I didn't like Rafer during the regular season as much as anyone else but let's compare Rafer's stats today to everyone's favorite mancrush, Chuck Hayes. Pts: Rafer 11, Hayes 4. Rebs. Rafer 4, Hayes 2. Steals: Rafer 4, Hayes 0. Assists: Rafer 4, Hayes 0.
Any positives that were worth leaving Rafer on the court for, despite his shooting, disappeared in this series. Rafer's normal role of walking the ball up the court for the team was reduced even more in the playoffs. McGrady had to handle the ball on virtually every important possession. What was left for Rafer that required him to be on the court for 40 minutes? I tend to agree with you about JVG. I think he is a top 4 coach with absolutely terrible foresight and big picture planning skills. I look back to last year and their huge push to end the season. The lack of development of the bench in favor of winning during the regular season. Rafer's role during the playoffs as you already mentioned. The one complaint that might fall outside of this category of big picture decisions is the poor offensive showing in this series. I desperately wanted to see the Rockets against Golden State so we could find out how the offense might bounce back against a different (and weaker) defense. I AM STILL LEFT WONDERING THIS YEAR IF WE HAD AN UNDERACHIEVING OFFENSE. Was it all big picture decisions by JVG that blew it, or is it a coaching problem and not teaching them how to execute properly, or something else entirely???
I think the point is not so much Mike James, but that we had a chance to add a player at the trade deadline who would've given us an offensive boost and failed to do so. The front office knows what they have to do this offseason. Van Gundy(assuming he returns) knows they have to improve offensively. He built this team on defense and rebounding and both failed him tonight. So he's got 2 choices. Adapt to the new direction the league is headed or resign and let someone else take over who will.
Clutch, we've all said that Les nixing the trade-kicker was brain-dead even if we didn't think James is what we needed. Your support for JVG given you're incessant Rafer-bashing only leads me to believe CD is responsible for not acquiring a back-up pg and has purposefully not given JVG players he can use. Well, CD won't be responsible anymore. JVG apparently never will be. And Les destroyed our season. I'm completely devastated now, but I am also completely flummoxed about this thread. If my sarcasm detector is askew, please forgive me.
Game 7, Deron Williams, a second year player had 20 points and 14 assists. He consistently beat Alston off the dribble the whole series which is why Okur, Kirlienko and Harpring were wide open. Several times, Yao tried to trap Deron Williams and no one guarded Boozer. Rafer Alston shoots 30+% the series despite being wide open on almost all of his shots. Are you serious?
Isn't it funny how we ALL--all the trolls, the dumbasses, the YOFers, the TMACOFers, the sluts, the dweebs, the motorheads (Ferris Bueller reference)--thought it would be better if Tracy guarded Williams so that they had more speed against he pick and roll? And yet, that never materialized?
No, it's the system failed this team. People keep saying that defense wins the game, especially in the playoff, but no defense can stop a good offense. At the end of the day, you still need to score more to win the game. Both the Lakers and the Mavs have the better defense than the Suns and the Warriors, but they struggled to put the ball into the basket, hence lost the series. The same just happened to the Rockets. JVG installed the system, and he brought his players to fit his system. So whatever you look at it, he is the guy to blame.
I'm not sold on removing Van Gundy yet. Frankly, because I don't see anything out there that's a distinctive upgrade. But, something's got to give. Our two superstars are too fragile. You saw what happened to DWade this year. It's only a matter of time, when you hurl a long, tall body into the teeth of the defense in the paint possession after possession after possession. McGrady is headed for a major knee injury with all the abuse that he takes. And our defense causes Yao to have to move way too much and he winds up on the floor way too much for a man his size. He can't help his size. You gotta make adjustments to help him. He shouldn't be running around out there showing on pick and rolls. One of those crashes to the floor is going to wind up being a major injury to him too. We are literally running 111 into the ground out there.
Van Gundy's fault. Why? Because you don't put your BEST rebounder--and, unfortunately, a one trick pony--out to guard a perimeter shooter like Okur. You not only take away his ability to rebound near the basket but you also just canceled the only thing he was put out there to do.
My favorite CD moment as GM was trading Mike James for Rafer Alston then following that season with trying hard to sign a guy who spat in his face to sign with a conference rival. If that wasn't enough he AGAIN attempted to go after Mike James at the deadline and surprise, surprise we didn't get a deal done. He would have helped in this series but taking into account what needs to be tweaked on this roster his contract would be counterproductive at this point.
I'm not a big Mike James fan, but no question we desperately need(ed) help at point guard. The problem is that we asked a mediocre point guard to run a team that had aspirations for something better than just making the playoffs. NO WAY a player of Rafer's abilities (or lack thereof) should be playing 40+ minutes in the playoffs. I don't dislike Rafer so much as I am frustrated that he was our only option. We didn't need Mike Bibby to win, but we needed more than Alston. Maybe that was Mike James, maybe not. I wouldn't want two mediocre point guards (despite James breakout last season, he is a mediocre point guard in his 30's) taking 50 million of cap space the next 3 years, but any help would have been nice.
Most of Deron Williams' points came off the pick and roll and were a direct result of Yao's inability to cover the PG.
No, our offense woefully underachieved. You've got 2 guys that can put 30 up any night and you can't set up the offense to spread the floor enough for them to do it???? 30 something percent from the floor is unacceptable. And we get absolutely ZERO EASY BUCKETS. Even when we get a steal or a block to start a fast break, 80% of the time we have to back it out because we can't beat anybody downcourt and the other 20% of the time that we do beat them down, we can't finish because our guys have to get so out of control to get the advantage to the rim. WE HAVE NO FAST BREAK AT ALL!!!!
CD got JVG a penetrating backup PG - he refused to play him. CD got JVG a low post 2 guard - JVG never found a way to utilize him and the guy eventually got frustrated and left. CD got JVG an athletic attack the basket 2 guard - JVG played him then sat him during the playoffs. JVG is too stubborn to succeed with this group, he has peaked......we need a fresh approach to today's NBA, someone who understands the way the game is moving and will make adjustments to it. Rudy forced the NBA to adjust to his style.....JVG well.....he is stubborn. DD
The problem isn't just Rafer. It's the rest of the team besides Tracy, and Shane. Yao didn't rebound, turned the ball over too much, and couldn't make his shots; but I'll give him the benift of the doubt because of his pre-injury form. Juwan Howard can't make ****. Luther Head, ditto. And that's the team. Chuky Hayes is a scrub, a good scrub at times, but nonetheless a scrub. That's all. We have no depth. And we can't execute. Those are our problems. Manily talent. Other than that, we played a hell of a regular season. We won 52 games with Yao out for two months. And Yao still isn't back to 100%. We need to add some athelthcism, get players that can score off the bench(harpring, fisher type players), and maybe let JVG go.... and let an offensively-inclined coach in. Just imagine Nelson or Aldeman type coach working with Yao and T-mac.... Or at least a coach that can have his players execute like Solan. I swear he's turned that youth into a well oiled machine. There's no reason to let our emotions get the best of us. They played there hearts out. And I think we overachived this year, with Yao being injured for 2 months. We just don't have the talent that other teams seem to have.
The biggest problem with Van Gundy was the he FAILED to develop a PG during the regular season who could backup Alston. Luther Head was never a point. Lucas was scared to death. and Span was pissed off. If there was one great thing about Rudy, he played everyone in the regular season to experiment with lineups.
Other G in the playoffs with a 3PT% Equal or less than Rafer (since this is what everyone seems keen on complaining about): Stats through game 5 (from NBA.com who hasn't updated since our game 5 I believe) - Rafer Alson .324 - Jason Richardson .324 - Jerry Stackhouse .318 - Kirk Hinrich .313 - Jason Terry .308 - Allen Iverson .250 - Mickael Pietrus .250 - Luther Head .211
