I was the biggest Alston Basher last year until the 22 win streak and later after the first two games of the playoffs seeing how effectively he ran the offense. with Barry as the back up i have no worries at the point guard, plus he does not have to be scorer as much anymore.
I could go either way. I'm a big fan of Hinrich and think he could help us a lot. On the flipside, I think having the depth to survive a balky McGrady is a bigger concern than upgrading the point. Alston is a good point guard that sucks as a main scoring option. Anytime we've had injuries and he's been pressed to be the #3 or #2 scorer, he becomes an atrocious volume shooter. When you look at his play outside of scoring (which is nearly impossible for a lot of people), he brings a lot to the table. Above average defense, strong ball control, willing passer, plays under control. He's also got a good relationship with the guys on the team and is usually the leader on the court. I'd be more concerned that McGrady is going to miss his usual 20+ games, especially knowing that the team has more depth. Why play through a bothersome back when Artest is there to cover for him? With Battier, we remain rock solid at the 2 and 3, especially with Barry able to fill in at 3 positions. Move Shane, and we have to hope that a rotation of Artest, Barry, and Head will get us through. Personally, I'd rather not see stretches where we have to start Head or Barry and play them 30 mpg. They are nice options off the bench, but that's about it. Stick with Alston, and let's see if Francis gets himself together, if Brooks progresses (in a big way), or if Barry can handle 10 mpg at the 1. If Chicago calls and will move Kirk for Head, Hayes, Novak, Brooks, and Francis? No problem! LOL Evan
Well said, FariyadTheKing. The Rockets' point guard needs have changed with the addition of Artest. The team doesn't need to disrupt the chemistry by changing another starter. Everyone seems to have gotten so obsessed with dumping Rafer that they can't get past that idea. The phrase "careful what you wish for" comes to mind.
Even if you thought having Hinrich at the point instead of Rafer would improve the team, would it improve the team enough to give up Battier? I don't think so. The thought of playing the Rockets with both Artest and Battier probably already has opposing players hitting the Tylenol. I for one can't wait to see the Rockets' spectacular defense this year.
You know what, i like the idea of Hinrich joining. But if we have to give up Francis, Brooks and Battier to get him, i'll say no. I really like Battier, he is those players who can gel a team together. I also feel that Francis will have a bounce back year after his dismal 07-08 season. As for Brooks, he is a very young, talented PG which i think we should give him more time to prove himself before we make a decision on him. The bottomline is that, Rafer led us to 55 wins. Therefore, i don't think we should overthrow the status quo. We got Francis and James last year and thught they can replace Rafer. However, Alston stepped up his game and played better than Francis and James combined. If we really need to upgrade the PG position, its an upgrade for the backup position.
