He certainly takes better care of the ball, but he won't make a play. Brooks comes in and he makes these great assists to players near the basket. I just wish Rafer would do a little more of that.
That would be good if he did. The team would get a lot more easy baskets that way, and maybe, their currently low FG percentage would go up, and in the process, the team would win a lot more games, and be more of a factor in the playoffs. As far as Mike James and Steve Francis is concerned, I would label those two offseason aquisitions the co-scapegoats for this team's disappointing record thus far. As for T-Mac, I'm not ready to label him a scapegoat yet because the team hasn't proven they can win without him in the lineup, although they have been showing signs of playing better without him lately.
i called that Brooks may outplay Francis for minutes and become the starter by midseason. So far I'm half right, he HAS outplayed Francis, but he wont be a starter this season.
...and James and Francis are shooting just as bad. I've never said Rafer was the best PG in the NBA but I've always supported the Rafer/James trade. ...and I continue to be proven right. If we can upgrade Rafer, I'm all for it ...but James isn't an upgrade. James (sometimes) brings better shooting and some slashing ...but Rafer (always) brings a stable PG that cant' shoot. Two NBA coaches have now clearly demonstrated what is more important.
That he does. I still think that trade was awful, but Mike James is worse this season so there is no leg for me to stand on. To me it's like bringing in Miguel Tejada for Adam Everett, knowing you're going to sacrifice in some areas to get a big payoff on offense, then watching Tejada bat worse than Everett. With Francis, we know there are issues with his knee and overall health ... I have no idea what Mike James' excuse is. He's healthy, he's in good shape, he's not looking older/slower.... he just can't hit shots. I really like what Brooks is doing though. It's so early and he can't be criticized yet because he's the new unseen hope... eventually people will complain about his lack of size and/or defense... but right now he's bringing a new dimension with his speed and hitting shots. I can't believe how quick he is. I really hope he keeps this up.
One did not have the same options as the other, so I am not sure an argument that JVG would have played Rafer over SF is anything more than speculation. As for the other, he will not give SF enough space to grow, IMO. You need to play to gel with the other starters, and so far he has not played much. Having said all that, I would like to see what AB can do with more minutes.
I feel like James looks a step slower. I see it more on the defensive end than offensively, but I think his age is starting to catch up to him a bit. But it's not like he can no longer break people offensively, he was still doing that just fine. The thing I'm guessing is he's not jumping as high anymore. He was a guy who used to elevate a ton on his jumpshot; I wonder if he just can't get the same height on his jumper, and that's throwing him off. It is completely bizarre how his game just fell apart. I bet he gets a few minutes tonight if Bonzi is out because he'll be hungry against Toronto.
JVG himself said he agrees with Adelman's decision on Rafer being the starter, even going as far as to say that he is the best PG we have right now.
For a 6'2" player being used as an offensive sparkplug he's done that when given a chance. Obviously, you want better than 39% from the field and 35% from downtown but the point is history suggests his percentages will improve and those numbers are better than most realize. For instance, ff you take those numbers in games in which he actually got significant minutes, his stats and production are comparable with players like Stackhouse, Finley and Hughes. Those are the 6th men for three very good teams. (I know technically Finley starts now but Ginobili/Bowen finish games) I think he's still a useful weapon to have. Just trying to make use of what we already have. Hell, anything beats your horrible Kyle Korver trade ideas.
I guess Francis and James are part of this "much improved roster" Adelman has supposedly been given. The only parts that are improved are Wells, who Rick allowed to play his way into shape; Brooks, whom Adelman was probably responsible for drafting, and a little bit of Scola, who may not be here under the previous regime and probably wouldn't be playing anyway since he can't consistently guard other NBA 4/5s.
Your statistics are warped. He gets significant minutes in games in which he plays relatively well. You could do the same thing with guys like Scola and Chuck Hayes -- when they're playing better in a given game, they're going to get more minutes.
Goodness, the Wolves bought out Juwan's 14 mil contract, and McHale=smart? That's the craziest thing I've ever heard! (Besides Isiah still having a job now).
Do I wish we could have somebody better than Rafer. Yes. But the market is the market and Rafer/James trade was the best they could do at the time. I supported getting a true PG in here over James. I also supported any efforts to get James AND Rafer here cause they seeminly compliment each other. But Rafer is and always was a flat out better PG than James. But Rafer can't freaking shoot. JVG obviously approved trading away James. Adleman obviously has more options and continues to start Rafer. Rafer is a better PG than James and Francis. James and Francis are better athletes and better suited as 2-guards. But we already have TMac and Bonzi who both play 2-guard and they both are better than James or Francis. Hence ...the bench. Two well respected NBA coaches with winning career records have endorsed Rafer Alston. Rafer haters need to settle down. Brooks is bad ass. I doubt he'll ever be a consistent starter in the NBA but I wouldn't be surprised if he's a strong candidate for 6th man at some point.
James is a black hole. You pass to him and you might never get it back. Who would have thought that there would be another player that dribbles and ISOs more than Francis.....on the same team?!? The Memphis game earlier where we lost, and he decided to go coast to coast and jack up a layup was the last straw. T-Mac was right there calling for the ball and James just ignores him and tries to score, but failed and we lose. At least when Francis played, he bought into the system and tried to get his teammates involved.....almost too much.
Brooks is a rookie. He doesn't have any allegiance to any one player on the team. He tries to make people happy by distributing the ball to everyone. Plus he's quick as lightening. The only knock on him so far is he's gotta hit more shots. If he can get that down, he's a killer. Compared to Brooks, Rafer is a too slow. Francis has lost his game completely and out of shape. James, like everyone else says, is just a ballhog who only knows how to shoot. Even when he SHOULDN'T be shooting.
