Statistically, he's been playing better for a while now. He still takes some absolutely garbage shots, though; especially on his little one-man fastbreaks, there are times where you want to slap the sh** out of him. And I mean, he led the team in FGA last night (and he is up there most nights)... so I'm not sure exactly how much smarter I would say he's playing. He might just be more comfortable with this offense than with JVG's, but for whatever reason, he's shooting a little better now. His presence still scares the crap out of me, though, and he still seems like the guy who is most vulnerable to absolutely collapsing during a late-game opponent run. ... Also, I notice that he is very protective of his FG%... If he gets the ball on a full court inbounds play with just a couple seconds left on the clock, he will NEVER try to shoot it. I hate people who do that. I guess I'm just hoping that someone can give me a reassuring explanation of why he's going to keep playing this well.
It's cool man. He knows Morey is a stat man, and anything that will hurt his stats will result in a knee jerk reactionary trade.
The trade deadline? I just don't see it though Super, even with his shots, the guy is a terrible decision maker and flails under pressure at the end of games. Rest assured, this is the best it gets with him. Scares me thinking about the playoffs. He cant handle any of the top PG's that this team will have to play, from JET, to Chris Paul.
he'll keep it up unless there is a major addition to the offense coming in. the main difference is that he is attacking the basket, and not stoping short of the rim for a floater, but looking to get to the rim. i think adelman got that through his head.
Fact of the matter is they can't do it alone as proved, and you always need consistent solid role players to win it all. SAS- Tony Parker DET - Chauncey Billups LAL - Derek Fisher From those teams Rafer doesn't belong in their group. He doesn't shoot as well, he doesn't dish as well, he doesn't control the tempo and offense as well, not as smart, not as under control, doesn't get into the lane as well, nor does he even give the D anything to worry about as those other guys do very well in one or more aspects together.
CHeck Rafers Alston +/-. He has the best on the team of +9.3. And he has been every year since is he became a Rocket.
Derek Fisher is, and has always been, garbage, especially as a starting PG... but other than that, I mostly agree with you. But if Rafer keeps playing the way he has been, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.
I like Rafer as much as the next guy, but lets not try to make a Kia look like an Aston Martin. Pts, Reb, Ast, 3pt% and TO's are all about average among the league's starting point guards. But here is what kills us...... FG: 39.8% (38.6% career) - Among the bottom 4 PG's in the league. FT: 66.3% (72.1% career) - Only Rajon Rondo is worse among PG's. No surprise here..... When Rafer shoots....... Fans cringe! If he gets fouled, they cringe some more.
I posted this in another thread, but I'm starting to wonder if the problem with Rafer isn't completely mental. He doesn't always break down in the fourth. If the game's tight he'll keep on fighting and keep on making plays. But if the Rockets have a big lead he'll relax. He's probably not even doing it consciously. When he does relax though for whatever reason he has a huge problem turning it back on if the other team makes a push. You see this not only in the fourth quarter but also in the second heading into the halftime break. At that point leaving him on the floor is disaster. I have to wonder if he were pulled and sat down on the bench for five minutes if he couldn't use that time to refocus. It doesn't seem like he can turn it back on if he's just left on the court. At the very least, if he doesn't come out, he needs some help from the other guard in handling the ball.
SAM CASSELL is the answer for somebody clutch in late 4th quarter situations. Someone who wont crack under pressure. A proven winner that can get us over the hump (1st round). We've beaten this topic to death but we need to make it happen.
This year, Fish would be a perfect fit for our team: 1. 46% shooter 2. 42% from behind the arc 3. 88% FT How many games would we have won if 46% of Rafer's shots went in?
As a starting PG I'd prefer Farmar but Fisher like Cassell is one of those proven veterans that know how to win and bring that intangible of winning wherever ( well almost) they go. Like Drewdog mentioned Fisher would be a great fit for us.... not happening though. But to call him "garbage" is absurd. He's one of the main reasons why the Jazz beat us last year in the playoffs.
^^^ Even Smush Parker managed to shoot like 45% in that Lakers offense last year. It's not that impressive. I mean Fisher is a better shooter (and arguably a better overall player) than Rafer, but he is not on a whole different level or anything, like the guy I was replying to was implying. That team still plays zero perimeter defense, and Fisher is a very big part of that. Well my point is that he has been shooting better during this run. Over 40%. It's not spectacular, but I can live with it, especially if he can keep it up in the postseason (which he most definitely did NOT against Utah last year). What scares me, though, is that I'm not sure what reason there is to believe that he can keep it up, because it doesn't seem like he's playing very differently. It seems like he's just making more shots. I mean, I guess he's being more aggressive in getting to the basket (which would explain why his FG% rose while his 3-pt% dropped), but other than that...
I agree with this. When the Rockets have a sizeable lead he thinks it's ok to jack up shot or do something stupid because we're up and it looks like we're going to win. The worst example was game 7 against Utah. About 5 minutes left and we're up 7, Tmac gets the and1 but misses the free throw. Rockets get the rebound and it looks like we're in good shape. What does Rafer decide to do? He decides to take it 1 on 1 against Deron, turns it over and the Jazz get a fast break and gets the and1. This completely changed the momentum of that game and I feel cost us the game.
Who doesn't take bad shots and make errors? You people act like Rockets players are the only ones who do these things and freak out every time they do.
The first part of my above post was directed to Drewdog... well and AS, I guess. Haha, and no, Derek Fisher was NOT one of the "main reasons" we lost to Utah. He was an afterthought. Hell, he was one of the main reasons Utah lost the first couple games of that series. This is not just about last night...
