I am writing this vaguely to encourage debate. With that said, does anybody out there see a similarity between Rafer Alston and Jamaal Tinsley, at least insofar as their respective teams/coaches/fans seem to be frustrated with them but can never find anything that fits into what their teams need in a PG? I don't know, but it seems to me that Francis/James, T-Mac and Yao demand the ball a lot, and that they can't be on the floor at the same time. T-Mac says that Rafer is the best fit, but is that a statement of "best player" or "best fit"?
jamal tinsley is ten times better than rafer imho. he just plays around too much. i remember when we played against the pacers tinsley was just killing rafer. he made more floaters in that game than rafer made all of last season. tinsley is very strong and an excellent finisher. i think he was trying to show rafer up because i remember he dribbled between yao's legs and was doing other fancy stuff. he just needs to get his head in the game and he can be a good player. i wouldnt trade rafer for him though not right now.
Tinsley is just another "potential" guy. He teases coaches, GMs and fans with what he could be but the fact of the matter is he is what he is. I would take Rafer over him all day long and twice on Sunday.
Steve Francis and Mike James are much better players than Rafer Alston, but Rafer (so far) is truly a great fit for Adelman, Mac, and Yao... And lets not forget that Rafer has the worst FG% in the NBA..... Fact, That counts for something.....
Tinsley has more talent but the dude is a bonehead. He does stupid things all the time that drive you mad. Also, he can't shoot the ball either (he's horrid from the three point line). Also, he turns the ball over more and shoots just as inefficiently. He's bigger than Rafer but that doesn't exactly translate into better defense. I'd take Rafer over him any day of the week.
tinsley needs to get his head on straight. He only comes to play for some games and coasts others even when playing with a guy as intense as Jermaine O'Neal. Iono wtf Tinsley's problem is but that guy can certainly be a top 10 pg in the league if he just remotely tries every game.
Tinsley put these numbers up in a 4-game stretch when he was a rookie: Ind vs Min (2001-11-16) 12 pts, 15 ast, 9 reb, 6 stl, 5 blocks (Indiana loses 113-120) Ind vs Det (2001-11-17) 28 pts, 4 ast, 13 reb (Indiana loses 98-104) Ind vs Atl (2001-11-20) 29 pts, 11 ast (Indiana wins 106-102) Ind vs Wash (2001-11-22) 19 pts, 23 ast, 11 reb (Indiana wins 110-103) if that doesnt scream star potential then i dont know what does. tinsley has the talent to be one of the best PG's in the league imho he just needs his head screwed on right.
I remember that game too. Tinsely tried ridiculous behind the back pass while standing under our basket in like a 2 on 1 situation where a simple chest pass would have more than sufficed. It went staight out of bounds. That in a nutshell was what is wrong with jamal. All the talent and ability, and none of the brains. With Rafer its the opposite. He's a smart player with above average court vision and passing, but he just doesn't have the ability to do some fundamental things (shoot, finish at the rim) well.
Tinsley loves to take hard shots and goofs off a bit too much. He's got talent, but he just hasn't looked spectacular on the court. And his off-court legal troubles are real, unlike Rafer's. Tinley's better, but not by much. There's a reason why he drives pacer fans nuts and is basically untradeable.
Tinsley excels in the exact same things that Rafer does: Passing Ball control Setting up an offense Low Assist/TO But is even worse when it comes to Rafer's faults: Worse 3-point shooter Worse FT shooter Worse 2-pt And of course there's the fact that he's never played an entire season, two of which he had around 40 games played.
Never,Tinsley is very problematic player,maybe plays a starting role but isn't better than Rafer. Rafer is a pure point guard.Loves to pass,to distribute the ball and thats his job.He's also a better shooter than Jamaal and has better condition. Rafer is a better distributor,shooter and passer so how the hell is Tinsley better. P.S. I like Tinsley's floaters
