And so is Tmac. But I know who he is as a player even though he is clark kent mode. I know Tmac isnt a good example because he is on a different level. I put Juwan and Rafer on the same level. Their clark game is decent, their superman game is awesome, but their average joe game is atrocious. Alston seems to stay in his decent game for the majority of time, but finds himself in the other two equally.Thats not good enough imo. Mike James to me seems to have both Rafer's and Francis good qualities and he fits much better with our core. Francis, I was hoping that he would be the starter, but judging from last night it looks like he still needs to get acclimated to the new way of playing.At least Im hoping thats what he needs. If Rafer remained on this team, I wouldnt be mad, but he definetely shouldnt be starting. And I really dont want to see Francis moved to the two so Rafer can get his playing time in his normal position. They need to give Francis the same opportunity to shine from the PG that Alston gets, otherwise we have to judge him as a Sg and thats not fair unless we judge Rafer from there also.To me, last season Tmac was our PG and Rafer was our shooting guard, and that didnt bode too well for him.
I'll touch on this. Different players fit differently in different systems. For example, you put Shawn Marion or Gerald Wallace in JVG's system and they aren't even close to the players they are now. You put them in their current systems (even though Marion's crying but it's about money) and they excel. A system can completely destroy a player. I think a lot of people had that sediment about JVG's system with a lot of our players last year. So let's fast forward to this season. Clean slate for everyone in the minds of Adelman and Morey. They made their changes, and this is the team we bring into camp. Before anyone says "We were trying to trade Rafer" , yes, that is true. We were trying to move Alston this off season. However we didn't like the offers we were getting, then all the trouble happened and the market was way too low in our opinions, and then Rafer was cleared of all the charges. So, he comes into camp on the roster. We can't cut him, we have a sit down with like the attitude he has. No spot was guaranteed except TMac, Yao and Battier. Adelman wasn't giving out spots by offseason moves or by names. He didn't care about past history, what these guys did on other teams, our teams, ect...just what they are going ot do in his offense. Morey agrees with that. He brought in depth for Adelman to work with and he wants a winning product. If 12 members of Clutchfans bring Houston a championship then so be. It just so happened that Rafer ran the offense better then anyone else. You read how well he played on this site's report, in the Chronicle, ect...He was our best PG at camp. He won the job. That just the way it went. Now, if you watched last nights game you obviously saw there was a night and day in how we looked under Adelman. We were penetrating, distributing, getting layups and simply blowing out the Hornets before we put in our second unit. It was beautiful to watch. Everyone is adjusting to the new system. I think some people don't realize that. Just because guys were here last season it gives them only an advantage in chemistry. James is going to be a great spark plug off the bench. What you saw last night is what you're going to see out of that type of player. He's instant offense. His job is to go in and score. Now, he also is the lead backup pg. When he's in that role his job is to still look to score but to distribute like Rafer did. As I stated yesterday, if Rafer and Head play well don't be suprised to see Francis glued to the bench. They did and he was. Francis can still be an asset but he has to earn his time. Right now, Alston, James and Head are all ahead of him for minutes. He has to take someone's pt or that's what you will see. Good chance Scola still starts. He was the starter until 2 hours before the game when they decided to switch them. Like I said, foul trouble will be a problem for him and unfortunately it is for Hayes too. That's why you will see Harris on this team (one of the reasons). He's a good hard worker who will only miss out if Justin Reed somehow outplays him which I doubt
people need to understand that skip is a up and down player that he loves to get up and down the court like in toronto he got a lot of easy layups in that system..being in a JVG system he had to adapt and he tried his best which i thought was good 13 ppg,5 apg,3.5 rpg and like 1.5 steals he is a all around good player and i think people will see that this year in this type of offense
So since Clutch said it then it is a golden rule? It is not Rafer's contract that teams don't want, it is what the Rockets have been offered in return that is unsatisfactory.
Glad to know I wasn't alone in thinking this same way. I figured that if Harris continued to hustle and work hard that he would work his way into one of those last few roster spots. He looked good in the summer league and from all reports it carried over into camp. Hence my sig! To be honest, I think at this point Chuck and Scola are interchangeable, eventually Scola will accustom himself to the NBA pace and will definitely be the starter, without question. To be a starter for Chuck last year was a bonus.. he just wanted to play to his abilities. Both of them will need to cut down on fouls and fast (I think the turnovers were in part because they are still learning the system - so I figure those will go down with familiarity). It seemed like Rick wanted to see them on the court together more last night and both of them kept picking up "silly" fouls. I am anxious to see what lineups are tested in Thursday's game.
JVG system was not Rafers problem. The role JVG put him in was his problem, which was off the ball. Now it is showing he is better with the ball in his hand. That is no different than Stevie.So give him the same opportunies. If Rafer so good at playmaking, then that means Tmac did the playmaking last year not cause he had to, but just because he could. If thats the case it is wrong. Thats like putting Francis as a 2guard just because he can, which will also be wrong. I dont want to sound like a Francis only fan, but Rafer already had his chance. If he is finally shining in his new role thats great, as long as James and Francis are getting the same treatment and not penciled in as two guards simply because they are capable.
Refer to Rocket_man as exhibit A to why we need some sort of required post count before the ability to post new threads is allowed. Once the season starts and we lose a game, expect similar threads. Cut rafer while 3 years and 15 million are still left on the table? Not to mention he seems to be a better fit then francis at this point. I'm not sold on francis yet, he could play a nice role on this team if he can adjust to the new system and not being the number one option. But francis could be gone next year too, so I wouldnt rely on him.
yeah rafer did have his chance and he outplayed them both last season and this preseason game...mike james isnt as good as you people make him seem he had one good season in toronto and mind you when rafer was thier starting pg he had more assist and more wins.....mike james is a good player but he is a ball hog thats why KG didnt like him and thats why chris bosh didnt like him and for steve francis he doesnt know how to play with a big man
this is an excellent post. if you cant grasp these concepts, you have very little business criticizing anything the rockets are doing.... new coach, new system, new year.... everybody comes in with a clean slate and we go from there. and as it stands, rafer did nothing but improve his chances of not only remaining on the team, but playing a significant role.... quite possibly as the starting PG.
i say play rafer and tmac the first half, then during crunch time play francis and tmac. let tmac run the point, and francis off the ball.
Yeah, I see the clean slate and all, but there is clearly information from the past that should inform every decision. e.g. I was not allowed to attend training camp this year. Seriously, the pass given to T-Mac, Yao and Battier is based on past performance. I trust Adelman, and if he wants to go with Rafer, I'm all behind the decision. But I doubt it is purely a "blank slate," and I doubt Rafer will evolve a good mid-range game. His steals, low TOs, and good +/- may make up the difference for a coach though. As others have said, it seems to me a shooting pg would be a better fit for Coach A.
I have to say he did look the best out of MJ and SF last night, so I voted to keep him. The problem in the past with Rafter was he played 40 mins a game and we had no real option at the PG spot. Now if he sucks you yank him and insert MJ, SF, or Brooks. Last night he showed that he understood the offense better than MJ and SF in limited minutes and he ran the break and got the ball to Yao effectively. Way to make me eat crow Rafer keep it up.
great post King1. right now Rafer is our best PG hands down. he outperformed everyone in training camp and ran the show last night. James IS a good player. people only hate on him because of his attitude. if he and steve francis changed personalities im willing to bet everyone would just love mike james. as for francis, i agree that he has to earn his playing time in practice. if rafer, james, and head are performing better than francis, as it is currently, then francis is glued to the bench.
