You know what? If RA has a problem with Francis and determined to put Francis his dog house, then he would START Francis, and then, after a bad outing, bench him forever. This will shut up all doubting fans.
Very well spoken and logical. I don't see why more people are not impartial like you especially since we are 4-1 and with the 52 win season last year. It would be nice if people were not Rafer haters or lovers. He knows what he is this year and we all should know what he is this year. He is not shooting as much which should ease people's minds and gets Yao involved a lot. Yes, his defense sucks as does all of our small guards. If you watch any NBA game, all PG's in the NBA can blow by their defender because there are no PG's in the league that can play solid defense anymore. The last two were Gary Payton and Jason Kidd but both are past their prime. You can not find one lock down PG defender in the league anymore. Rondo on Boston may be the next lock down PG but other than him there is really no one with Jason Kidd or Gary Payton potential out there.
In these 5 games, the PGs the Rockets might face again in the playoffs are Fisher, DW, Terry and Parker. Now let's think about Rafer's performance against them in these 5 games.......... Uh-oh! We might have some trouble.
He is having a hard time at the moment but fortunately we got James who is doing really good at the moment.
Fisher, DW, Terry and Parker are very good players, and yes, PG will be a probelm but we already have T-Mac and YAO, we cannot expect that we have best players for all 5 positions. The other teammates need to help Rafer like we did against Spurs, we can still win even our PG is a bit weak. Meanwhile we just hope RA,MJ,SF can keep competing so they won't be lazy)
You know that there is an entire board full of posts from you saying Mike James is a terrible defender and Rafer a good one, right?
Rafer, Just hit a shot and Mike just pass sometimes. Also, for those that don't know stop Jason Terry from going right and Manu from going left. As long as we have the Spurs killer Bonzi, they are in trouble.
I've posted this in another thread but I have a feeling the message did not go through, so here goes again. Our PG position obviously isn't on the same level with the elite teams like Spurs, Pheonix, Utah and Dallas (Harris could be debatable) Our SG position is obviously superior then all of these teams. The big interior men within the elite teams are pretty much equal in effectiveness for each team (I do not mention talent) -> Duncan, Stoudamire, Yao, Dirk, Boozer. Our offensive spark options off the bench have greatly improved this year. Having James and Bonzi coming off the bench serves the same role as: _ Terry and Stackhouse for Dallas _ Barbosa and Diaw for Pheonix _ Millsap and Harpring for Utah _ Ginobili and Barry for Spurs So basically, each team will have their strenghs and weaknesses. Our PG position is a weakness but definately not a huge problem. Just like the SG position for Utah and Pheonix or the C position for Spurs and Dallas. So yes, our PG position may not be as strong as the other contenders, but they are definately capable of being apart of a championship. Who was the Chicago bull's PG in their title runs? How about the Hakeem led championship team of the 90s? Saying having Rafer starting at PG cannot win a playoff series or championship is inaccurate and bias. Think of our PG position like Dallas's C position, does Diop or Dampier look like championship caliber Centers to you? But when they are used efficiently together they form a very strong 15ppg 12rpg Center. Now do you think the starting center position is that important? If our PGs combine for a decent 15ppg and 8apg with 2TO, I think that is a championship caliber PG. I know most of us fans just want to see our PG position being at least on par with the other contenders as to see us not get punished by Parker or Deron. But how many elite perimeter defenders can stop these players anyway? If there is a better solution at PG, I'm pretty sure Morey would have jumped at the opportunity. We all thought bringing Francis in would move our PG position on par with the elite teams, but the showing reality of him not being able to fit with the offense and just being out of shape and unable to defend has shocked most fans, and hence still live in a bizaare delusion that Francis will become a All-Star PG like he used to be and play on par with the elite PGs of the other contenders. Rafer Alston isn't a top 10 PG, but he is good enough (Yes good enough for a championship caliber team if he plays 20-25mpg as an efficient player with pros outweighing his cons). Unless your going to suggest a way to bring in a better PG option to replace him, (I'm talking about elite level PGs like Kirk Hinrich without trading away the core of the team; and that means no bullsh*t 3 scrubs for 1 star trade proposals, they aren't realistic) I suggest all you people who use Rafer as scapegoats to stop dissing him and cease living in the illusion that Francis can be the answer to our PG problem. Stop using Rafer as a scapegoat and start looking at the team's faults collectively and suggests ways to fix the faults and improve the team or simply be optimistic and cheer for the team because Rafer Alston isn't going anywhere. Rafer Alston is an underrated defender, a solid floor general with great passing skills and ball handles and one of the best in the league in controlling the tempo of the game (He controlled JVG's slow half court offence and can run Adelman's fastbreak just as effectively). His biggest deficiancy is his streaky shooting that is blatantly obvious when you look at his stats and puke at his FG%, noone is argueing that is not a flaw for our PG, but it is an weakness that can be compensated by the good things he brings and for him to play fewer minutes, having a backup PG that can easily fix the shooting problem. Frankly, there is no available PG out there that is an upgrade over Rafer. And no Steve Francis is a volume shooter that thrives under stagnant offences, even him at 100% would still be a question mark as to if he can be a better starting PG for the Rockets over Rafer with this years squad. Unless Stevie shows a dramatic improvement, it will be very unlikely. The only PGs that are clear cut upgrades over Rafer are: Nash, Kidd, D.Will, T.Parker, Hinrich, J.Tinsley, Bibby, D.Fisher, C.Paul Volume shooting PGs like: Iverson, Marbury, Felton, Gordon, M.Williams will NOT fit with the Rocket's perosonell and offense. And guards like Delonte West, Nelson, J.Jack, Steve Blake, TJ Ford, Tyrone Lue etc are not upgrades over Alston at running the Houston offense. If we are going to complain that we don't have a Star PG. What makes you think the Suns and Jazz aren't complaining about a Star SG? Stop being greed y and be satisfied and get with reality, Steve Francis is not on the same level as the elite PGs and is not even on the same level as subpar PGs like Alston and Mike James in running RA's offense, get over it. Our PG spot is a weakness but can be easily compensated, a championship with this roster is not a question, it will all be determined by the player's development with the offence, work ethic to continue playing hard on the defence, hustle and team chemistry. _ Blues
What? TJ Ford is much better than Skip. Even the biggest Rafer fan would pull the trigger on that trade if it was possible. But it will never happen because the Toronto GM is not dumb enough to fall for that trade. TJ Ford, a fellow Houstonian, is putting up 15/7 while shooting 49%. That would definitely be an upgrade over Skip.
Laby, I get what you are saying and it is true, but that doesn't mean that the Rockets should just settle, if they can improve an area of weakness they should. For instance, I would give up Rafer and Mike James for Bibby.... Sacramento Trade Breakdown Change in Team Outlook: +19.4 ppg, +5.2 rpg, and +6.8 apg. Incoming Players Steve Novak 6-9 PF from Marquette No games yet played in 2007/08 Rafer Alston 6-2 PG from Frenso State 6.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.6 apg in 25.9 minutes Mike James 6-2 PG from Duquesne 13.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.2 apg in 24.1 minutes Outgoing Players Mike Bibby 6-2 PG from Arizona No games yet played in 2007/08 Houston Trade Breakdown Change in Team Outlook: -19.4 ppg, -5.2 rpg, and -6.8 apg. Incoming Players Mike Bibby 6-2 PG from Arizona No games yet played in 2007/08 Outgoing Players Steve Novak 6-9 PF from Marquette No games yet played in 2007/08 Rafer Alston 6-2 PG from Frenso State 6.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.6 apg in 25.9 minutes Mike James 6-2 PG from Duquesne 13.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.2 apg in 24.1 minutes DD
Read the entire sentence (at running the Houston offense.) before nitpicking one thing out of my entire post to argue against. And we have a PG that plays very similar to how TJ Ford plays, and right now his a 4th string PG behind Alston, James and Francis. I'm sure that little player is able to destroy Alston on another team just like TJ Ford can, but the reason they will not start over Alston is because of Alston's strenghs in team familiarity, a pure PG that is able to play and run any system handed to him and a very underated floor general in his ability to dictate the tempo of a basketball game. _ Blues
Wel... He can beat presses like at the end of the game last night. The list stop's there actually. Did anyone catch his airball at the end of the mavs game? Now THAT was rafer at his best.
I know what you said. TJ Ford is as pure as a PG you can get. More so than Street Baller Skip 2 My Lou. And sorry, Brooks is not on Ford's level yet. Ford's has much better vision and passing skills. TJ could run the offense just as well, if not, better than Skip.
