It seems to me the point position is still our biggest weakness. Alston has played well during the streak but i dont consider it a turning point in his career. Unless we draw the Lakers in the first round we will have to deal with an elite point guard in the playoffs. Frankly at 31 i dont see much more upside, and i'm obviously not ready to turn it over to Aaron Brooks. So what to do. I think we need an obvious upgrade at the position and the person that i think we could realistically have a shot at is TJ Ford. I know he is injury prone and having 3 injury prone starters would be risky. That aside he would be a massive upgrade over Alston. Toronto has to resign Calderon this year and could be willing to move Ford for the right price because 33 million over the next 4 years might be too steep for Toronto to pay for its backup point guard. Bobby Jackson comes off the books next year and his contract plus Aaron Brooks and a couple 2nd round picks or even a first rounder could possibly spring him free from Toronto. Playing locally and with our team could be a big boost for him. Although he isn't a shooter his ability to penetrate would open up or offense. Losing Jackson on the bench hurts. If rafer moves to the bench he wont be able to put up that type of production. I can't think of another point guard that could be available for the right trade next season. we will have expiring contracts for once.
it bell some great pg's available in tha draft. ANd lets be real, we dont need a great pure pg to be contender. when rafer is shootin a good 43 % and playin smart , we're world beaters. If we could get stephon curry outta davidson, we'd be set. even jonathon wallace outta georgetown, would put us over tha top and he might go undrafted...
I'm very confident we will finally have a new starting PG next season and T.J. would be a big upgrade over Rafer.
and no to tj ford. lets get a pg thats at least 6 foot. we already have our short guard in aaron brooks. having two at tha size cant be a good thing
TJ Ford will be more wide open as a Rocket than he has ever been as a Raptor. I think he is capable of increasing that percentage to a more respectable one playing with Mac and Yao. I would be worried about his injuries though.
I beg to differ!!!! We do need a true Playmaking Point Guard as Yao Ming will never reach his full potential a Houston Rocket till we do. Possibly you wan't Yao to continue to be a role player for his whole career? I dont wan't the Rockets to be a contender I want to see them become dominating CHAMPIONS.
You guys continue to biatch about Alston is annoying. The fact is that you can't find a 5 millions PG (not counting the rookie contracts) that's better than Alston. As long as Alston shoots around 40%, I am ok with him. There are many teams that want Alston and his productions at this price range. Another thing is about the salaries, the Rockets will very likely be over the cap next season. It will be a big task for Morey to keep the Rockets below the cap. I dont expect uncle Les to dive into the luxury tax. No money, no luxury tax ==>> no upgrade. In business, you need to think about the best options you can have, not the best out there you cant get. The guys that want TJ Ford are more ridiculous. Ford's defenseless ass gives up more than he can score or assist. One more time hitting the deck, you wont even know Ford can play again. Moreover, Ford is not the type of PG that fit in Adelman's system when you are playing with T-Mac. Ford needs to dominate the ball to be effective.
It's also a shame Rafer's opportunity has been wasted on two "superstars" who can't stay healthy for a full season.
Maybe the rockets need to give up one of their PFs to trade for a good PG. Without a good PG, the rockets wouldn't win the title even Yao and Tmac are both healthy.
We will see that this summer. I believe some teams will rebuild next season. One young potential player + an expiring contract should be good enough.
Dear Rafer: From your comments the other day, I understand you probably read these message boards, and all the stuff we've said has hurt your feelings. I know you are street tough, and don't need anyone to affirm you, but let me take a minute to let you know that a lot of us fans REALLY appreciate what you've done this year. I'm sure its disheartening, to know you just took us on a streak, second only to 2 of the top 5 players to ever play the game, with our team only 1 game out of first place, and on one hand hear VanGundy saying you are playing like the 2nd best PG in the West since the streak started, and then read posts like this. Thank-you for not allowing your off the court complications, that you were not charged for, or the off-season acquisitions of Francis, James and Brooks, keep you from coming in in the best shape of your career, and just flat be our best PG, irregardless of what so many were saying. Thanks for working off-season to get your 3 point shot, going to the basket, and that teardrop to fall, and allowing the coaches to refine your game. Thanks for being consistently focused, bringing energy every game. Thanks for playing like the PG we need to go all the way. Sorry that Landry got injured, so we just didn't have the horses to continue the streak. Its very impressive, that you've improved each year, and that you are one of the only guys to make it to the top from streetball success. You are disciplined, take incredible care of the ball, pass great, and have been the difference in many games this year. I also enjoy your interviews. You come off really sharp and authentic, even though I know you've had to overcome a speech impediment. Rafer, last year, many fans DID get frustrated with your inconsistency, and wanted us to upgrade the PG position. It wasn't that they didn't LIKE you personally, just got frustrated with your erratic play, and the opposing PGs burning you so much. I know you played way too many minutes, and having more help this year has made a huge difference. But, what you've done this year takes a lot of focus and discipline, and that's to YOUR credit, against all odds. Not that many people would handle this the incredible way you have. If we are going to have any chance in the playoffs, we NEED you to keep it up. Most of us don't want anyone else but you right now. You're our #1 PG, and critical to how far the Rockets go this year. We're your fans. You thrill us when you shoot 8 3-pointers, and put the dagger in the other team's heart. You scare us a little when you get too heated with CP3, but I know you are playing with his head to get him focused on you, instead of his teammates. We actually enjoyed you doing some crazy and1 moves against LA. We don't want you to lose your discipline, or distract from getting the ball to the other guys, but feel free to throw those in every once in awhile. But, most of all, THANK-YOU for all you've done so far this year, and we believe you guys just might do some amazing things in the playoffs too ... as long as everyone stays healthy, and we have you steppin' up. Do you have an even higher playoff gear? ... that would be cool. We believe. We're impressed. We can't wait to see what happens. Thank you, Rafer ... (fans bow in appreciation to Rafer)
my only problem with rafer, is his streaky shooting. he can shoot like over 50 % on some days, and then next game, he can shoot less that 25%. if he can just stay at 35-40%, i'd be happy.
Only because TJ is only a neck injury away from retirement. Too big of a risk for the Rockets to take.
