article link In Houston, 1 + 4 = ? September 10, 2008 12:01 PM Rafer Alston talks to Jason Friedman of Rockets.com about his improving health, movies, and how Ron Artest changes things for the Rockets. Alston talked a bit about how he might change his game to account for the arrival of fellow Queens native Artest. What he said is, essentially, basketball common sense. And he's probably right. But it sure got me thinking about the kinds of analysis a GM has to do before making this kind of move. First, let's hear what Alston said: * "Maybe now I can be more aggressive defending the ball knowing I've got so much help with Yao back there and Shane and Ron who love to defend, too. So maybe I can be aggressive and get my hands on balls and get more steals, and try to get us more possessions out there." * "I think last year I had to take on more of a scoring role, especially when Yao went down. Even when Yao was in the lineup, we needed guys to lend a helping hand with the scoring." The knee-jerk analysis of most player transactions is to look at the remaining players and then add the new player. By the analysis, the Rockets right now are longtime stars like Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, plus the big-shot Artest. How could they not be better? But listening to Alston, it made it clear to me that whether his speculation is accurate or not, adding a player like Artest changes a lot of things that happen on the floor, and who knows if those things make the team more effective. For instance, Artest has the reputation as a great defender. Alston is just throwing out a couple of random ideas. But just for fun, consider these things happen. What if he does gamble for steals more often, knowing super-defender Artest is back there? In recent years, Artest has often been, for stretches, a low-energy defender. And gambling for steals on the perimeter is, very often, bad for a defense. You're testing the other four defenders, that's for sure. Most coaches want most of their players to stay home. Because if you gamble and miss, you have an NBA guard with the ball, headed to the hoop with a head of steam and a five-on-four. Advantage: offense. You could see how that could hurt the Rockets. And on offense, Alston is not a great finisher at the rim, so if he stops trying to drive and instead those possessions go to Artest, maybe that helps. But he's a very good spot-up shooter, and looking to pass more in a way that keeps him from open shots would probably hurt the Rockets. That's just looking at two mini-things Alston speculated about. Could be good, could be bad. Of course every Rocket -- Yao Ming, Luis Scola, Shane Battier, etc. -- could be affected by this. Does Battier still get to guard the other team's best perimeter player (he's amazing at it) or does Artest want that assignment? What happens if Yao and Artest both like to post up on the same side? Does Luis Scola play just as hard when he is touching the ball a lot less, as could happen? Don't even get me started on Carl Landry, who is one of the most efficient players in the NBA. Artest's presence could not only alter Landry's game in some fashion, but literally keep him on the bench for long stretches, which would certainly affect the math of this team's offensive and defensive efficacy. Then there are chemistry issues. What if players start breaking plays to call their own numbers as Artest is said to have done in Sacramento? Most basketball experts assume the Rockets just got a lot stronger. And on paper they did. But when you're adding a major rotation player, the math is not always as straightforward as it may appear, which is why I'd like to see this team play a few dozen games before pretending to know how it's going to work out. League-Wide Issues, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, Rafer Alston, Carl Landry
Not sure if things will play out as he's speculating, but it is interesting to consider how Artest's inclusion in the lineup could impact the other players, for better or worse. Most obviously, he's going to have the ball a lot more than the players he's partially replacing from last year (Battier, our PFs to an extent). Does that make the other players more or less efficient?
Ok article, nothing really stands out From the article, I have a feeling he doesn't watch a lot of rockets
alston - 4th or 5th scoring option; perfectly compent to do that. Alston as a 2nd or 3rd opton is turrible. battier - fewer minutes, more efficient defender. continue same role as spot up shooter. tmac and yao - fewer minutes, more efficiency, fewer injuries So yeah, artest doesn't just add what he adds. he reduces the load on the other players, keeps them from being stretched beyond their physical limitations and abilities.
Rafer has consistently improved his spg every season until last season. He had to score more, so he had less energy to focus on defense. The good thing is he manages to average around 1.5spg all while playing terrific defense and not letting his man burn him. He doesn't go for the risky steal, but maybe he might now that Artest and Battier got his back.
This upcomng season, Alston needs to have a complete 360o change in his minds set. He needs to have more playmaking and defence, whith no scoring as a first option. In 2008/09 he will/ should be no greater than our 7th option when it comes to scoring. If he averages 5 points, 10 assists and 3 steals a game, he will be making a magnificent contribution to the teams success.
In my opinion, this team might be better with having both Artest and Battier on the floor at the same time. The reason is that team are going to be scared....so you get psychologically advantage when you start those two than the combo of Artest and Scola. I could be wrong, but that's how i feel. You get too fierce defenders on the court at the same time...i mean nobody can do a thing about it. Didn't they say that defense win championship??
Rafer's only tasks next year: BRING UP THE BALL TO THE OPPONENT'S HALF PASS THE BALL TO T-MAC, OR IF T-MAC IS BENCHED, KEEP THE BALL OR PASS TO BRENT INITIATE THE OFFENSE, AND SPOT UP GO BACK AND DEFEND AGGRESSIVELY RINSE AND REPEAT sounds good? I'd be really happy if he can average 10 assists...that way he will be able to fill up his stats as well as play team ball
Thats why we have Adelman to make sure everyone will mesh. It's better to have more talent than no talent. We win with guy like Battier , and Landry and Alston because they try their hardest every night , while more talented players on other teams don't always do that. In the playoffs everybody gives their all everynight and when better players match their intensity in the playoffs we have problems. Yes Artest will be lazy some game in the regular season , so will T-Mac when he will refuse to drive but you better be sure that when the Playoffs come Artest will give his all on every position , thats when we gonna be good.
What the?!?! RAFER IS NOT GOING TO AVG 10 ASSISTS PER GAME. Rafer WILL score my than 5 ppg, he IS our 4/5th scoring option. Rafer is rafer. We know what to expect of him.
Like I said in the Delonte West thread a while back, Alston as the 5th option now is a really good situation for him. We all know his strengths and weaknesses, and I'm sure he does as well. That he knows he is going to have a much lesser role on offense can only bode well for the team. Like I said in the other thread, I'll live with Alston having a sub-40% shooting year if the overwhelming majority of his shots come from 3s, where if he can hit at his career rate of 36%-ish, will be a huge bonus for the team. Rafer Alston will have done a commendable job imo, if he gets about 6-7 apg, 2 spg, and hover around 10 ppg with 2/3 of his shots coming from 3s at a 36% clip.
Isn't it great when you have TJack and Alston taking most of your shots? Both are such great outside shooters....
People who think Alston won't shoot anymore is not realizing that the fact that he will continue to shoot a lot as long as he's the starting PG for the team. For the simple reason that he MUST shoot and MAKE his 3s for the offense to work properly. Considering our offensive talent, teams will always double off of Alston. And he'll have to make them pay or we will likely suck. So no matter what, he'll be shooting quite a bit just to keep the defense honest. That said, I think I can live with Alston shooting spot-up 3s all day long. I just want to stop seeing those horrendous teardrops.
