he cant win.........either he doesnt make enough shots........or if he is, people want to complain he's taking too many.
His situation is much more flexible than McGrady. All the fans ask from him is stop playing Kobe and shoot only when open. He enjoys going iso a lot and that leads to a break drop that never ever goes in without a lucky bounce. Another thing I notice is Rafer has a very similar scoring mindset to McGrady's. Whenever Rafer makes a 3 pointer or a layup shot, he always look to jack up another shot with the next possession or drive in recklessly to air ball a layup. Rafer should be glad he has a much more flexible situation than McGrady. All he needs to do is play his position, nothing more or less.
People want to believe that an Alston/Brooks combo at PG can't win a title. Two things though: 1. Its possible for them to get better. Not in the sense that they shoot better suddenly... but in the sense that they find their role. Maybe instead of taking the wide open 3 at the top you drive to the basket instead. Or maybe Aaron Brooks becomes more consistant and earns the starting job. 2. Teams have won the title with "2 headed" players playing a certain position. Boston just won the title with Perkins/Big Baby holding up the C spot. Dallas made it to the finals with a Damp/Diop combo. The Spurs have won the title with Oberto/whoever trying to play C. It's possible to pull it off.
this is a quote from a game recap " Alston didn't realize Yao didn't miss and criticized himself for not getting him even more looks. "That's a bad job by myself. I took too many shots," said Alston, who went 9-for-17 from the field. "But that's tremendous. I wish I could have a day like that." " Funny I've been criticizing rafer for not giving yao "more looks" all season. How can the freaking pg not notice when our only star player on the court has not missed? I hope he remembers not to take too many shots when he is shooting around 35% again. It's easy to draw attention to yourself when you just shot 9/17. It was merely a backhanded way to brag. someone else said we are 9 and 2 when yao gets at least 15 shot attempts. i wish yao would (in stevie f. voice) "ACKS for the ball"!!! If rafer to continues to shoot 9/17 or better then I will become a rafer apologist. As for right now I want him to have way less attempts than yao.
1. Rafer is in decline and he won't get much better than he is. Regarding his role, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. If he doesn't know his role by now, it's hopeless. Even if AB becomes more consistent during the regular season, he isn't playoff ready. It's scary to think of him in a playoff rotation. 2. The combo aspect of our PG situation is not an issue. It's purely a matter of how bad both players are.
A fanatic of whom? Please point out a post a made on any player on the Rockets that woulod lead you to believe I'm a fanatic? I've criticized every single guy at one point or another. Just because I didn't agree with your post (and I also noted that the timing made it worse) doesn't classify me as a "fanatic." Your post was ill-timed. I've made suggestions for pgs I would rather have then Rafer. It's become obvious we aren't looking in that direction this season. Is PG an issue, yes. Do we have a better alternative on the team then Rafer, not at all. I'll anxiously await you to show me some "fanatic" posts. Man, this is just getting stupid. Think before you post
Dude, relax. I went to the game today and again, Rafer made some idiotic plays that make you scratch your head. He did hit some big shots so I can't be too critical today. I don't remember your post that I was replying to but it really doesn't matter anymore. I think we're on the same page as we both realize that things aren't changing and we have to live with Rafer. I really think we're a smart PG away from being true contenders, along with healthy players. He just is the epitome of streaky, actually I'll take that back. You just don't know what you'll get from Rafer on a nightly basis. It's frustrating!
Even though we agree on some issues, Rafer shut down Billups and gave us 18 pts and 11 asts with 0 TO's. Hell of a game. I was not scratching my head at all. Honestly, probably the best overall game I've seen from the guy in a while. I only took contention with your initial claims of me being a "fanatic", which were completely unfounded. I was not pissed, but merely stating that if you toss things like that around, you have to support them with something factual
If Rafer is hitting his FGs, he is the point guard we need. He has a low average TO given the minutes he plays, and his defense is suffice. The problem is when he is not having a good shooting night, and he takes over 10 shots. At that point, he really hurts the team with his missed FGs. I doubt Morey will be able to find a top 10 caliber PG by the trade deadline without giving up something significant in return. For better or worse, we are stuck with Rafer. The saving grace was supposed to be Aaron Brooks, who I was hoping would produce consistently and challenge Rafer for the starting PG position. Unfortunately, Aaron Brooks is inconsistent and if Aaron Brooks isn't hitting: Rafer missing FGs > Aaron Brooks missing FGs
You're right, he had a perfect game for a PG. Actually it was probably his best game in a long time. The problem is consistency. What will we get from Rafer next? Expect the unexpected.
