steve said after the game

Francis played okay last night, but I didn't see anything that warranted him getting playing time over Rafer, Mike James, or even Luther Head. Francis needs to show why he deserves playing time over those three if he expects to see the floor on a regular basis, and shooting 3-11 doesn't help. One thing is certain though, and that's Rafer is still our best PG at getting the ball in the right person's hands.

 

For his first game back, I was impressed. He didn't shoot well, which was expected, but he played a very controlled game. He rarely dribbled out the clock like most said he would and made some very good passes. Neither Skip or Steve outplayed each other but you see the difference between them. Steve is able to put pressure on the defense by penetrating and dishing or finishing by himself. I think once he gets into real game shape, he could be a major force with us.

It was also great seeing him back on the court again. That pick and roll play with Yao brought back memories of the old days. Honestly, I think the Yao & Steve pick and roll could be effective like the T-Mac/Yao Pick and Roll. Steve and Scola seem to play well with each other also.

 

I fully agree with you. He may not outplayed Rafer today but he sure caused some defensive pressure to the opponent. That's crucial because if Yao has his shots back, we have great chances of winning most of the games. I don't see Rafer create defensive pressure to any opponent.

 

He looked better than I expected. Let's see where it goes from here. If Rafer continues to play like a dog then that will be reason enough to give SF continued court time.

 

I first noticed your posts about Vspan and if I am going to be honest I didn't like you very much. I thought you were mostly talking opinion and trying to preach it as Gospel. In retrospect I would say you were pretty accurate in your assessment. And the more posts I read from you the more I find you to be an even keel kind of guy, generally giving unbiased observations that have a level of accuracy to them. This is becoming more of a rarity on this board were many posters jump into camps of YOF's, TmacOF's, RaferOF's, Van GundyOF's, etc.. So keep up the insightful observations.

By the way I still believe Vspan given some playing time could have been much more valuable contributor than Rafer last year especially in the playoffs. Also that Vspan could have had a solid NBA career and that Van Gundy stunted his growth unfairly. But I do give credit to your assessment of Vspan's future as being closer to reality.

 

Refuels we to support you

chinese:
加油 我们支持你

 

I saw enough last night from Steve to want to see more. Unless Rafer starts shooting 40% from 3 point land, we've gotta do something. Him distributing the ball don't amount to a hill of beans if we are having to play 4 on 5. Every team in the NBA is forcing us to do the same things..........make Rafer shoot.

 

yes he played okay. and all we need is okay. what mike james, luther, and rafer have been showing... they were not okay. they were horrible.

whats the point of getting the ball into the right person's hand, when rafer's defender are going to double team that "right" person. makes him useless doesn't it?

 

Answer me this: What in the world did you expect him to show in his very first action in game 11 of the season? Tell us all please. He didn't shoot the ball well, had a couple of assists (would have had 4 of Yao hadn't missed what he normally makes), 3 fouls and zero turnovers, 1 steal, 1 reb. Tell me what more could reasonably have been expected.

 

Steve and rafer are about the same but I think steve gives you more repsect on the offensive end of the floor. The opposition respect steve's ability to shake you up one one one, pull up jumpers in your face, drive to the hole either finishing or dishing it off.



Steve is a triple threat and you have to guard him on the defensive end you cannot just really let him shoot like with rafer because he can finish or he can draw fouls. I think rick maybe be over analyzing steve's flaws bit. Adelman being a offensive coach loves offense and to have a players like steve in the lineup gives you another person that they have to defend.



You have rafer and chuck hayes who were liabilities last night and most nights.Chuck plays defense and rafer runs the offense but that's about it,In adleman's offense he knows you need all guys being a threat and right the rockets are starting off 1st quarters and 3rd quarters playing 2 or 3 on 5.


You can live with steve's flaws because he get's respect from his opponents he isn't like james going to the hole who takes it and either can't finish or is kinda of weak going up in there. Steve is going to either finish or get fouled and he can in my opinion create shake and bake moves better than mike james because shaking and baking is his thing, mike james game isn't shaking and baking but he thinks it is. Mike is better playing within the system but his delusions of granduer make him think he is shake and bake player.



I say you live with steve's turnovers and value his ability to make plays offensively especially if you call yourself a offensive coach and that's your calling card.Steve gives you more all around respect than james or alston offensively.

 

Honestly, I think Rafer needs to hit the bench and let's live with the growing pains of Francis as the starter.

DD

 

I think he showed us exactly what we need. Besides Tmac and Mike James (sometimes), Francis is the only one who can get very consistent penetration in a 1 on 1 situation. Also, when Francis gets penetration he is excellent at finishing at the rim, getting to the line, or making a good kickout or dish inside. That wraparound pass to Yao last night was . And if you're too irked by his poor shooting, look at what Rafer has done through 11 games. It would be very interesting to see our first 10 games with Steve in place of Rafer. Rafer has not played 1 great game yet, maybe a few good ones but even that is debatable. Anyway, I am so excited to see Tmac, Stevie, and Yao on the same basketball court working together. Could be electrifying...

 

Rafer needs to start and play until mid December. It will increase his trade value.

Even without a Rafer trade, SF3 needs to be our backup 1, since Mike James is a shoot first guard. James makes a better backup 2.

 

the huge difference is p&r between yao and sf gives yao easy baskets. well, tmac gets most easy baskets.

another interested observation is when yao helped mj or rafer on p&r the ball never came back to yao.

 

I don't think there is anything Rafer can do to increase his trade value. You can play him for 48 minutes and it won't do anything to increase his stats.

 

I expected what I saw, which was not much. He hasn't shown Adelman why he should be playing in front of our current guards, and according to Adelman's press conference, he thinks the same thing.

 

Rafer is just not starter material. Until he's benched and replaced with a better player, the Rockets are going nowhere. Oh...their win-loss ratio might be good and all that...but they won't go anywhere when it counts (playoffs). I think Steve should get a shot at starting. The worse that happens is he proves he's no better than Rafer. The best that happens is Steve recaptures his magic, scores in bunches, and is more of an impact player than Rafer...who does excel in ball management but just not in offensive potency (which ends up hurting us more from a starter standpoint than the rest of his game IMO (even more true now under this new offense)). Plus, Rafer would make an adequate man off the bench.

If we think we are going to make a serious run at the championship with Rafer running the point, then that is a pipe dream. His lack of offensive consistency, which ranks him at the bottom per minutes played and field goal %, is going to be the death of us. And, although his minutes are down by 10 a game this season, his FG % has dropped to the low 30s and his 3pt % is horrible (i.e. a bad start). He's just not a viable option offensively. He cannot complete the position; too much inconsistency. At this point, I don't believe Rafer can turn his shooting around enough to warrant keeping him in the starting line-up. He has his moments but they are rare.

I also don't think giving Steve a shot at the starting position is enough to cause the Rockets to lose games because Rafer isn't on the floor. That would have to acknowledge that Rafer is a part of why we win games...a point I'm not willing to concede at least so far in this season. I think the Rockets can move the ball without Rafer doing it. Steve may have a few more turnovers, though, but the upside could be he brings more offense and rebounding. I'm not sure on which one is better defensively. I think many would pick Steve on that front.

 

not only would he have had more from the weird misses yao had last night,

but he also got some good passes deep in the paint to get scola to the foul stripe.

now an assist shows up as 1 assist on the stat board.
but steve's passes that got scola to the foul strip shows up as 1 PF on the opponent and hopefully 2 made FT by scola. still 2 points, still an assist really, but also the opponent picks up a foul and edges closer to having to ease off on defense.

you had to pay attention to see how steve played well last night. if you werent watching at times, then you missed important things that wouldnt show on the stat page, as explained.

 

Ok lets just keep playing Rafer "Brick" Alston as you prefer.