Could we trade Alston?

...or to put it another way, Francis the 80% ballhog nearly got as many assists as an afterthought as Rafer the "pass first playmaker".

By the way, what you jsut described is Matt Maloney without the jumper.

Did you sleep under a rock in early 2005?

They did it rather frequently during their most successful run (the post-allstar break stretch) which is why they scored tons of points.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2976841.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3038704.html

So - wait, what you're saying the Rockets went from "Hardly" fast breaking to "not as much", despite the fact that according to you, Sura is terrible at it and Alston is a virtuoso? And this is all based on "talk"?

Well we had the reality of last season which showed us what the "talk" about the James-Alston trade was worth, and the answer was: not very much.

 

No, francis had control of the ball a lot but was not really a ballhog. Sounds odd, but just listen--he didnt take poor quality of shots but he had the ball in his hands so much that he dictated who would score and who would shoot. Rafer doesnt have that freedom. He's not given that right to make those decisions by Van Gundy because the Van Gundy offense is run through the wing or post, whereas Rudy's offenses during his later years were dependent upon the backcourt, sepcifically the point guard. So of course he was going to get his assists- he'd either shoot, and if he drew someone's defender, pass for an easy bucket. When Rafer brings the ball up, he either passes to the wing, who looks for Yao, or he passes to yao himself, who often needs to kick back out and repost again until he gets in the right position.

I didn't say Sura was terrible at running the break. He's adequate if he has shooters on the wings but he can't create shots for others in transition, like Rafer can. Sura was good at making early decisions with the ball and getting the offense in flow quickly but he didn't have the speed or court vision to break down a defense and get easy baskets. Rafer does, which is why when ge gets a full and healthy squad of athletes and shooters (Hayes, Battier, Snyder, Head--most importantly, TMac), he'll average somewhere around 8.5-9 assists per game because he's always looking to create for others and get easy shots.

My whole thing is this: why are people criticizing Alston so harshly when the Rockets lost so much manpower to injuries? Even with a lineup that often included the likes of Hayes, Bogans, Howard and Wesley, Alston STILL averaged 6.7 assists. Just imagine the numbers he'll put up when those names are replaced with the likes of Snyder, McGrady and Battier. I believe the reason why a lot of people dislike Rafer is because they don't think James should have been traded, but at the time, the organization obviously felt it was necessary. It wasnt Rafer's fault that James was moved, and he came in and did the best job he could, especially with an injured club. Yes, James would have been a nice scorer on this team. But, IMO, he would not have given near the same production in assists, rebounds and steals, as well as the ability to run a team and create open shots for others.

 

Just to add to this, here's the last of the 9 games, a win over the clippers:

Link
Box Score

Just the line of our superstars:
Yao - had 29/15 off of 11/16 shooting
Tmac - had 26/5/4 off of 9/23 shooting

Rafer - 4/9 for 9 points and 11 assists

That was probably the best stretch of the season (7-2). After that game, we were 4 1/2 back of the 8th spot and things look bright...until Tmac back went out subsequently after the next game or so.

 

I don't understand how Rafer has morphed into a rebounder and pick-pocket (he of the EZ-Pass defense) as well as a floor general - but this:

"create open shots for others"

is redundant in the Rox offense as they have two players who do that simply by stepping on to the court. This is the same song we sang last year and we saw how it worked out.

The Rockets need somebody who can capitalize on the open shots created for them, not vice versa, as well as somebody who can create one of their own when Yao/Tracy are down. Rafer can't do either of those things.

 

Vspan thinks we can.

 

That's some fancy postin'

 

And this, my friends, is the bottomline on Rafer Alston, and, along with his poor defense, are the reasons I don't think he is our starting PG.

 

I think you need to re-read my statement, did I ever say Rafer was a better rebounder?

Yeah nice than Bob Sura averaged 15 points on the ATLANTA HAWKS...hell I could average 20 points on the Hawks...and using that same Logic Rafer averaged 15 points a game on a better Toronto Raptors Team

Secondly...the job of the point guard isnt to primarily rebound the ball...is Nash a rebounder? was Stockton a rebounder? Is Tony Parker a rebounder? was the Glove a rebounder?

The Point Guards primary responsibility is handling the rock with care, distributing the basketball...getting everybody involved...and making the three while open (at least on this team)

We all know Bobby Sura cant handle the basketball worth a damn
We all know Bobby Sura isnt athletic, and hes old and abused
We all know Bobby Sura isnt a good passer
Hell if Bobby Sura was such a good point guard, why couldnt Bobby Sura bring the ball up the court? he couldnt even do THAT

Bobby Sura has to be the most overated Rocket Player in History....

You bring up Bobby Sura taking down Josh freaking Howard? come on now....Josh Howard is smiling every 2 seconds, who is intimidated of him??

When Sura takes down Rasheed Wallace, or Bobby Jackson....you let me known...he wasn't this "glue" guy...

Alston is a better point guard period. As far as handling the ball, distributing, getting people involved, bringing the ball up court, breaking his man down off of the dribble ...stealing...you know...being a point guard..And as far as shooting...Id say they are about even...Alston took a bunch of stupid shots, and forced a lot of **** when the starters went down...which diluted his statistics...while Bob Sura was wide open off of double teams and air balling 3 pointers...

 

your new here.

so just a friendly notice ...

don't try and refute the Clutch.

 

Why only focus on Rafer's tangibles?

A championship Rockets need a point guard who has fire as well as poise. Derek Fisher has it, Bobby Sura has it, and Mike James has it. I see neither fire nor poise from Rafer.

I'm opposed to trading Rafer now because we don't have any idea on how V-Span, JLIII or Marcus Banks will play out as a starter. One has been a back up and the other two never or seldom played in the NBA. However, if next season Rafer doesn't improve his shot and defense, or one out of the three options(assume we get them) proves to be a capable starter. I'd hurry to say bye bye to Rafer. He can either sit down to warm the bench or be traded.

 

To add one more point. You don't see Bobby Sura or Mike James rack up a ton of assists, but their team had the best chemistry in the last decade. Alston's assists are overrated because assists =/ chemistry. With Sura and James we had chemistry which had us scoring over 100 repeatedly, and we could recover from the loss of JHo with scrubs like Weatherspoon in the regular season. I don't see an ounce of chemistry on the last year's Rockets, and I know the excuse is the injury to T-Mac which I don't buy. And so what when you get one assist on the one end and give up two points on the other?

 

ouch...

and that is why it's best not to mess with Clutch.

 

typing timidly...

I know Clutch has spoken...but I still think we should not trade Skip, at least not for now. I would not repeat other's comments on why we should keep Skip but if we are going to trade Skip, we must have a PG back, like don grahamleone said. Given the new shooters we have acquired this summer and TMac back into good shape, Skip's lack of scoring ability may turn from a dagger to our team into a table knife at most IMHO.

 

Dude, you give rookies a bad name on this board. I've been on here like a week, longtime fan near 20 years. This post obviously was done under heavy medication or hallucinagens. This just in sparky, check this out this team was on the fast road to no-where in 04-05 until B-Sura landed on the court. Gee, it must just be a coincidence that this team was oh 45-20 in games Sura played. Do you even know good basketball when you see it? The only time B-Sura was not playing up to par was when he succumbed to injuries and evenstill, he was a warrior on the court. I remember watching him when he was with the Cavs on TV. I cringed when the Rockets faced off against them with Sura. Why? Because the guy was a bulldog on the court and if I hope, he can recover to near what he was 4 to 5+ years ago, we will hear you singing a different tune. Until then, I suggest you learn that talent alone does not win but a iron jawed focus and determined will. What B-Sura lacks in talent he makes up for in sheer hustle and heart. No one fights like Bad Boy Bobby.

Clutch, Chief "Running with foot in mouth" needs to be awarded the dunce cap for the week. Because, that post was ridiculous.

Mark my words, if Bad Bobby is back to his old self, this team will be going places this year. Otherwise, we'll see ...

 

Gold!

 

Most overrated? Take your pick ... Buck Johnson, Steve Harris, Derrick Chievous, Eddie Griffin, Matt Maloney, Chuck Nevitt.

Chuckie made Tree Rollins look like an action hero. In the time, he took one step everyone else would move several steps, though it was a mighty step at 7 foot. Nevitt could barely rebound, he couldnt play defense, couldnt shoot ... other than that, he was good.

Passes? Bob Sura when healthy was leading fast breaks, genius. I cant believe you did not see the one he threw behind his back to T-Mac in full stride no-hesitation and T-Mac threw down a monster tomahawk. That clip alone was only on sportscenter at least 2 to 3 dozen times ...

But no, Bobby has no talent. Cant lead a fastbreak. Cant breakdown a defense (hello thats his specialty). Drive to the hole for 2 and a foul quoted many times by the great voice of the Rockets, Gene Peterson.

Warrior? Fingers dislocated, back in near traction; taking cortisone shots like they're candy drops. Would back up any of his teammates in a heartbeat. Would fight anyone anytime. Teammates love him; fans love him. Opponents fear him; opponent fans strongly dislike him but respect him. His play is synonymous with one of a winner. One that fans like myself cheer like mad for and maybe even you, ghostrider if you have even seen any clips with B-Sura.

You could not be any more wrong about an analysis. Ask any Rocket teammate or any teammate he has priorly had. Would they want Bobby on their team? Hell yes, in a heartbeat.