It has been consecutive games wherein Rafer shot less than 30%. With a lot of open shots he has been given he's not taking making most out of it. Before the Bulls game his FG% has gone down to 36.4% and tonight after the game he was 2 for 14. He could have made a difference in those Rockets loss just like the other night against the Timberwolves wherein he shot badly(4-17). Good thing the Rockets were a good rebounding team to make up for those bad shootings. We know that JVG still prefers him to be the primary PG giving him great amount of playing time and even went to the extent of defending him from those who already doubted his performance. Let's just hope he makes up for this to help the Rockets stay competetive otherwise a trade for a reliable one would make the Rockets very stable on the backcourt.
His career has really gone downhill imo, he was great for the heat and since then hes done nothing. I would try to get a young Pg from a team maybe get rondo or telfair from Boston, even tho telfair hasnt been that good either.
He practiced his jumper in the offseason and I thought his jumpshot got better in the beginning of the season, but his shots haven't been falling in lately. You guys remember when Francis went on a slump his last season as a Rocket? Alston is having the same problems.
<div class="quote_poster">Umair Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">He practiced his jumper in the offseason and I thought his jumpshot got better in the beginning of the season, but his shots haven't been falling in lately. You guys remember when Francis went on a slump his last season as a Rocket? Alston is having the same problems.</div> And we traded Francis.
Screw anyone who wants to just suggest trading Alston. He's the best option we have, without making any major changes to our roster. His numbers aren't as great as they were in Toronto, but that's to be expected when you come play for JVG. I'm sure he will keep getting those open looks to fall. Right now he is doing what we need of our primary PG and thats setting up the offense, handling the ball with limited turnovers, and getting some assists. We couldn't trade Alston for another PG, so unless we want to package him up with Bonzi (stupid) or Head (worse idea) or any of our PFs which we need so desperately we can't trade him. Get over it, and get over Mike James.
<div class="quote_poster">fitch4delk00 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">His career has really gone downhill imo, he was great for the heat and since then hes done nothing. I would try to get a young Pg from a team maybe get rondo or telfair from Boston, even tho telfair hasnt been that good either.</div> He was great on the Heat coming off the bench. The Rockets have to demote Alston to the bench and use him as the change of pace guard to lead the second unit. The Knicks are discussing buying out Steve Francis, would he fit in with this team? Another player who might solve the shooting/PG problems is Travis Diener in Orlando. He's not getting much burn playing behind Jameer and Arroyo.
my biggest problems with Alston is his shot selection and the fact that he doesn't finish well around the basket, despite those 2 things I really think that he's done a pretty good job this season thus far. edit and when it comes to pure shooting he isn't the worst....see Eric Snow if you don't believe me.
When it comes to 3pt shooting I think he is in the top 10 for starting PGs. Players like AI, Devin Harris, Eric Snow, Baron Davis, Kevin Ollie, Marbury, Kidd, Smush, Claxton, Knight, Tinsley, Mike James, Jarret Jack, Cassell, J-Will, Mo Williams, Mike James, Chris Paul, Mike Bibby, TJ Ford, Deron Williams all have worse 3pt FG%. Players with higher: Nash, Gilbert, Parker (who has only taken 23 attempts), Ridnour, Jameer, D. Stoudamire, Billups, Hinrich, and West. Yea, so 9 players have higher 3pt FG%, if Tony Parker is excluded because he takes so few then 8.
Good post Omarion. I didn't notice all those PGs were under 38% I thought Cassell and Deron Williams were good 3 pt shooters this season, guess not... One season can change so much. Mike James was among the league leaders last season. Thank god we didn't sign him.
Right now, I'd take Francis for sure. That'd be like getting Tmac for Mobley. Francis is playing good, so I'd take him, but again money is another issue.
Just to put a number on it, 300 players have played at least 250 minutes so far this season. Alston is 264th out of 300 in TS% (true shooting%). Amongst PGs who've played 250 minutes, he's 64th out of 73. And that's after a pretty good (for him) first month. Yuck.
Alston's never been above .400 FG as a Rocket. No reason to see him breaking that mark anytime soon, but he's our best option right now to start. I won't mind though if JVG can give Lucas and Spanoulis some time off the bench.They both haven't played bad in the times they've gotten off the bench. Francis would be good, of course. He was playing the distributor role early this season in New York and has had a few big assist games. A change of scenary would do him well.
<div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Alston's never been above .400 FG as a Rocket. No reason to see him breaking that mark anytime soon, but he's our best option right now to start. I won't mind though if JVG can give Lucas and Spanoulis some time off the bench.They both haven't played bad in the times they've gotten off the bench. Francis would be good, of course. He was playing the distributor role early this season in New York and has had a few big assist games. A change of scenary would do him well.</div> In the 4th quarters, Francis isn't secure enuff with the ball. He passes up too many open shots and passes the ball erratic. He's not gonna lead us to the championship
<div class="quote_poster">Rock4life Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">In the 4th quarters, Francis isn't secure enuff with the ball. He passes up too many open shots and passes the ball erratic. He's not gonna lead us to the championship</div> Okay, so if Rafer's the man for the Rockets, let Rafer handle the ball in the fourth then. You seem to forget the times Francis has won or tied the game for us.
<div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Okay, so if Rafer's the man for the Rockets, let Rafer handle the ball in the fourth then. You seem to forget the times Francis has won or tied the game for us.</div> But alot of those games should've have even been close. Francis made MULTIPLE mistakes in multiple games. I like Rafer, he just needs to know when to be free and when not to be free. He also has problems knowing how to control the game. If he can get it together I won't be as hard on him.
^^^ I agree, to be honest I think Rafer "can" shoot the ball, it's just that he takes soooooooooo many ill advised shots throughout the game.
<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">^^^ I agree, to be honest I think Rafer "can" shoot the ball, it's just that he takes soooooooooo many ill advised shots throughout the game.</div> He relies on those floaters a lot. But if he was halfway decent at them, they'd be very good shots. He keeps the offense moving. He keeps his dribble alive, and he'll find the open man. He generally does a good job getting the ball to the scorers on the team. That's more than you can say about Luther Head or John Lucas.
Also, Alston can work a bit on mid-range 15-18 foot jumpers. I really dont see him taking many of those.
<div class="quote_poster">durvasa Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">He relies on those floaters a lot. But if he was halfway decent at them, they'd be very good shots. He keeps the offense moving. He keeps his dribble alive, and he'll find the open man. He generally does a good job getting the ball to the scorers on the team. That's more than you can say about Luther Head or John Lucas.</div> Yea, but Head's job is too score. Not a fair comparison
