yes, Rafer is OK. not good enough to be a champion team PG, but OK. He's the best in the now Rox team on PG position, in terms of organizing offence, controlling the tempo and even defence. His only problem is that his shooting is like sh*t. The summer rumors bothered him a lot. He didn't practise his shooting in the summer like last year. Last year is his best 3p shooting year and when both Yao and Tmac were injured, Rafer was the top scorer of Rox. I hope he can improve his shooting soon. What a shame last night in LA, for two times Yao/Tmac passed him the ball with 10 feet all clear around him, he didn't even dare to try a 3p ball.
Rafer was great, but it was one game only, hoping that he can have more good games, but you never know. Glad luther was not in the game, hoping that he can go to other teams.
I think its obvious that steve has worked hard to get in shape, as far as learning the system, I don't really know how to evaluate it because he plays multiple positions. but the point is if you're expecting steve to say the right things, don't hold your breath, ego won't let him, but its obvious he's in shape now (i really never thought it was that big of a deal though anyway)
Anyone would regret when put in Steve's position, but he has to share some of the blame. If he really demonstrated in practice/pre-season that he was a better player, I don't think Adelman would have put him on the bench. He got the chance because the Rockets have lost several games in a row, so Adelman wanted to try something different. As bad a shooter Alston is, there is no one come close to run the PG on this team right now. James & Head are useless if they cannot hit outside jumper; It's just so painful to watch James to put his head down, dribble full speed into the crowd and eventually through up an air ball. Head is better in that, but a terrible finisher after penetration. Steve is not as good a shooter as those two, but he can attack the basket and finish it better. I expect he to take most of James' minutes from here on.
francis is handling this better than i ever imagine. he's cheering for the team (dude was having fun yesterday when tmac went off). he's hustling. he's keeping quiet. francis is better than rafer. no ifs, ands, or buts. that's just point blank the case, pound for pound. and every NBA player has a huge ego so francis is obviously pissed inside. but as long as he suppresses that and keeps working hard, he'll have his opportunity. francis has shown he can play under composure in limited time.
clippers were the marginal cost for Francis even though Rafer had a good 1st quarter in shooting he still isn't even consistent and there is no threat from him. With Francis he gets everybody on the courts attention cuz they know he can put the rock in the basket. Francis is much more of a hustle player and his defense is better than Rafers. I think sooner or later Francis wil end up with the starting job
As a natural shooter, it puzzles me how you can swish a shot, and then shoot again, in the same exact situation and shoot an airball. What does that have to do with anything? Absolutely nothing.
Francis is just being honest. He has stayed reasonably humbled and professional except the first game when he just lied on the floor. I think anyone in his position would wonder what could have happened if I was in another team. At least he didn't act on those thoughts and demand a trade but he did what he needed to do as a player. That's not so much me me me me me.
I wasn't refering to Stevie's attitude, rather Blastaway's comment that he would be "out of here" - as in leave - because he hadn't recieved many minutes in the first month or so of a long season in which he started out of shape.
Let's face it, people that decide on anything at all based on preseason performance are just dumb. You haven't learned yet? John Lucas was summer league legend. We give him a 3 year contract. Kelvin Cato was preseason rebounding and blocking machine. We gave him some ridiculous contract. Stevie gets outplayed during preseason, so we don't play him at all for the first 10 games. IT'S PRE-SEASON! IT MEANS NOTHING! On the other hand, Stevie played well so far in his 3 brief appearances, but that doesn't necessarily mean he can keep that up when given extended minutes. It's time to just let the players play and prove themselves. Adelman has been doing just that with everyone but Steve and rookies, so I hope they will get their chance.
I can't think of anything more insulting to Francis than having to watch Rafer Alston play in front of you while you are constantly DNP-CD'ed. Steve handled it a lot better than I would have so props to him for being a true professional - unlike Rafer Alston who went wild once he heard the Rockets brought in some point guards.
Why do so many or you guys stir up controversey for no reason? Like the Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, I say, "LET THEM PLAY!!!!!!!!" See what happens. If you are TRULY upset at the end of the season....create the propaganda/hating/b****ing/moaning/trading/who sucks/etc...threads. So of you are TRULY .....not too bright....or drama queens...and if you are a drama queen....HOLD UP.....I feel sorry for your mother.
