he should start. you do not want any chemistry problems right now. and rafer isnt that bad. just limit him to 25 mins.
For the love of god how can you not start AB. Have we lost a game since rafer went out and AB has started. AB is a man on a mission. Look at the start we had last night, that was all AB. His shoot is money, he creates, drives the ball and as fast as anyone and actually finishes unlike rafer who blows most drives and breakaways.
AB was hot lately but had rafer started instead we still could win these games. We know Rafer chokes from time to time but he is always clutch in big times.
Team Stats since Brooks started: vs. Denver, 108-96, 45.1%, 20 assists. vs. Kings, 107-96, 48.8%, 26 assists. vs. Twolves, 109-102, 52.1%, 26 assists. vs. Nets, 114-91, 58.1%, 25 assists. 4 easy wins and the team is getting better after each game. This is the chemistry we need. The is how a PG should run an elite team. If we like Brooks, Adelman will only like more. He might have been dreaming to have such a team since he came here. I can see Adelman's strategy is like this: Start Rafer--->Mo destroys Rafer---> an ugly loss ----> start Brooks from next game on. We are going to lose to the Cavs anyways. Yup, it is a great time to start Rafer.
Excellent, he's the only player that knows how to set up an offense. I think he will be ready to play to show Aaron who is the real starter. It seems like when Rafer is on the hot seat, he tends to shoot on fire and to play like an all-star.
If rafer comes off the bench then he is going to feel as if he has the green light to shoot and score as much as possible for the 2nd unit. We all know what happens when rafer shoots too much. Even though I like AB more, i think rafer should start because he will only take shots within the flow of the offense rather than thinking he has to take over the scoring load for the 2nd unit.
So when Rafer is running the show, the Rockets shoot near the bottom of the league in FG% and the offense generally looks out of sync. With AB running the show, we are at 50% and winning by an average of 10 ppg. You decide....
Yes, I feel Kenny Smith should start over Sam I am. I mean, he's got a streaky shot but he's great at getting the offense going. Sam will be excellent off the bench with Carl (Herrera) and Mario. Oh wait, switch jet for rafer, sam for brooks, herrera for landry and mario for artest. Let history speak for itself.
Obviously, he isn't; however, it is obvious that if you have a player on the floor that is a major threat to score every time he touches the ball from 25 feet in compared to someone whose main mid to short range weapon is a floater which is made about 20% of the time, that one would choose the more talented player, no?
Well, for me, I'd rather have that threat come onto the floor with Artest when Yao and/or McGrady go the bench. As someone mentioned before, it's not about punch off the bench, it's about maintaining your offense and defense when subs are made. I think having AB backing up Rafer helps to ensure that we don't have such a offensive drop off. The same reason we bring Artest off the bench rather than start him now. The same reason the Spurs do that with Manu. If I were coach, I'd give Rafer his starting job back. If I see a drop in efficiency (over the course of a few games) from when Brooks was starting, then I make the change. That's just my take on it.
So look at the numbers. We were at or near the bottom of the league in FG% with Rafer running the point. With AB, we've been shooting 50%. That's a HUGE difference. Who cares about punch, psychology, etc. Give me the efficiency, the points, and the wins any day.
My take? I think Alston will certainly start, but Brooks will end up playing the last 5 mins and Brooks may end up having more PT than Alston. no doubt Alston is going to be rusty and if he starts jacking up bricks u can bet than we will see brooks alot sooner. Another thing is how will alston matchup with delonte? or MO?
It's a good thing to let Skip start, but increasing AB's playing minuets, letting him know the competition is out there.
Again, this goes back to that you are assuming that no one else plays into the equation. Do you attribute McGrady's MUCH improved play to AB? Sorry, I do not. Tracy's shot selection is still the same. Sometimes he is open though, but this was pre and post Alston injury. I mean he's had basically 2 triple double since he returned from his rest or whatever one wants to call it. Everyone else is shooting the same shots they weren't hitting before. Artest is hitting at a slightly higher percentage as well. Look, I'm not saying Brooks hasn't been great. As I said, if I were coach, to me it's still Rafer's job to lose. I don't feel you should lose it b/c of injury. That's why I say get him back, and see what happens over the next few games. Then make my decision then.
So shooting a FG% which is *worst* in the league (not just this year, but historically) among PGs isn't a way to lose your job as a starter?
