[Chron] Guard glut? What guard glut? More the merrier, according to Mike James.

Uh, there is a lot more to efficiency than having low turnovers. I could have zero turnovers in a game if I wanted and play 48 minutes. That would not necessarily make me efficient.

Anyway, our NUmber 3 option on offense, in game 7, vs. Utah, put up 11 points on 3-11 shooting, 4 assists, in an eye-popping 45 minutes. If that spells efficient to you, you need spelling lessons.

 

You just proved my point. Rafer is a great point guard for this team only when he does not have to be the number three option. Let Scola or Battier or Wells be the third option. Let James and Francis be the third option off the bench. Rafer is best suited to get the ball efficiently to the first, second and third options. That is something that James or Francis can't do.

 

Based on what?

 

I don't get this. For their careers Rafer and James have averaged 1.7 TO per. James in 26 mpg, Rafer in 27. In the past 5 years James's worst year for turnovers was in Toronto when he had 2.6 in 37 mpg...that same year Rafer had 2.5 in 38 minutes in Houston. They are very close, James is not turnover prone. He is NOT unsteady with the ball. He might not be a "thread the needle" passer or have great passing instincts, but he is not unsteady with the ball.

PS - Rafer's volume shooting had nothing to do with him being the official 3rd option, it had more to do with the fact that he was most often the most open. As such, he was the third leading scorer.

 

Francis:
leadership.
aggressiveness.
finish strong and looking for contacts.
can create his own shots as well as a proven playmaker.


James:
a winner.
never fold under pressure.
clutch.
reliable jump shooting.
aggressive on both ends.
can create. a quality scoring punch.

Rafer:

never proven to be able to lead a team.
no creativity, not a playmaker.
a very bad shooter,
always wide open.
soft in & out, back&forth.
can not create his own shots. (It is rare in NBA.)
JVG is not coaching.

 

Wow. Your list makes me wonder why Francis has been traded three times and release once in the last three years. It also makes me wonder why the Wolves would trade him for J. Howard (who everyone on this board maintains is a bum). And it makes me wonder how Rafer is even in the league.

Thanks for the insight.

 

I hate to break this to you, but Battier and Wells were here last year, as was a player who was not much worse than Scola on offense last year in Howard.

That did not stop Rafer from setting a franchise record for prolific shooting, and one of the most three-point laden seasons in NBA history. As a third option. On a slow paced team. Jack-jack-jack. He eclipsed Vernon Maxwell's records. VERNON MAXWELL. As a third option. On a slow paced team.

This is getting embarrassing. Stop it.

 

You keep using the word "prolific". I do not think it means what you think it means.

Pronunciation: pro-'li-fik
Function: adjective
Etymology: French prolifique, from Middle French, from Latin proles + Middle French -figue -fic
1 : producing young or fruit especially freely : FRUITFUL
2 archaic : causing abundant growth, generation, or reproduction
3 : marked by abundant inventiveness or productivity

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?prolific

 

I'm pretty sure I do know what it means which is why it is constantly used in sports parlance as synonymous with high volume . Google the phrase "most prolific shooter" and you will find it used hundreds of thousands of times, as you will find it with respect to scoring, rebounding, shotblocking, as well as any number of sports - references to which will run into the millions.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=most+prolific+shooter+

Stop embarrassing yourself.

Stop embarrassing yourself.

 

are you trying to say:

if someone is traded, he sucks; or
because someone sucks, he should be traded; or
you only trade someone that sucks; or
whatever..

it is TRADE. TRADE. your argument is weak and irrelevent.


The reason for Rafer is starting is JVG.
The reason for Rafer is still in the league is:

He was offered a big and long contract.
Rafer has values in NBA, and because of this, Rockets are trading him.
Rafer is not the worst player in the league.

I have a lot of good things to say about Rafer, but I am still waiting for you to tell us what Rafer can offer to a win-now team.

 

As usual with your posts (I am a longtime reader) you tend to revert to put downs or wit ("Stop embarrassing yourself") when you don't have anything else valid to say. So I will stop just in order to get you to stop.

 

um not to be a dick or anything but david has a point, prolific means that you do something alot but are successful at it.

so prolific shooting would be used for players like Ray Allen, Michael Redd, Reggie Miller.... NOT rafer alston...

 

You're right, I should have been more clear.

When I say Rafer is prolific at shooting, I should specify that I mean Rafer is prolific at ATTEMPTING shots.

Not really so much at making them.

 

ah in that sense he is but he has an abysmally low chance of making those shots ;/

 

Wells was here last year? Can you send me a copy of those games...I must have missed them. (Oh, I did see the Boston game, so you can leave that ONE game out)

Other than that, you guys carry on...it's actually turning out to be a interesting read.

 

not choosing any sides but it wouldn't be redundant to say "successfully prolific". so i'd have to disgree with you.

 

Francis, has never, not any of his 8 years in various roles and in different teasm and coaches, hit a modest 2 A/TO ratio. James and Alston are consistently in the low to high 2s. Not surprisingly, Alston and James really are PGs. James as a bonus could play some SG so you could call him a bit of a combo guard. Francis however is a tweener (undersized 2) who admittedly at his prime has been an extremely explosive one. Francis best role will be as an SG on this team, not starting or backing up the PG. It is question what Francis can do for us given so much of his game is predictated on being a better athlete than his opponent. Hopefully he will be productive, but lets not get carried away. Not only was his New York play erratic at best, Portland after all decided to pay over 90% of his contract and have him off the team. Hopefully he will be better than Derek Anderson 2, but it is possible that happens again.

IMO James is likely to be the starting PG. Alston has marginal improvment over James even in Alston's strengths, and James has a lot of other areas of strength where Alston is quite poor (midrange shooting, off the dribble shooting, finishing, etc).

But right now, unless we get a decent offer, should keep Alston. Until proven otherwise by Brooks or Francis in that role, I'd slate Alston in as a back-up PG. Alston is a lower tier starting PG in this league, but still a quality rotation player in the league. Further, it is not inconcievable that Alston is the best PG we got next year period. Not likely, I think that guy (best PG we got) will be James, but James could get injured or last year could be the start of a bad trend for him.

 

Hahaha,...same here. exactly what I'm afraid of!

 

I will say it again.We're different team now.New coach.It will be interesting who will fit best in Adelman's system.

 

It's obvious IMO why Mike James isn't worried about the "guard glut."

It's because he's already been told that Lucas III and Alston will be traded.