That he be replaced with somebody who can defend and hit open shots. Is Sedale Threatt still available?
TMac was the playmaker last year because we had no point guard. He was the playmaker out of desparation. Yeah, we will be running pick and roll a lot. But what is the defense going to do? They are going to cheat off everybody but TMac and Yao to help their teammates defend those 2. If we get a third scorer, then Rafer is going to have plenty of opportunities. Not to mention, if Van Gundy does the smart thing, and continues to develop our fast break which we are seeing more of now that the season is history, then there will be more opportunities for Rafer in transition. My point is this: 1. Rafer is a much better point guard with scorers on the floor to get the ball to. We have one scorer on the floor right now. That's it. We have zero scorers on the perimeter, only desparation shooters. 2. If you brought Steve Nash to Houston to run with these guys this year, he may have a little better statistics, but not significantly better. All his cool passes would wind up in shots clanging off the rim just like Rafer's and he'd have JVG in his ear telling him to get the ball to Yao constantly. The only difference being Steve would be canning his own shots out there. But he would have given it all back up on the other end because the rest of the perimeter defense is poor. There are not long, athletic, quick, perimeter defenders out there to allow Nash (or Rafer) to cheat, and play the passing lanes like he does in Phoenix. A poorer, less gifted defender at the point sticks out right now with this team because we have no perimeter defense. (That's why ideally I'd like to see Luther develop his passing and playmaking ability and be able to play the point consistently. He's a much better natural defender at the point than at the 2, not to mention he's a better shooter than Rafer.) There is no question that James would have served us better this year with all our injuries. He would have given us much needed offense, shooting and penetration that Rafer simply can't create for himself with any degree of efficiency. But with three healthy scorers on the floor, Rafer will look worlds better than he looked this year. And he did look good when he had both Yao and TMac on the floor. Rafer has averaged 7.2 assists with both Yao and TMac on the floor. Rafer has averaged over 8.2 assists with both Yao and TMac on the floor subtracting the games Rafer played before he(Rafer) sat out his injury. If you take out a couple of those other games just prior to when Yao and TMac went out with injuries, where they were obviously playing hurt, you can see where Rafer could push 10 assists with a healthy team and 3 scorers on the floor. I understand nobody is healthy for 82 games and people have to play hurt. But the point is, Rafer has court vision and he can find people and get them the rock. Rafer could get 10 assists easily in Phoenix in a system where the coach encourages you to run, and doesn't require players to put in a lot of effort defensively other than to help the other team to rush a shot up, so they can run down in transition. If we get a definite 3rd scorer, stay healthy, and continue a faster pace, Rafer will push 10 assists next year.
I would have kept James, Alston is too small, too much of a defensive liability, and he is shooting in, what, the 30's. James was the third scorer this team so desperately needs.
I don't see how you can objectively defend the Alston/James trade. The Raptors won this trade hands down for what James contributed to his team versus what RA did for the Rox. Everybody that defends the trade always includes the if word and I can't believe that with the advantage of 20/20 hindsight that 90% of the GARM wouldn't rather have James rather than Alston.
I understand the constant use of the word if but that argument alone doesn't justify the trade, at least not at this point. rafer is a better player when yao and t-mac are on the court, I understand that and that's a legitimate point, but its not the trump card in this debate. just because tracy is hurt doesn't mean all role players get a pass. rafer hasn't played badly, but right now he has not been a better player than james.
How can you convince us when you have to slice, dice and cherry-pick the good games (maybe 7-8 games total) Rafer played this year? Yeah, Yao and T-Mac (especially him) make everyone look better. But is that supposed to be the job for playmakers? Rafer is a play-maker, in your mind, and yet he has to have others make him look better? For every good game Alston played, I can give you at least two other games in which he either shot poorly, got abused by opponent PG or made very bad decisions during the clutch time. Then you say they don't count because he was not in the right situation. Still, you haven't answered michecon's question: you want to bet on the doube-double thing, or not?
Stop the churlish betting junk. There is approximately 25 games or so that Rafer, Yao, and TMac have played together this season. I'm sorry the sampler size is so small. I'm not responsible for the injuries. Rafer is a playmaker in terms of getting the ball to where it is supposed to go, and penetrating and dishing. He is not a finisher. He is not a good shooter, at least this year. His shooting regressed this year. And he will not look good as long as he is throwing the ball to Ryan Bowen, Bogans, and more cold than hot Luther and Wesley. Everybody on this team has shot poorly and gotten abused by their opponents when Yao and TMac were out. The measuring stick includes what did they do when Yao and TMac were in the game. Were they contributing or were they still a negative affect? You can't just isolate the poor games when both Yao and TMac were out. Even if you did that, Rafer is way down the list of worst performers. He's probably still the best or second best performer when TMac and Yao are out. Hey, if we could upgrade the PG position, I have no problem with it.........provided we have addressed our serious deficits at the SG and PF positions FIRST. Then if we can find a better defending, better shooting PG with the same floor vision and passing ability as Rafer, I'm all for it. In the short term, Toronto got the better end of the deal. The long term will look much different provided everyone gets healthy and stays healthy. If they stay healthy for a full season, Rafer's numbers will be a whole lot better. Where we missed it was not being able to forsee all these injuries. If we had known they were going to happen, we probably wouldn't have dealt James and he would have blown up here. Then we could either resign him for Wesley's money, since we didn't move Wesley, or we could S&T him to another team for some legit talent.
Lest you have not noticed, the ball is still in Tmacs hand as soon as it crossed half court when Tmac, Rafer and Yao are all on the floor. Blah, blah, I stop paying attnetion when you claim RA can go to the rim and finish better than MJ, and compare RA in slightest to S Nash. Blah, Blah, if you really believe in what you preach about that double double crap, why don't you take on my offer?
Oh, sorry, got you confused with Rocketinsider. you are this guy and bring up Steve Nash. Sort of similar.
Just to be clear......Steve Nash is way more than a double-double. I am not putting Rafer in Nash's class.
If James ends up signing an expensive long term deal and subsequently plays like crap next season (which isn't inconceivable) ...and If RA plays marginally better than he is now for an entire season ...which also isn't inconceivable ... THEN... this was a good trade. But if James continues to put up 20 ppg next season then I'll concede that on paper Toronto got the better end of the deal. All that being said, I'm not losing ANY sleep over it. I don't think James was a good fit here but I'll admit he would have been helpful THIS season given the injuries but he wouldn't have propelled us into a contender this season. Barring an injury plagued season, I think we need to find our 3rd scorer in a position other than PG. Just my 2 cents.
Then I don't know why you bring Nash's name in this. Seriously, you've said so many things yet not seem to completely believe yourself, we lost track.
I brought up Nash's name because some of you inferred that there is no way Rafer can get to double digit assists because Nash is the only guy that is at that level. I say bologna. Getting double digit assists doesn't mean you are equal to Nash. And getting double digit assists isn't so difficult that only a player like Nash can do it. But getting double digit assists is very difficult even for a player as good as Nash if the guys receiving the passes can't knock down shots. Still all fired up? By the way, Rafer was brought here for the express purpose of taking the ball handling duties away from TMac. Go back and look at the games where they played together. The only time TMac brings the ball up is in crucial situations where we are trying to get him the ball for a shot. But Rafer does 90% of the rest of bringing the ball up the court. That is by design to save TMac for the crucial points of ballgames. Just like bringing in a 3rd scorer who can defend the tougher of the 2/3 matchups is the key to next season for us. It's all by design to lighten the load on Tracy so he can be healthy and rested going into the playoffs. TMac does not bring the ball up all the time when Rafer is in the game. In fact, quite the opposite.
http://forums.espn.go.com/espn/thread?forumID=640&threadID=3429326&lastPostID=21663517 This is what the toronto fans think of Mike James. I am not saying Rafer is the answer, although I think he could be. I am just saying no way Mike was the answer.
Jop, I feel reluctant to reply since obviously you don't fully believe what you are saying, you back paddle from that double-double claim, and never take on my offer. The way you said about Nash hypothetically on this team makes me wonder if you really understand. If you think getting double digit assists is not difficult, here's some more hint to you: Double digit assists since 99: 99/00 Kidd 01 None 02 A. Miller 03 None 04 None 05 Nash 06 Nash (so far) Still want to make your claim? How is that different from what I said: the ball is mostly in Tmac's hands as soon as they cross the half court, Tmac is usually the one who initiates offense? What's opposite about?
