adjustments need to be made. The rockets are having trouble staying games because when you start 1st quarters with hayes and alston you are virtually playing 3 on 5. Then start of the 3rd quarter having alston and hayes you are playing 3 on 5. You need two guys in there who can take turns at breaking people down off the dribble. James can get to the basket but not the same way steve does it, he doesn't have the athleticism or strength to finish and draw contact. As a coach if your calling card is offense I say you start your 5 best offensive players,we are struggling coming out of the gates in the 1st and 3rd quarters where the momentum of games matters the most. The reason teams can swarm yao is the 3 on 5 syndrome. You put francis and scola in there it isn't just the open catch and shoot three pointers,It's the midrange shots from scola or steve slicing to the hole for plays and having the strength and athletic ability to finish. Steve and luis bring dual triple threats to the table you can no longer load 2 and 3 players on tracy or yao with these two dues in the lineup.
Rafer is a better career 3PT shooter than Steve. Why doesnt Rafer get the same respect even though his shot is a bit off right now??
SF3 looks controlled in his first appearance, that's the best part seeing him play again. If he can rid his old bad habbits, I definitely support him to be our first PG choice. Rox really needs to work on their movement without ball, but it's only in the beginning of the season so I think we'll get better after the all-star break.
because the volume of shots he takes there makes it disgusting. the % may look good but put in context and that's a whole lot of missed shots.
1 in 3 is 1 in 3 is 1 in 3. Put Steve in Alston's place, and Steve would have a similar number of missed shots. Both are about 1 in 3. Why is one man's 1 in 3 worse than the other??
Since we know what Rafer can do when he play his best and also what Steve can do when he plays his best, I think we need to try to get Steve in the line up. Don`t start him right away, but give him 15-25 minutes a night depending on the matchups. Cut the minutes of whoever has an off night (Bonzi, Luther, RA or MJ). Sure that would mean playing a bigger rotation for some time, but it would also mean our guys stay fresher and the payoff when Steve gets back to his old form (not the form he had back here in Houston, but late Magic form) would be huge. Also you could try to cut T-Macs and Yaos minutes a little, to keep them fresher in the postseason. Steve showed that he is ready to play. His shot wasn`t falling, but RA, Bonzis and MJs shots haven`t been falling a lot of times either. Get him comfortable in the offense and he will repay you. And if it only means: Steve get in there for 10 minutes. On every posession either: - hit Yao in the low post - give the ball to T-Mac - drive to the basket and make something happen - don`t shoot or dribble too long If anything he will get the crowd in the game and make the opposing defense adjust...
you forgot something.. something that every basketball player should know. wide open 3 pointer should have a better percentage than a contested shot, even with a hand on the face. rafer's man doesn't give a **** about rafer, he jsut doubles whoever has the ball. francis... demands someone on him... so... there are more meaning than stats.
JVG, is that you? I was wondering what you were doing after we "fired" you. Nice to see you contributing to clutchfans
Save your prayers for something more important. Basketball is a game, and Francis will be making so much money this year that he'll probably have to pay the govt in excess of 10 million in taxes. I'm sure we're all fans of the Rockets here, but geez try to keep things in perspective.
I think the most important thing about steve is that we saw why he is not starting yet this was clear on that fast break when steve looked like he would pass out lol. He was never "fat" for some reason he needs to get his wind. It is evident that as soon as he gets conditioned to play extended and start he will. He is still very quick even I didnt expect him to still be that quick. He ran the offense with no problems. The most important thing is that he is still steve francis and defenses have to respect him thats why he got so much attention every time he drove or shot. When Tmac comes back and steve gets in starting condition who are the defenses gonna leave???????
I love steve. But you dont come back to a team and say you want to win and then you come into the camp out of shape. Steve still looks a little chubby in yesterday's game. I really hope Steve works hard and gets back into the rotation. Come on Steve, you can help this team.
