That is precisely the point....sure he has some great stretches, but he has far too many bad games to ever make a real run in the playoffs. I am convinced he had decent stats against Utah only because he got hurt and couldn't play all series....as he surely would have had his usual 2 games of clunkers to 1 game of shooting well ratio. DD
no, I'm bored and want to poke at the fat kid some more. plus think of it as giving you free edjumacation on rockets fandom. rockets under kenny AND sam cassell - 2 rings in which sam consistently closed games cause rudy didn't trust kenny. case closed.
Both Cassell and Kenny were crucial and shared closing duties, or have you forgotten the 3 ball Kenny nailed after those 4 missed free throws by Nick Anderson. Keep on name calling though, it just shows your lack of class. DD
And Robert Horry for GOAT. With SuperMario as one of 50 GOAT. Smith was the starter and 1/2 time 1 on two championship teams. Period. He was OK. The same Kenny on this same team today without Rafer would not be any better, and might likely be less.
Rafer is streaky but I hope he'll get better and become more consistent. Currently, we have no PG as good as Rafer. Until we get one who is better, he is all we got. I would consider Parker, CP3, Deron, Calderon and many others better than Rafer.
how did I know you were going to mention that one 1 uno game against the magic in which kenny had the game of his life? cassell > kenny rudy never was a kenny fan, had sam close a lot cause of kenny's suckage
Kenny Smith in our first championship year averaged 28 minutes to Cassels 17 In our 2nd championship season Kenny still got more minutes per game at 25 to 23 Both players were needed to win those championships.... And honestly what is your point here? I would kill to have a clone of either Kenny or Sam on this current team.....that is EXACTLY what I am talking about. DD
The goofy and now oft-repeated spectacle of DaDakota starting out an inconsequential thread, then doling out praise on people he agrees with as valuable contributors and then sniping at his blood enemies is a welcome new feature of the offseason.
LOL - I am just waiting for JVG to sign up to coach somewhere else so you can have a new favorite team. As for inconsequential threads, don't you have a Van Buren thread to start in the GARM? You sure that you and V3.0 are not sharing a computer? DD
Last season Rafer was 19th in assists so there were 18 players who were most likely better playmakers.
DD is right...Rafer doesn't do much at the point, the real reason his flaws don't show are because of TMAC making all the plays. Take him out and you got a team worse than the seattle supersonics. We need an upgrade, if anyone here wants to be a contendor, one this is for sure Rafer isn't going to get you there. He would be GREAT coming off the bench though. Kenny smith like rafer....WTF?????!?!? There is a reason he was called the Jet, he is similar to Rafer's role, Clyde was similar to TMAC but he actually hit his shots. Kenny was a PHENOMENOL 3 pt shooter
Kenny sure looks better a decade later than he did wearing Rockets' red. He was a 'nadless, clueless Point who was bailed out by Scottie Brooks then Sammy, oh and a guy named The dream. Yes, Kenny could line drive with a sideways spin the 3. I would take today's Rafer over yesterday's Kenny (Ernie's 'Jet') Smith. That said, I have love for Kenny and the whole roster and coaching staff of the '94 and '95 Hearftful Champs!!!
Agree with you about all four of those PGs being better, but only on the offensive side of the ball. Rafer from a defensive standpoint is as good or better than all of the above PGs you just mentioned (especially when it comes to team defense). I am probably one of the biggest Rafer bashers on this board, but I don't see the rockets making a starting PG change, though I do see a backup PG addition in the offing. A second year under Adelman and the eventual emergence of Brooks, makes me not worry about the PG position like I have in the past. This should be one of the easier offseasons for the rockets brass in finally getting what they want out of certain positions. Athletic size in the frontcourt, one or even two slashers who can finish in the paint with size and they should be good to go for the upcoming season. I have to give Rafer some respect for making me eat some of my words this season.
First of all, we didn't do all of that without Yao. Second, who didn't? The warriors didn't make the playoffs but they finished only 9 games out of first place (the pistons were 7 GB and they had the 2nd best record). That's a really poor argument. Look we did what we always have done over the past few years. We beat most of the weak teams and surprised some good teams with our great defense. I would think that you could have figured it out by now. The rockets lose in the playoffs because other teams start playing intense defense and then we're outed on or weak offense, nothing new. Most of the season, most of our guys are in 5th gear while the other good teams are on cruise control. Our 5th gear is not even close to the elites right now, healthy or not. We have been finishing with good records for a while now and it doesn't translate to playoff success. Its not Yao, its not Tracy, its not Shane, its not Rafer. It is Luther Head, Chuck Hayes, Steve Novak, Bobby Jackson, Mike Harris, and even Mutombo. All of them look completely clueless on offense and if any of them are getting more than spot minutes we aren't a good team. I say upgrading Rafer would be the least of our worries because it comes with the biggest price. To get a guy who is gonna make a difference it will likely cost nearly all of our assets. We can upgrade talent in other areas alot easier.