Adelman wants to give Rafer/Luther ample opportunity to break out of their offensive slump. I guess it boils down to how much grace period you're willing to give a player who's slumping. Fans are reactionary by nature. If a player isn't doing well, they want to put him down and sub in the next player. Coaches can't think that way, because the reality is players have ups and downs. Players go through slumps. Shooting, in particular, can be streaky. If a coach is constantly switching between players based on whether their shot is falling, that erodes confidence and chemistry. Right now, I want Francis to get some playing time. That's the fan in me, I guess. I've seen enough of Rafer. I know, pretty much, what he'll give us. Now I want to see what Francis can give us. But Adelman has different priorities from just watching players on the court. He's trying to build up a stable rotation that gives him the best chance to win. Francis is a giant question mark right now. He could help the team, or he could make the team much worse. With Rafer, other than shooting, you pretty much know what he'll give you. The effort is always there, and he plays smart and communicates on defense. He brings the team into their offense quickly as well, which is extremely important. That's one of Steve's glaring weaknesses; he dribbles on the perimeter a lot with out purpose, wasting precious seconds off the shot clock. So, Adelman hesitates to play him big minutes at PG, and obviously between T-Mac, James and Bonzi, minutes at SG are scarce. I do think Adelman is reaching the boiling point with Rafer, though. He'll probably give him a chance to play some more games with T-Mac. But if he struggles and the team plays poorly over the next few weeks, I think there's a pretty decent chance that he starts Francis.
Stop feeding the troll. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, rofflesaurus refuses to concede that he was wrong about Francis. "Practice is where it counts! What you see on the court does not tell the full story. Adelman knows more than you!"
Steve's 3-11 shooting? That's a line that we come to expect from Rafer night in night out. Steve is a much stronger PG that Rafer, can put the ball in the hoop and shows up when the pressure is on. Rafer chokes!! Steve's shooting % will go up, but Rafer's will never be more than what it has been the last couple of years. There is a tremendous up side to haveing Steve out there, where as Rafer is more flat lined. Over dribbled? NO! Turnovers? No! Hit his teammates where they needed the ball? YES! Faster and can still can out jump any guard on the team? YES! Overweight and out of shape? HELL NO! If I was Rick, and of coarse I'm not, I'd start Yao, Scola, Battier, T-mac and Francis. I'd come off the bench with Hayes, Bonzi, James and either Head or Brooks (as Brooks is our PG of the Future). Rafer we've seen enough of him over the past few years to know what he brings to the table and it's not any thing that can be replaced. Sit Rafer for a few games, let Steve play with the starters and trade Kirk and Rafer for a big that can fill the PF/c role, in case of foul trouble for the big guys, but of course I'm not coach! Go Rockets !! It's Time !!-
YOU AGREE THAT RAFER IS A STARTER? Minnesota is 1-7 and Golden State is 1-6....I dont think Rafer could even come off the bench for one of those teams!
Once again, thanks for a serious reply. I'm not advocating the radical and reactionary measure of starting SF and benching Rafer. All I want is for Rafer's minutes to be dialed down some and for SF to get regular minutes in the backcourt at the expense (mainly) of Luther's spot in the rotation. All I'm asking for is 10-15 minutes/game so we can see what happens. Based on game play so far, I can't see much risk. If Luther weren't playing like Mary's Little Lamb, I wouldn't be suggesting this.
Try not to think so hard...it could be dangerous to your health in the state you are in! Rafer is a ZERO on offensive...and a NEGATIVE on defense...his quote un quote "good play and running of the offense" with Yao and Tracy consists of bring the ball up the court and giving it to one of them at the top of the key and then completely disappearing so that his defender can help to try and contain Yao and Tracy! Steve presents a penetrating and finishing threat which opens the court up more for Yao and Tracy!
After hearing the interview, I just hope RA will still give Francis PT when Tmac comes back. Why do you think our offense has been so stagnant so far? Because players like Rafer, and previously james, doesn't make the shots!
Have you ever thought of changing your name to "stevefrancishater"? Cause I can't believe that anyone that knows basketball can take up for Rafer! WAIT....WAIT...WAIT....JVG AND RA! YOU WENT TO THE SAME COACHING SCHOOL AS THEY DID OBVIOUSLY!
Rafer is not slumping. He can't shoot. His preseason play was the abberation, not his current play. I still support the coaching change but I don't have to support everything Adelman does. He's being loyal to a player that doesn't warrant it. Rafer sucks!!!!!
Rafer is a career 38% three point shooter. He hit 2.5 of them, per game, a season ago. He's shooting 20% to begin this season. Obviously, it's a slump.
We all want Rick Adelman to suceed here and be the coach that takes us to the winning of another championship! I think that is a given. But, if he keeps stinking up the joint by playing Rafer Sucks Alston at all...and starting him with Chuck and Shane, a total of 3 non offensive players in a supposedly offense system, he will get run out of town just like JVG, no matter what his record ends up being. Cause he CAN NOT win a championship with that starting lineup...PERIOD! The question becomes how long does it take Adelman to realize that his assessments are wrong and make a drastic change to his starting lineup? How long before Steve starts? How long before Luis starts? How long before Bonzi starts even with Tracy back? How long before Rick realizes that he has to put his best offensive players on the floor to start and for the majority of the game if this team is going to contend for a championship? I personally will give Rick a little more time. But when Tracy comes back on Wednesday against Dallas, which I am guessing he will, if Rick goes back to his original lineups because they were 6-2 before Tracy got hurt, then he has no VISION for this team. Only continued fan pressure, which will cause the Rockets upper management to pressure Rick, will hopefully get Rick to see the light or get rid of his EGO!
You cannot remove Rafer as a starter and demote him to the bench. That would too much for him to handle. Promoting Steve to starter from inactive or DNP is also to drastic. Anything drastic is no good for chemistry.
I think Rafer can start but with reduced min and slowly move James up as starter before making him share PT with Francis. If he is not getting better then he can be demoted further and move Francis up.
Ugh...Ugh...CORRECTION SIR...Rafer is a career 35.4% three point shooter and 38.3% FIELD GOAL shooter....still sucks! On the other hand..Steve may only be a career 34.2% 3 point shooter, but he is a 42.9% career FIELD GOAL shooter...much better. Plus he averages for his CAREER 6.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 18.3 points (which means he gets to the hole and makes some freethrows as well)...much better than Rafer Wafer!
LOL. But it's ok to bench a three-time all-star who was once the face of this organization? And all the Francis bashers thought we were blind!
