The new Rafer: temporary hot streak or a sign of something great?

It remains to be seen how he will handle playing against stronger teams on a consistent basis. I think he will have difficulty maintaining his level of play.

 

I think his shackles have been removed, and he is not afraid of making a mistake, and it is improving his play.

DD

 

Every post you make has some kind of hidden shot at JVG.

 

Like Dr. Phil says, the greatest predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Rafer is not a young rookie, I think he is over 30. I wish this was some sort of basketball rebirth, but I seriously doubt it. Rafer will not be able to sustain the current hot streak and return to brickarama shortly. I have always admitted that Rafer is a great ballhandler, but that's it. He is not an NBA starter. I will admit this, I have seem him actually make more "floaters" in the last two weeks than he made in two years.

 

I think it is more a product of Tmac being out and Rafer running the offense more than a coaching change.

It is not a shot at all, it is why I believe Rafer is playing better. Which is the topic of this thread.

I am certainly not a fan of Gundy ball, but I don't hate the guy.

DD

 

His shot in the beginning of the season had a corkscrew wind up to it with his legs bent weird before his release. His shot looks much more fluid, and the rotation of the ball is better as well. Also his running tear drop again seems to have better rotation and hang time to it than before. It's pretty clear he's been working hard in practice and whoever has helped him correct his hitch in his shot should get a big pay raise. Rafer's always been a good ball handler, and he's generally reliable with the play making, but his shot being consistent has done a world of difference for the flow of our offense entirely. Assuming his play as of late is simply a hot streak that'll fade, I think it proves how important it is to acquire a consistent PG in that can't be slacked off on offense.

 

I think he's just playing better. He's had stretches in previous years where he was encouraged to take a lot of shots and create off the dribble. And just like now, it happened out of necessity due to injuries to either T-mac or Yao. He simply never finished inside the three point line this efficiently before.

 

He might cool down some. The Rafer haters are waiting for a late game mistake to jump down his throat. Or maybe they want to see him succeed, like the rest of the team. I doubt it.

 

I don't know if I would be a hater or not. But I did want him gone. And I still am not convinced it will last. That being said he has played as good as can be expected and I hope he keeps it up.

 

Yes, apparently they brought back some of the methodology that Rudy used to use, and that JVG banned.

(happy Lasik?)



DD

 

It is temporary. The old Rafer we all know very well will return. Just give it time. A tiger doesn't change it's stripes. If Rafer takes fewer shots, his decline won't be as noticeable. I just hope he doesn't sink to the dark depths of last season. Unless AB starts playing out of his mind, PG play will once again be our undoing.

 

Rafer has been a scrub for many years. The new Rafer will disappear when the game counts. Even the new Rafer is not good enough to compete in the west.

 

another way of phrasing the question: who has a crystal ball

i have had nothing but disdain for this guy for so long, but he has been an offensive juggernaut lately

i can only hope this will continue

 

I just picked him up on my fantasy team, so I am hoping he has found his niche. However, it is quite likely that his production is going to start to go down now that I have picked him up.

 

Not a fair poll. How on earth could anyone not pick option #3 just for sheer BBS references alone?

 

What new Rafer? He hasn't changed that much.

Last 6 games, his shooting % is 45%, he's taking more shots, but also turning the ball over 3.8 times a game due to having to be more aggressive.



His personal offensive numbers really have not been more efficient given the TOs. He's making less than 1 more shot per game, but is turning the ball over almost 2 more times.

 

for what it's worth he isn't shooting insanely great percentages but his 2 point percentage is stellar lately. i attribute that to shot selection and making more intelligent drives to the basket. since dallas where t-mac got hurt here are rafer's stats versus his career stats

FG% 42.9% v. 38.6%
3pt% 35.8% v. 35.4%
2pt% 49% v. 40.7%
FT% 67.9% v. 72.1%
Reb 3.1 v. 2.8
Asst 5.8 v. 4.8
TO 2.9 v. 1.7
Stl 1.15 v. 1.2
Pts 15.38 v. 9.7