# Player Review: Rafer Alston



## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Thought it'd be a good idea to start a review thread for each of our players, reflecting on their accomplishments over the past season, and discuss what we hope to see from them in the coming season (or if we want to see them traded!)

Rafer's the guy I want to start the discussion with. Coming into this season, most if not all Houston fans absoluted hated his play. With Mike James and Francis on our roster, we expected Rafer to eventually lose his starting job and possibly get traded... 

... but surprisingly, Rafer really stepped up his play in the 2nd half of the season, and with Mike James traded and Francis injured, Rafer became not only our undisputed starting PG, but arguably the 3rd most important player on this team. Who would've thought we'd be saying that "if Rafer had played the 1st 2 games of the series, we might've been able to beat Utah!"

So its obvious that Rafer's matured, his shot selection and decision making's improved, and is comfortable playing with everyone. But he's also aging... the playground legend will be 32 heading into the season. So was this past season Rafer's peak? Will he start regressing? Or will Rafer pull a Steve Nash and come up with his best season yet?


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

He has a big effect on how the whole team plays. His abysmal play at the start of the season was a significant reason for our poor performance. Likewise, he was a huge factor in the second half of the season. 

He has improved on both ends of the floor. He came in as one of the very worst defensive point guards in the league. Now he is actually a good team defender and only a slightly below average man defender. This is particularly impressive given his age. Most players start to decline defensively by their late 20s. 

His biggest strength though is in the fact that he has played with Yao and McGrady for three seasons and knows where and how to get them the ball. That kind of rapport takes time and luck to build. Which is why it probably isn't a good idea to replace him with anything less than a considerably more talented player. So, TJ Ford? Yes. Beno Udrih? No.


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## jdiggidy (Jun 21, 2003)

While you can't put Rafer in the same category as a Deron Williams, CP3, or Steve Nash, the only way we could upgrade our PG position would be to acquire one of those players. Seems a bit strange to be saying it that way but it is true. There are not very many upgrades at PG over Rafer unless you are talking about the big names.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

The problem is we don't really have many pieces to trade with. Rafer's gonna be our starter next season no doubt, but we really need a decent back-up for him (get outta here Bobby Jackson!)


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## Redeemed (Feb 2, 2008)

I honestly think Aaron Brooks will be a solid backup point guard for Houston.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

DienerTime said:


> I honestly think Aaron Brooks will be a solid backup point guard for Houston.


That's the best case scenario, but Brooks still has a lot of growing to do (no that's not a shot at him being small...)


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## hroz (Mar 4, 2006)

I think Brooks will be a great backup guard but not this comign season maybe the one after.

Note: I am so happy with Rafer's development. He went from a guy who was seen and was a backup PG in this league to a deserving starter in this league. 

Hopefully his improvement continues next season.


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## OneBadLT123 (Oct 4, 2005)

I still am not sold on Alston being our primary guard. But, and a big but, after what happened when he went out with injuries, you could clearly see the team was lost on offense.

He did cut down on the stupid mistakes from last year, and he does play a somewhat above average defensive game (still sucks against stronger guards). SO he did make an improvement over last season, plus all the stuff going on in the offseason. 

But if there is a chance to improve, I think Alston would be a great 1-2 punch with another good PG. For some reason, I am just not sold on Brooks yet. I love his speed, and his ability to create his own shot, but his size is going to kill him in this league. Bigger guards (about 99% of the league) are going to just expose the size weakness and torch him.


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## jdiggidy (Jun 21, 2003)

Since AB is getting mixed reviews and no one thinks he is starting PG caliber it might be wise to try and move up in the draft to pickup our starting PG of the future or trade for our starter.

The best case scenario here would be that within the next two years who ever Houston picks to be the starter will be ready and then the team would just need to make a decision on whether to keep Rafer as the backup or AB.

Starting PG is not our worst weakness though. The SG and SF backups need to be upgraded before PG so there probably won't be any movement on the Rafer front unless Morey can pull of some ridiculous deal for a starting PG and backup SG/SF by trading away our expiring contracts, Luther Head, and maybe our draft picks.


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## knickstorm (Jun 22, 2003)

rafer alston is not what's holding us back from winning a title......i've said it before, you've got the top big man, one of the top swingmen, you cant expect an all star PG to be on that team too unless your the celtics or something and you got 3 stud all stars on one team.


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## Spaceman Spiff (Aug 2, 2006)

jdiggidy said:


> While you can't put Rafer in the same category as a Deron Williams, CP3, or Steve Nash, the only way we could upgrade our PG position would be to acquire one of those players. Seems a bit strange to be saying it that way but it is true. There are not very many upgrades at PG over Rafer unless you are talking about the big names.


Thank you. You guys here are so much smarter than those at clutchfans(and if you are with them, must be the cream of the crop). Over there they talk about guys like Beno Udrih, TJ Ford, Steve Blake, and Mo Williams being an upgrade. Unless we talking All-Star, you're not upgrading Rafer. On the plus side, he's top defensive PG. He's the best ball-handler in the league, doesn't turn the ball over, and can knock down open shots. He's a perfect fit for the team. Only problem I had with him are his ugly floaters, and now they're finally starting to drop.

Guys like TJ Ford and Andre Miller don't fit cause they're more of an open court player and horrid outside shooters, and we need a PG who can knock down shots to spread the court when Yao and T-Mac are doubled/tripled. There is no name possible out there that would give us an upgrade. Between Bobby Jackson, Brooks, and Steve Francis, one of them has to be playing good on any given night to spell Alston.


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