These are the league leaders in assists and these are what we consider the top point guards: Steve Nash 11.7 Deron Williams 9.3 Jason Kidd 8.9 Baron Davis 8.6 Chris Paul 8.4 Why do we consider them top point guards? because they rack up assists. I don't mean to sound dismissive but you can find any streetballer out there if all you want are good ballhandling. The true measure of a quality pointguard is in the assist category. Getting assists is not easy , it takes a lot of creativity and basketball IQ. My point is Rafer can be a top point guard , he has the skills and the raw talent.... He just needs to focus more on developing this aspect of his game. He has had a few games where he racked up quite a number of assists and I believe the team has better chances of winning when he does pile up assists.
The difference in these players and Rafer...besides from a talent standpoint...is that they all play in offenses where the PG dominates the ball. Thats exactly what we dont need from our point IMO. The reason being is we have such a unique talent in Tracy that can create from the 2/3 spot. He's the playmaker in the halfcourt set the majority of the time. Right now I want the ball in his hands as much as possible b'c good things happen then. I feel Rafer does a very good job of getting him the ball early instead of Stevie Franchising his way up the court and burning the clock down to 12 or14 before any kind of offense starts.
I disagree. Jason Kidd does not dominate the ball because Vince carter is the focal point of their offense. Rarely do you see Kidd chalk up a lot of shots so with Deron Williams. I think it is a matter of creativity and basketball IQ. Rafer has had games where he has had like 8 or 9 assists , there is no reason why he can't do it more often with the proper emphasis and focus on this aspect of his game. Also, with the amount of shots rafer is taking I wouldn't call him non-dominant with the ball on offense.
Basically , if rafer is playing with two superstars and a lot of quality role players there is no reason why he cannot rack up assists. Racking up assists isn't easy, it takes creativity which I think rafer has in him. he just needs to develop it... use the force , rafer.... Another example of a good pointguard was ron harper of the Chicago Bulls and later with the LA lakers, he was not the dominant or focal point of the offense but he was racking up assists. Andre Miller , Mark Jackson, were among the PGs who are able to find ways to distribute. Even Chauncey Billups , k
Beginning of the season: I agreed to keep VSPAN on the bench and go with Rafer. But after the season has worn on, I've changed my mind. It's not a love for VSPAN more then the pain of watching Rafer make poor decision and fail to execute over and over again.
chauncey billups can at least make a shot, and he can be the go to guy for detroit cause they don't have any superstars.
okay, so basically you're using highlight videos to justify your position, despite the fact that he averaged over 6 assists per game on a little over 2 turnovers per game in toronto? BTW...look at highlight films of Tmac. How many passes do you see? Exactly.
Harper was more for defensive purposes - but he could move the ball and hit a jumper to alleviate pressure. Triangle was built around Pippen, Jordan and whatever big man they had at the time....
I meant dominate the ball in the fact that it is in their hands for the majority of the shot clock...they might not take the shot but they dribble it around waiting for the open man the majority of the time. I applaud Rafer for pushing it up the court quickly and getting the ball to TMac as early in the shot clock as possible. We all know thats where we want the ball and I wouldn't want a PG in hou who did the steve francis and dribbled the air out of the ball waiting to either shoot a fade away at the shot clock buzzer or pass to someone else for a desperation shot when nothing comes open
I agree that we should put the ball in Tmac's hands and I too applaud Rafer for giving him the ball early. However, in basketball there is no hard and fast rule on every play. The pointguard is basically the captain of the team and has reasonable discretion unless the coach calls a particular play. The good pointguards, through talent, creativity, basketball IQ, or ability, just somehow manage to finish the game with a lot of assists, and carry themselves in a way that it is difficult for the other team to read what the team is doing. For lack of a better term, we can call it pointguard savvy.
I stand corrected on that. Anyway, my point is simply that the statistical field where you will find pointguards ( the good ones) dominating is in the assists category. Points per game - it may be a center, forward, or guard . Rebounds per game- forwards and centers, Blocks per game- Centers and Forwards. Assists per game- Pointguards.
Here's a highlight clip with some passes... lol (some lyrics NSFW) <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/B6YQHFOniaw"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/B6YQHFOniaw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> I find it funny that Rafer fans like to point out Rafer's accomplishments as the point guard on a terrible Toronto Raptors team .... .... but like to discard Mike James accomplishments because he was on a terrible Toronto Raptors team. If you took out Rafer's Toronto time, like they do James, Rafer would be a career 36.9% shooter from the field. Let me say that again: Career. (not that 38.5% is much better)
Uh, no it wasn't. First, you pick the wrong year ... and it's my fault? Second, how could I have known it already when it's not even true? You are to mindreading what Rafer is to shooting. Does accusing people of bias also include writing fiction about them? And is simply reporting facts that say Rafer is not a good shooter only supporting my narrow view that Rafer is not a good shooter? I mean damn, this is like a comedy skit. You're looking at a volume stat. I'm looking at his percentages. For example, Rafer is on pace to break the franchise record of number of three-point attempts taken in a season. I've been saying that for a long time so it's hardly something I'm ignoring. Luther Head is also on pace to break the franchise record for "number of 3ptrs made", but at his current pace will come about 90-100 threes under the record for attempts. If that doesn't hammer home the point, nothing will. (is this where I conclude that you're heavily biased for Rafer and/or against Luther Head since you didn't post the Luther fact?) Furthermore, on this debate, you're very late to the party. By saying Rafer shoots more threes than he dishes assists, I'm not knocking him but rather those clowns who never saw that coming. Before the season started, myself, SamFisher and others stated exactly why Rafer Alston was not the right fit for a team around Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. The position requires ballhandling and passing, but he would not be the creating playmaker. In the halfcourt, that job is T-Mac's. On the flip side, the position demands the ability to shoot the ball well, especially three-point shooting, given how many double team kickouts will come from T-Mac and Yao. Said in preschool form: Rafer has a lot of what the Rockets need a little of. He has little of what the Rockets need a lot of. Take a look at any of Rockets111's posts before the season. The guy said Rafer would take no more than 3 threes a game, would be the 5th scoring option on the floor, didn't need to shoot well and would average around 8+ assists. That was representative of a score of people who backed Rafer. Now, all we ever hear from these people is how it's not Rafer's fault that he shoots so often because that's what the offense calls for. It's also not his fault that his assists are way down because Tracy McGrady is the playmaker. Just stop and think about the 180 they've done for a second. The debate regarding what type of point guard the Rockets need has been won already. Hands down, on this point, the apologists crashed and burned and there were no survivors. Now, can Rafer succeed in the role that they disagreed he would ever be playing? Well, that's all they have left... the hope that they can beat this square peg in to a round hole. His three-point shooting has improved (up 4 percentage points) ... his two-point shooting has gotten worse (down 4 percentage points). Overall, he's mediocre and if the Rockets fall short, this is an area they will improve on (and tried to improve on last summer). And he shot 41% and 52% from three-point range in the playoffs the two championship seasons before that. If what you're trying to tell us is that a two-time NBA champion can survive a down playoffs from a guy who <I>normally</I> shot 41% from three, how is a team that has never won a playoff series going to thrive if Rafer even maintains the status quo? Because I don't know if this has come to your attention yet, but Fisher is a career 43.1% shooter from three-point range in the playoffs, while Rafer Alston is a career 22.6% shooter from three-point range in the playoffs.
