All the fans in red jerseys didn't know what kind of misery inside Mike James' heart he was fighting while he was waving fist and bearing arms with Juwan Howard on the court. He used to be Howard's best bud in the locker room back to the time when he was still part of the Rockets. The two warriors talked jokes topless when rockets beat the opponent. You never know much Houston means to Mike, however, he was traded in for Alston that summer. Summer of 2004, between Bucks and Rockets, he chose to pack up and get on his way to Houston without hesitation, where he felt he could spend his rest of career. He thought JVG was the man was be able to appreciate his talent, and his season turned out to be smooth in Houston. No one had figured he would be transferred elsewhere. 'Tons of efforts have been contributed to the city (Houston)', he said. 'It was my home, and it still is. I assumed that I could have my career wrapped up there, and I did get the chance to have it happen. I didn't want to hang around. I wanted to settle down.' 'I never told this to anyone. But one day when I drove two daughters on their way to school with my wife, it occurred to me that how much I've done to this city. How much I saved their salary cap? I could't believe what had happened. I started to cry, and I asked my wife what else I could have done to earn the respect from them to let me stay?' 'I said that with tears, but my little daughter laughed. Her elder sister gave her a poke but she was still laughing. 'Daddy's a whiner, Daddy's a whiner.' And then I started to smile. Yes, it's them that brought me back to the real world.' 'Once I asked my wife if God treated me unreasonable unfair, but now I figured out the answer on my own. When there's a chance, grab it, and that's what I was hoping to do for the Rockets. I need to exerted myself harder than anybody else, and I will be more stronger.'
Mike James is a good one-on-one defensive player and he's been an extremely potent, consistent scorer. Of course I miss him. I thought he was an excellent addition last year, and I was surprised as anyone when we traded him away. Alston brings some nice things to the team with his penetration and dish abilities, but overall James is a better player. I honestly think we'd have a significantly better record right now if we kept James.
Sad story but the fact is that we needed somebody to set up the offense and get Yao the ball. Also, somebody that can control the tempo when the game gets outta control. Mike James is making MILLIONS, there is no reason he needs to be crying. Yao is puttin up career numbers right now, why? Because he has a PG that's willin to keep feeding him. Mike James can't do that. That's why he's in Toronto.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rock4life:</div><div class="quote_post">Sad story but the fact is that we needed somebody to set up the offense and get Yao the ball. Also, somebody that can control the tempo when the game gets outta control. Mike James is making MILLIONS, there is no reason he needs to be crying. Yao is puttin up career numbers right now, why? Because he has a PG that's willin to keep feeding him. Mike James can't do that. That's why he's in Toronto.</div> agreed!!!. can't say more
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rock4life:</div><div class="quote_post">Sad story but the fact is that we needed somebody to set up the offense and get Yao the ball. Also, somebody that can control the tempo when the game gets outta control. Mike James is making MILLIONS, there is no reason he needs to be crying. Yao is puttin up career numbers right now, why? Because he has a PG that's willin to keep feeding him. Mike James can't do that. That's why he's in Toronto.</div> http://82games.com/0405HOUP.HTM Last season, with Mike James on the court with him, Yao put up arguably better offensive numbers than this season with Alston on the court with him. <u>Last season with Mike James (352 mintues)</u> 26.4 pts/40min 54.9 fg% 10.6 free throw attempts/40min 3.0 turnovers/40min (Mike James: 18.3 pts, 48.4 fg%, 4.0 assists, 1.8 to) <u>This season with Rafer Alston (653 minutes)</u> 25.6 pts/40min 52.1 fg% 6.9 free throw attempts/40min 2.0 turnovers/40min (Rafer Alston: 11.0 pts, 39.0 fg%, 7.4 assists, 2.4 to) Consider that for what it's worth. Further, James is definitely a better defender and scorer -- areas that have been sorely missing for us this season from the guard positions.
What does he mean when he said that he has saved the Rockets salary cap? For some reason I have never liked Mike James. I watch a lot of Celtics games because I live in CT, and I have disliked James ever since he played in Boston. He is definitely a good offensive player and a great competitor, but there is something about him I never liked. It is hard to explain, but maybe it's because he seems to come off as a selfish player, at least to me. Wasn't he traded because the Rockets didn't believe they could give him the money he wanted when he becomes a FA this offseason. I actually do see the reasoning behind the trade. The Rockets needed a pass-first guard, which they got in Alston, and they obviously could not have forseen the season-long injuries to the other gurads, Sura and Barry. They also had just drafted another guard in Luther Head. But the Rockets would definitely had a few more wins if they had James. He could've picked up some of the offensive responsibilities once the Rockets turned into a MASH unit. Also, he was already familiar with the team, so he did not need to learn to play with the rest of the players like Alston. If the Rockets had their full stable of players I don't think anyone would be missing Mike James and his Tim Hardaway imitation.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Summer of 2004, between Bucks and Rockets, he chose to pack up and get on his way to Houston without hesitation, where he felt he could spend his rest of career. He thought JVG was the man was be able to appreciate his talent, and his season turned out to be smooth in Houston. No one had figured he would be transferred elsewhere. </div>Hold on, Mike James didn't choose to sign with us in the summer of 2004, even though we were going after him. He signed with the Bucks and was then traded to us. Basically, Houston wasn't his first choice. It's easy to ask this question now that James is having a great season in Toronto, but if he had bombed, I don't think anyone would have missed him at all. Even with the Raptors, he's been off-and-on, and is being criticized for his decision making down the stretch of games. He's putting up great individual numbers but he has a tendency for turnovers or bad shot attempts in the last few minutes of games.
Props to Durvasa for digging up every statistic on the Rockets out there . .and making GRAPHS? My, my, we should just dub you the stat-man. As for missing Mike James. . we DO miss his instant offense, but the man took touches away from T-MAC last year. . what about YAO this year?! We all had hoped Derek Andersen would be the answer to our prayers, unfortunately he isn't. Rafer is doing fantastic, putting up top numbers assist wise in the league, and next year could easily be in the top 3 average wise. Mike James cannot run an offense, atleast a legit half court one. Let him run around in Toronto and jack up shots and not pass the ball to Bosh. One thing durvasa, Mike James was a back-up, and though you inject his numbers and Rafer's on a 40 minute scale, the players he usually was playing with is definitely not the same as Rafer is playing with. Alston has to be less assertive, James didn't. Back to my original argument. . Rafer Alston is a floor general, Mike James is a microwave. We FINALLY have a player that can throw a decent in-bounds pass to Yao (Barry was FAR to fancy with it), not named Wesley or McGrady (who rarely plays on the same side of the ball with Yao anyways). Then you consider injuries. Sura was our starting point guard, had he we had James when he went down, we'd have a trigger happy point guard, one that would DEFINITELY be a legit 3rd option, but he would've stunted Yao's growth. James' ability to take over games might've won us a few more, just for the simple fact that Tracy McGrady was injured for a good part of the season. James would have the ability to shoot as the second option, and Rafer is not nearly that good of a scorer. But it's about time the Rockets had a good point guard, and I am totally fine with Rafer as ours. We need a Shooting Guard that can "shoot", and a Power Forward that defines "power", however. Man, I am bringin' back the long posts guys. . won't be long before you see me arguing a whole page's worth. And who am I arguing with anyways?
Man this season? Have we missed MJ? HELLL YES! This team has the most scoring troubles in the league imo. The Rockets seem like they work hella hard for each point. MJ brang instant offense to this team. He was a scoring threat. And we have missed that player all season. But since Sura is out, and if we never traded James for Alston, I would be saying we miss PG who can dish out. MJ brang that Sam Cassell swagger (best example I could think of even though its been said by Kenny Smith) to Houston (to an extent damnit please don't bash me). And I am referring to that Houston team without T-Mac mostly.
I definitely do not miss him. Rafaer any day for mike james whos more like a shooter than PG. I have no idea why ppl think James is a better defender than Rafaer. During his time in Rocs, i always thought he never defend hard enough.
On the court, I like Rafer better because of the things you guys pointed out..but after reading back-on-track's post, I just kinda felt bad for James..He deserves to be here.
I've known Mike James since he played at Duquesne and one thing he has never been known as is a distributing point guard. Mike James has a load of talent but the reason why he has bounced around from Europe to the CBA and to 6 different NBA teams is b/c he doesn't have an understanding of the nuances of the point guard position. He takes a ton of ill advised shots, when he does pass a lot of times it is either to the wrong guy or at the wrong moment (or the wrong team), and he isn't that good of a defender either. One thing that he doesn't lack is confidence and I think that when paired with another star player he often takes shots that are meant for that superstar (Pierce, Redd, McGrady, and maybe even Bosh) w/o him understanding that he wasn't supposed to be that person who took the shot. But as far as to say that Rafer Alston is a much better fit--you guys are dillusional. Rafer Alston is making 30 million dollars over 5 years to shoot wide open threes and pass the ball into the post. He started the And 1 mix tape tour and now he isn't even talented enough to beat his man off of the dribble in the half court. He isn't a playmaker, he is a company man who only makes ball reversals or post entry passes. Look at the Rockets record this season and how can you justify bringing in a player who makes double the amount of Mike James but doesn't consistently give you starters production from the point guard spot. Mike James at least is capable of putting the ball through the basket. If you are going to try to get a good pass first point guard they should have targeted Jamaal Tinsley or Carlos Arroyo before they targeted Skip to My Lou. Both those players make far less than Skip and they both are a lot less of a headache off of the floor. Skip is the same player who told the Toronto Star that he was on the verge of giving up basketball b/c he had a rift w/ his head coach. Mike James is a better fit for this team than Rafer Alston will ever be b/c Rafer Alston isn't a player who is worthy of a starting position in the NBA.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Iron Shiek:</div><div class="quote_post"> Mike James has a load of talent but the reason why he has bounced around from Europe to the CBA and to 6 different NBA teams is b/c he doesn't have an understanding of the nuances of the point guard position. He takes a ton of ill advised shots, when he does pass a lot of times it is either to the wrong guy or at the wrong moment (or the wrong team), and he isn't that good of a defender either. </div> Concerning his defense, where do you think his weaknesses are? He seemed to be a defensive spark off the bench in Detroit's championship year. Was he just benefitting from Lindsey Hunter and the Wallaces behind him? And I think you're being unfair in your assessment of Alston's playmaking abilities. I think he's above average in his ability to distribute the ball while keeping his turnovers relatively low (at least since he's been with Houston). He had 14 assists in our last game against Indiana, and since December when he came back from his injury he's been averaging 39 minutes a game, 7.4 assists a game, and 2.4 turnovers a game. At least it's a step up from Steve Francis.
Iron Shiek, having watched 2/3 of Raptors games this year, I have to agree 100% with your assessment of James. Maybe because of the good start he had to the season, lately he's been hogging the ball down the stretch, around the last two minutes. The only pass he makes then is either blatantly obvious, or when he is trapped with no place to go. Raptors fans have been grumbling about the lack of touches Bosh is getting down the stretch already, and James is also the reason I think why the Raptors are 1-6 in overtime. However, having watched Alston both in Toronto and Houston, I have to say he's a much changed player. He isn't a high-volume turnover guard, and his shot selection has gotten considerably better with Houston. With the Raptors, he used to be the type that would take very deep threes and jack them even when he's 0-6 already. Now, though, Alston would try to pass first, and has been penetrating a lot more, creating a lot of opportunities for other players. His defense has also been solid, very much unlike in Toronto when even Tyronn Lue scored 29 on him. I also think it's unfair to blame Alston for the dismal record this season. We've been without Yao and McGrady for around half the season and Alston has had surgery himself.
No.. Alston 2 me is way better.. He gets a lot of assists, makes the floater, and can drain the 3. i say it was an equal trade.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">http://82games.com/0405HOUP.HTM Last season, with Mike James on the court with him, Yao put up arguably better offensive numbers than this season with Alston on the court with him. <u>Last season with Mike James (352 mintues)</u> 26.4 pts/40min 54.9 fg% 10.6 free throw attempts/40min 3.0 turnovers/40min (Mike James: 18.3 pts, 48.4 fg%, 4.0 assists, 1.8 to) <u>This season with Rafer Alston (653 minutes)</u> 25.6 pts/40min 52.1 fg% 6.9 free throw attempts/40min 2.0 turnovers/40min (Rafer Alston: 11.0 pts, 39.0 fg%, 7.4 assists, 2.4 to) Consider that for what it's worth. Further, James is definitely a better defender and scorer -- areas that have been sorely missing for us this season from the guard positions.</div> lets just say that Alston know when to pass the ball... he always looks to pass the ball to yao in a position that he can score easily.
The Rockets are already in Cap Hell with two max contracts and a "cheap" owner. Mike James would've mooted us for a big contract anyways, one in which he's due. One cannot make a report on Rafer without watching the majority of games he's played for us this year. Besides being the only healthy guard that can make an entry pass to Yao, he's often the only guard that brings a certain energy into a lack-luster game. Mike James took valuable touches from McGrady and Yao, and then got himself ejected against Dallas in GAME SEVEN. I don't think I'll ever get over that. No matter the score, you don't get yourself ejected during a Game 7.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Chutney:</div><div class="quote_post">The contract's really the determining factor that makes me prefer James instead of Alston.</div> Why? Mike James will soon be overpaid.......probably for too many years.......and probably by the Raptors
