I agree with you on Scola. It seems like Scola and Rafer developed some good chemistry. Hopefully Brook and Scola can do the same.
Great said. Totally agreed. Plus, Even though RA probably is the weakest piece of Rockets' Top 6 players (Tmac,Yao, Ron, Shane, scola, Rafer), Still he will be missed in playoff. I feel Yao and battier are the foundaton of the team. Other than this two, Rockets can go to final with one player missing, but not two of them.
Great Post! I have to agree with you although I believe PG has been the Rockets Achilles Heel Rafer was under appreciated. He would often have to step up and take the big shot because T-mac didn't want to shoot it or Yao couldn't get position on his man to take the shot. I like the young guys we have now but you need poise in the playoffs and our young guys are untested at the Pro level. That's when we will miss Rafer when our young guys get rattled under pressure.
This is a complement? Just like RA's low FG %, Yao cannot guard centers 15ft away from the basket, Artest takes too many bad shots, Shane doesn't get involved in offense enough,.. You can go on and on with this, because every player has his weakness and strength. The TMac-less Rockets with Alston would be a playoff team, but probably won't make to the 2nd round, which is not enough for the management, that's why they made the change. With two young players, the management obviously decided to give up the current season, instead of looking at the future. The good news is that the team is playing better than almost everyone could imaged, so it makes the trade doesn't look that bad now. The Magic is a young team, really need a steady hand to control the game for them, and Alston fits that very well, that's why people in the business think the trade elevated the Magic. The Magic already has both inside & outside game, so all Alston needs is to control the pace, pass the ball to the right player, which is exactly his strength. He was exposed with the Rockets because the Rockets doesn't have many good shooters, and he was pushed into the scoring-role which he is not good at.
Rafer is HORRIBLE as a starting PG, not good, not average, HORRIBLE.... He will tease with a few quality games, but ultimatly he will not help Orlando to go anywhere. Because soon, teams will be able to double Dwight and leave Rafer wide open, and his horribleness will not allow him to make enough shots to make them pay. Rafer Alston - been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. DD
I agree but not that he's horrible, he's bad. I don't really care that he doesn't turn the ball over and plays hard every night. To those saying he's a good PG He doesn't run the offense well because he's no threat to score...period. When has their been a PG that is no threat to score and run a good offense? He's either going to throw up a brick or a ugly floater, as far as on the court...Good Riddance. I'm sure he was a great guy off the court but that doesn't really matter.
Either your using hyperbole, or your definition of horrible is pretty broad. Through his carrear we had several winning steaks due to his play. He won the job last year by beating out others meant to replace him. Look, I usually don't try to get in debates, but it bugs me how guys overemphasize the good and the bad about a player. If Rafer was as horrible as some say he was, then he wouldn't have been starting for us. Just for balance sake, I think in the long run its good that we traded him. I would have liked to have traded him earlier. Your right he was really inconsistent and when he was off it wasn't just by a little bit, but come on, the guy worked hard, was a floor leader, and up until this year we were a worse team when he wasn't playing then when he was. In fact a couple of weeks ago, didn't you mention the fact that the offense ran better with Rafer at the controls then T-Mac this season? Personally I'd say an average to above average pg, sometimes pushing to great. I'll even give you below average pg. But horrible? That's your emotion talking.
Yeah like when he hit that game winning shot to help send the Heat into the 2nd round a few years back.
Yes he will definitely put them over the top Orlando 3-2 with him 2-2 Him as a starter. Team he face. CHA, MIA, L CHI, NYK, L DET. FG= 38% (19-50) 3p%= 17.4% (3-17) FT%= 59% (13-22) 10.8 PPG 6.2 APG 2.6 T.O Exactly over what top did he put Orlando?
Those numbers look quite normal; yes they are "satisfactory" numbers, but Magic fans will soon realize that those numbers don't really help them in the long run.
a PG shooting 38 percent from the field and 17 percent from behind the 3 point line when he takes so many threes is not satisfactory. The assists are mainly a result of having howard and shooters to pass the ball to. Those are below average numbers for what is supposed to be a contending team.
