Oh please, stop it, citing 3 games worth of stats and pronouncing Rafer better is absurd; at the end of the season you know most of these stats are going to break James' way and you know that is why the Rockets wanted James instead of Alston, Could you set the bar lower for yourself? You're trying to pimp Rafer's performance by saying that he's only going to anchor drop a few percentage points below james for the next two months? I consider my point proven. There is ZERO chance of this happening - now this is something to bet on. If history is any guide, and he continues jacking them up, he has no chance of hitting 43%. No, it is not about equal, James is significantly better especially in seasons where they shoot frequently, and significantly better over the last few seasons.
The problem with Alston is he’s playing in the era of the point guard. The point of attack of almost every good team now starts at the point guard position (SA, Dallas, Phoenix, Detroit, LAC, NO, Utah, Chicago, Sacramento, etc.). Those teams would be completely lost without their starting point guard. If this were any other era, Alston might be adequate, but the position has become so much more important now, with all the rule changes (no hand checking, touch fouls 30 feet from the basket, etc.). If your team wins the point guard matchup, it’s very likely your team will win the game. The 2 games we’ve lost this season, the opposing point guard destroyed Alston. The 1 game we’ve won this season, Alston destroyed the opposing point guard (Terry). That’s why my biggest disappointment this past offseason is we didn’t significantly improve the point guard spot. Alston playing 40 minutes a game is not going to cut it. Either we need to find a really great backup point or we need to move Alston to the bench and find a new starting point guard.
Rockets didn't want James INSTEAD of Alston ...they wanted both. dude, this is just an internet board. Don't take yourself too seriously. You said you wanted to place a bet so I threw something out there. If you don't like my terms, then you come up with your own terms. but please, tipjar bets only. James shot over 40% from 3pt land for the first time last season. If James can have a good year, so can Rafer. Notice you have to qualify your statement with 'especially in seasons with...'. James career 3pt % is only 2 points higher than Rafer ...including the 44% James shot during his CONTRACT season last year.
Excellent post, New Jack. Good non-answer. I wouldn't answer that question either. Also, everything SamFisher said. Trying to blur the lines between Rafer and James as far as their three-point shooting abilities isn't quite honest. For starters, when you round down 38.4% and round up 35.7%, you can shave off a percentage point. Also, you can't ignore their career trends. When you look at these two over the past two seasons, both with multiple teams (and both with the T-Mac/Yao-led Rockets for a period), you get a better look at how they're performing from long-range: Mike James: 269-641 (42.0%) Rafer Alston: 241-701 (34.4%) We know they wanted James ... we can only guess they were planning on keeping Rafer. But no way were the Rockets luring James here as a backup. Assuming Rafer stayed, James is your 30-35 minute guy and Rafer is your 15-20 minute backup... possibly more if they ever play small in the backcourt with both on the court at the same time.
OK - Alston will be over 3% below James in 3 point shooting and over 5% below in FG shooting when the season is done - again. Why does this follow? James, simply put is a much better scorer than Rafer ever has been. That's like sayign "well if Kobe can score 81 then T-mac can too!" Rafer has never been either a deadeye shooter or a volume shooter- why would he, in the middle of his career, suddenly become one (both) after years of decline in that department? yeah, I'm qualifying it to what is most relevant, not the one or two seasons where Rafer managed to shoot in the high 30's as a role player 4 years ago.
Your terms are not clear. First, what is the bet? You brought up the idea of the bet yet you still haven't said what the bet is. This is just a friendly handshake thing but to legitimize it, I said $10 tipjar cause it is a win/win for the BBS. Generally, I'm not the betting type as I've never once bet in a casino other than slots. But I'll back up my optimism for Rafer for the benefit of the BBS. Oh, ...and do BOTH conditions need to be true. 3pt% and overall FG%? I've only been talking about 3pt% because in my mind, Rafer needs to knock down open 3's. We don't need Rafer to take guys off the dribble. Bonzi, Snyder and TMac can do that. I'm not agreeing to the bet until we make it clear. I agree that James is a better 1-on-1 scorer. I never argued that point. That said, their career #'s aren't all that different. Career #'s. Qualify it how you want. Rafer's career #'s are not much different than James'. Rafer is capable and poised to have a good year, just like James did last year.
End of season, James shoots more than 3% better than Alston from 3 point range and 5% better overall. I'll put in 50$ to the tipjar if Alston beats him on both counts (barring some type of injury situation), you put in 10 if James beats him on both counts. They are not all that similar either, especially if you consider trends and situation, as has been explained earlier. Career #'s? Why? We're talking about who can take a lot of long range shots in a season and make them. That is something that James has done, recently. It is something that Alston has never done, not recently, not earlier, not ever - despite the fact that Clutch pointed out, he's the number 3 gunner in the NBA thus far. On the basis of career numbers Shaq is much better than Yao, so you want to trade Shaq for Yao? No? What about Steve Francis and Chauncey Billups. Careerwise their numbers are pretty even and Chauncey is older, IIRC. Who would you rather have? It's simply irrelevant that Rafer as a backup was able to shoot better 4 years ago, because we're not talking about backups, we're talking about playing 35+ mpg - where Rafer has historically struggled.
Interesting take New Jack. There is some validity to your post. I'd add, however that THIS Rockets team, like Rafer himself, is a throwback team because nobody has true centers anymore. As of yet, no "new NBA" teams have won a championship including Miami last year. Since the current team is a bit of a throwback team, it makes sense to have a throwback PG. Time will tell. Having Yao may be a curse or a blessing. We'll only know for sure after Yao's career is over. I don't think I could answer your question any more directly than I did. Am I missing something? Sure it is. Everybody's biggest complaint about Rafer is that he can't hit wide open shots. If Rafer starts hitting wide open shots, presumabely spotting up at the 3, then what's left to complain about? We don't need Rafer to break guys down and go in for layups. James is obviously better at that ...but Rafer is obviously better in assists and turnovers. Every player has their stregths/weaknesses. We need players that allows the team to win games and Rafer hitting open 3's lets us win games. I'm not disputing anything here. Would I want both Rafer and James on this team? Yes. Would I rather have James than Rafer? Indifferent and Irrelevant. All I'm saying is that Rafer is playing better, finally, so James can go suck it. I'm pissed at James for pulling an 11th hour stunt on us and I'm happy that Rafer is playing better. I hope that Rafer continues to play good ...because frankly, that's all we got right now.
I think it's funny how people continue to harp on how "critical" Rafer's shooting is to the team. The fact is, it's not any more critical that TMac's scoring or Yao rebounding or Battier's defense. I thought Lopez's article was very on point. To honestly think that THIS team would be better off with Mike "Let me get mine" James instead of Alston is ludicrous. Alston will probably shoot anywhere from 36-38% on 3s, and that will be perfectly fine. Yes, James will have a higher percentage, but he'll force up 4-6 more shots, turn the ball over 3-5 more times and disrupt any offensive rhythm the team might have. I REALLY wish someone would ask JVG, TMac and Yao who'd they'd rather have as PG: James or Alston. I guarantee you it would be unanimous--Alston. And also, I think had the Rockets actually acquired James, he would have been paired at SG with Alston in the backcourt, for a more "small ball" approach. Anyone who thinks he would have unseated Alston as starting PG is dreaming. And yes, VSpan will take Alston's job one day. In about 3 years.
Rockets111 how could he turn the ball over "3-5" more times than Alston when he barely averages a fraction more TO's then Alston for his career and has never had more than 2.6 TOPG ever (last year, when he played tons of minutes and handled the ball all the time). Since Alston is up around 2 TO right now right now, you're saying that James, if on the Rockets, averages 5-7 TOPG. Why would he suddenly average 7 turnovers per game, almost tripling his career worst average? Simply because you say so? He is not turnover prone - that is yet another fabrication that people have made up in order to discredit him. That's what happens when you support your post on speculation and fantasy.
You really need to handle insiders with kid gloves. How else are we going to get the info? He already GUARANTEED TMac Yao and JVG all want Alston over MJ. That's all we need to know. Hey tripleuno, is there any trades for a pf in the works? tia.
Mike James shot 37% and 29% respectively from the field and from 3 in his 2nd year in the league. I can't wait until VSpan improves his shooting and cuts down the turnovers. VSpan has all the defensive tenacity and quicks of Mike James. If he improves his shooting, he will be Mike James with a better handle and better ability to see the floor. And people will quit talking about Mike James when that happens. In the meantime, we all need to hope for the best with Rafer. It wouldn't surprise me if Rafer actually shot better than Mike this year. I don't think Garnett and Ricky Davis draw the same attention that Yao and McGrady do. Really, Mike James will probably end up being option #2 this year over there which means his percentages will likely go down as he is having to take more contested shots. Of course, he may end up blowing up big time too. He has a lot of spark. I just hope VSpan is shooting 1000 shots a day to improve his stroke. Surely, since he is not playing a lot, he can get in that kind of work.
As opposed to last year in Toronto when he was indisputably the #2 option (or higher...) after Bosh and the only thing remotely approaching a perimeter threat on the Raptors? How does a #3 or below option lead the team in scoring?
For the 3rd time in a row, you are unclear about the terms of YOUR bet. Are the terms that James shoots 3% better from 3s AND shoots 5% better overall? Or is the terms that James simply "beats him on both counts." What happens if Rafer shoots better at 3's but James shoots better overall. It would be easier if you just pick one stat and be done with it. I chose end of December, rather than the end of the year, simply cause 2 months is a decent sample size and we don't have to wait until May. But if you'd rather wait til May, that's cool. Regardless of the bets or the pissing contest, I hope I am right cause that means the Rockets will be better off. Call me an optimist.
