Very good point. Its funny that all the people that blasted JVG have said nothing about Adelman using the same starting 5 despite getting the addition of Francis, Scola, and James and a much improved Bonzi. Man, I cant even imagine the bashing that would be going on if it was JVG who wasnt giving any minutes to Francis.
As it has been mentioned, you dont always start your best players. Look at Ginobili in SA. Do you think Brent Barry or Bruce Bowen are better players then him? He doesnt start in SA and hasnt done so for years. He comes in looking to score, and that is what James does too. Rafer starts because he is better at getting Yao involved in the game. He is not the best shooter, but this year his shots per game are way down which is what we all wanted. James shot 14 times in 24 minutes. Even though thats high, its okay for what his role is. You give him big starter minutes and he will be taking 20 shots a game, and that is not what you want when Tmac and Yao are on your team. Also, why do you complain about having the same starting lineup as last year, after the game where our starters blew out to a big lead early. The same starting five also had the best plus/minus in the league last year. Now we have that, plus firepower off the bench. Im confused how that is a bad thing.
It has become quite obvious that JVG and now Adelman know absolutely nothing about the game of basketball. They should run all important decisions through various Houston Rockets internet forums first.
Sixth man From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The sixth man in basketball is a player who is not a starter but comes off the bench much more often than other reserves, often being the first player to be substituted in. The sixth man often plays minutes equal to or exceeding some of the starters and posts similar statistics. He is often a player who can play multiple positions, hence his utility in substituting often. For example, Kevin McHale, a famous sixth man who played for the Boston Celtics in the 1980s, variably played center and power forward. The presence of a good sixth man is often a sign of excellence. It usually means that a team has excellent depth, as the sixth man is usually more than talented enough to start for most teams. A common strategy is to place a good scorer as a sixth man when the starting lineup already has enough scorers. The sixth man can then enter without the team suffering a drop-off in scoring. This was used during the Chicago Bulls' championship runs with forward Toni Kukoč and more recently with Manu Ginobili with the San Antonio Spurs, Leandro Barbosa with the Phoenix Suns, and also by the Dallas Mavericks with Jerry Stackhouse. Legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach is often credited throughout basketball with creating the sixth man. He first used the role for guard Frank Ramsey, who played behind the Hall-of-Fame duo of Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman during the early part of the Celtics' dynasty years. Though Ramsey was one of the Celtics' best players, he felt more comfortable coming off the bench and Auerbach wanted his best players fresh and in the lineup at the end of close games. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_man
oh please stop trying to stir something up. i saw that play and there was no opening, otherwise rafer wouldve passed it...TRUST ME. t-mac thought rafer was going to throw an ally-oop thats why he got ready to jump. although you mustve thought he threw his hands in the air because he was disgusted, but that was not the case. he was defintely NOT disgusted. there was no reason to be.
The bashing would come because JVG would have already trashed him publicly and placed him in his 1 way doghouse by now. Adelman nipped the problem in the bud by handling the situation like a pro. He announced Stevie was not in the rotation and then talked to Stevie 1 on 1 about it. He wasn't negative and only stated the obvious, Stevie didn't come in as good a shape as the other guards but nothing like Stevie still thinks his the Franchise are he thinks he is the Tmac of And 1. Players will always be unhappy if they don't get enough playing time, that's expected. But how you handle as a coach will determine if those players will still go to war for you later on down the road. JVG was never consistent on how he treated players and certainly alienated some of them and many fans as well. The discontent for JVG was more about his Grumpy attitude than anything else. Also don't forget JVG had Bonzi and could have had James at midseason but didn't want to trade Juwan. JVG picked the team he wanted to battle with and it wasn't Bonzi. Also in spite of the fact that I was one that refered to Van Gundy as Van Dummy the guy is not stupid. He just has a doghouse and it's to easy to get in it on his teams. The difference between Adelman and JVG is more about style than knowledge. At the NBA level most of the coaches are intelligent enough it's the x-factors that determine the success from 1 to another. Adelman is clearly more upbeat than Jeff. Certainly their offensive philosophies are different and the Rockets still have a lot of adapting to do. But I believe time will show Adelman was the right choice for this team and JVG was just Van Grunpy way too much in spite of his intelligence.
Manu Ginobili is the 6th man for the Spurs, but he's better than Finley. Jason Terry is the 6th man for the Mavs, and he's better than Devin Harris and Barea who started last night. Jason Terry is our Mike James, and Devin Harris is our Rafer Alston
rafer sucks period. STeve should start and james come off the bench or vise versa . Rafer needs to go
Please continue to start Rafer Alston and give him significant minutes. Signed, Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Tony Parker, Deron Williams, and any decent pg in the NBA.
Hey Im in favor of the switch to RA as well. I think JVG did a good job here but it was time to move on. I just think its funny that fans killed JVG for starting a team that played 3 on 5 on offense (Hayes and Alston). Yet one year later, with an huge upgrade in talent the same starting 5 is playing. They also killed JVG for not playing or developing rookies and young players. Yet it is highly unlikely that Brooks, Landry, or Novak will see any time this year. I agree, JVG was tough to deal with for some players. But to blame him entirley for the Bonzi thing is wrong. Bonzi was terrible last season. Maybe JVG's attitude didnt help that, but the guy was clearly out of shape and in a horrible mindset (if they pay me 1/4 of what I deserve, thats the effort they will get). As a professional athlete, I think thats more on Bonzi then on JVG.
I agree, if Alston had tried to make the alley oop pass, it probably would have been a turnover. I think Alston pulled it out but immediately ran a play. Its not like he pulled it out and jacked up a three. People keep bashing Rafer for his performance last year. That is not his role this year.
I agree, if Alston had tried to make the alley oop pass, it probably would have been a turnover. I think Alston pulled it out but immediately ran a play. Its not like he pulled it out and jacked up a three. People keep bashing Rafer for his performance last year. That is not his role this year.
Yeah, it could have been a highlight and you know he was thinking about making some "and-1" type of play. It could have been sweet, but it was the "smart" play not to force it. Bonzi's problems last year were on bonzi and no one else. I dont know what his problem was but he obviously had one from day 1. He was way out of shape and even when he did play he just didnt seem into it. And regardless of what happened, he pulled himself out for the season down the homestretch. That blown contract situation that he had with the kings really seemed to mess with his mind.
I don't think MJ is a better choice than Rafer as PG with TMAC and YAO on the court. But he can score, though not always shoots at a proper time. He is doing good from the bench. PS: i thought everyone's got an agreement on tihs,,,
