He's 152 in the league on a PER basis according to knickerblogger (though some players are on there twice because of trades). Not very good. Incidentally, sitting at number 151 is Mike James, who continues to get worse and is looking like one of the poorer offseason moves in the NBA last year for the T-Wolves. PG is clearly the Rockets biggest problem right now. J-Ho and Chucky have been serviceable at PF since Yao went down, and should get better when he returns. Luther has his moments (more good than bad, but occasionally disappears for stretches) at SG, but looks nearly as lost as Lucas and V-Span when forced to play point. And Rafer refuses to concentrate on his strengths while minimizing his weaknesses. I'm still surprised that the Rockets didn't make a hard push for Chucky Atkins, who would have been the perfect 2nd PG for a playoff run, and would have probably been somewhat signable in the offseason. Free agents available this summer include Chauncy Billups (yeah, right!), Smush Parker (better shooter, but not much of an improvement overall), Chuck Atkins, Earl Boykins, Kenyon Dooling, Mike Bibby...basically a bunch of players we either have no shot at getting, or wouldn't be much of an improvement (though Chucky or Earl would be interesting backups).
Point guard position is the reason we don't got a shot at the finals. Having the worst shooting guard in the league doesn't get it done. Couple that with Luther Head and it's really easy to see how our back court issues are hurting us. Makes ya miss Steve Francis. Even Kenny Smith. After watching TJ Ford be the next pg guard to rip our defense to shreds, I can't understand why we didn't get Atkins. Just insane.
Another Rocket management goof Sadly to say, Tmac and Yao's narrow window of winning a championship is being wasted by the inability of Rockets mgmt. to surround them with good players. I wonder how much better we could be right now with Mike James running the point, even though he is having a terrible year(still better than Rafers).
Let's hope when Yao comes back he remembers "what I'm supposed to do" and doesn't pass to Rafer too often, just because he's the "open man". It sounds good in theory but it will cost us points in the end. Better that Yao draw a foul and shoot free throws.
i seem to remember people saying similar things about kenny i.e. he isnt good enough to win a championship with. is rafer a poor % from the field? yup but as long as he keeps is assists:t/o ratio high, keeps above 35% from 3 and keeps playing good help defense then he can help this team win, at any level...given yao and tmac are playing
If Rafer was double and tripled teamed, What do you think his percentage would be? To compare Rafer with Tmac isnt very fair.
Very well said. Except I think that his weakness does not completely negate his positives...because you're excluding things like "is the only one on the team who can get us into our offense besides TMac". And his passes to guys off screens and his skip-passes are all sickly accurate, which makes it a lot easier for shooters. edit: Also, who SHOULD be taking all these shots? No one can create besides TMac...so assuming it's not in his hands on these possessions, where do you want the ball to be?
None of this really makes sense. a) Rafer is a point guard--not a shooting guard--and he's not the worst one in the league. Shoot, even Payton is worse at this point in his career. Jameer Nelson has played like crap all year. So has Ridnour. Just to name a few.. Miss Francis? Gross. We'd be back to the days of fast breaks = turnovers and shooting ourselves in the head. You think Atkins would have shut down TJ Ford? I mean yeah, Atkins can shoot and all...I don't think anyone considers him a shut-down defender or even much better (if at all) than Alston by any means.
He'd be having a better year if he was here, IMO, and importantly he's a better overall shooter. It's telling that James lousy year and Alston's breakout year are almost the same.
He's a bad fit in the Minnesota system and is relegated to playing less than 20 min of the bench these days. He has been, throughout his entire career, a much better offensive player than Alston and IMO a much better defender. Also, he is just as adept at bringing the ball upcourt. Oh I get sad talking about it! I wish I could live in blissful oblivion like the rest of you guys
They tell him to shoot, not just 3's. He has the option to dribble in closer and use his mid range like Cassell. However, Rafer is go broke from 3 or blow a layup. Rafer, a 15 footer is a lot easier than a 27 footer from the wing.
Nonsense, that would mean logic would have to be involved and who wants to use logic when everyone is having so much fun hating on the starting PG on a 35-22 team.
I have the solution! How about we turn Toyota Center into a blacktop court and rename it the Rucker Park Center...mayben then Rafer won't be the worst shooting PG in the league.
Good points. Part of the whole PG problem is that there isn't anyone else to even spell Rafer a little bit. T-Mac is the only other guy capable of running an effective PG position, but having him do it, generally, isn't the best option for the team.
That's where it's a tough call. Given the Mike James we know that's motivated by doubters and all that nonsense.. don't you think it's entirely possible that he played for his contract, got his contract, and lost his chip? And no matter where he went, would have suffered a dropoff this year? I think it's a definitely possibility, and I'm glad we don't have 4 years on the books if that's the case..
I totally disagree with you and Sam on this one. His game is similar to Cassell's in so many ways...midrange J on the pull-up, more of a scorer, can knock down the open 3's, knows how to pass...etc. Cassell had some solid years in Minny and, if healthy, could have propelled them to the WCF that year. If Sam could do it, I think the Mike James we saw last year and on the Rockets could have done it. I really think it's a lack of motivation and desire now that he got paid and got recognition (maybe after getting knocked all offseason and almost traded this year, he'll come back next year with some fire)
