Good to hear all the great comments about Alston, haven't had a chance to watch a preseason game yet, waiting until the season starts to get League Pass
After watching for the first couple of preseason games, I like this trade for both teams. I really liked who, Mike James. But, with Sura going down...again, I dreaded MJ taking the team over. As for Alston, Sam Mitchell is a player's coach, his attitude did not work well with Rafer. Alston did well in Miami's system with Stan Van Gundy. SVG's coaching is similar to jVG, but not as tough or rigid. I think the combination of a ****ty team(Alston was the 2nd/3rd option) and the coach greatly affected his attitude. The Rockets being a potential contender will make Rafer work hard to achieve his and the teams goals. As for his lack of defense, many people said the same about McGrady, but again, JVG system forces a player to learn D. I think Rafer will be a great fit for this team.
nice observation...Rafer always makes passes that are "on-time" and "on-target" and JVG always emphasizes those traits when talking about good individual and team passing...Rafer fits that description to a "T"...
If Rafer starts looking for his shot that is going to kill this team chemistry that is developing. T-Mac and Yao own this restaurant and Rafer is the server, he should always look to pass first and only look for his shot if he is left wide open. Remember Rafer is a lifetime 39% shooter, hardly a guy I want looking for his shot when the percentage so much higher dishing to Yao/Swift on dribble penetration and he seems great at setting the table.
Excellent comments. My 2 cents: Skip should not look for his shot at this point. He should feel out our offense and learn when/where to hit other players with the ball. AFTER he gets a good feel for this, he can start looking for his own shot a little more. Hopefully with Yao & T-Mac on the floor Skip's FG% will go up since he will be more wide open than in Toronto & Miami. Comparing Skip to Tony Parker: The thing I question now is whether Skip can finish like Parker. Either by drawing fouls, going hard all the way to the basket or by hitting the "tear drop" shot. I wonder if teams will figure out he can't finish and start guarding the passing lanes more instead of collapsing hard on him. Lastly, I'm also more excited about Skip than Stromile. Maybe I'll change once SS gets on the floor. But also remember Skip is still in the "aim to please" mode right now. That won't last forever. When he tires of it (or just becomes comfortable here) and reverts to himself we will know if we got a steal or not. Stay tuned and stay hopeful.
Alston is the opposite to james. mike was looking to score heavily before looking for others. Skip on the other hand?.. looks to get involved before himself.
Skip is an excellent PG. That is the greatest compliment you can give any player who plays the point. Nuff said...... The FBI needs to investigate Caroll Dawson - this thing he is doing must be illegal. How can one person get away with this much great moves in the last 11 months?
Its all about each player playing their role. As long as Skip plays his role, he'll do what a good PG should pass first and take the shots when he needs too. Since I live in Northern Japan, I doubt I'll see many games, but I'm very excited about this team. Hopefully, they learn each others strengths/weaknesses in preseason and gell quickly...sounds like 2 games in its happening.
I am definitely happy with his play. I think the addition of Swift and Alston were both equally important especially with Sura's health being an uncertainty. With this acquisition it definitely allows Mcgrady to conserve his energy that could be utilized on defending his man and his scoring. We definitely got busy trying to help our two stars out this offseason and CD definitely deserves his props. Heck I'm even thinking about sending him a basket of fruits with a big Way to Go card. haha He definitely stayed busy and can still pull the trigger on getting a player. If Alston and Luther Head can keep up the play they have going on in preseason during the season, most people who loved Mike James will be thinking "Mike JAmes. Who? . I definitely am. Alston definitely seems to know his role and is doing one heck of a job of it. He looks smart out there and his passing is just so crisp. His steals are also just such an added bonus. I really don't know what kind of basketball or coaching they have up in Toronto but as of right now it may look like CD may have just robbed another team again. He's starting to sound like the GM Devil that Jerry West is. I mean we somehow got Mcgrady with chump change. We convinced Reece Gaines was worth Mike James who eventually got us Raefer Alston from Toronto. Convinced Swift and Derek Anderson to sign as a Rocket for chump change compared to what other players have been getting paid. Got luther head with the 24th pick who seems like he just might be a steal. He definitely knows how to rob a team and draft. I'm beginning to wonder if this was CD as a baby
This pretty much sums up my thoughts on Head and the Alston-James. To take it a step further though, I don't think Head will be as streaky as James was, atleast I hope not. Head won't equal what James could have given us, but with Swift and Baxter also on board, i think I'd rather have Alston and Head than James and say, Wayne Simien. Time will tell, but I'm definitely a HUGE fan of this offseason's moves. I was head over heels when we traded Jefferson for Eddie Griffin, so what do I know...
