When Rafer was here in Houston, people in the media had nothing good to say about him. Now that he is in Orlando, people speak about him like he is the missing piece to get Orlando into the Finals. Are they serious ? What does he have in Orlando that he did not have here in Houston. It just baffles me how much love Rafer gets now.
I've been saying the same thing. Even during the pre-game tonight, Kenny and The Drunk were using that bogus "This trade proves they're mailing it in" theory and saying how Brooks isn't the player Rafer is. I swear people act like we just traded away Steve Nash-for-Sebestian Telfair or something. They like to act like he hasn't been the weakest link in our starting line up during the T-Mac/Yao era. Whatever floats your boat, people.
I'm sorry dude but if you didnt see a difference between Rafer with Tmac and without Tmac then you have no bball iq. Rafer isnt a SG but thats what having a star playmaker does to you.
Rafer is a veteran and we now have two young players... It makes sense that they have no idea how our team is. So, they speak from guesstimation.
The fact is that Orlando was only looking for a passing point guard to feed to it Dwight and be able to atleast hit one 3pointer not very many expectations.
I think that Rafer is the weakest link in that Orlando Magic starting lineup even though he is an upgrade to who they were trying to replace their injured PG Jameer Nelson with. If opposing teams would play special defenses designed just to contain four players, they've got it made. Magic opponents just need to defend in such a way they force Rafer to make scoring plays. If Rafer was forced to make so many scoring plays during the course of the game, I couldn't see how he would get all that much love from the media, let alone the fans. I think that opposing defenses will figure it out eventually.
With the magic, Alston has been... 10ppg/6apg/2.6to. 33%fg 20%3pt. I don't know. Seems to me that Rafer doesn't need T-Mac to suck.
It's not dissimilar to the reaction on the BBS last Wednesday when Rafer briefly ascended to the Pantheon of Rockets greats.
I agree. Rafer for Lowry isn't a huge trade off. We aren't missing the playoffs or losing a playoff series because we traded Rafer. In 3 years when Rafer gets old and Lowry isn't even in his prime, this trade will look like a great move.
Well, firstly, Rafer got a lot of hate from Rockets fans, not the media. But also, considering they traded a late first for him, and he's replacing A.Johnson, they are going to be on his nuts.
Rafer is a good passer and one of the best dribblers in the NBA, but media analyst are totally delusional, if they think Rafer makes the Magic a top notch contender. Rafer will be exposed against the Bostons and Detroits of the world.
RIght now, as far as PG skill goes, he is starting caliber - not good, but better than what Orlando used to have have the Nelson injury. The two we get is more like backups. Although we should see what Lowry can do.
rafer is a pass first PG which is why he's a great fit in orlando. in houston all he did was dump it to Yao and stand behind the 3 pt line. rarely did he get to utilize his passing. he did however get scola about 5-6 pick and pops a game. we don't see that much with aaron brooks running the point. i'd say scola has had the biggest negative effect with rafer gone.
Its hilarious, they have never realized that he is a career 35% shooter, sure he a good passer, but his weaknesses on the offensive end with show, the media knows him as skip, some sort of dribbling phenom.
Rafer is a pass first PG and is a really good passer...but he's not a Deron Williams or CP3 with his passing. Sometimes he'll dribble the ball TOO OFTEN and stall the entire offense, his PG skills and bball IQ range from below average to average. They speak of Alston as if he were Jason Kidd actually. Jason Kidd doesn't have a consistent Jumper...but Kidd is excellent on the fast break, doesn't stall the offense, has great vision, and is of course a great playmaker. Alston just like Kidd doesn't have a consistent jumper. Kidd is a better passer than Alston, has better IQ, has better vision, and Alston is sometimes bad on the fast break. I don't understand the love fest for Alston, I think the media WANTS Orlando to do good because of Howard...so they made a marginal improvement to their team this season and the media is exaggerating it. Just like how they feel the Hornets are contenders when they have one good player coming off the bench, it's mostly because of CP3. Media only looks at stars.