Here are some facts- and if you read Hollinger's player analysis u'll see that he more or less said te same thing- rafer is an above average shooter from outside when wide open. Last year, he's preety much forced to brick those horrible lay up/floaters inside because nobody else can create their oen frekin shot beside t-mac. So this year, once those floaters is gone, rafer's game will be appreciated again because he can shoot 40% from 3's. last year he shot 37% and quite a few of those are FORCED. He's really going to be fine in this system with his ball handling and passing ability because this yera he'll have one more guy to feed it to who are great at moving without the basketball: Scola.
Rafer was forced to play way too many minutes last year in an offense that requires the point guard to be a good outside shooter. There is no reason he cannot be a solid contributor in a reduced role. He runs the fast break and distributes the ball better than anybody on the roster, so it wouldn't surprise me if he carves out 20 minutes a game.
hes really not all that awful...i dont know understand peoples reasoning for this...he had the best season of his career last year...he made 192 3's and can run the offense good enough to get the job done what else does he need to do...plus he can really get the ball into Yao which is a plus
If this team lets the ball in hands of SF3 and Mj solely, this team is going nowhere.. MJ is very welcome, but more as a sparker from the bench.
I watched the games. He is awful. Terrible. Just terrible. He's a back-up pg at best. His D is suspect, he shoots way too much, and he can't finish around the rim worth didly. And for a pg that plays with Yao and T-mac, his assist numbers are sad - it's why T-mac basically had to run the offense. Not that bad - sure, if you want to be a mediocre team, but on a contender, he just doesn't cut it.
1. If Rafer stays around, I wouldn't be suprised if he manages to gain 5% on his FG%-- not because he will become a much better player, but simply because he'll get easier shots. Even if Adelman's offense just gives Rafer one or two extra backdoor layups per game, and take away one or two clock-runnign down floaters, an extra 5% gain will not be tough to achieve. Take a look at Doug Christie's year-by-year stats and you'll see. 2. To borrow Van Gundy's expression about Battier: If you think Alston is crap, you are crap. Alston is certainly limited, but he ran the team fine. The team averaged 109 points per 100 possession when he was on the floor. If you want to talk crap PGs, look no further than the trio of Spanoulis, Head, and Lucas. The offense absolutely stalled to the tune of, IIRC, 101 points per 100 possession with one of these guys at the 1. Alston should not be a 36 mpg player with no viable alternative, but he did fine. 3. There are a lot of people who talk as though Adelman is just gonna roll the ball out and let the players do playground ****-- and rendering "basketball IQ" usless. You are wrong. Adelman is no less demanding of players doing thing "the right way" than Van Gundy is. Their idea of "the right way" may be different, and Adelman has come up with different "right ways" depending on his personnel, but players, especially role players, who can't execute the game plan still won't get minutes over those who can. If anything, given the amount of decision-making Adelman demands of his players, basketball IQ is at even more of a premium.
well said Will, your not alone in your comments about him being the best fit PG for the team and also the former/now again ball hog... well said but yeah I think everyone agrees he has to the open shots
I can't believe the rafer bandwagon...the damn wheels are about to break off from all the people hopping on..... Rafer is garbage and will continue to be garbage.....You guys will see.....His tear-drops floaters, and non-driving ability will bring you guys back to reality.... I believe the only reason rafer is getting good playing time,is so aldelman can "up" rafer's trade value before the season start...if rafer sat the bench the whole preseason thennobody would want him, but if play good maybe somebody will pick him up.......it does no good to bench rafer in preseason...
I have always seen and thought of Rafer Alston as a great back up point guard. When you go to your bench,your PG play should consist of good defense, low turnovers, and maintaining a good flow of the game, whether by a lead or keeping it close. I think that's what Rafer brings. I never thought he was a great starter, because per usual starters play bigger minutes and are asked to do more, like score the ball, something we all know is not his strength. With all the new additions and his unfortunate off season arrests, I thought it was a foregone conclusion that we would be showing him the door. I am surprised to still see him with the team, but now I'm pleasantly surprised. The following is my theory of our PG situation entering the regular season. Steve Francis is a combo guard that needs the ball in his hands to be affective. I feel he has trouble playing of the ball, and even though we have not seen much to this point, Steve does not look comfortable coming off the bench,which leads me to believe that he will be our starter because of his popularity and chemistry with the first teamers although I dont think he will get the usual big minutes. We still aren't sure about his health which is why it would make sense to keep Rafer Alston. Mike James is a solid combo guard with or without the ball, who will log the big minutes, but will be coming off the bench plaing both PG and SG depending on the lineup out on the floor. Aarron Brooks by default being the rookie could see some playing time, but I think will be doing the most sitting, learning from the vets. As I think it was mentioned in his press conference, there is no need to rush him as he will be our eventual starter at some point in the future. Rafer Alston is worth keeping as our main backup point guard at least as we go in to the season, the rest will just have to unfold. For now we should all look at our PG situation as a positive going forward as the Rocket brass have turned over one of our weaknesses into a strength, and for that I'm grateful.
Aaron Brooks is bricking everything he throws up there right now in preseason and practice. He's a shooter so I don't expect that trend to continue but he mainly will get time in garbage minutes this year.
A lot of people may play a lot better being in a new system that is more flexible to allow the strengths of the individuals to be exploited. Rafer may very well be one of them. Van Gundy's system had a lot of people either doing the same old predictable crap play after play (Yao) or was trying cram round pegs in square holes (lots of our players). It remains to be seen how much if at all Adelman can mask ALston's weak defensive skills. I am optimistic that this team will play very well together on both offense and defense, have fewer exhaustion and tired leg issues, and continue to improve over the course of the season. Can anyone say "fun"?
you guys make me laugh...you jump back on the bandwagon that is sold out now and you think you need an excuse. so you pull out the blame jvg card...ok so what was fitting a round peg into a square hole exactly. please fill me in...because these same cliches everyone on this board uses is so disappointing. get specific or just say you have no idea what you are talking about.
Agree with you completely. And when Rafer cools off and reverts back to form, people will hurt themselves jumping off the wagon. I stopped believing in Rafer late last November and he's done nothing to change my mind. Two early, comfy, low intensity preseason games don't mean a thing. When teams start planning for us after the games start counting, his flaws on offense and defense will shine through and crash the bandwagon with whoever stays on it. But denniscd, didn't you know JVG is responsible for every flaw of every player, even Chuck Hayes' shooting form?
