someone needs to send these stats to all the people who jumped on the Rafer bandwagon, and also to Adelman: 2006-2007 preseason: game 2 vs. Atlanta: Rafer plays 21 minutes, shoots 6-10 from the floor and 2-4 from the 3 point line for 15 points.. game 4 vs. Milwaukee: Rafer plays 28 minutes, shoots 4-5 from the field 2-3 from the 3 point line and 2-2 from the freethrow line for 12 points. game 5 vs. Dallas: Rafer plays 25 minutes, shoots 4-10 from the field and 2-4 from the 3 point line for 10 points.. game 6 vs. the Heat: 27 minutes, 4-8 from the field 3-6 from 3 for 13 points.. game 7 vs. the Magic: 19 minutes, 8 points 3-6 from the field 2-4 from the 3 point line.. that's an average of over 50% both from field and from long range... can some one refresh my memory and tell me how many games in the 06-07 season did Rafer shoot 50% or over? heck, 40% or over?? I am gonna leave this for you to figure out.. I am not bashing Rafer, I just dont want you to jump to conclusions after only 2 preseason (meaningless) games.. it's not like I am affected by it, but if u turn into a joke after 3 months when Rafer is stinking it up, dont say I didn't warn you..
I still think Rafer's minutes need be limited to 24 or less. If he knows he will only see 2/3 of the time he is used to playing I think we will see a much more active, efficient player. Simply put, he can play balls to wall and not worry about getting tired in the 4th.
I'm very happy for Rafer -- he is definitely a good fit for this offense and I'm glad he took it upon himself to prove it despite all the bad news. But let's not kid ourselves, we need James and Francis as well. They bring a lot of versatility, and a skill-set that Rafer doesn't have (consistent shooting, penetrating, and finishing). I really doubt we're cutting Luther either. There isn't a team in the league that is going to cut a top 10 three point shooter that's making less than $2 Mill. Definitely not the Rockets -- hell, we drafted STEVE NOVAK with the second pick of the second round. Luther is a bargain.
haha you just OWNED the post. again, i believe rafer does a great job if he plays around 15-20 mins a game and i think he will do that as the season goes on w/ james getting more mins at PG. rafer ain't gonna shoot this well. he came into last season sayin' he practiced LIKE CRAZY on his shot and did well during the preseason. we got hyped up. then reality sets in and seeing him shoot 36% overall was typical.
To all the Rafer doubters out there, if not him, then who else???? MJ??? Francis??? Aaron BROOKS???? You can show me stats all day long about Rafer's poor shooting % but the guy is a solid PG. He has low TOs, bring the ball up the court, and make great passes. Show me one other PG on this team that can run a set play smoother than Rafer. He may be a sub par shooter, but he doesn't need to shoot that much this season. We've got plenty of talented guards to take care of that duty for him. All he needs is to do his THANG and get the ball to where it's supposed to be.
again, the last 3 championship teams have not had a true PG. when u have a tracy mcgrady, u don't need a true PG. the kings never had a true PG. it's not that i don't like alston. but when u play with tmac and yao, you HAVE/MUST/NEED to make open shots consistently. alston does not do that. i don't care for a true PG b/c it's not needed. james has shown he will pass to tmac (didn't tmac play his best playoff series ever v. the mavs w/ james in 04-05?) so i won't worry about that. francis will play more w/ the 2nd unit. and brooks won't get much PT in his first yr. i'm all for alston playing limited mins. but he better not play more than 25 mins a game.
Rafer DOES run this offense better than everyone else does. The BIG difference this season is that when he is shooting poorly, the Rockets have OPTIONS. I'm not a fan of Alston OR James, quite honestly. I think they are basically each one half of a good point guard (one good shooter/scorer, one good passer/facilitator). I also think paying them both what you would normally pay one good point guard seems a little silly, particularly given that neither of them can defend someone like Deron Williams. BUT, having the ability to go to the hot hand - nevermind being able to run Francis and even Brooks out there - is a very good thing. Alston is better at running the offense, but that doesn't mean he's going to play 38 minutes and fire up 5 or 6 three pointers every night. It just means we have a pass-first point guard as one option and a shoot-first point guard as another. I don't see what the big deal is.
With Rafer, it seems that less is more when it comes to MPG. Maybe with 25 minutes a game, and without the pressure of having to score to keep up with the opposing team, he'll become a more efficient player. Why can't a player improve his percentages? If he practiced enough during the summer and is not going to be overplayed by RA, then I see no reason why he can't be an effective player for us.
It might have more to do with him playing in pressure-free, exhibition games against inferior competition than the MPG.
People who don't accept that Mike James can be a starting PG need to watch the games and stop tossing around "pass first shoot first" labels. Watch the games any time between now and 2004-05.
The Rockets have said over and over and over again that they fully intend to allow all the guards to compete in training camp and let them battle it out for playing time. Why would, all of a sudden, Adelman conspire to tell everyone Rafer is great just to trade him? You guys have too many conspiracy theories.
Rafer's trade value will be pumped up and then he'll go bye bye.He might play for ahwile but as soon as the right deal comes along and Brooks is deemed "ready" forget about it.
Charlie Pallilo, who's generally a pretty reasonable, knowledgeable guy, also speculated that they're just showcasing Rafer. But I agree, that doesn't make much sense.
