I don't know how to measure something so subjectively, on the "overall stunk scale," but I'll take the bait. but not the bet. I see Rafer getting less minutes per year, and yet the change in stats from 06-07 to 07-08 is not on scale with the drop in minutes. he went from 37 to 34 minutes and saw an INCREASE in field goals made, as well as Field goal %. and this season, his turnovers are dramastically down. that's right, i said dramastically. his free throw percentage is up 10 percentage points from 71 to 81 % as his minutes continue to drop, he is taking less threes per season this year and his three point % is going up. so what happens if and when this 10 game hot streak becomes a 20 game hot streak? will the "fluke hot streak" argument still stand?
Had his best season, then look at last year and now he's hurt. Plus he was once an elite defender , but has regressed there too.
Elite defender? Against what competition. Certainly not against the Chris Pauls, the deron williams of the world. Guys we will have to face come playoff time.
He used to be an elite defender. He isn't anymore. If you read my posts you would see I don't want him on the Rockets
Rafer's shooting problems come from shooting a line drive, instead of putting arch on his shot. Also, he must drive more, he shoots better after he's hit a couple of layups or free throws. His game, just as everyone else is inside out. Same for Tmac, goes to bucket early in the game, he's going to have a good game.
Do any of the other teams have a big 3 to do more of the scoring? How about Steals per game, is that not important? he wins in 2 of those and he doesn't turn the ball over much, um lets see, if anything I would say maybe he is on par with the sample here, but definitely not worse.
So tired of Rafer bashing, on the radio it's even worse. You've got 3 studs on this team, what do you want from Rafer? All he does is take care of the ball, and hit big shots... yea he is a streaky shooter, but he is hitting at a pretty good mark this year. He DOESNT TURN BALL OVER.... Who in the league is going to shut down Chris Paul....
Yes. I am arguing that Rafer is some type of difference makeR for this team. He's a difference maker in that he plays his role very well and supports our stars by shooting the 3 pointer at a solid (not great, not poor) clip. Plus he is a good defender (not great, but certainly above average at the PG position). Let's check the facts again. (i) You're arguing that we're getting knocked out in the first round for the last few years because of Rafer Alston (I can only assume that's the logic behind your statements!) (ii) Prior to last season, we were a BOTTOM 4 SEED - and thus SUPPOSED to lose. It would have been nice to trigger an upset, sadly we couldn't - that's life. We weren't humbled in 4 by the top 4 seeds we played, and played out some tough series. (iii) last season we WERE a top 4 seed (and thus expected to win). Unfortunately we were missing Ming + Alston, 2 of our starting 5. In the games Alston played in, we were 2-1. In the games he didn't play, we got badly hurt at the PG position in defense, and in our 3point shooting. It's absolutely ridiculous to say 'Alston would have made us worse by being there' You obviously have absolutely no idea about basketball, and no rational ability to sift the empircal evidence offered by history. Do I think Alston is the best PG in the league? No way. Do I think he's even the best fit out there for the Rockets? No. But he's "good enough" to get the job done as a key role player on this team who costs very little. Problem is it would be extremely difficult to upgrade Alston without sacrificing some other key component of the team Feel free to reply, but you're so incoherent and 'unfactual' that I'm not going to read it.
How many Chris Pauls and Deron Williams do we have in the world? Who doesn't have problems with them?
I'm just saying, if youre going to bring in a PG because he is a slight improvement over rafer in terms of defense, then it's a bad idea. That's not going to help us in the playoffs when it matters. Like you said, no defender can stop these guys, it takes a team effort. People just need to forget about us trying to upgrade at PG. It's not going to happen.
Nice pwnage post but you were replying to a known casual fan who's opinion is very little regarded. It's like toying with a kid. Shame on you.
Wow, I don't even think Rafer's staunchest supporters (which are dwindling) would argue that he's a difference maker. That is laughable. The season before last the Rockets were favored against the Jazz (go look it up) and they lost with a healthy roster. How come Alston couldn't push the Rockets over the top then since he's a difference maker in your mind? What part of him getting WIDE open shots do you not understand? You would except him to hit more of those shots since they are WIDE open. But we all know why other teams leave him WIDE open. This team needs a pg who makes better decisions, can hit wide open shots at a higher percentage, and can drive and create and finish. Rafer gives you none of those things. You also go from Rafer Alston being a difference maker to him being "good enough" to get the job done...Lol. You're not helping your "arguement" by contradicting yourself in the same post. You also need to work on your reading comprehension skills apparently. I've already presented a scenario where the Rockets could upgrade without giving up any core players and gave the reasons why both teams would do it. Unless, you're arguing that Alston is a core player, which is again laughable. Oh, are you questioning my fanhood!?!?...Lol. Shouldn't you be manifesting your hate somewhere with a Steve Francis voodoo doll? I thought you had enough bball knowledge to recognize that Rafer is a liability to this team, but I guess I was mistaken.
Shame on me indeed - but I just couldn't believe that someone would think (or is it not think?) the way that he does!! No doubt his opinion is held in VERY low regard be most (including our last 2 coaches - wow!) - I was just trying to help him think logically about the game of basketball rather than just ranting maniacally.
