First, your arithmatic is wrong. It's 10 wins and TMac did not play vs GSW. Looks pretty good lumped together. Let's look at the pieces... Date - opponent and record - Result 02.01.06 - MIL (22-22) - W 86-84 - Out-scored by TJ Ford; barely even in other categories; 1 for 5 from 3 pt; YM + TM = 43 points...no one else in double figures. 02.03.06 - SEA (19-26) - W 100-77 - Played even by Ridnour; 11 assists but 3 points and 0-6 from 3 pt; YM +TM = 60 POINTS. 02.05.06 - NYK (14-31) - W 93-89 - 5 points + 7 assists; Jamaal Crawford 24 points + 5 assists; YM + TM = 38 points; DWes = 19 points. 02.08.06 - Loss to LAL 02.11.06 - Utah (25-25) - W 102-88 - 9 points + 13 assists; Milt Palacio 20 points + 6 assists; YM + TM = 52 points; DWes = 27 PTS 02.12.06 - NYK (14-35) - 14 points + 7 assists; J Crawford 15 pts + 2 assists; YM + TM = 31 points; DWes = 15 points 02.14.06 - LAC (30-19) - W 128-97 - 17 pts + 13 assists; Cassell 25 pts + 6 assists; YM + TM = 45 pts; DWes 16 pts 02.16.06 - Loss to PHX 02.22.06 - LAC (30-22) - W 106-102 - 9 pts + 11 assists; Cassell 13 pts + 9 assists; YM + TM = 55 PTS; DWwes 21 pts. NO TMac.... 02.24.06 - GSW (24-29) - W 91-88 - 10 pts + 6 assists; D Fisher 16 pts + 4 assists. 02.26.06 - ORL (20-34) - W 89-84 - 13 pts + 10 assists in 41 minutes; outplayed starter Keyon Dooling but gave up 17 pts to Carlos Arroyo; YM + TM = 48 pts; JHo = 12 pts. 02.27.06 - Loss to PHX 03.01.06 - Loss to PHI 03.03.06 - DEN (31-27) - W 89-78 - 6 pts + 7 assists; Andre Miller 8 pts + 3 assists; YM + TM = 44 pts; Swift = 15 pts. 03.05.06 - POR (19-39) - W 102-84 - 7 pts + 6 assists; Steve Blake 23 pts + 3 assists; YM + TM = 50 POINTS; DWes 12 pts Since we can only count the Clips and Knicks once each, the "Murderer's Row" you're so proud of with those 10 wins was a combined 204-259 at the time we played them. That's a seasonal % of 36-46. (You're probably not interested but the Mike James Rockets went 7-3 in both Feb and Apr and 12-4 in March 2006 which included wins over DAL, PHX twice, SAC, MIA, CLE, MEM and DEN...most of which without Juwan). Again, I propose the Rockets win in spite of Alston rather than because of him. This will all come home to roost next season. After James signs an MLE type deal, they'll be an Alston lynching in here next season.
There is no way that James gets only an MLE type deal 5~6 million, he is just producing too good this season. I would love it if the Rockets could get him back for the MLE, but it aint gonna happen.
27 of 30 NBA teams are over the cap. Toronto has Early Bird Right which starts Yr 1 at just under $6m...CHI & CHA have cap space and PG's. That leaves 2 possibilites...ATL or a Sign and Trade. I'm betting he stays in Torontio for the $6m.
Rafer looks good against teams we don't have trouble with, like Knicks, especially with Yao and Tmac. However, he doesn't help against teams we have trouble with. Against DAL he averages 4.7 ast/5 TO, against SAS he's 5.3/3.3, against PHO he's 3.5/3.5, against MEM he's 7/5. These A/T ratio numbers look downright terrible.
Rafer is not much of a problem compared to the whole year. If you ask me, I'd say he'd be the third (albeit a FAR third) best thing that the Rockets got this year after Yao's improvement, and the promising talent of Luther Head. Besides that, nothing has turned out good. His "success" is waaaaaaaay above Swift's and no other new players have been bright. If Rafer is going to be our starter next year, his focus this summer should be: SHOOTING...he's got a nice tear-drop layup, occasionally makes the three and gets hot sometimes, but isn't the star of this team and should be missing all those shots! HANDLING: although he does "take care" of the ball, his turnovers go up and down each game, sometimes he'll have 0 and sometimes he'll have like 6! CONTROLLING at the END OF THE GAME: he always seems to go crazy at the ends of games, throwing up strange shots and just running straight down a crowded lane to miss a layup. another point I'd like to make is in the Mike James/Alston debate. If we had kept James and turned him into out first scorer after all the injuries, of course James would be happy. However we all know T-Mac is the main spot for the Rockets, and because of the role James played last year he wouldn't want to give up the position of first-scorer. we'd probably end up trading a mad James in the end. Also, we would not have seen Yao's improvement of late. Rafer's passes inside make it easier for Yao to set up a shot, something James (I'm just basing this off last year) could probably not do as well. Alston is good for the future team with T-mac and Yao, but with all the injuries it just isn't working right now.
Rafer is one of the better passers in the leauge , pair him up with a shooter and we are set in the Pg department .
I'm sorry but i don't thik Mike James is the answer...James wants to shoot the ball every time down..he can't coexist with Yao and Tracy...you need a point guard willing to pass up the ball...For some reason Rafer is a good passer but his entry passes to Yao totally suck..I don't get it..how hard is that..the double teams don't come till later so why thr trouble gettig the ball to him?....I like it when Tracy brings the ball down the court sometimes...he did it alot less before the injury....I see all these prospects and draft projections...is it just me or wouldn't Reddick be a good fit for us...No I am not a duke fan but I keep mentioning it becuase he is a deadly shooter and I think he will be on the board when the rockets pick....we still need another power forward unless Swift has some kind of rebirth n ext year....what abvout a back up to Yao because I think Deke is done....he can't play..last year was an abbirration (i spelled that wrong...)....what do you all think?
I'd rather go sign somebody like Desmon Farmer for minimal dollars than spend a draft pick on Redick, even a second round pick if he fell that far. Why hasn't Farmer gotten an opportunity in this league? Anybody see him play? What's the knock on his game?
If you think that MJ can't coexist with Yao & T-mac, then you are wrong and you didnot watch a single game of last season.. James was the perfect fit for us, he did the role that we needed him to do (bring the ball up the court without turnovers and give the ball to either T-mac or Yao then take a spot on the perimeter or cut to the basket and you will recieve a pass from either one).. I do think we could've made the playoffs without him and I think that if he was here this season, we would've had a very good chance of going to the playoffs... and I am going to say it again, when you have playmakers like YAO & Tmac , you dont need a PASS FIRST PG... you need a pg that has handles and can shoot (Jason Terry is the perfect example).. now, talking about JJ Redick, I completely agree with you.. that's what we need on this team to bring a Championship home... (but I am a big Duke fan though )
You know, this debate is super-played out by now, but the reason why people keep responding is that the only arguments in favor of Alston are either horrendously cliched or just flat wrong, and proven to be such by GATER, et al time and time again. ....yet people keep making them, with the talismanic mantra of "better fit, pass-first PG" -- it's just kind of crazy.
The bottom line is James did not fit what Van Gundy wanted. You've either got to choose the player or the coach. I'll still take the coach. If we had a passing point guard and could have used James as the off guard off the bench ala Microwave, it would have worked great. But we did not have a pass first point guard and a pass first point is what Van Gundy wanted. So, if you want to kick out Rafer and bring back James, you are gonna have to bring in a new coach. All you James backers, who would you bring in as coach then? Sidenote: Go read Toronto's message board on MJ. LOL, they are hating him as much as a lot of you guys are hating on Rafer. I would be willing to bet that Colangelo uses James as trade bait in a S&T over the summer to get a better fit for his team.
...same hackneyed arguments - yet AGAIN. "FIT, FIT, FIT".... Big deal. If not wanting to take shots is "fit", then I'm a better fit than either of those guys, since I'm slow and small and can't hit the broadside of the barn. I'd pass every time. Since I'm a better fit, should we ditch Rafer and sign me? I do like the invention of some sort of "Mike James goes or I go" line in the sand by Van Gundy, LOL - that's at least a new one. It's totally false, just like the "McGrady hates James" rumors were false, but at least it's creative. The team traded him him because it panicked when Sura got injured and gambled (wrongly) that Rafer would fit the bill and that the rickety, antiquated corps of shooting guards (Barry, Wesley) had something left in the tank. A shaky bet at best, and one that didn't pay off - and one long term that will impair the teams ability to make moves. Anyway, if we're ultimately arguing fit, Rafer doesn't fit what Van Gundy wants either - i.e. playing defense and making open shots. So I guess we'll have to trade him or JVG might RESIGN, right?
Speed Claxton. He can run this offense jut fine. He makes 3.6 M this year and will be FA this summer.
You have a legit point about Rafer's defense. It does not fit what Van Gundy wants there. Rafer will have to improve or ultimately Van Gundy is gonna go shopping for something better. I really think Head and that Spanoulis kid are going to come into the mix at PG at some point. Or Head is stuck being our new Microwave off the bench, a role which he could thrive in. But Head is not a starting SG in this league. He just gives up too much size defensively night in and night out. Only when teams like Phoenix and Dallas go with those tricky dicky lineups can Head play effectively, that is to say, when those teams go small and run 2 point guards out there and put a shooting guard at the 3 and a sf at the 4. My point with Van Gundy is he has a certain pattern that he likes for his teams. And he's the boss. We're not getting a Mike James type as the starting point guard, period. Not until Van Gundy is gone. Mike James doesn't fit the Van Gundy role of a starting point guard, just as Luther Head ultimately doesn't fit the role of starting shooting guard....ever, nor does he fit the role of starting point guard right now. Head's only opportunity to ever be a consistent starter on this team is to become a point guard. If he doesn't or can't make the transition to handling the ball and initiating the offense, he will always come off the bench. And while I do agree that if it had not been for Sura's injury, we would have probably kept James, I don't agree that it was a total desparation move. What made it look desparate, was the later injuries to TMac, Yao, and then subsequently everybody else that went down. But if those guys had stayed healthy, Rafer would be seen in a whole different light. But the trade was originally made with the idea that Rafer would give us more quality minutes starting and therefore add more, than James would give us coming off the bench for limited minutes. We were trading a bench player for a starter. Van Gundy did not want to start James and have TMac's and Yao's touches limited. He wanted James coming off the bench when TMac went out to provide us much needed bench scoring without interrupting McGrady's or Yao's offense. When Sura went down, the thought was it would be easier to replace James jump shot than it would be to replace Sura's place in the starting lineup. By the way for all you James lovers/Alston haters, go visit the Toronto message boards and see how much their fans are appreciating Mike James right now.
I don't visit Toronto boards, but from a link posted here ealier, I learned from raptor fans that Bosh wants MJ to stay next season. That's all I need to know.
