Every team has a weakness and Rafer is one of those. I think we would all respect his game more though if he did two things. 1. Only shoot off someone else's pass and not off the dribble. I can live with him taking the open shot off of someone's pass, but he seems to shoot a very poor percentage when creating his own shots. 2. No matter what the situation is. No mater how much time is left on the clock. No matter which players are on the floor. No matter who is playing defense. Do not shoot that damn tear drop shot!!!! It never freaking goes down. I love this team as a whole, but everytime I see Rafer take that tear drop it makes me want to hit something.
I agree completely. JVG should ban the teardrop. Just tell Rafer to pull and and take a jumpshot instead. He was so much better taking it all the way in and even though he missed a lot of the contested layups it opened a lot of the rebounding chances by putting pressure on the D, versus bailing them out. As for all the other Rafer bashing from everyone else, we need to realize he is our Rex Grossman. At times pretty good, at times absolutely horrible, but in the end he is a PG for a team 9 games over .500 even with their stars out for long periods this year. If Grossman can take the bears to the super bowl, why cant Rafer take us to the finals.
I'd rather see him create the contact and use the up and under move myself. Rafer hasn't shown a propensity to elevate in the lane off 2 feet for a jumper. However, when he gets that teardrop off, it is typically off a 1 foot leap. I think he'd be better off to take it in one more step, feel the defender and then bring the ball underneath and use his own body to shield away the defender. It's too bad he can't hit the teardrop. But he is so horrible at it that I am beginning to despise the word.
i am on the 'ban the teardrop' bandwagon. that shot sucks the life out of me because you just know its not going in. id rather see tmac heave a halfcourt 3 pointer than watch rafer take a wide open, uncontested teardrop from 5 feet away. im ok with him taking wide open 3s, even if they dont go in, because at least there's a shot at a long rebound. his teardrop should just count as a turnover.
But can VSpan handle the ball and shoot when necessary? VSpan isn't exactly lights out from the perimeter, and he sure isn't as good as Rafer when it comes to handles or distributing the rock.
Yes, but the point is he's a much better shooter than V-Span. 36% from 3 is much greater than 20%. And the PG does not always have to lead the team in assists, especially in today's game. Just look at LeBron, Wade, Kobe, etc. Generally, when you have a versatile talent at the wing spot who does majority of the ballhandling, he'll lead the team in assists. Rafer's assists are always higher when TMac doesn't play than when he does.
Actually he does. Just pay attention to the type of passes he makes. The man hardly ever turns the ball over. He always makes a smart pass and knows who and where to get the ball to. His shooting may be horrific (particularly from 2-point range) but he does make sound decisions on both ends of the floor, particularly on the break.
I don't think Rafer is a better shooter than V-Span. Why is Span's shooting only 20%?? That is because of JVG!!! JVG has not given Span chances enough for him to show his talent.
"Rafer has a VERY high bball IQ." I thought the biggest probelm for Rafer is his bbball IQ, all other skills are ok, can be improved. But the problem is he is not improved, and becomes worser. Clearly, his bball IQ is not high, but low.
The problem with taking that shot away is that it allows the opposing defense to sag in the lane. JVG probably tells him to keep constant pressure on the opposing defense to keep them on their heels, if the opposing team scouts that Rafer is not going to shoot if he gets into the middle of the lane then they can essentailly trap him into a turnover or an even worse shot. Its not unlike when the the center expects someone to shoot so they go in and box out and they end up getting called for three seconds because an extra pass was made. The offense has to flow the way it is practiced, so like it or not he is going to keep taking (and missing) that shot. I would rather see him plant both feet and shoot the fundemental jumper off the glass, but nowadays who knows how to make that shot?
There's more to being a point guard than shooting- much more. As much as he frustrates me, to call Rafer "trash" is a little absurd. The guy can run our offense effectively, isn't a turnover factory, and can occasionally hit an outside shot. That's pretty worthwhile. Sure, he takes too many shots at times, but I'd rather him running point than someone like Lucas, who is better at setting up his own shot than running our offense. Is Rafer the best PG for this team? Hardly. Is he garbage? Not at all. Please view these situations a little more objectively. You might enjoy watching our games more, it seems to me.
Can someone start a new thread for me with the following link please? Title something like Why can't JVG do this?
Oops, forgot to add the link http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...tories/MYSA012307.05D.spursNOTES.20e932c.html
