Isn't Rafer too confident? Isn't Rafer too confident? I was thinkin' about Rafer Alston. About his role in Houston. And damn after first 7 games he sucks. He just sucks. He is awful shooter, he cannot make even open 3, open jumpers. He's been shootin' that stupid jumpers in the fast breaks. For me looks like Rafer is still very confident. He's sure he is still the best option for this team, he still thinks he's better than Mike James and he doesn't have to work on his shoot, shoot selection cause he is sure coach A will still put him in the startin' lineup. Looks like he doesn't feel the pressure when everybody says he sucks. I mean we have to do somethin' with this cause Alston hurts this team right now. Maybe coach Adelman should talk to him and say: Rafer you suck. Unless you play better you won't play. We still have Francis, Mike James, even Aaron Brooks. We need a solid PG to make the game easier for superstars and we need a player he would be able to make that open 3 at the same time. Well right now Rafer cannot do that. I even think Aaron or Steve would play better than Alston.
Last season, JVG had talked to Rafer. To tell thim be confident even if he missed most of shoots. I believe one of the important things he can do is confident. From last several games, he is the another man, idifferent from preseason. It is time that Adelman give PT to SF3.
In preseason I belived Rafer would play like he did in the preseason. Most of you didn't belive it and you were right
Rafer is what we thought he is - he just sux! And unfortunately, the Rox will never get to the finals with Rafer as the starting PG. I sure hope Morey is using his calculator on Rafer's efficiency, or lack thereof.
You guys really need to just jump off the rafer hating bandwagon...hes better fit to rn the offense then mike james just get over it jesus you guys cry about everything
I hope it was a joke. Yes, James has been strugglin' past few games but he's still better than Rafer. Really
Rafer is the best starter of several below average options in the opinion of the coach. If anything the coach is probably the one telling him to stay confident and take the wide open shots on the break and any time he is completely unguarded because that fits Adelman's philosophy of take the first open shot available. Rafer needs to play with confidence, but I seriously doubt he is thinking he is above being benched regardless of what he does. In fact the evidence points much more to Steve being the one who was over confident and assumed the starting job would be handed to him regardless of what he did. The problem is too many of you value scoring above anything else, and you have taken the "crusade" to remove Rafer so personally that you take notes on every mistake he makes as if you are hoping he does poorly so you have more "evidence" to back your cause. If you followed the mistakes of other players just as closely you would see that there is plenty of room for improvement by just about everyone. If Rafer continues to shoot a career low % over an extended stretch I wouldn't be surprised if he is benched for someone else. What's amusing is that some of you seem to think you are debating with the coach or something. Even if we ALL agreed on who should play it would have zero effect on the actual rotation.
i'm tired of the rafer hate. so what if he freakin' misses shots, he's our best ball handler and passer by far. he does things no one gives him credit for but when he misses a shot, suddenly he's the anti-christ. everyone needs to shut up. we're 6-1 for f**ks sake.
That's a brilliant idea because clearly Rafer is sucking intentionally. Sucking at basketball is something Rafer does for kicks. Once the coach lays down the law and tells him he has to quit sucking if he wants to play, he'll instantly transform into an all-star caliber point guard, hobbies be damned.
Yes he does suck at shooting recently, put he runs the offense the smoothiest of the pgs on the team right now. If if he doesn't shoot those wide open three's he will also get criticized for not shooting.
If you don't play with confidence, you'll be even worse. Any shooter will tell you that you have to beleive your shot is going in, if not, you'll miss, or you won't shoot at all and the defenses won't stay honest. Is rafer a good shooter? Probably not. Is his problem confidence? Actually, confidence can only help. Could this thread, which amounts to "Rafer shoots too much, and he's not that good a shooter" have been posted on one of the 4 thousand other daily rafer threads? Yes, yes it could have. Why clog the board?
It would be easier to put up with Rafer if he had the same shooting reluctance of Shane Battier last year. Battier often times passed up open looks to make the extra pass, and when he did finally decide to shoot he was wide open. I can put up with Alston jumpers if there's no one within 6 feet of him and his feet or set. I can't stand it when he tries to break down a defender and do his best Tony Parker teardrop in the lane impression, or when he makes a couple of buckets and thinks that gives him the green light to jack up a contested 3. I cringe even when McGrady does this because I can usually bank on it being a long miss off the back of the rim that'll result in poor transition defense and open look for the opposing team. And it's always in situations where the Rox have a decent 10 point lead, get 4 on 3 numbers and McGrady, Alston, or James think its smart to kill off 3 seconds of the shotclock and clang a contested 3 off the back of the rim. It always seems to end with a potential 13 point lead cut down to 7 because of one boneheaded offensive possession.
rafer,mike, and steve are all STREAK shooters. You can't bench a guy the moment you are in a slump. I think keeping a strong mind and confidence will get you out of the slump quicker. Need an example of what lack of confidence does, see Andrei Kirilenko in last years playoffs.
I know were 6-1 and I know Rafer does some pretty good things out there, but I just don't want to go through another Utah playoff series again. I'm not a Rafer hater, just looking at the big picture. I could care absolutely less at going 52-30 if you can't win in the playoffs with the homecourt advantage. Rafer is not a championship PG, his weaknesses will be magnified in the playoffs. Just keeping it real.
