PG is the most important position on the team. Runs the offense, directs traffic and sets up other players to score. If Rafer isn't getting a bunch of assists, then ya gotta wonder what he's doing. Bingo...He is the weakest link.
Um, he played about 38-40 mpg during the streak which is when everyone says he was at his best. Rafer needs to find his 18 footer again. When that shot goes in, it doesnt matter what the teardrops or 3 pointers do. Thats the shot that the Rockets can get everytime using a PnR with Scola/Landry/T-Mac. And yes, Rafer has hit more teardrops in 70 games this season than he did the previous 2 years combined.
I want to see Rafer making about 6-8 assists per game. After that anything he scores will just be gravy.
Rafer is not only an inconsistent shooter, he is not a good playmaker either. He hardly can read and understand opponents' defense to organize an effective offense. BTW, J. Kidd is not a good shooter either, but he is a great playmaker that is what a pg is needed the most.
Alston cant handle playoff pressure or pressure from the other elite point guards. When he is playing well we win big that is all there is to it. Now imagine a guy who puts up those kinda numbers throughout their entire career like Alston did during the 22 games our chances of winning big increases. Even if Alston had 0 shot attempts but 10 assist everynight we would still win. Him being labeled as a "pass first" point guard is over rated.
Never said that he could not and I never said that he could. I'm just tired of people trying to find any and everything to B!TCH about. Just like when we were on the defensive saying that our 22 game win streak was no fluke, maybe Rafer's play during that streak was not a fluke. I'm just trying to get you to look at it from a different angle Dakota. Do we need a better PG? Hell yeah we do. But like I said before Rafer IMO is playing at his best ability right now. You can't get mad at Rafer because we don't have another player that can take his starting spot, you have to point fingers at Adelman and Morey for putting this roster of players together. All we can do is ask Rafer or any player to bring his best. IMO Rafer has done that end of discussion. But to bad mouth him and to blame him for everything that is wrong with our team is crazy and you know it Dakota. People just want a reason to vent about the season and this last past week and that's fine I get it, but lets look at everything from a prospective point of view.
Woah, slow down pardner, I am not blaming Rafer for anything, merely saying he is our weakest link and we still need to find a better option at the PG spot. That being said, right now he is the best option on the team, so there is no way to repair it now. I love his confidence, but I don't like his decision making, he shoots too much...and doesn't create well for others. As I said, he is an average PG at best..... We need to still try to upgrade that position in the offseason.....and I still would keep Rafer as he would make a fantastic backup PG at some point. DD
It's not Alton, or any players on the Rockets, it's just the fans on this board. They react and make absurd statement after each game, or a single play. We have seen TMac went from scum to hero to selfish SOB on this board, the same thing happened to Yao who was a savor, then sucked balls, then superstar, then worse than Bradley. It's all the fans doing, not the players.
Yes, dang those fanatics that make it possible for the NBA to pay such huge salaries. Dang those fanatics for having an opinion. Just dang em...dang em all to hades. DD
I completely agree the only problem is there is nobody out their not named Calderon that the Rockets have a shot at or even worth looking at. I just dont see the Raptors being able to lock him up long term just knowing they are spending way too much on point guards already and one who is young but injury prone. T.J Ford is another example of a "me first" point guard. Really there is tomany "me first" or "shoot first" point guards in the league and finding a real point guard is hard to come by.
I watched the raptors' game yesterday. T. J. Ford was horrible, and I feel he is playing for his own stats. There is no way for the raptors to let Calderon go! I think the rockets can try to get Devin Harris this summer.
Correction Rafer is not our weakest link. Rafer is somewhere in the middle this year. Our biggest weakness is not having enough bigs or lack there of. We both agree that we need a better PG. But can you honestly tell me that our need at PG is bigger than our need at Center? Honestly? If you can tell me that our need at PG is bigger than our need at Center then sorry friend you don't know **** about basketball. Our second biggest weakness is that Adelman has done a piss poor job of developing the bench this year. I'm a firm believer that you are only as good as your bench. Third biggest weakness is that our star right now in TMAC does not have a backbone (a.k.a spineless). If you can't put those 3 over Rafer then it is no use for us to have this conversation.
I disagree Landry came out of no where and our weakest link is PG its just over shadowed by the fact Yao is out. But back up Center is another position that needs to be upgraded. What is our shot of being able to trade away all of our expiring contracts for Camby? What is our shot of being able to lock up both Landry and Navarro with the MLE?
Heck yes, I can say that our biggest need is PG....... Because at center and averaging 36MPG is Yao, granted he is injured, but you have to think he is going to come back strong. I put the needs of this team as follows. 1. New starting PG 2. Backup center 3. Athleticism on the wings/penetrating player You have to give props to a nice "out of the parker" like that...well played sir ! DD
So you are less comfortable with our Rafer (I'm not talking about PF's because Scola and Landry are doing good) than our Center situation? WOW LMAO! What can I say? Maybe Morey was an idiot too for being worried about our 5 spot as well?
morey thinks, or at least thought, otherwise. proof? he's asked uncle deke to stay another year (and meanwhile said pg upgrade is on top of his list this coming offseason). guess morey knows **** about bball, too. the thing is, you will have to assume yao stays healthy when you plan for the near futrure for the rockets team. if not, then we're doomed anyway. with yao playing 35+ minutes a game, his backups won't be that important. we have a solid rotation in yao-scola-landry-hayes-deke for the 4 and 5 positions.
HTowns_Finest, Let me put it this way..... Starting PG is more important than backup center........so that is why I think we need to address that issue first. I am convinced that Morey knows his stuff, and it is not just because he agrees with me. DD
i'd put it as 1. better pg (harder to figure out a realistic target though) 2. backup 2 (head ain't gonna cut it) 3. backup 5 (kwame brown for cheap)
It's not most the fans hating. But rather reacting to what they see. Post-injury Tmac has played as good as I have seen him play as a Rocket. Pre-injury looked like a ballstopper who quit on the team. Against LA< Boston NO Tmac looke like preinjury form. That's not a personal dig on the man just the way I saw it. He must have been tired because after a game of rest he looked back to normal. I don't know why he went from MVP candidate to tired boy but he did. I thought it was time to trade earlier in the year before the injury because he didn't look like he wanted to put his heart in the games. Now he definitely does and those few games he had a bit of a let down or understandable because of fatigue. I still have my doubts about Tmac but there is no question when he brings his A game there is very few who can do it better. I would like to see him and Yao try to make it thru a season together under Adelman. As for Rafer he had as great a 18 or 19 game streak as anyone on the team. He deserves a lot of credit for the streak. He deserves props for that but he has stunk up most of the rest of his Rocket career. It's not just 5 bad games in a row, it is 3 bad seasons. His biggest problem is his inconsistency. I as much as anyone had hoped that he had turned the corner but his numbers are actually worst than they seem because he has stretches against poorer teams where he plays brilliant and then sucks in bigger games. The more you need something from him the less likely he is to deliver but when the game is not on the line he puts up bigger numbers. His number are almost always better in blowouts. The games we can afford for him to give us a little less he gives us a little more and vis-a-versa. Rafers biggest fault is he cannot be depended on. Add that with his arrogant cocky attitude that makes him come off as the most unpopular guy in the league who has opposing players saying "he thinks he is better than he is" and he is just not what we need. Iloved the attitude of this Rocket team and their motto "Play hard and stay humble". That is not Rafer's motto.
