Don't forget shooters are not reliable in big games. See how Yao and Tracy struggled in Utah series. They needed help on offense. A "pure" PG COULD not and did not give what Rockets wanted. Efficient SCORING is any NBA player's job including "pure" PGs. Still, I am confused by this "pure PG" thing. Eveidently, It seems that we already had a pure PG in Alston, but that pure PG provided ZERO help to the team, JVG, Yao and TMAC. What is it good for insisting on the scorless pureness? Maybe Rafer Alston is just not a so pure PG as you guys claimed to be?
Brockstapper, you have to get the Delorean to get up to 88.8 miles an hour if you want to turn back time, then you have to learn how to spell "delusional"... once you do those two things, you can try to blot out the memory of Rafer's record-setting season (where his %'s and per minute numbers were roughly equal to James "nightmare season" last year - yep, James floor = Rafer's ceiling....) You are in severe need of a Clutch spanking, which I trust will be forthcoming if he has time. Why do you continue to repeat the mistakes of the Rockets111 that went before you?
Carl, no one said they were in on it. I fail to see your point. The Rockets management are the ones who would be showcasing Rafer not the players.
What I still fail to understand is why people have all these consipracy theories, think we are showcasing people in a new system (I mean seriously anyone who took the time to think about it for a second would realize the fact that we are implimenting a new system makes it impossible for us to showcase players in an unfamiliar system), guys who love Rafer one second , then hate him the next, and vice versa, the people bashing Francis, the guys calling for Mike James and Luther Head to be traded, ect.......What is this? It's great to have healthy basketball conversation. Not everyone is going to agree on players and that's cool. That what creates debates and that's half the reason we have these forums. Honestly though, do we really need the conspiracy theories? Do you really think Adelman is buttering teams up for a trade when he has a whole team to worry about? Do you honestly think we should trade Mike James after he's played two preseason games? You think that's a fair asseesment of a guy? What about Steve? On both accounts. Should he be traded as well like some want or should he be handed the starting job like others desire without earning it? Let me not forget to mention Luther who people are trying to trade for no reason. Adelman isn't decieving you guys, he's answering questions. Right now, he has a lineup and a game plan and we have about 3 weeks to see what happens. Let's make it clear, all of our guards except Luther and Brooks have baggage. If Adelman and Morey could give them a fresh start then i think we can too. Let's wait until the Rockets play some meaningful games with the said players and then start discussing who does and doesn't fit in. Until then, I'm taking the coach's word for it and what I see on the court. i don't care about Rafer's past in a different system, I don't care that James had trouble with Bosh and KG, and I don't care that after leaving Houston Steve hasn't played anywhere near his capability. I care what they can do in this system this year. The rest is the past. If you want to debate that amongst each other I promise it will get you nowhere.
I understand your point. I think management may well be showcasing him. At the same time, given that fellow players (both stars Tracy and Yao, and fellow small guard role player Luther Head) are singing his praises, it is likely that Alston has actually performed very well in the hours and hours of practices and scrimmages in addition to the somewhat limited 2-game exhibition schedule we fans saw. Unless, that is, the players are in on the conspiracy to ship Rafer out.
Just keep everybody and when we play the Suns, we roll with a: C - Hayes PF - Wells SF - James SG - Head PG - Francis Killer dynamic 180 miles per hour non stop video game offense.
It's true that my spelling is atrocious. But I think you must have me confused with someone else. As much as I have defended Rafer it isn't because I think he is the perfect starting point guard for this team - it's because I think he was the best option we had (and possibly have depending on how things shake out). I like Mike James off of the bench for his ability to drive to the hoop and hit shots. I don't like him as a starter due to his tendency to drive to the hoop or shoot before the ball goes into the post. Clutch knows where I am coming from, so I don't think he needs some internet ass kisser to help him reprimand me (although it is strangly exciting!). All the best, Brock
Given that quite a few posters here have mentioned that Rafer (at least, so far) has run the offense more smoothly than James or Francis, it is less likely that he's just talking him up for trade purposes. It wouldn't be the first time a coach used comments to the media for other players benefit or motivation. I think James and Francis are having more trouble doing what Adelman envisions in his offense. It may be that Rafer is ONLY doing that better so far, but it's key. Whoever plays the point has got to have a gut level grasp of how RA's offense runs. It's not the traditional, "be a creator and dish off" role. James and Francis are more in that mold. Whether Adelman's comments to the media are purely straight up praise for Alston or partly motivational for other players... who knows? I think it's a bit of both.
yao and tracy did struggle and the rockets lost because they didnt have anyone else to pick up the slack, but this team does have players that can pick that slack up if needed. James, bonzi francis are all guys whose best attributes are putting the ball in the basket. Not to mention scola. you are really going to say say rafer provided "zero help" and then expect to have a real and meaningful discussion? no, i dont think so. again, people tend to only focus on individual scoring and yes, that not rafers stength. But rafer does help other people score. He's the best passer behind tmac, best ball handler, most controlled pg, and probably the best defender of the point as well. However, he isnt a great scorer so he obviously cant help...right?
LOL. Post Of The Day. I bet more than half of the posters singing high praise to Rafer couldn't wait to see him gone one month ago. It doesn't take much to impress or UN-impress peeps here, does it?
good points. Given the players and their talents, rafer had to be more aggressive in looking for shots...there just wasnt many guys who could/would score.
As an aside, we need another way to reference the new coach. When I see RA, I think of the Egyptian sun god. How about "Radel?" Or does that sound too Jewish?
No, the Egyptian sun god is Ra. RA is Rafer Alston. Wait, what about Rick Adelman? That's why I don't like this kind of initials abreviations. Why are people so lazy in typing out a simple name like Adelman?
If it's not too much work, could you also show us separate stats on Rafer playing in games with either Yao or TMac alone?
As I said in my previous post, I am interested in how differently Rafer fared in games where he played with Yao only or T-Mac only. So I gathered Rafer's data in the games of 12/12 Lal, 12/14 @Gsw, 12/15 @Lal, 12/17 @Lac, 12/20 @Por, and 12/22 @Sas, and calculated the stats accordingly. These were the only games in which both Rafer and Yao played but T-Mac did not play in the '06-'07 season. Notice a few things: - small sample size; - mostly road games; - in one game Rafer played substantially fewer minutes (28) than usual; - in three games Rafer player substantially more minutes (46, 49, 45) than usual Code: | MPG | TS% | 2FGA | 2FG% | 3FGA | 3FG% | % 2FGA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yao & T-Mac | 37.7 | 52.5% | 4.7 | 39.8% | 7.0 | 37.4% | 40.3% no Yao and/or T-Mac | 36.4 | 47.1% | 8.2 | 38.3% | 6.9 | 35.1% | 54.3% w/ Yao but w/o T-Mac | 39.7 | 52.4% | 7.5 | 48.9% | 7.0 | 33.3% | 51.7% OK take for what it's worth, based on the limited data, it seems - Rafer shot much better in 2FGs than 3FGs, suggesting his aggressiveness paid off when he was the only playmaker on the Rockets team to make something happen; - however, Rafer did worse as a 3-point spot up shooter when playing with Yao only, which means he was having difficulty trying to be both a floor general and a (3-point) shooter at the same time; - overall, Rafer's shooting, as measured by true shooting % (TS% =Pts/(2*(FGA + (.44*FTA))), was about the same when playing with Yao alone and with both T-Mac and Yao.
