7 assists 2 turnovers 28 minutes... Yes he could play much, much worse. He's hit a few big 3's this year too, but made a few bonehead turnovers. Considering the situation, I think he has played surprisingly well. I hope he continues to improve. Either will help out on the court or builds trade value
the reason rafer sux so bad is not his point total, but the fact that he passes up GREAT shots and takes HORRIBLE shot. somebody needs to tell this guy about shot selection, but that doesnt do anything, since he would miss them too...... WE WANT STEVE!
Fairly accurate. They both are mediocre. James can't handle the ball nor pass as well as Rafer. Rafer can't shoot nor defend as well as Mike. That's why they split the minutes down the middle. Francis may get a chance to play simply by default. You never know what you're gonna get on any given night between James or Rafer.
why not? spurs have it, boston has it....why can't we have one? a top 15 pg is a little above average considering there are 31 teams.... we don't have that.
How 'bout we all wish Rafer gets some kind of sprain or minor injury and let's see how the Rockets do without him?
Rafer is the new Kenny Smith before the ring. He is not playing well right now but I think with a guy like James, that can come in an be an offensive threat, the Rockets will be fine. I must admit that during a game I often wonder how does this guy continue to start. However, we did win 52 games last year with him as our 3rd scorer primarily. His Ast to TO numbers are pretty good. I'm probably in the minority as I don't feel that I am a Rafer hater or lover. No he is not an elite pg, but neither was kenny and he often caught alot of flack. My concern is his defense, but none of our small guard are great on the ball defenders and yet we are a top defensive team every yr.
I willl say this much. We are 4-1. We have road wins against LAL and Utah and a big home win against SA. Rafer's role is blantantly obvious. When he's in the game Yao get's the ball down low in good position as well as other players. He is clearly not a big scorer but he does everything else well. So, as long as he's shooting 5-8 shots a game and he keeps Yao in the post I'm happy. He's our only pure pg. James is our spark off the bench. I'm very pleased being 4-1 ( and had a shot at 5-0). So far, no complaints here
I want the Rockets to win a championship - I have my money on it both literally and figuratively. Rafer Alston will not lead you to the Larry O'Brien trophy. He has been one of the worse starting PGs in the entire NBA since last season. Only Smush Parker is as bad as Rafer, but he doesn't start anymore (hasn't even played this season I don't think) and was benched in the playoffs last year in favor of a rookie. Skip just doesn't bring enough to the table. Steve Francis overall is better than Skip and has less weaknesses as well. I'm tired of explaining why Rafer Alston just has too many liabilities to be seeing significant minutes on an elite team. He just sucks.
I think this is taking it way too far, In no way shape or form should Rafer be our third scoring option. However, he is our only real pg. James is what he is (and we need that) and Francis will provide the same as James if he ends up getting pt. They are shooting guards in pg's bodies. I think we have the depth to compete for a championship to be honest. As long as Rafer limits his shots and keeps doing a good job setting up the offense it doesn't matter. He should have never been the 3rd option and he isn't now. Our bench depth will take care of that. If not Skip then we still need a pg becvause Brooks isn't ready and skip is the only pg on the team
I'm smelling off court problems between steve and the coach. But Steve has been acting reasonably well as far as im concerned. I can only imagine how hard it is for steve. This guy use to be the star in Houston. I just hope the JVD-Wells scenario doesn't happen again. WE NEED EVERY BIT OF THE JUICE OUR PLAYERS'VE GOT. We cant afford to lose the prime yrs of Yao and tracy year after year.
To be fair, I think he was referring to how Parker was so fast, Rafer would just put his head down turn around and try to sprint to keep up with him, not that we was running away from him and letting him by. That was an accurate comment. Parker is just that fast. I remember how he used to abuse Steve at will, and this was when Parker wasn't very well known or near as good. Seriously, there were a few times tonight my eyes could barely keep up with him. The guy can just go around anyone at will.
Yep, he made it look easy out there whereas James and Tmac were having trouble against the Spurs pressure. They didn't even try to pressure Alston when he got the ball. Give me a break guys. He had seven assists and two TO's and ONLY 5 shots. He passed up on several open looks this game that Van Gundy would have benched him for passing up. If he takes under 8 shots/game what is the big deal? He gets the ball to Yao better than anyone on the team(maybe Tmac). But in the post and repost, Alston is always the one doing the best job of this. Where is the sticky that these guys can go post in? Unfortunately, that would leave about 20% of us left on this board that do not hate Rafer with a passion.
