Alston was too one dimensional with 3pt shooting and also made the offense too predictable. Lowry at least makes the opponent pg play defense with his constant attack mode. There's a reason why opponent pgs had field days against us, they only had to play offense.
I agree that we probably gave up the better player, but I think the Magic lost way too much in that trade. First Rounder for Alston? Not worth it at all. Also, realgm should be banned. They aren't credible at all and their writers make espn look like writers from the National Inquiry.
espn gave up a B for this trade so....... boo on the writer. he hasn't watch rafer play that much if he gave the magic an A lol.
On the court, diligence + tenacity + brains + skills (Scola) >>>>>>>>>>> diligence + tenacity (Yao) >>>>>>>>>>>>> brains + skills (TMedicalCenter) >>>>>>>>>>>> skills (Alston)
Its only one game but I like that he played to his strengths, did not take one jumper 18 ft and beyond. Attacked the rim and tried to get the offense going along with playing defense. I hear he's got hops as well so I like the direction of getting more athletic also.
Someone quickly write a blog with the Rockets getting an "A" while the other teams get "F's". Then, link it here and claim, "So and so gave us an A! We won the trade!"
Lowry is a BIG time underrated player. He doesn't shoot the ball that good from the 3pt line but Rafer is known here for going on really, really bad shooting stretches. Lowry to me is a poor-man's Rondo right now cause he is a player that plays hard D and always attacks the basket on offense. Rafer Alston is overrated like a couple other Rockets to be honest (Battier, McGrady & Yao). Just telling the truth.
While the weakness of Lowry might be his 3pt shooting it is nice to know that he has only taken 69 treys all season long while Rafer has taken 233 including 0 for 3 in his Orlando debut. It's nice to know that Lowry knows 3pt shooting is a weakness and does not use it much. If Rafer understood his limitations he would be a much better point guard.
The Rockets dealt away draft picks in recent deals. So this is like trading Alston for a low 1st rounder & change. Alston was 25th or so ranked PG traded for a 35th ranked PG , but has upside to be in the low teens. There's different categories for "shooter" - shooter means shot-taker or someone who takes jumpshots, and outside shooter who shoots from deep. Rafer is the better outside shooter no question. Lowry beats Rafer in 2 pt shooting, which still counts as points. Lowry gets more free throws, which also still counts as points. Gotta work harder to get those points rather than launching a 3 to get them sure, but as long as they get put on the scoreboard the same.
Alston wasn't a good scorer at ALL. This is proven because teams will double off him until he proves consistently he can hurt them.
True, but I don't put as much weight on Lowry's stats as a starter because of the low sample size. I would argue that had Alston been with Memphis he would have been ahead of him on the depth chart. In the long run Lowry may prove to be the better guard, But right now, even with all his warts, Alston is a proven pg. Lowry is not. Again, I think the trade was about the Rockets believing Brooks had surpassed Alston rather than seeing Lowry as better.
My understanding from team quotes was that he was encouraged to score more and to shoot the three. The positon he was put in within the offense dictated it. My concern with Lowry is that defenders will double off of him. I'm curious to see how he handles it and what the team does to account for that.
If doubling off him means giving Lowry a lane to the rim...it will be a mistake and Defences will pay. Lowry not going to throw up some ugly floater, he's going to drive and create contact. He's not a bad shooter inside the arc either.
I think a big reason for the trade was to keep the team running the same way no matter the PG in the game. We want a PG (or two) that can break down the defense and get into the lane at will, replacing the playmaking that TMac gave us. Brooks gives us better 3 point shooting, which is the biggest reason IMO that he will be our starter for the foreseeable future, but both of those guys can get to the hoop and are very skilled at finishing at the rim. Lowery is probably better at this than Brooks and is much better at 2 point shooting than Rafer was, but Lowery and Brooks have similar games so that the rest of the team doesn't have to adjust so much depending on which PG is in the game. My bet is that Adelmann is putting in a serious fast break style that he plans to implement on just about every trip down the court. Our quick PG's probe the defense for easy baskets while Yao makes it down the court. If nothing is available in transition, it is the Yao show. With the way Scola, Battier, and Ron run the court, we should see a lot of easy baskets during our stretch run. With the way Yao finishes at 55%, our half court offense will be dominant in the playoffs. We are set up for some exciting basketball over the next 2 months and if everything gels, it could be close to 4.
a rush to judgement! Very difficult for the writer to know what is going on in Morey's mind. Give it a season and then comment!
