Exactly It is nights like this that I wish Luther could dribble the ball effectively..... Rafer is a horrible HORRIBLE...HORRIBLE shooter.....just pathetic. Why did we trade Mike James again? DD
Those averages take into account who you are playing with.....Rafer benefits from playing with Yao and Tmac........and still he is below average. Mike James would be 15+ if he were on the Rockets. DD
Rafer is deadly, to the Rockets, when he does anything else beside shot spot up 3 pointers. Why can't he get it in his thick skull to stop the runners and teardrops? I like his long range shooting this season but to see him give the advantage back by going 1-8 inside the arc is disgusting. Besides, he was 4-19 (21%) shooting 3 pointers in the prior 4 games which is a very bad trend. This mediocre game from Rafer represents a hopeful sign he's getting his act back together. If he reverts to recent form and continues cratering, the Rockets better do something. If he turns it around and improves his shot selection, maybe we can start winning because of him instead of in spite of him. He doesn't have to be an All-Star but he can't play like the NBDL either.
Please DaDakota, your stubbornness is overshadowing your reason. If you really think V-Span could have a assist to turnover ratio of 8 today like Alston did, then you're dreaming. I know how you feel. Every fan has their own "gut feelings" about certain players and believe they are capable of fitting a certain role. But you have to understand that not only does V-Span not fit our role as starting PG, but Alston right now is a better PG than V-Span, and it's really not even close. The fans can't see V-Span because he's not playing, but JVG and the rest of the staff get to see V-Span every practice. JVG has said a bunch of times that he will play the players that give his team the best chance to win. From watching V-Span play in scrimmages and other activities, JVG believes V-Span playing does not help this team to the point where he deserves more playing time than Alston, Head, and JL III... that's right, not even Lucas. That should tell you a little something about how V-Span must be performing in practice. It's very simple. I suggest you move on and appreciate that WE ARE WINNING GAMES. Alston is still not shooting the ball well at all, but his assist to turnover ratio of 8 today was very solid.
So using that logic, James benefitted from being in Toronto because of, who? We traded for Rafer because he's locked up long term and he's a better fit on this team. James is a good player ...but this wasn't the best fit for him. Rafer is fine. He's no allstar but we obviously can win (and win big) with Rafer at the point. That is what is important. Don't lose sight of that.
I will agree that Mike James is more useful to this team when at least one of our stars are missing. However, when T-mac and Yao are both healthy and playing, I'd prefer Alston because he's a better distributor. You can't fault the organization for the trade because one of our stars got hurt. The trade was perfect for the team when healthy. Rafer has been shooting horribly, but look at the good news... he'll be taking less shots once Snyder, Bonzi, and Yao return. Now, if he continues to take a bunch of tear droppers and brick shots after those players return, then he deserves all the criticism Amel and the other Rafer haters like you can give him. It won't happen though, because he knows his role. Speaking of James and his T'Wolves, they needed a game winning shot by KG just to beat the lowly 76ers at home. That tells me the way we're playing, we will more than likely avenge our previous loss at Target Center.
I disagree. The key thing for a PG to do when Yao and Tmac is in the game is to spot up and hit the open 3 that the big 2 create. James is better at this than Alston. James is also better defensively. Now for a guy like Howard or Battier or Head--decent offensive players but not creaters. Alston favors over James. I still like to see us add another veteran 3 ball shooting PG to share the load.
Actually looking at the stats, I see that James is only shooting 0.2% better than Alston at 3's. I'm not sure if James is a better defender overall either. Neither of them are really good defenders, so it's a moot point. If James really was a good defender, we really could've used that in the Mavs playoff series when Jason Terry torched us. For the record, Alston is averaging more steals, rebounds, and blocks than James. It's really easy to bash Rafer right now because he's shooting terribly. But it's not like he's playing up to his full potential. Keep in mind just two years ago he was a 40+% FG shooter. His floaters just aren't going in. It's not like he recently made up that shot. He's been shooting that since his streetball days. Everyone was all over J-Ho when he was totally off early in the year, but he found his stroke. You just have to wait. In the mean time, be happy that we're still winning.
Exactly. His overall shooting is poor, but at least his 3-point shooting is adequate. Also, I think people underestimate the importance of a guy who can bring the ball up the court flawlessly pretty much every time. A turnover is worse than a missed shot because of the chance of getting an offensiver rebound (a strength of this team). Add that to the fact that Rafer's increased shooting is mainly due to the injuries of players that normally demand a lot of shots and he is a good fit for us. Rafer definitely has holes in his game, but those holes are relatively unimportant to the success of this team. His strengths work well into the flow of the team's game. I just wish he would improve his floater/teardrop shot. His ability to penetrate is pretty much useless if he can't finish (even when defenses don't contest him). But this is really a marginal issue with this team.
rafer is taking about 15-18 shots a game lately, give some of them to battier and head even lucas, at least they got better percentage then rafer
I'm watching game one of the Rockets/Mavs series right now. I don't miss James at all. This 'better-fit' thing works. For all the things James did better than Alston, Alston also does things that James didn't. First thing that comes to mind when watching is, Alston fits in. James was good, but he forced too many plays. That forceful play led others to play the same way. Rafer lets the offense come to him. Yes, he shoots too much and probably more than James, but he doesn't force himself into positions that disrupt the offense. Basically, the difference is that Alston doesn't change the flow of the offense. James did. I'm glad we didn't get James. I have the feeling that we won't be as good as we are right now. Alston makes other players around him better. James made James better. The man was talking about himself in the 3rd person last season. Yeah, that's what we need to win.
Um, I support Rafer because he is a Rocket. I don't think he needs to be benched, but I do think his minutes will go down when the team is at full health. That being said, I mean no disrespect, but ShakeYoHipsYao and Prosun, I really disagree with you guys. Rafer is a bad one on one defender who has improved greatly as the season goes on, but still bad, and a decent team defender. James' defense was very important in the Rockets success vs the Mavs, but enough about that...no more James talk. I disagree. Rafer's ranks 63rd out of 105 qualified 3pt shooters. That's not adequate for someone who's going to shoot so many 3's. Right now, Van Gundy values Rafer's ball handling and passing over Luther's shooting...I'm not sure it's going to remain this way as the season closes when the Rockets are healthy. I agree here. Rafer's low turnover and ball handling is very important to the team. Van Gundy hates turnovers. And Rafer's the only low turnover PG the Rockets have now. I totally disagree. Rafer has been jacking up shots all year. When everyone is healthy, Rafer will continue to jack up shots. Most of them are good shots because defenses choose to leave Rafer open rather than single covering T-Mac and Yao. Rafer strengths do help the team, but it is foolish to think Rafer's weaknesses are relatively unimportant to the success of this team. Everyone's weaknesses are important, especially your starting PG who plays 35+mpg...especially when he takes so many shots because that's what the system calls for. I do wish he would improve also, and I think he will, but this is in no way a marginal issue. My goodness, when the playoffs come T-Mac and Yao are getting doubled like crazy, Rafer needs to knock down open jumpers and open floaters at a decent clip. The better Rafer shoots, the easier it is on T-Mac and Yao. Right now the Rafer is helping the Rockets win with his passing and his ball control, but they're winning despite his shooting. One cannot easily dismiss horrible shooting as unimportant. Right now, the Rockets are overcoming his horrible shooting, but man, that's not a great way to make a livin. I don't wish to replace Rafer, but he really needs to improve his shooting, for it is very important in the big picture. On a side note, JHo, Battier and T-Mac were in terrible slumps this year for many games while Yao and Head were the only guys carrying the team offensively. I'm super happy that those guys are shooting well now and they need to in order to win without Yao. Hopefully, come the end of the season, everyone will be shooting up to standards.
What game are you watching? Look at game 6. It is of my opinion that James' defensive tenacity at the end of the 2nd quarter single handedly brought the Rockets back into the game and ultimately helped them take control. Is this false memory? Let me know what you think if you get there.
One thing that gives me hope is Rafer's tendency to shoot better in the fourth quarter, which I take to mean he handles pressure pretty well. So come playoff time, when it's all about pressure, I expect to see his FG percentage go up some. I of course have no statistics to prove this.
just to make it clear to some rookies I did not say he had a bad game but, he shot 5 from 17 for gods sakes! guy is not a shooter and should stop wasting his condition on stupid jump and (theres is no way this one is going in) shots! rafer played well, he runs to court awesome, I never would doubt that, but he is not the PG that the rockets need with someone who can take it hard to the basket, make some good shots and distrubute the ball well we would be untouchable with a healthy Yao on the court what if we lost this game? you bunch of wieners would not be here in this thread! rockets are important to me, thats why I didn't miss a game in what 3 or 4 years...not one! so stop quoting my important messages
JVG said doesn't want to play runts--we can all read into this. Rafer organizes JVG's offensive sets better than anyone else. A coach doesn't like free wheelin' and dealin' as this is fools gold. Rafer is it....so, to help....Rafer needs to utilize more weapons when he's driving in. He's dead set on the tear drop. How 'bout a bank hook shot instead? How 'bout a side step J? A stop on a dime rainbow quick shot? A throw your body into the defender extended layup? Fake a finger roll, reverse shot? A fake the pass, layup? A get fouled no matter what move?
Rafer needs to play. If we can get a andre miller for pg im for it, but with this roster rafer is the point and the best point we got. And i dont know why yall bashing rafer, he isnt that bad. He is a good enough pg for the nba who is in a little slump. ANyway im not worried alot of yall will jump back on the rafer bandwagon in a short while.
Bringing the ball up the court is a strength? Most teams do not even pressure the ball full court. I would play Luther more at the PG position....would probably even start Luther..... All our PG does is bring it up and hand it off to Tmac to initiate the offense. Rafer shoots too much, and is a sieve on defense..... I find it funny that JVG says he won't play runts, but practically every PG posts Rafer up and backs him in....Rafer is a RUNT ! This is why I have been clamoring for V-Span to be a backup to Rafer, at least find out what he can do once he is comfortable....because Rafer IS not going to get us far in the playoffs....he is our weakest link.......even over J-Ho !!! DD
