I think all 3 guards are doing okay. James is a bit off on his shot, but he's not really getting enough minutes to balance out his misses. Alston is doing what he does. He's been surprising me more lately though. I don't remember many games where he drove in and scored layups ... He used to never do that. Maybe he's learning a thing or two from Stevie. And for Stevie, he's still pretty efficient in few minutes. Like someone said, he's effective without even scoring. He seems to find scola open a lot under the hoop. I think his shot will come along if he gets more minutes as well. I'd be lying if I said the minute distribution is okay with me. I've been looking at the games and Alston is playing around 30, Francis around 15-20, and James about 8-15. I guess Adelman likes to know what he's gonna get every night, because that's what Alston is. He's consistent. Well maybe not his shooting ... that's obviously streaky, but everything else, you know what you'll get. And I guess to an extent that's fine. But when we're playing better teams, and Alston's shot aint falling, we're gonna need to get in Francis or James.
Well I am not against Rafer starting but Steve must play 15-20 min and Head should get about 10-15 min. I see this rotation crucial because when come playoff, you'll see the advantage. When Rockets reach Game 3-7 of playoff, Rafer will drop significantly from scoring and various aspects. That's where we need someone to step big time.
So where are we now with Francis, James and Alston? James has gotten plenty of minutes to show what he can do. Francis has played 10 games in all for limited minutes and shown flashes of playing well. Alston has frankly suprised me with his playmaking and recent ability to finish. I still think Francis needs more time and has something to contribute. James I am not so sure.
I agree, but Steve should be playing the 2 spot with either Rafer or AB at the point, and he needs to get in better shape...
We sure started out before the season started thinking that we had an unstoppable back court. Now Mike James I knew from my fantasy basketball teams that he should be serviceable. Mike had a stellar year with the Raptors because he was given minutes. But even with the Raptors his points per minute had not changed much. He is a career 12 ppg guard on most teams. He was still the same average around 20 ppg per 48 minutes which isn't bad. By contrast, Tony Parker has been averaging 29 ppg per 48 minutes. Even this year James per 48 minute production would land him at 20.15 ppg. If you look at all of Mike James stats, his average even while at Toronto didn't change that much. His accuracy at Toronto went up a bit because he was shooting more efficiently. But as far as everything else, it is about the same for his career averages. Alston has suprised me with his ability to finish in the last few games. His shot has been falling lately but we know what Alston brings to the table from last year's playoffs. He is a terrific ball handler. Francis is the puzzle here. His per 48 min point production is terrible. He would be at 13.89 ppg per 48 minutes but there probably isn't enough data to make a good assesment. He started in only 3 games and played sporadically in 10 games. Last year his per 48 point production was at 19.3 playing average of 28.1 mpg in New York. His last year at Orlando he played 45 min a game and averaged 20.6 per 48 min. The year he first got traded to Orlando his per 48 was 26.7 points. With Van Gundy in his last year with the Rockets. He played an average of 40.4 mpg an had an average of 20 ppg per 48. His per 48 point production is all over the board. I think this may mean that Francis is more of a system type player because there is no reason for this type of erratic per 48 stat unless it's in the type of system he's in. Which ultimately would mean that if he can't pick up Rick Adleman's system and start to produce at his regular averages of around 20 ppg per 48, then he is going to get traded. No guard will be around long averaging 13.89 ppg per 48 min. Looks like ESPN was pretty accurate in the preseason with their prediction. http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/basketball/fba/story?id=3059821 Houston Rockets Key Loss: Juwan Howard Key Additions: Luis Scola, Steve Francis, Mike James Projected Starting Lineup C: Yao Ming PF: Luis Scola SF: Shane Battier SG: Tracy McGrady PG: Steve Francis Bench Contributors: Luther Head, Mike James, Bonzi Wells, Chuck Hayes, Rafer Alston Sleeper: Luis Scola Scola is the odds-on favorite to start for the Rockets, which by default makes him a name to watch. A second-round draft pick by the Spurs in 2002, things didn't work out with San Antonio due to buyout issues with his Spanish team, Tau Ceramica. Scola was the star of the team and, at age 27, has long been NBA-ready. Scola is unselfish, hard-working and passes well for a big man. He never put up big block totals in the Euroleague, but should be well above average for a big man in steals. Chuck Hayes and even Shane Battier, who played 16 percent of the Rockets' minutes at power forward last season, will take time away from Scola, so don't expect great things. But for a late-rounder, maybe even free-agent claim, Scola has the opportunity and has demonstrated enough skill to be a valuable fantasy backup who might grow into more. Bust: Steve Francis Anyone expecting even a hint of the Francis of old will be disappointed. The Rockets are simply loaded at point guard, but loaded is relative; the three players in question -- Francis, Mike James and Rafer Alston, are all limited mediocrities of some sort. The truth of the matter is that not only will all three steal minutes from each other, but Luther Head will take minutes, too. With Tracy McGrady, the Rockets don't truly need a prototypical point guard -- not that any of the trio in question is that anyway -- so many times, the Rockets will have McGrady handle the ball with Head on the court for much-needed outside shooting. Head shot a whopping 44.1 percent from beyond the arc last season, and, along with Battier, are the only Rockets who can make teams pay for doubling Yao Ming or T-Mac himself. The whole point guard situation is one to avoid. Fantasy Outlook The Rockets quietly have title hopes this season, and the truth is, such hopes aren't that unreasonable. With two of the very best players in the NBA in Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, by default they are already in the playoffs, barring injury. And though it took a while, it seems management finally has built a capable supporting cast surrounding them. The team did win 52 games last season with Yao missing 34 games, and Scola represents an upgrade over Juwan Howard. With a mostly static group of core players, though, the fantasy potential of the team is found in the margins. Only two positions, fantasy-wise, are in question, as Yao, T-Mac and Shane Battier will unquestionably log heavy minutes at center, shooting guard and small forward, respectively. The aforementioned Scola is a decent bet to carve out a niche on the Rockets and see about 30 minutes per game, but his advanced age and the presence of Chuck Hayes (22 minutes per game last season) limits his impact somewhat. In shallow leagues, he'll have fringe value, but in 12-team leagues or deeper Scola is a smart and relatively safe pick for a late-round player. The other position in flux is point guard, and it speaks to the situation that last year's starter, Rafer Alston, logged over 37 minutes per game yet is buried third on the depth chart. That leaves Steve Francis and Mike James, but both are the type of point guards you'd do well to avoid: low field-goal percentage, low 3's and low steals with little potential to even approach Alston's 37 minutes of last season. Players like Bonzi Wells, Head, Francis and James only have intrigue when injuries strike, but the Rockets have a few individual players who are significant injury risks. As is often the case with the best real-life NBA teams, the roster should be stable, which is unfortunately fairly boring from a fantasy perspective.
