All that suggests is the starters are better than the bench as a group. Brook's +/- numbers on Yahoo in the last several games are given a boost by being on the floor with that group. Play Rafer with the bench and his +/- will dip.
I would say, still start with Rafer and let Aaron come off the bench. What I notice Aaron still has that scorer's mentality. I mean, sometimes when he has an open teammate he refuses to pass and he shoots instead. Don't get me wrong, he has been phenomenal but actualli I think comming off the bench would be better for him. He and Artest need their shots. With McGrady and Yao it is tough to do that so when you come off the bench you are 'the man' and you can shoot more. But of course comming off the bench doesn;t mean Aaron will play only 20 minutes per game. If Rafer sucks than just play Aaron.
Adjusted +/- (here) also suggests that Rafer is more effective than Aaron. Their "2-year" APM is heavily weighted to the current season, and it's early. But if we're looking for a +/- stat that takes into account all the players on the floor, there you go. And this really shouldn't be a surprise. Young players make a lot more mistakes, and often they're mistakes that only people close to the team would recognize. We focus on what players do with the ball, their efficiency on shot attempts, and 1-on-1 defensive matchups. That's all well and good, but there's still a huge blind spot for us.
haha. That's convenient of you. I guess you discount how a team got a winning record. haha. Was it a coincidence that Rafer played exceptionally well during the 22-game win streak? Lets look at player efficiency: Rafer: + 12.64 Aaron: + 9.46 How many stats do you feel like explaining away? Truthiness = it FEELS like Brooks is a better player therefore it is now a fact.
Rafer has always missed those shots man... that's just Skip bein Skip. Yes, it does suck but thats why we have so many other scoring options. And I don't think he's on the decline either; I think he's reached sort of a plateau and in another couple of seasons he will be in actual decline, but by then Brooks should be more than ready. I really don't think some 2nd tier PG with a better shot, but less familiarity in the system, less defensive presence, and less distribution ability than Skip would be a good trade off. We don't need a Mike James shoot first type running the point. I think it makes pretty good sense to have a solid defender who is good at setting up the offense and distributing in with the starters; while keeping the tenacious scoring ace on the bench as a spark for the 2nd unit. We need someone to get the ball to those starting shooters, and like someone else said, Brooks isn't at the point in his career where he can recognize every good pass he should make-instead he's prone to shoot it. That attitude is fine on the 2nd team, where more scoring is gonna be needed... but with Yao and T-Mac it would be a bit of a problem. I also agree 100% with using Brooks in extended minutes if Alston is flat or something; if he's hot there's no reason not to play him a few mins with the starters. Ah well, Dakota, you're a smart guy and I respect your opinion. At least we can both agree that it's great to actually have another real prospect at PG-the fact that the prospect looks like he could be a real star in a few seasons is all the better!
Let it happen, the sooner, the better. For the sake of playoff, we need a better option on PG, there is no doubt about this. I am tired to seeing Yao or T-mac being double teamed with leaving Rafer wide open. Dare Jazzhole leave Brooks open like they did to Rafer? Rafer had some good games but just inconsistent. For same opponent in palyoff, we need consistency. Brooks just needs more chemistry with team and Yao. That's why I want him play more.
I'd be interested to see Rafer's FG% this season when he takes shots unguarded vs. being in traffic. It seems to me that Rafer is farily consistent hitting shots behind 3pt line when he's open. 1. Rafer takes 1-2 shots per game in the "jack it up variety" 2. Rafer probably takes 1 shot per game trying to go for a 2-for-1 ...which he always misses. 3. Rafer probably takes 1-2 shots trying to beat the shot clock. In the flow of the offense, if Rafer is open he's hitting them with regularity this season. Rafer gets in trouble when he forces up shots ...which happens too often. AB is AMAZING at hitting forced shots. ...but that doesn't make him a better PG. It just means that Adelman needs to identify the times to play Rafer vs. AB.
Records as a starter: Brooks 4-1 .800% Rafer 14-8 .571% Which one looks better? The only stat that matters. DD
Well, last three games with Brooks, we had T-Mac, Battier and Artest and with ALston, we never had them all together. I am sure that with all the three and Alston, we would have a better record.
No guarantee of that..... Brooks is just a better player overall, Rafer is better in some aspects, running the offense, playing the passing lanes. But Brooks is better than him in just about every other way......and....he will get BETTER....Rafer will not. Again, I don't care if he starts, but he is a better player. DD
14-8 is .636 not .571. You do realize that during a few of those losses the Rockets were without TMac or Ron Artest? Yet during the games Brooks started, he was always with Yao, Tmac, & RonRon.
The only stat that matters is the one with a small sample size. The Rockets had the toughest schedule in the league to start. 4-1 against the Hornets, Clippers, Denver, Minnesota, and Sacramento is a gimme. Battier and health had more to do with this record than Brooks.
You are correct, updated then. Records as a starter: Brooks 4-1 .800% Rafer 14-8 .636% Which one looks better? Who said it didn't ...... You can't have it both ways, quote the inflated +/- stats because Rafer plays with Yao and Tmac the most and then ignore the only stat that really matters the wins and losses. DD
You're comparing one player with 22 game starting vs another play with 5 games starting. It's a silly stat comparison to begin with. On/off court production is one of the most important stats for an individual player. Winning % is a team stat. I'm sure we could probably win games with Head/Wafer starting at PG because of his teammates.
NO WAY would we win with Head starting at PG...come on.....let's at least be somewhat honest. Brooks is a much greater offensive threat than Rafer, team's have to honor him, with Rafer, you leave him alone, and play 5 on 4 defense......some games he beats the odds and avoids rolling the 7 and hits a few points.....but most of the time the house wins and he shoots too often, and a very poor percentage. DD
I won't jump on conclusion so quickly. But I wouldn't mind Alston to take his time and recover completely before he comes back.
Brooks has obviously proved he deserves heavy minutes. I don't think anybody is questioning that. The concern about Brooks starting is all about defense, IMO. Rafer is clearly our best defender among our options at the point. He's proven he can stick with all sorts of NBA PG's. You have the speed guys, the power guys, the shooters, whatever. Rafer is our best individual defender among our options and for that reason he needs to start and/or finish out games until a better option presents itself.
I think Rafer's defense is vastly overated, he is consistently torched by the better offensive PGs... What Rafer does is play the passing lanes well, but his defense...meh. DD
