Rafer's season long struggles have got me wondering what people want for this team. I am sure people know that I think V-Span is the PG of the future, but for right now, what do you want to happen. I think Rafer's butt is on the line tonight in the Bulls game, do you want him to step up and save his job by playing well, only to watch him struggle and the team suffer longer because of it? Or, would you rather Rafer continue his terrible play forcing JVG to bench him and move on to Head or JL3 at the point. In my mind it is a quandry, as I think Rafer will ultimately hurt the Rockets and I would like to see JVG forced to try someone else. So, do you want Rafer to play well in one game, and then go back to struggling, or do you want Rafer to continue to suck and thus JVG and CD are forced to bench him for the good of the team? DD
All of us should root for Rafer to play well. Because even if you want him out of here, you need him to raise his trade value.
Rafer's the best option we have. JLIII can't play extended minutes, and Head has suspect handles (I'm being generous with 'suspect'). Let him play.
Yes. Especially when Tmac is in the game...I would have Head bring it up, and hand it off to Tmac to initiate the offense. DD
They tried but when Minnesota called Toronto in the process of due dilligence, they could not have a conversation because of all the laughter on the phone coming from Toronto. DD
under pressure he would make stupid mistakes and loose the ball what I noticed is that he does not grip the ball well it looks like he has small hands
Skip starts, end of story. Skip finishes depending on his play. Head - poor court vision, poor ball-handling, can't break presses and traps efficiently Lucas - Bench player, not a major minutes guy, only effective in short spurts Vspan - Not ready yet, risky decision maker, turnover prone
Fair enough, so would you spend time getting V-Span ready because clearly Rafer is on the decline as a player, and will only get worse as time goes by? Or would you try to work a trade to supplant Rafer today? Rafer is by far our weakest link on offense and defense. DD
I don't want to derail the thread but V-Span has not been turnover prone all season long averaging around 1 turnover a game....just wanted to point that out. Carry on ! DD
the problem with rafer is his poor shooting. you can't pull a guy our of the game because he's 1-8 because that player will become hesitant, an even worse problem than a poor shooter. the answer is to limit his minutes. yes he does a great job of keeping TO's down, something that can't be said about any other guard on the team. so we have to limit his minutes by bringing in someone new, maybe with the MLE.
Rafer is playing well. As long as he doesn't force to shoot from the outside when he is off.. I want him to drive to the basket more often. He is the only Rocket player that has more success in penetrating to the basket.
I don't trust Vspan nor do I have any confidence in him, and I hope I'm wrong when his time comes. I'd prefer Lucas, but not for extended minutes. He only has one speed, and I see why the Suns wanted him. He's more of a spark plug than a true backup PG. I do agree that Rafer needs to stop shooting. Anything more than 10 attempts will likely turn into a complete disaster, and his floater is the 2nd ugliest thing in the league next to Shelden Williams face. I wouldn't trade him unless we can get a sure upgrade in return rather than a random player with "potential". Who would you trade him for? And you gotta be realistic, we won't get no Mike Bibby for Rafer Alston. I won't go as far as to say that he's our weakest link, it's just that he is attempting shots that he would normally make at the Rucker. You'd think that AO would be in the league if shots at the Rucker were the same as in the league.
There's already a poll on the front page: www.clutchfans.com it's a little different but still.. Dada, calm down man. You're always trying to lead the reactionary crazy mob. I hope VSpan gets a little more time too. Rafer hasn't changed much all year, and it's like some revelation now that he can't shoot? Those of us who think JVG is making a mistake here, the best we can hope for is Rafer's minutes to go down. I really hope he's out there for 28 minutes max tonight. And damn it guys, stop saying Rafer should stop shooting. He only takes 2 bad shots per game. It is JVG's fault for playing Rafer too much. Rafer's wide open on most of his shots, with the clock winding down. If Rafer doesn't shoot those high quality shots, it's either going to be a turnover or a terrible shot for Battier or anyone but Mac..and only Mac can make terrible shots. Rafer has no choice but to shoot, because that's what defenses are forcing him to do. All Rafer can do is make the right play...I don't blame him...he just sucks. It's JVG who is hurting the team at times with his inability to adjust his basketball values to maximize winning.
