his 16 foot runner is not so good. i remember steve harris had one of those 16 foot runners that would kill you, stop and pop. rafer is good to go when his feet are set, anythhing else, is somewhat of a tossup.
Rafer Haters: NOOOO! THIS CAN'T BE TRUE !! Well, he just needs to work on his teardrops...but Alston has grown on me the past month or so. I think he's a decent PG.
I agree with you that Rafer is not a bad 3pt shooter, but he isn't a good one either. He is slightly above average. Most ppl. fault him for being an offensive liability overall (see worst Fg% in NBA) and not a good fit in our system, which requires the point guard to be more of a scorer than a primary playmaker, which we already have in Tmac and Yao. Rafer isn't the only problem though. Head at backup PG is an even bigger problem, and our PF spot is a huge hole. If we can shore any of these 3 up by adding a solid player I think that will move us up with the likes of the Mavs and Suns.
what does he shoot on layups??? probably 50% or less? all he does is shoot open threes. thats not the only thing listed in his job description. how about penetrate and dish every now and then.....you gotta start watching teams other than the rockets...
Rafer's a good PG, but not for 38 minutes. We need a backup. I think Rafer can play even better if his minutes are cut down to around 30. At the moment, Rafer puts up 40 minutes in every competitive game. That's ridiculous. I don't think he's good enough to be a 40-minute starter. Plus, throughout his career, he's played better when kept fresh. I would also like someone with more of a mean streak come playoff time. Mental toughness, defense, protection of the ball. I just want us to get someone who can log 15 minutes a game as backup PG. So age doesn't matter really because 15 minutes is peanuts. Just get someone to keep Rafer fresh, and to give us the OPTION of yanking him when he's taking poor shots. I'm not at all comfortable with V-Span or Lucas getting a single minute in the playoffs, but also can't see us being succesful with Rafer putting up 40 minutes every night.
man did you contribute anything to the pippen discussion? if so, he sounds like a good candidate in this scenario
one thing i cannot deny is Rafer's heart. I can tell he wants to do well and he wants to win real bad....but if he's not shooting an open three, what else does he really do on the offensive end??? dribble inside and shoot the tear drop? he never dribbles in the paint and dish. or go to the hole strong for a layup...whens the last time he's shot freethrows?
his shooting gives us the impression that it stinks cuz it is not consistant. he can get on a shooting slump pretty easy. he can miss consective open shots, and he also can make several hand-in-the-face ones. those are the signs of a bad shooter. considered he get more open shots, his % isn't that impressive. his % maybe higher than Ray Allens, but he's much more likely to get into a slump than Ray.
Rafer is probably one of the most vilified Rockets in recent memory. He hits enough 3's to keep the opponents honest, pushes the tempo pretty damn well on the break, plays decent defense, gets a lot of steals and doesn't turn the ball over. Sure, he has the odd brain-freeze and can't shoot lay-ups to save his life, but it's not like he is taking up all of the cap space on the team, or acts like a selfish jerk. He knows his role, performs well enough and the team is winning. Yet, around here, he has been labeled a "piece of crap," who has "low basketball IQ." Alston has been a solid contributor in what is turning out to be a great season for the Rockets. He deserves more credit around here.
Remind you guys Rafer rank No.1, yes No.1 on defense judge by opponent PG eFG% (account 1.5 FG% for 3 pt shooting) among all starting PGs. Rafer hold opponent eFG% to 45.9%, his own eFG is 50.2%.
hmm.. i wonder if that has anything to do with JVG on the sideline , a 7'3 guy and a 7'6 guy in the middle.
Thats r****ded. I bet you can't get the same type of % if you were that PG. Your basically saying that its not Rafer its someone else. My coach always said, defence is where you do your work, you work hardest on Defence. You can't get these types of percentages without being able to play good D. Its not possible, give him props where he deserves props man.
i give him credit as a decent defender, but not a great defender as those numbers indicate. Imagine when alston get beat on the dribble, and opposite PG get into the lane, with a great shotblocker trying to change his shot, bunch of other teammates help in time, and Battier trying to take the charge, i am sure that dude's % will drop a bit, and all those things have nothing to do with rafer's personal defensive contribution.
also if Tony Park can shoot 3s like alston (can't believe i am saying this), he'd at least be an allstar.
Believe it or not he threw down mad dunks as a streetballer, apparently he lost his hops.....................
Another interesting stat: Rafer shoot 37.1% for 2 point shots and 37.4% for 3 point shots. I thought that was amazing that a player would shoot better from behind the 3 point arc than inside of it. But after doing a little research, a handful of players shoot better from outside the arc than inside: our own Luther Head, Jason Kapono, Daniel Gibson, Keith Bogans, Earl Boykins, and Eddie House. But Rafer does have the lowest 3 point % of any of these mentioned players.
This is proof positive that statistics are often meaningless. Alston gets "horse shots" because of his reputation as a poor shooter. No doubt, this helps some, but, bottomline, he is a very inconsistent shooter. He has a handfull of good shooting games per season, like last night. Game to game, he can't hit the side of a red barn with a brick bat. Around the basket, he has got to be one of the worst finishers in the league. The Rockets have talent, but not enough to carry a starting guard who is an offensive liability. Nice kid, not a starter and this has been obvious for years.
