No, I think Rafer is very inconsistent at shooting, but when he is hot then he is a fine shooter. But Rafer is a decent playmaker, yeah he doesn't penetrate all the time, but you can take a look at Jose Calderon. He doesn't really do that either. Once again, the PG who is able to set up an offense and has a higher IQ will always start over the other. Do you honestly think Adelman is that blind? Do you think he has a vendetta against Brooks?
What I'm saying? That Adelman was wrong before. A lot of ppl call Scola to start way before he make the change. Aaron wasn't ready as Scola to start at the beginning but he have prove like Scola did that he can make the team better in the starting line up. Artest and Landry are better from the bench, Scola Aaron are better as the stater the spacing is a lot better.
Adelman was a proponent for drafting Aaron Brooks. Chuck Hayes is an undrafted, one-dimensional, undersized PF with little ego. Adelman knew it wouldn't be hard to ask Chuck to come off the bench. Alston on the other hand is a tempermental, delusional PG that thinks he's starting PG material despite all evidence to the contrary. Adelman may very well want to start Brooks but be worried about how Alston would mentally handle being demoted. This theory may not be valid but it isn't definite that Adelman is convinced Alston is the better option. There are other possibilities.
Brooks IS better than Alston overall, I will say. But not in every aspect of the game. The few things Alston is better at (playcalling, being able to get players where they need to be), is what makes him good in the starting line up. And I know people are going to say "we could have Tmac and Yao call the plays since they have the ball in their hands anyway". Please... Tmac and Yao are both pretty laid back players. They don't have the capacity to call plays and get the Rockets into their set like Rafer does. Here's something to look for next Rockets game. Every time you can see Rafer's face when he's on the court. Look at how often he is talking or using non-verbal communication vs how often Brooks, Tmac and Yao do it.
BrooksBall, you can post about how much you hate Rafer Alston and how much you love Aaron Brooks. But it's not going to change the fact that Rafer Alston is probably going to be the starting PG for the rest of the year he is healthy. You can post all you want about how much you hate him. He is the starting PG.
What in the name of ClutchFans does this mean? "When he is hot then he is a fine shooter." Then obviously he has almost never been hot then over the course of his entire NBA career. You don't look at a 3 or 4 game stretch and say "see, he's a great shooter. Don't worry about the 200 previous 3-13 nights. Just look at these 3 games." On the same note, you don't dismiss a player's shooting because of 2 bad games. Brooks has shot well for the vast majority of the season then had 2 bad shooting nights. You don't just look at those bad games until they start to outnumber the good games over time.
I don't see what point you are trying to make? The Rockets need a better shooter? If that was the case wouldn't Rafer Alston have been replaced by Lutehr Head 2 years ago?
And Aaron Brooks is the better of the two, and in a year or two he WILL be the starter. Possibly by the end of the season even. And the reason he will be the starter is because he'll learn how to get the Rockets into their set like Alston does. True. Although, the simplest solution is generally the correct one. Alston is starting most likely because Adelman thinks he plays best with the starters. You RARELY see a line-up of Alston, Barry, Artest, Hayes, Landry. Generally Alston is playing with 3 of Yao/Tmac/Scola/Battier/Artest.
Luther can barely dribble the basketball. He is totally one-dimensional. Brooks has very good ballhandling skills with both hands, can break presses, penetrate to the basket and has proven this season that he is more than capable of getting the ball to Yao or handing the ball off to McGrady on the perimeter (you know, what Rafer does). ON TOP OF THAT, he has shown to be a far better shooter and scorer than Rafer. That is important in any system but especially when McGrady is running the offense and your PG often becomes a spot up shooter. All Luther can do consistently is hit spot up jumpers. Yea, I know he's got that little backdoor thing he does with Yao 4 or 5 times a season. In general, though, he's a one-dimensional shooter that Houston is trying to ship out of town. Comparing Luther to Brooks is absurd.
I'm just using your logic, but that post just shows you hate Rafer more than you love Brooks. Especially when Rafer is not the spot up shooter for this team.
For the second time, I hate Rafer Alston as the starting PG for the Houston Rockets. I never denied that. I think Rafer sucks. I don't know Brooks' ceiling. I know Rafer's ceiling.
Hmm maybe we should make a petition and send it to RA, telling him to start Brooks/give him more minutes. Because arguing here isnt going to make a difference.
For the "second time?" Does "second" mean 28,000 in your world? You must wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat about Rafer Alston. Incidentally, can't you spend New Year's Eve in a better way? Haven't you posted the *exact* same thing about Rafer Alston about a thousand times? Go out and have some fun.
For the second time in this thread, he accused me of being a Rafer hater. I acknowledged that I was a Rafer hater for the second time. Rafer sucks. Meanwhile, I'm watching Marcus Camby rack up assists tonight yet Tmacfan says Yao is a better than passer than Camby.
Tmac is a better passer but like you pointed out he isnt vocal enough. I honestly dont have a problem with Rafer until he starts shooting. Even when he makes them I still have a grudge on why is he shooting it. In the starting five he is the 5th option, the damn last option.
Assist are just stats to show someone else made a shot.... Marcus can pass better in the inside while Yao has a better eye for the open man which he has to due to the pressure from doubles. Its a fast game and when you get double fast your views get cut off and you still have to worry about the ball being taken. Marcus on the other hand will sleep under a bridge inside of a box before he gets doubled day in day out and feel the same pressure that Yao does. You taking the stats over game play and whats actually happening to force plays is not the same style I am used to reading form your post.
How do the Rockets continue to churn out 50 win seasons with a point guard averaging 35 minutes a night who is "horrendous"? I don't get it. He's definitely never going to be mistaken for an All-Star, but horrendous certainly does not describe him. At least he's not Sebastion Telfair. That said, I'm definitely for starting Brooks or at least significantly cutting in to Rafer's minutes. Brooks needs more playing time. We desperately need some penetration into the paint from a guy who can actually make his floaters/layups. Final 5 minutes of a game, however, I'd stick with Rafer.
But you know what? I'm sure you have been wrong MUCH more often than Adelman has. Your argument is essentially "he's been wrong before". Thats like the Alston fans saying that Alston is better because he had the better game than Brooks today. While true, over the course of the season, I'm going to trust Adelman's opinion over yours. And the other thing. Hayes still did things better than Scola. He still does. You guys are basically saying that Alston is worse than Brooks in every way. I'll repeat myself for a third time. Brooks would get less shots if he was starting. Currently he shoots more shots per minute than Rafer, the reason he's able to pull that off is because he plays with guys like Barry, Hayes, Artest and Landry a lot. Guys that don't need the ball every play. Put him in the starting line-up and that number goes down. Give him more minutes, yes. But he doesn't need more minutes with Yao and Tmac. He needs more minutes with Artest, Barry, Hayes and Landry. The spacing argument is crap. Alston isn't a crappy 3 point shooter. He shoots in the mid 30s, which isn't bad for a guard. Its the fact that he shoots sub 40% from everywhere else is why he is labeled a bad shooter (which is true). The main reason Brooks is a better scorer is because of his high percentage over Rafer within the 3 point line. But when he's playing with Yao he's not going to get many drives to the basket.
What does the ability to draw double teams have to do with passing ability? Those are two different attributes. Yao is great at drawing doubles -- no one denies that. Is he really good at delivering the ball to the open man, on time and on target? That's very debatable.
Where is your statistic that shows RAFER being the worse shooter in the NBA for the last five years? I seriously doubt that. And I just don't get some of you... If RA believes Rafer should start in front of Brooks.. I trust his decision.
