As I type, I'm thinking of a title to get the rest of ROX fans to read this. Rafer Alston, is addicted to turning over the ball. Steve Franchise, is addicted to pouting and being a b!atch on the sidelines. I live in Alexandria, VA now and aside from catching the Rox once a year in Washington, I live vicariously through the NBA package. Do you think this could help out the Alston/James/Francis/Brooks situation? Alston - he makes some of the worst decisions a point guard could make. watching him hoist 3's and pull up jumpers on fast breaks just kill me. it hurts me even more when he does something stupid, like he did numerous of times last night, and then "something good comes out of another dumb decision". it's like, he'll jack a 3 and i'll sit there in discuss that he even shot it, then i goes in, then he'll come back and hit another and i'm quiet for a while. BUT low and behold he'll bring me back to reality with a turnover that is nobody's fault but his. we're not even going to mention his defense, because it's self explanitory. in conclusion, he's not our answer at pg, but he's not moochie norris either.. francis - i don't know what kinda shape he's in physically or mentally, but the one thing i don't want to happen to him is what happened to bonzi last year. If he crawls any further in adelman's dog house, he'll be another unhappy rocket that will never be able to play up to his potential because of outside factors. why not let him start? i mean, rafer is doing as bad as any starting pg could do. i don't want RA to try to work stevie in the game by giving him 5 to 7 minutes a game. he'll never get in a groove and he'll be BONZI'ed. i say, let him start, he'll be motivated by the minutes, gain confidence with the 1st unit and could possibly help this team. Hell, if nothing else, he can guard the bigger point guards that ABUSE rafer every night. If not go back to Rafer.. james - thus far he's solidified that he'll get the bulk of the pg minutes. but i don't think RA will ever start him, simply because he and bonzi bring that spark off the bench. he'll get the most minutes, and probably be in, in the 4th qt., as he should. brooks - with the clutter, he probably wont come up for air this season. Even if he is playing better than Stevie, and Rafer and MJ are struggling, I can't see RA reaching to brooks before at least giving Stevie a chance. It would only furthur send francis into b!@tch mode. In conclusion, while Rafer is stinking it up, at least give Stevie a chance to stink it up as well. MJ will eat up the minutes and be the savior for both of them anyway and Brooks got drafted to the wrong team if he's planning on seeing minutes this season. We don't want to send Stevie into distraction mode if he can truly help this team. Last year Bonzi became a complete distraction, but we also knew it was no way he could help this team anyway, given his mental and physical state. Rafer sucks, but is servicable. Steve could help but we don't know. MJ is above both. Brooks is caught in the politics..
I think you are wrong about AB. He won't play meaningful minutes until Adelman thinks he is ready. It won't depend on the political implications of putting him in over SF. In fact, if SF doesn't start progressing after a while, I expect he'll be de-activated on game days. My preferred solution is for SF to get it going and replace Rafer as starter. I know it seems like a pipedream right now.
Alston's had some questionable decision making the first couple games. He looked great against preseason opponents, but against quality competition the mediocrity shines through. Still, I think Alston's defense is underrated by a lot of fans. He's great at getting deflections, and he communicates well with others on that end. He isn't a physical defender, but overall I think he's effective. On offense, I trust his decision making a hell of a lot more than I trust Steve's, even though he's looked somewhat shaky. Last year, Alston's play really frustrated since we didn't have an adequate backup and we were stuck with mediocre play for 40 mpg. Now, he doesn't have to play more than 25-30 mpg, because James is a quality backup. For now, I'm fine with those two at PG. It's a real upgrade over the last couple seasons, certainly.
Everybody is making the assumption that SF is the same player he was 4 or 5 years ago. It has been a long time since he has played well in any team so why are thinking that just giving him minutes is going to be good for the team? In the few minutes he played in pre-season, he did not show anything to get the minutes people is demanding for him. Let's be realistic and accept that he is not the same player.
another "bench rafer and play steve" thread. really guys this is getting old. steve is the 11th man (snyder is in front of him). and plus Adelman knows more than you.
Amen, clutchfans would be the only place where people b**** about rafer after 2 WINS to start the season.
This is another cleverly disguised 'play Steve' thread. I don't understand it. We're off to our best start in years and we're not even hitting on all cylinders yet. We just whipped the team that knocked us out of the playoffs last year and we did it in their own house. How about we leave everything as is until we actually lose a few games? Lighten up, Rocket fans. Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.
this isn't a bash rafer session. because what rafer does have that steve and to a certain extent MJ don't, is heart. he does a lot of wrong, and his defense is suspect, but he goes HARD doing it. which is why i think he impressed RA so much in camp and preseason. also, i don't think SF is the same player he once was, but at least give the fans a glimpse to see if he helps or hurts this team. which is why i compared his state to bonzi's last year. As fans when we heard bonzi wasn't in good terms with JVG and then he wasn't getting in games when he did dress, we all BARKED at JVG for not giving bonzi a chance, based on the bonzi we knew from sacramento and portland. then when bonzi did get on the court, we realized he just wasn't in a position to help the team. I just don't want that to happen to SF, if in fact he can help the team
I know what you mean. guess SF3 is going to become the boards new Vspan, Boki.....etc I think SF3 will work his way into the rotation at some point but damn people just give it some time and just enjoy the Rockets good start!
I love how this inaccuracy keeps popping up in anti-Rafer posts. Folks, Rafer does not have a history of being a turnover machine. Of all the point guards in the NBA last season he ranked 30th in turnovers per 48 minutes. He's had two games where he made some uncharacteristically bad passes and people are acting like he's Steve Francis.
I think the PG rotation is perfect. Look we don't have Kidd or any of the top point guards, all we have is what we have. Alston is a pass first - set up the offense kinda point guard and James is more of a scorer. I think starting Alston and bringing in James makes the most sense. Kind of like Kenny Smith and then Cassell. Steve Francis is a scrub who will most likely be waived before he sees any playing time. Give it up on SF3!!!!!
Point Guard by committee.... during the Jazz game 6-12 FG 2-5 3pt 9-12 FT 8 Assists 1 Reb 2 TO 4 Steals 23 Pts Not bad next to two superstars if you ask me. I wouldn't say we have a point guard problem... but that's just me.
With two stars the rockets don't need a proto-typical point guard. The point guard position played by committte.
agree on everything except "Rafer sucks, but is servicable." I don't think Rafer is servicable for any elite team if Rockets want to be one. Our bench PG, Mike James, is on elite (bench) level, no doubt. We need a starting PG. We need SF to revive or trade someone servicable. right now, our PG position is actually thin: starter: (none). bench: MJ DNPs: SF , Brooks.
Agre but damn, we just have to play him right now. He's hurtin' the team as a shooter, we know. The only idea is to trade him for another playmaker.
<br> if being a pass first point guard means handing the ball to T-Mac and standing around to brick a three or *gasp* throw up an ugly teardrop....then yeah rafer can do that <br> if you want a real team rafer needs to be benched.....which will soon happen
