Really? What stats exactly are you looking at? Because stat wise he was better than both Francis and James last year, and his team actually made the play offs. The other 2 didn't even start for their lottery teams yet you want to give them the starter role here.... The question is why? 2006-07 shooting %: Francis: .408% FG/.378% 3PT James: .423% FG/.372% 3PT Alston: .375% FG/.363% 3PT AST to TO Francis: 1.70 James: 2.30 Alston: 2.61 3pt attempts/total shots Francis: 111/343 James: 215/702 Alston: 529/1020 The fact is that Alston was required to shoot more than he should have due to no viable back up PG to split the minutes with, but his shooting % considering literally half his shots were from 3 pt due to the offense wasn't significantly worse than James or Francis last year.
I don't really understand the turn on Luther. If I am looking for someone to spot up and hit a three, it's Head. I think he was one of our favorite Rockets until a seven game series against Utah (I can think of much higher paid Rockets that choked in the playoffs). Not that I am against trading him for the right deal, but if I'm looking to get rid of guards, I think Alston and Lucas. If I am looking to get rid of a pure shooter, I would rather give up Novak. Novak is nowhere near the athelete as Head and, in my opionion, has nowhere near the potential.
Its OK, I feel much better after watching the tmac video interview. I hate rafer as much as anybody, watching him get abused over and over by deron williams and talking stupid 3s and floaters killed me. i'm glad to see him go. I do think steve should be the starter and mike james should pack a punch off the bench. i know people love steve, but please don't forget how effective and valuable mike james is.
Everyone seems to be in offseason mode and ignores all the times Luther saved our asses in games and the fact that he's only 24. They just automatically go HE SUCKED IN THE PLAYOFFS LET HIM ROT and assume the trade position.
Rafer actually did a decent job on williams. Most of the times he was "abused" was on pick and roles when Yao or Hayes were unable to switch out and pick Deron up. I mean even the most ardant JVG hater has to realise he wouldn't start a PG who doesn't defend. jeff considered Alston to be an above average one on one defender, but considered the team pick and role defense to be horrible.
Excellent observations and I certainly agree with you on this point. Rafer is an uptempo player and Adelman's system will cater to his strengths. He's not a 3 option (like he was forced to be) but the man that makes this new offense go better than Francis and James. He has mad handles and low turnovers and with Francis and James both being 2's in a 1's body...I think we need Skip on this team. He doesn't have to shoot spot of threes...just dish the dimes baby to Mac, Yao, Franchise, Bonzi, Luis, et al....at least in the backup position (20-23 min per game).
Ouch. That's rough. He was good guy though, and he tried his damndest to help us win. He didn't succeed in the scoring dept, but he is a premier ballhandler.
Question: what if Mike James is as bad as he was last year? I would rather have bricklaying Rafer than last season's Mike James.
again, it's a different system. mike james was expected to be the starter on minny b/c of the yr in toronto. he was supposed to be the 2nd guy to KG. too much pressure. mike james is simply a role player off the bench here. no pressure. i mean, rafer prollie struggled b/c he plyaed too much. if rafer played 20 mins, he'd prollie be great for us.
The bottom line for Rafer Alston in the 06/07 season is that he's a decent player that simply was asked to do too much. All the hate he receives is ridiculous. He started and played 40 minutes a night in ALL of our 89 games this past season. No, he wasn't great nor was he anything close to being our long term solution at the position, but I certainly feel he could have been adequete had we had a decent, change-of-pace backup for him to split minutes with. With how neck-and-neck that Utah series was, one extra scorer or game changer could have been the difference. It's simply not fair to ask an average player like him to play 40 minutes a night in the Western Conference. He played his heart out all season and then was assigned to guard one of the most impressive playoff performers in Deron Williams, and Rafer still did a respectable job against him. We fed Rafer to the lions with our shameful PG depth and he still gave us all he could give. For that he deserves nothing but respect and our best wishes.
The more I think about it, the more I think Rafer's expendable. I've voiced many times before in this thread and others that we should have T-Mac, James, Francis, Brooks, Alston, and Head/Snyder for our guard rotation. That's 6 players and Brooks could be sent to the D-league. But, after listening to T-Mac's comments on the new system and Adelman's interviews, I think Rafer, unfortunately, is the most expendable guard out of those 6. From what I've heard, Adelman's offense isn't just dependant on good passing, it also requires all players to be able to score if necessary. And frankly, I think Rafer's poor shooting outweighs his passing ability. If Scola and Yao can increase their rebounding, I think we're set with a starting 5 of Francis, TMac, Battier, Scola, and Yao. I would love to keep Alston at least part way through next season because he represents a safety net. But, the more I think about it, I realize I'm being too cautious. We need to keep some young guards (Snyder, Head, Brooks) around for development. Rafer's not exactly young, so it's not like all of a sudden he's going to be shooting 0.430 FG%, and 0.400 3PT%. We should dump Rafer if something better comes along, particularly at the 4 spot.
Agreed. He's a decent PG and we actually got to the playoffs with him, which is why I'd like to keep him just in case something catastrophic happens next year. He isn't great by any stretch of the imagination and his shooting is poor to say the least, but he wasn't the cause of our downfall in the playoffs. IMO, that lies square on the shoulders of one Tracy "It's on Me" McGrady, who was also asked to do too much. But superstars are supposed to rise to the occasion. He didn't. Rafer's decent, and seems like a good guy. I wish him well whereever he ends up and wouldn't mind having him here. But, I wouldn't hesitate to move him if a PG desparate team makes a crazy offer.
Rafer for all his faults was one of our solid PGs in recent years that could actually get an offense set without eating up too much of the clock, could make a good pass into the post to Yao, and was a pretty decent defender to boot. Wasn't he among the top leaders in steals this season? The man's offensive game is pretty limited but the fact is we need at least one true PG in the mix of combo guards we've acquired to stabilize the offense should it go Helter Skelter.
If we get Haslem for Alston i'm thinking of naming my first born after Morey. Otherwise i wouldn't mind the Alston for Foster trade. I really love this of season
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4984146.html -------------------------- That last sentence to me, means if he doesn't get a lot of playing time, he would like to be traded.
what makes it worse is that Alston played with Yao and Tmac. The command double teams and he had PLENTY of open shots!!!!!! I HOPE he stays and comes off the bench and realize we are on a mission for a championship!!! We need all the help we can get to fight dallas , phoenix, and spurs. He could be a piece to the puzzle .
It's funny though...most Rocket fans here on ClutchFans.net thought Mike James and Bonzi Wells would be the ones making egotistical comments. I admit, I thought Mike James would be the one to question the move for Francis publicly. But Rafer is actually the one making his negative feelings public. Even after the trade for Mike James, you could read the hint of animosity in Rafer's quotes about the trade. To an extent, Rafer said he doesn't know how 2 starting point guards are going to fit on the team. Now that "The Architect" Steve Francis is back, Alston goes on radio and local television to claim he's gone. If the Rockets planned on keeping him, Alston's remarks about the Francis signing essentially forces Morey to deal him. Alston would like his next destination to be one to his liking. The 2 teams that come to mind are Miami, for his successful tenure there, and Orlando to reunite with the coach that introduced the league to a productive Rafer Alston. With this typed, Haslem, Hedo are players that I would love to see in a Rockets uniform this coming season. If none of them, Foster would be a great pick up...Camby would be perfect.
