I read an article that said he was progressing well, but then had a setback. Something about falling in a faint...
I think you are understating it a bit...imo...he is a average defender. Near as I can tell, his defense is alot like his shooting....very inconsistent. Some nights he does a good job staying with his man and gettting a hand in his face....some nights he doesnt. Im really hoping that the coaches can help him improve while he is here...It would really compliment his assists and ballhandling.
DeAlec - I appreciate your observation. I had the same experience. Watched the game, didn't notice anything exceptional about Rafers game, then saw 14 friggin assists. The thing about 'running the offense' and being a good point guard is not making the fancy highlight pass. It is as simple as getting the ball to the hot shooter in a position where he can make the shot. Watch Kidd and Nash and you will see a few hot passes, but usually not more than one or two a game. You may recall last year the general disgruntlement of this board and the common statement of "get the damn ball to Yao", often followed by "every damn play". Remember all the trouble with getting around the fronting defenses? None of that is hapening this year. I thing Rafer is a big part of that. As to his defense, I think it is by design. He leaves his man ALL THE TIME. I watched hime one game and isolated him in the boinoculars and was shocked by how often he left his man. It has to be part of the design. JVG would never allow that to happen so consistantly. Surley JVG would have put Bowen in to play guard if Rafer was just abandoning his defensive responsibilites. Oh, and one last thing from a JVG fan. Last night's game just proves to me that everything JVG has been saying about hustle (or the lack of it) was appropriate. We came back on Indiana by hustle alone. It was not our star players or talent. Jsut guts and determination. Minnesota was also a gritty win. Go Rox!
Uh, I think there is a basic requirement for talent. Add on top of that the hustle, the refusal to lose, and then a game adjustment that works and you have the winning formula. 14-21 shooting is both talent and hustle. Stro blocking shots and doing some extremely athletic moves is both talent and hustle. Rafer getting the ball to Yao when & where he needs it is talent and hustle when it occurs consistently. Bowen can hustle all day long and he will never shoot 14-21 or block and dunk like Stro, or get 14 assists. Plus the turning point in the 2nd half in my opinion was Boguns driving to the hoop again and again and then Head followed. I don't know if it was Gundy or just Boguns on his own but it changed the tenor of the game. We stopped clanging 3's and started making FT's. Props to Boguns ( I typed Biguns - I guess you need to have big'uns to drive into the lane against those big men) for making it happen!
Here is an interesting stat Rafer Alston Before Yao's toe surgery, this includes the games that Tmac was out: 5.75 ast/game After Yao's toe surgery: 8.1 ast/game Yao and Skip work well together. They have improved since the surgery.
That kind of "hustle", if sustained, is going to burn out a team by midseason. It's better to have talent and good coaching -- and yes, some effort too, but not the killing pace of the Indy game.
