It seems pretty below average (below median, at least) to me. And anyway, he's especially below average in being suited for the Rockets system - in which shooting & defense are most valued from a PG - two of his glaring weaknesses. Not like this is a new sentiment. This is all redundant hash browns.
( Sorry bro, but I know much more about what's going on then you do. Check with Clutch (I know plenty of Rockets inside stuff). In the mean time why don't you remove yourself from his jock, consider the fact that you might be talking to someone who knows considerably more then you and leave it at that. Dude, TMac could have played last road trip. You don't know what you're talking about
How about you stop responding ot my posts and i will continue to do the same. We both have extremely negative opinions of the other so it's best you just avoid speaking with me and I;ll afford you the same courtesy.
Why didn't he, then? You yourself said it's no coincidence that T-Mac played the first game after Yao Ming went down. There's two ways to look at it in my opinion: 1. T-Mac wasn't 100% ready to play the Pacers game, but having both him and Yao out is just not going to cut it so with him close enough to being in game condition, he played. He himself said he was nervous about playing, he was 'test driving' the back or something like that. Didn't a report come out BEFORE Yao's injury that T-Mac was almost ready to play and that he could play as early as the Pacers game, or am I mistaken? It seems to me he was not ruled out of the Pacers game even before Yao's injury. OR 2. He's been ready to play sometime on the road trip (I'm assuming you know more than me about Rockets inside stuff, because I don't know very much at all) He was sitting at home/hotel and not playing, not wanting to play, while Yao Ming was out there busting his ass off and his team was failing without him. So when Yao Ming goes down he has no choice BUT to play. By saying he 'could have played' in that text your implying that he was good to go and chose not to play himself, not that the doctors hadn't cleared him to play and he wasn't going to play regardless. If that's the way it is then that's f*cked up but I can't believe T-Mac would do something like that. It wasn't in the teams best interest to play T-Mac when he wasn't 100% so until Yao went down they had a shot at every game but T-Mac wasn't healthy enough to play. The reports made it seem like T-Mac was coming back as early as a Pacers game even before Yao had his injury, and that's why I can't believe that T-Mac chose to sit out until Yao's injury. Obviously if he was close enough to game shape he would have played the Pacers game even if he wasn't 100% because it's a surefire loss without him AND Yao.
The problem with rafer alston is consistency. One game he is "on" the next he throws up the ugliest bricks you might ever see from an NBA player. He also is a bad finisher at the rim. I'm sick of seeing stat lines such as 4-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 0-0 ft. That is 25% shooting inside the 3 pt line, which reminds me of how avery johnson was before he learned how to consistently hit that 15 foot jumper teams gave him. Even in the win tonight, he went 5-13(less than 40%), 2-4 behind the arc, 2-2 from the line. That's 33% inside the 3pt line, which is pathetic. But tonight other areas of his game were good, like minimizing turnovers(only 1) and getting 3 steals. Championship teams get consistent play from key members in their rotations most games. Rafer needs to be much more consistent. However, that said, right now, the Rockets need a penetrator like him at the pg with yao's injury because somebody besides tracy needs to be able to initiate the offense. But if both stars were healthy, mike james would easily be the better fit. Because in that case, your role players just have to protect the rock, play D and hit open looks. And mike james outclasses rafer alston in two of those 3 areas badly.
Rockets inside stuff my ass. Checking with Clutch doesn't suddenly make you a Rocket expert. Your posts confirm that as well. There is no "inside stuff" that could tell you exactly how T-Mac's back is/was feeling. Not even the teddy bear himself could tell you how T-Mac is feeling. I read every article on rockets.com and chron.com and I never got the feeling that T-Mac just didn't feel like playing. Ever thought of the possibility that the doctors were holding him out for precautionary reasons? You know, considering that he's had similar back injuries in the past? It's too early in the season to be trying to rush him back! But when Yao went down, we could lose every game without either star playing, so we had no choice. T-Mac is still clearly not even close to 100%. It's amazing how the media differs from some of the fans. Bill Worrell calls T-Mac "heroic" and you basically call him a selfish, lackadaisical coward. And stop acting like back spasms are easily recoverable. That's insane if you really thought he was capable of continuing on that previous road trip. What about last year when he collapsed on the court before halftime vs the Nuggets? Did you expect him to play the next game? I don't have to be on T-Mac's jock to defend him, especially from people like you who thinks he's just doggin it. Yao's become a monster, but T-Mac is still the heart and soul of this team. What's our record this year when he alone is not playing? 2-5 or something like that? That's pretty far from the 14-6 start we had before his spasm. With this easy home-stand coming up, we'll be doing a lot more than treading water if T-Mac keeps playing.
I support him because he's a Rocket, he puts that uniform on and tries to win, I support him because he is one of the reasons we kept our lead against the Spurs(when Yao was on the bench). I support all Rockets players, to me my team can do no wrong, as long as they try to build the right team. Now having said that, I do agree that JVG should give him a test run and not when we have one minute left in the game, test V-Span and Novak to see if they could hold a lead when our leading scorer is resting.
I never said checking with Clutch made me an insider. I said he could verify my credibility. Learn to read before responding. I'm not going to bother arguing with you about TMac. Believe what the media tells you "that he's heroic" ect....... The media is the last to find out about everything. People knew TMac was playing against the Pacers before anyone reported it. Reading a bunch of websites isn't going to do anything but tell you stuff that evryone already knows. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was posted on this board well in advance of him playing. It comes down to the fact that you don't want to accept reality. TMac isn't heroic, a real tough player ect... Unfortunately, he was a superstar who suffered an injry to his back that has effected him both physically and more importantly mentally. Do you think the Rockets took him on the road trip before we came home and Yao got hurt because he wasn't supposed to play. They could have left him here to work privately. I'm not telling you that back spasms aren't serious or that they won't cause you to miss games but Tracy has missed more then he should have. We were 14-6 mainly because of Yao. TMac was playing like crap. If you think ourgreat start was largely due to TMac then you're blind. He's also far from the heart and soul of this team. Whatever you say man
Ok, whatever. I've already told you to check my credibility. You won't because it's easier for you to run your mouth and make comments. Do the same thing I said with SamFisher and don't respond to me and I won't respond to you. I answered your post about Rafer and this is the response you come back with. Pointless. Also (thank god) , I'm not your son so don't refer to me as such. You know what's funny, there used to be a lot more inside information posted on this board and you don't even realize it. Many people who know it don't post it because they can't stand a select few posters and for that the whole board suffers. Believe what you want but just check as the information posted and the type of information posted gets lower and lower dating back to last Rockets season.
Of course it is. I stopped responding and even bothering with a select few posters in another thread where it went way off track and there was a big argument and here they are again (although one of them first posts was actually on topic) but they want to derail the thread because that's what they do. This was a post about Rafer, then it turned into a conversation about TMac (which is fine too because at least it's a Rockets debate), and then of course comes your garbage.
Right. I'm sure changing the head coach and the staff had nothing to do with it. (insert roll-eyes here)
So Mr. Kas, tell us what this "inside information" that you are privy to is? Tell us what the media isn't about Tmac's back. Let it out. I'm not bashing you, I'm not flaming you, but let's face it, the only way to gain credibility on that is by showing proof. And back on the subject of Rafer being average to below average: That's the way he's payed, that's the way he produces. And the way he's paid, being somewhere near the middle of the pack in terms of starting PGs is already good. If there's an upgrade available, sure, by all means go for him. But no way we should overpay some guy just because he shoots percentage points better than Rafer. And realistically speaking, I don't think there's any starting calibre PG that's available right now who's an upgrade over Rafer. One last thing: The PG position is one where stats can only go so far in measuring. Wanna know Rafer's true effectiveness? Watch him organising the offense. Then watch Spanoulis or JL3. That's where his true value to the team is.
We changed head coaches last year? My bad, must have missed it. Who's that guy who looks just like JVG coaching us now then.
I completely understand what you're saying. In the past I posted inside information on this board and now because of a few posters I choose not too. I understand if you don't believe me, say that's the only way to gain credibility, ect. I already posted about TMac's back. That's up to you if you want to believe it. In the end, I like this board and the people who run it. There are also a lot of cool posters here and people I like. Unfortunately my dislike for a certain few leads to my descsion. That's why in my posts lately I've just been saying email. Clutch if you don't believe me. Ask him if I'm a Rockets insider. Nobody would know theanswer to that better then him correct? then ask him why I choose not to post information on the board. No matter what you choose to think of me I know you have the utmost respect for him and realize he has no reason to lie. I'll just leave it at that. You're right onabout Skip. Another thing that is underestimated is how he controls team chemistry. He is definitely one of the teams leaders. Everyone on the team loves him. I like Lucas getting spot minutes but VSpan is grabbing pine because he sucks
If recognizing that Spanoulis sucks (right now) and isn't ready to play in the NBA makes one an insider, then call me Sam van Gundy. Email Clutch if you don't believe me.
