skip was horrible tonight. They were not even guarding him and he clanked shot after shot and most of those shots were from double teams on howard and didnt result in offensive rebounds....sounds awfullyfamiliar...
Has any team EVER guarded Alston? A reason why I never lump T-Mac and Alston's shooting percentages is because at least T-Mac is forced to put up some bad shots due to plays breaking down. If any game showed why Brooks/Lowry were instrumental in our ability to push the Lakers to 7 games, this should do it. You need penetration because no one can shoot over the Lakers length.
I can't believe that we have so many Airballston defenders on this board. The guy is literally the *worst* starting PG at making a bucket in the game. Playoff numbers: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/stati...one&qual=true&season=2009&seasontype=3&pos=pg Regular season numbers: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/stati...one&qual=true&seasontype=2&pos=pg&season=2009 Do you want to know why nobody is afraid of him when he drives? Look at http://www.nba.com/hotspots/ The guy shoots 44% in the paint. We're talking layups and gimmes here. He's also an incredible 24% and 28% from the left and right blocks. Yup, I'm scared. So enough of the "we need Airballston" nonsense. Yes we needed Airballston ... we needed to get right of him and we did.
Originally Posted by DaDakota the best two teams in the NBA met in the Western conference semifinals and went to game 7... JVG
To be fair, that website isn't the most accurate showing of hot spots and cold spots.. didn't Yao hit a 3 during the regular season? It says Yao hasn't attempted any 3s during the regular season. Also, Artest shoots 45% from "gimmes" and Brooks shoots 46%. Those aren't that much better.
Is Rafer pressured to deliver more and prove something now that Jameer is back? The pressure probably got to him.
Quote from http://lasvegassun.com/blogs/shark-...-are-too-tough/ Rafer is solid, but the Lakers are too tough By Jerry Tarkanian · June 3, 2009 · 7:23 PM end quote. He only shot 40 percent from the field, but he has always worked on improving his shot. ......He was always the first in the gym and the last to leave, and he was always working on that shot. He’s a good guy and very competitive. He plays intense and he’s running the show in Orlando, making good plays and taking the open shot. But he’s not forcing anything. ......and Stan remembered Rafer. Jeff highly recommended him. great evaluation for Rafer. I think he could help Rockets on court more than KL in next couple of years unless KL was traded for a better player.
thanks, I posted that article in the Dish. JVG recommended him and he was probably at his worst on the JVG teams. I don't know why people criticize him, it's not like he's making 20 million a year. His production for what he's getting paid is about right.
I like Rafer as a person, and never like his games. I got nervous whenever he was taking a shot when he was the rockets's player. I do not have such feeling when Brooks or Lowry are on the floor, just wish he is doing well in other teams.
It should be pretty clear to every one by now that Rafer is not in the league because of his shooting. Shooting is his weakness, and most of us get that. He contributes enough in other ways to make up for that as a role player on most nights. The key word being role player, not PG that is expected to match other all star PGs in production or scoring. The fans who complained because Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, and Steve Nash out score Rafer were just silly complaints. Certainly Brooks is a better primary scoring option than Rafer. The concern I have with Brooks long term is that scoring is really the only thing he brings. He isn't a good passer or a good defender, so when he has an off shooting night he is more of a negative than a positive. That can lead to playoff games where he scores 24+ and wins us a game and also games where our "scoring" PG is outscored by the likes of Steve Blake, Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar. I also get nervous when Rafer takes a shot, but I likewise get nervous every time Brooks makes a pass or tries to do anything other than score. Rafer has more off shooting nights than Brooks does, but Rafer contributes more in other areas regardless of his shooting. Speaking of shooting, Lowry shot considerably worse than Rafer has in the playoffs. In fact Lowry's shooting in the playoffs this season makes Rafer look like Reggie Miller in his prime. Lowry has the potential to surpass Rafer and he is young, so I don't consider it a horrible trade for us going forward. I just think Brooks/Rafer would have done better than Brooks/Lowry for this season.
^^^ The difference is the Lowry/Brooks shoots better than Rafer/Brooks because Lowry only takes like 4 shots a game where as Rafer takes 15 shots a game. Rafer is a good backup which is exactly what Orlando needs since he will back up Jameer Nelson going forward
I don't think most of the criticism is directed toward Rafer, per se. At least, that's not the way I see it. I think the reasonable criticism is directed toward the posters that are acting like we gave up a great PG and should regret the trade. Neither of those things are true by any stretch of the imagination. Way too many people have overreacted to his performance in the playoffs and are giving him more than his share of credit for doing something a lot of average PGs could have done. Just go back through this thread or some other threads in the GARM and Dish and you'll see a number of posters doing just that. I think it's extremely obvious that the Magic's success is mostly due to the performances of Howard, Hedo, Lewis and even Pietrus to some extent. If anything, the only legitimate argument I can see being made is that "Rafer isn't so bad that he will definitely prevent a team from making a deep playoff run" as opposed to some of the crazy things people have been arguing around here for the past couple of weeks. Like you said, he's an average-at-best PG and gets paid accordingly. There is nothing to regret over that trade. In fact, people should be largely ecstatic that we acquired a PG who is a decade younger with more tools. Average to below average true PGs like Rafer with bottom of the league shooting efficiency aren't that hard to find if that is what we are looking for. I think Morey is looking for more though and if worst comes to worst, we can always go out and find a "safe, conservative and limited PG" like Rafer in the future. Cheer for Rafer. Applaud him for being part of a good Magic team. Just don't try to make him out to be something he's not because the team he plays for is having success. That's all I'm saying. There are replaceable type players on every team in the league, including elite and championship teams. Rafer is one of those replaceable types just like he was when he was with us.
Rockets fans criticizing a Magic player is nothing to worry about. How about Rockets fans criticize Brooks who is paid 4 times lower than Rafer and contributing more than him?
Yet the only team he could stick with for extended time was the Rockets and it's no secret that we've been looking to trade or replace him for years. It was only the past season or two that the Rockets got out from under all those dead weight contracts that hampered the organization for much of a decade. Led by Morey, the Rockets have had to scratch and claw just to fill basic needs because of all the payroll issues and bad drafting. Morey has done a tremendous job and he keeps getting it done. Trading Rafer was the next step in the process. Before his second stint with Toronto, Rafer had started 41 games total spread out over 3 teams, 5 seasons and 243 games. After that single season back in Toronto, they got rid of him. Even if it was due to personality issues or whatever, they got rid of him. With Orlando, he's a stopgap solution until next season when their All-Star PG returns to full strength. Speaking of future seasons, I was shocked to see that Rafer openly discussed a contract extension through the media right before the finals. I have no idea what he was thinking. I think that decision alone may get him sent packing in the first available deal this summer. Not to mention that their GM isn't foolish enough to overvalue Rafer (like many around here have absolutely done) when he knows as well as anybody that Howard, Hedo, Rashard and even Pietrus have largely carried the Magic to this point.
Chuck Hayes was good enough to start for the Rockets for 1+ season. Ryan Bowen was good enough to start for the Rockets (and sparingly with other teams too). If a player starts, it doesn't mean he is good. Half the starters in the NBA are below average (for starters).
