True because vs. Portland - Roy and Vs. Clipper is a good judge of how good this team is ... Give me a break, Rafer was catalyst behind 22 in a row, he just has to stay consistent, which isn't going to happy, but what makes you think Jax and Brooks will be? If all 3 PGs play and we just play whoever is doing best in the day, that would be best. Lets see what happens.
you're ridiculous. Calling Rafer stupid.. is stupid. And H-townhero..saying Rafer can't shoot a floater. Have you watched any games this year? Seen how much he's improved his finishing? I swear, come back to the GARM and immediately figure out why I left..everytime..
Umm, yes I've watched him these past few years and he hasn't improved that much. It seems he's just added this to his repertoire this year, and it's still an ugly shot. He just sorta flips it up and prays for a good roll. I've seen Brooks shoot is floater with much greater consistency, it reminds me a lot of Chris Paul's shot. I love Rafer for his enthusiasm and ball handling skills but don't kid yourself - his finishing and floaters have not improved by as much as you'd like to believe.
I wish RA was a little more flexible in his rotation from game to game. Play Novak, Brooks, Head, Harris, and Chuck more or less minutes depending on the matchups. Instead he has rigidly stuck to the same rotation (with the exception of Rafer's recent injury) ever since the end of the 22 win streak.
This post I will agree with. I have been surprised that RA stopped playing Novack and Brooks since the streak ended. One of the positives about RA over JVG this season was his willingness to play rookies and a variety of players.
Maybe Rafer's injury will spark Adelman to play Brooks more, or to give him a chance when Rafer is missing his shots. And, Rafer generally responds well to competition, so that could be another benefit. DD
We will see. It would be very interesting, but Brooks is playing really well, he's agressive and he's hitting his shoots. Bobby is Bobby. Great veteran who can shoots
I think when Rafer has recovered he could start but if he is having an off night he should let AB get some of his PT. If he is playing like we played against Lakers he could have the majority of PT. If he played like what happened in the recent few games, he could sit longer and let AB play.
I agree, it's a simple equasion, if Rafer's on he stay's in the game, if not, have a seat and watch Bjack and AB do their thing. We no longer have to sit and watch as Rafer jacks up shot after shot when he is not on.
Which is EXACTLY why the Bonzi Wells trade was a good one. It allowed the team to have more options. Rafer was so important to this team, that when he missed a couple of games earlier in the year, and Francis and James had to play the team seriously struggled. Now we have competent options at the PG spot, let's hope Adelman is not afraid to use em. DD
And that's why we would have better chances of beating Utah in playoff series. Remember last year? All about Rafer - I hated watching him playing 44 minutes a game in playoffs and struggling not only with his shot. Now we have a lot more options and what is important we can keep Rafer fresh
Mike James is straight DNP - Coach's Decision for Byron Scott. That should tell you we had no other options. Dude was a liability and Rafer new that Steve wasn't in shape to really challenge him and AB was too young to handle the PG responsibilities. I think AB is learning a lot from Bjack. We will always have room for Rafer when he's on.
Clearly we are NOT a better team without him. But if this means Brooks can get his confidence up I'm all for it. Hopefully Adelman won't be hesitant to call him up to knock down shots when Rafer starts the brick brigade. But never forget Rafer is one if not the best defensive PG in the league. We need him considering all the All-Star PG's we'll be facing.
That's a lot of uh... interesting, parsed analysis... and blaming Rafer for everyone else's ills? Simple stat from March: Rafer scored 16.8 ppg on 15.9 attempts. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/splits?playerId=11
care to explain? i have yet to see a stretch of games in which rafer uses bball iq to create and playmake. he shoots 3s even when he is missing. although he used to make his raindrop floater midseason, he cant anymore. he thinks he is a baller and can drive in only to be rejected. he tries to take over in closing possesions, but can't. sure, he was a big part of the 22 game win streak. BUT you cannot win a playoff series with rafer as the starting 1. his bball iq is too low. derek fisher owned rafer in most of the games in last year's playoffs. brooks can penetrate, and he is quick as light. too beat the backup 1's in this league and provide instant tempo change- brooks is the guy. bjax is obviously a far better scorer (and consistent)- maybe not because he can shoot better, but he makes better decisions. he knows when to give it to tmac. the only thing that can salvage our 2nd round hopes is a pg who can run the adelman offense effectively. rafer simply cannot. in bjax's short tenure here, he has always impressed me as a know when to pass, know when to penetrate, and know when to shoot player. bjax + brooks > rafer + bjax. maybe we can play brooks at the backup 1 and bjax at the back up 2
I wan't to make this very clear, Rafer doesn't run the offense! He brings the ball down the court and passes it to McGrady because Rafer isn,t a playmaker. So far, neither are are Jackson or Brooks,just that they seem to be making better decissions without having to give it to McGrady to think about
Our other 2 PG's definately have looked good but I kind of hope we play one of the teams with a really good PG without Rafer before the playoffs start. Then Adleman can judge how much he can play Brooks. I don't remember AB doing too well defending the good PG's. Of course no one really does but Rafer is one of the best at defending the position. If AB doesn't get torched than I see no reason to keep him on the bench.
