Did he really? When my dad amazed by Rafer's 26 points performance in eastern final game 4, I told him to get ready for a brick show. And there was "BANG" a 1-10 shooting from Rafer in game 5. There is something called the law of nature, when you are shooting 30% all year long, and suddenly you are shooting 80%, get ready for some 0% to balance that out!!!
How was my last post "playing semantics"? Like I said, simply dump the guy if you don't want him. Is it that hard? When I see JVG/Adelman/Morey continuously defend the guy, something tells me they all consider him to be valuable. You're right that they wanted to reduce his minutes. But it's one thing to say that and another thing to say they wanted to replace him and have him warming up the bench. That wasn't the case at all. In reality, it was just wishful thinking of everyone that wanted him out. And lets take a look at the 3 PGs we brought in. Brooks was a draft pick, so obviously he was no threat to take over his starting job (nor did he deserve to with his rookie performance), Francis was a total PR move and a low risk one at that. Only Mike James could've replaced a significant chunk of Alston's minutes or even replaced him as the starter. Too bad he went full V-Span on us. Either way, it's still more logical to say they were brought in to add depth to the PG position that desperately needed some at the time, considering how Rafer was playing 40+ minutes. Even in his worst shooting games, he still had to be out there.
If Mike James or Steve Francis had played the way he did in his first stint with the Rockets - that's exactly where Rafer would have been for all but 10-15 mpg. Furthermore, if that were happening, and they could have offloaded him, they would have.
When hes on, hes great and helps lead his team. The Rockets seemed to always win when he was playing well. But that was very sporadic as to when it happened.
Dude, did you just like, answer yourself? No really, did you just think you were someone else and rebut what you just said? Oh, alright, we all do that, it's ok... This team is full of intangibles but short on playoff experience. We needed to get to the 2nd round to figure out what it takes to win a series...heart!
For sure Rockets played much better after all-star break. But it's not because Rafer left. It's the injures/coach preparation that made Rockets play so poor at begining of the season. Rockets aimed 60+ wins season when they got Ron. But they failed hard. The lost about 15 games to the bottom teams. They had better records against playoff team. It's totally different from JVG's team. Jeff's team can't win the superior but they beated weak team consistently. JVG's team was not talented but worked very hard. This team is very talented but not worked hard enough or not guided well by the coach. That's why I blamed coach RA. At least they should win 5-9 more games. Coach RA is a total failure even though Rockets passed 1st round.
I like this title. Like Brooksball earlier said, the meaning of the title can go either way: regretting for giving him up or blaming for his boneheaded play. What a Rafer! Whenever Rafer has a bad game, do not give him up; But when he had a good game, Um..... Will be fun to see Rafer tonight.
Say what you will about Rafer’s shooting, but the dude knows how to run a team….Rockets really missed his “Experience” and veteran “Leadership” during the playoffs….Rafer has that “Confidence” that you want in a starting pg…when Rafer is not shooting it well..he doesn’t let it affect the rest of his game…he still contributes to the team by filling his role….When Brooks is not shooting well…or is too “Afraid” to shoot.. It affects his game overall…Rafer has no fear...That’s what I like about him…
I guess the Magic fans will appreciate Rafer's value more after this game. Can't understand why SVG stuck with Nelson in the 4Q and OT.
Maybe it had to do with the 30-14 run the Lakers went on during the 3rd quarter. Rafer played that entire quarter and needed a rest regardless if the run was his fault or not. When Jameer came in, the Magic chipped away and ended up regaining the lead. Even if Jameer didn't have much to do with the comeback, coaches often don't mess with something when it's working. If Jameer had stuck a little closer to Fisher on that 3 with 5 seconds left or if Howard makes 1 of 2 FTs, everybody would be praising SVG for making that bold decision to play Nelson. If you watched the game, Jameer did make several great passes and decisions down the stretch. He set up Howard twice, once after drawing two defenders to himself under the basket. The other time was a perfectly timed and placed pass after Howard sealed his man to one side with a help defender closing in from the weakside. On the possession in between those two plays, Nelson drove into the teeth of the defense, drawing three defenders to himself, then kicked out to a wide open shooter. He didn't turn the ball over once in the entire 4th quarter and managed the clock well, esp. on their last possession before the Fisher 3. He also didn't chuck up any bad shots late in the game. Again, Rafer needed a break to start the 4th either way, not even considering the 30-14 run that took place while he was in the game. The Magic outplayed the Lakers with Jameer on the court for almost the entire 4th quarter until that last play which was definitely partly due to Jameer giving Fisher too much space. He deserves some blame but you also have to give Fisher some credit for making a clutch shot. It's not like he wasn't able to get looks when Rafer was covering him. He missed plenty of open shots in this series while Rafer was in the game. He may have made the very same shot if Rafer played down the stretch and maybe Rafer doesn't make some of the plays that Jameer made at the other end. Maybe Rafer takes some ill-advised shots that Jameer didn't. Nobody knows. It's possible that the Magic would have been losing if Rafer closed out the 4th quarter. Rafer likely would have made a mistake or two if he played down the stretch. He's not flawless. Jameer made a mistake or two, at most, in the entire 4th quarter. People are once again giving Rafer too much credit. Dude went 5-for-13 with 2 assists and once again, Hedo was doing all the playmaking. At least Jameer tries to do more creating for others. Rafer defers to Hedo almost every time up the court. Jameer mixes it up and doesn't keep shooting when his shot isn't falling. I'm not saying Jameer deserves to play over Rafer, in general, in this series but beyond the 1st quarter of tonight's game, Rafer wasn't doing much and the Lakers completely took over the game on his watch. Whether it was due to Jameer or not, the Magic regained the lead under his watch up until that last big shot by Fisher. A FT or a missed 3 and people are praising SVG and Nelson.
All I know is that Magic win when Rafer plays in the 4th qtr .....look at the first half...Magic were rolling..getting open looks easy buckets..penetrating...the 3rd qtr was NOT Rafers fault...Magic didn't have an answer for Ariza...how is it Rafer fault guys were missing shots...Rafer was keeping them in the game...Rafer made key shots that kept it close...Magic played at their best against the Cavs & Celtics..this series?...not so much...Chemistry is something you don't mess with..Magic had a good thing going... I think it was a mistake trying to bring Jameer Nelson back off 3 months of surgey....bringing Nelson back threw off the chemistry..Rafer played great..Nelson played average...Nelson was not himself...Rafer was the better option and should have closed out the game...when SVG overplays Nelson and underplays Alston Magic lose...the first two games Alston's minutes were cut in half...it wasn't until this game and the last game that...Alston got his starters minutes back...if SVG had just stuck with Alston and not try to experiment with bringing Nelson back..I feel this series would be much closer...Nelson has been a step slow all series..unfortunately that cost them tonight...
jameer nelson made a couple horrible plays that cost them the game.......the first fisher 3.......then he blatantly held pau gasol down for a dumb foul, that led to him deciding to stay on the ground after taking an elbow, leaving fisher wide open for the 3, unless it knocks you unconscious, just get up!, your man is wide open!
Predictably, Rafer's unhappy about not playing down the stretch. I get why Alston's upset, but SVG had pretty good reason for his decision, I thought. It didn't work out, but it was a sound choice. Anyway, Alston's not helping things by going public with his criticisms.
Those of you using Rafer as a "winner" argument obviously hasn't been following basketball long enough. Here's a Rockets trivia for you. Who was our starting point guard when we last went beyond the 1st round prior to this season? In fact, we went all the way to the western conference finals that year. Which is two rounds further than anywhere Rafer got us. In that sense, that Point guard was a true winner and had a heart of a champion(sort of).
Why do people blame EVERYTHING on Rafer....yea...Rafer was the sole reason Rockets never got pass the first round..GIVE ME A BREAK!! ...when Rockets lost to the Mavs... was Rafer a Rocket?.....No.. when Rockets lost to the Jazz last year..Rafer was injured...and Rockets had no Yao Ming..Why is Rafer getting the blame for ALL of Rockets playoffs failures...have you forgot about Luther Head and how horrible he was at pg in the playoffs...i'm happy we got pass the first round...but Portland wasn't nearly as good as the teams we've played in past playoff series...you guys are acting like Rafer played poorly in the playoffs...when Rafer actually played...Rockets Win...Rafer played two games against Jazz last year..before getting reinjured!?....It's the stupid TMAC argument..oh..he's not here so we must be better without him...GIVE ME A BREAK...GIVE ME A BREAK!?
^ because you keep bumping this stupid thread every time Rafer hits the "5" in his usual "5-15", in order to present evidence of his megasweetness. This begets responses, which begets counter-slings and arrows.
Rafer got slapped in the face last night in Game 4. He didnt sniff the floor for the 4th or OT. I feel for the guy.
People who thing us trading Rafer..and starting Brooks is the reason we got pass the first round are clueless..IT’S NOT THAT SIMPLE…singling out a player and blaming him for playoff failure is idiotic...there are so many other variables involved in winning and losing…matchups play a role in winning or losing…Ex..Rockets matched up perfectly against Portland…Rockets didn’t matcup well against the Jazz…Depth plays a role in winning or losing… Rockets are a much deeper team then they were a few years ago..Scola, Landry, Artest, Wafer?!... Injuries!? play a role…and those who trash Rafer for being inconsistent…look at Brooks…Rafer may not be consistent at shooting the ball…but he is conistent at running the team…Rafer is no Allstar..but he is “above average” at running a team…Rockets offense looked so discombobulated at times with the poor execution of plays...excessive dribbling…and TURNOVERS!!...and Rockets NEVER had as much trouble getting the ball to Yao when Rafer was pg…it saddens me that Rafer wasn’t here..to settle the offense down…
why are we still talking about a guy who isn't even on this team?? Guys wanted him gone so bad. He's gone. Now that he's gone guys find a way 2 talk about him. HAHA.
