I have been saying that the Rockets lacked a 2nd penetrating player all year long, but lately it has become even more obvious. When teams trap or take Tmac out late, it falls on the PG to set the table for the team. Rafer can shoot, can dribble, make the safe pass, but he does NOT make the pass that leads to an easy basket. Tmac makes great decisions with the ball, Rafer makes safe choices, team's don't have to commit to the rolling man on the PnR when Rafer is dribbling because Rafer does not make that pass. We need a triple threat player at the PG spot, Rafer can be the backup, but until we get a player that can set the table like the other quality playoff teams have, I don't think we will win. Rafer is just not good enough....sure when he has hot streaks we love him, but he is NOT doing the job of a PG.....watch Chris Paul dribble and set the table...do you guys think that Chandler would be anything without Paul? Watch Nash, watch Williams, watch Davis, watch Kidd, watch Parker...all of these guys are capable of setting up their teamats for a pass. Not our guy, not Rafer, he will pass to the guy open on the perimeter, but his interior passing or his hitting the cutters is non existent. I hope that Morey can really find a guy that is capable of setting the table for other teamates and moves Rafer to the place he belongs...backup PG. DD
so what do you suppose we do??? THE TRADE DEADLINE HAS PASSED! all we have is Rafer so just suck it up and have faith and enjoy the ride. Weve overachieved enough as it is.
I realize there is nothing we can do at this point, and we are stuck with Rafer, but I am hopeful that Morey still recognizes it as the major problem with this team. Just add one penetrating PG that can set up his teamates, and this team takes off.....as is....... DD
totally agree, but how realistic of a chance of getting a pg that can do that. i don't know of too many pgs that can do that well. i say we need a shoot-first pg to come off the bench. we all hoped that mike james was that man, but he's not. jason terry ideally is what im talking about. that dude coming off screens is deadly. he can will the mavericks to victory if he really tried as evident in our games with the mavs and especially THE 05 PLAYOFFS.
Should we make a promise to not make another "Apologies to Rafer" when he steps up big and we win a few? If that's the case, we can all start a new direction in life.
Yeah, but after watching them these last few games, it looks like the season will end fairly soon. And I know Rafer has been hot for stretches but even then he is not playing as a true PG....should...and it is fool's gold. Most other PG's are double threats.....pass and shoot....ours is a threat a shooter but not as a passer....and when his shot is off.....he is fairly worthless... DD
Steve Francis is that guy. Next to T-Mac, he's our only other guard that can make/made passes that set up guys for easy shots.
Paying rafer more so he could get more $$$ to do brain surgery then u can compare him to other legit highly-pay guards.
Who's that Black Widow guy that used to own Skip to my lou in the And1 mixtapes? Maybe we should bring him in?
We have a player who is deadly coming off screens because that is all he did during college for 4 years. His name is Steve Novak. We just don't put him in the game or run any plays for him when he is there.
it would be interesting to see how rafer's field goal percentage corresponds to rockets wins and losses. the biggest change during the streak was that rafer was simply making shots. his 3's were going in, whether he was making a few or bombing away like against the lakers. even some of the floaters and runners were managing to go in. since then????......we're seeing a lot more 4-13 type of games. if t-mac is going to handle the ball the majority of the time, then the point guard has to be able to knock down open shots consistently. I think it's a little much to ask that the rockets find a player who can both shoot from the outside and set up teammates for open shots. there are only a handful of guys who can do that really well, and they're not going anywhere.
i agree with you DD, but i don't see too man PG's like paul, nash, williams, davis, kidd, or parker available. the best possible would be hinrich. of course the bulls need to believe that houghes and gordon are more important to the team, and that it's more cost effective to sign duhon on the cheap and let hinrich go for endings. jackson, steve, and brooks might work in that scenario. a more realistic option would be tj ford. he's got everything the rockets need except range on his jumper. he can drive, dish, and defend. jackson, head, and our pick might get that one done. realistically, if the lakers could win with fisher, i don't se why we can't win with rafer. spot up shooter / defender, doesn't make many mistakes with the ball... that's ok if tmac is making decisions off the pick n roll, yao is making decisions out of the double team, and maybe a guy like brooks can make decisions off of drive and kick. IMO adding another scorer is just as important.
