I think we can all agree that Rafer's main problem was shooting the 3, but that evrything else about his game was fine. JVG's over-reliance on the 3 often times made Rafer the goat because he got so many open looks from the 3 pt arc. With Adelman's offense, which as far as I know, relies more on a hybrid Princeton offense, and less on 3s, can Rafer be a better PG than what he has shown us so far? His main responsibilities will be to distribute. Adelman's PGs in the past have been Terry Porter, Mike Bibby and J-Will. My recollection is that none of them were prolific 3 pt shooters while with Adelman, yet all had success under him. Thoughts on Rafer's game next year?
he will be fine, imo. We know what he is. He is a solid pg who can control tempo and set up an offense very well, plus take care of the ball. He plays pretty good D and is a streaky shooter. His 3pt % is fine where it is..its not horrible, but it sure would be nice if he increased his overall fg%.
Raefer could very well flourish as......................... the back up PG. Face it, that is all this guy is, and the sooner he is playing off the bench the better a team the Rockets will be. Nothing against him personally its just that he is at best a "backup" PG.
i actually would prefer to start rafer. THat doesnt mean he has to play 37 minutes, but with your starting lineup of yao and tmac you need someone who can handle the ball and get things going. I'd rather bring in a change of pace guy off the bench, when either yao or tmac are out. A guy more offensively dangerous and able to make a team pay off the dribble and finishing.
Rafer is a good PG but he should drive more. Hopefully Adelman makes him a better PG and he'll drive to the basket (remember he played in Streetball!). I hate his 3 so if he drives to the basket it will be great
Please do not compare Alston to the PG with probably the best handles and court vision in the history of the league: Jason "White Chocolate" Williams.
19 days -- that's apparently the time it takes in to an offseason to completely block out what we saw from a player in his playoff "run", his season and his career to begin fantasizing about how good he could be for us next year.
I don't know if I could bear to watch the Rockets this coming season if Alston is still the starting "bricking" PG.
It's funny that Rafer is now the new "whipping boy" for the Rockets problems. . Has anyone ever thought about maybe it was the methodical system JVG runs. Think about it, name the last PG that JVG had that was successful, or at least an all-star. His offense doesn't allow anyone to get into a rhythm. If anyone has played basketball, they know if you start off with your first couple of shots as jump shots and don't get up and down the court a little; it's a lot more difficult to get into a rhythm. I think that Rafer will be the most improved Rocket next year and will benefit from Rick's system or than anything. Think about it why has Rafer been able to penetrate and dish on every other team he has been on, but when he gets to the Rockets all of a sudden he can't do it. Some was his fault, but you will be surprise how much a system can help a player. Oh.. and if you want to see what he can do when given the opportunity just take a look below http://youtube.com/watch?v=l4qw917oiHA
The thing with Raefer is the guy is just not that great of a finisher. When you can't shoot well and lack the ability to finish at the rim there just isn't much you can do for the team. He is not great at running the break, I mean, the guy just doesn't do anything for me. I would like to see someone who can stick the open three consistently, can finish at the rim, can get the ball to Yao in the post, makes good open court decisions. It is not like he is some spring chicken, and when has he been a player who just "tore it up" or even had an above average season? I hate to be pessimistic on this one but I think that this is our biggest weakness. He lacks the ability to change the pace of the game, and that could be a product of JVG's offense, but since he has been here im just not that impressed with the guy. His assist numbers aren't great. I can go on and on about this one. Yes I am a V-Span supporter but with Raefer you know what you are getting. I loved Sura at the point. Not the best three point shooter but could finish at the rim. The thing with Raefer is that you are not going to re-invent the wheel with this guy. Unfortunately, what you see and have seen, is what you get. Halfcourt offense was the strenght of his game and he doesn't even do that well. Again... IMO he is at best a back up PG to some team in this league. Hopefully not here. The guy from Toronto, Barbosa, Blake, are just a few backups who IMO are all better than Raefer. My 2 @'s....
