# Alston traded to Houston for Mike James



## reHEATed (Jun 29, 2003)

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/37458/20051004/raptors_trade_alston_to_houston_for_james/

you are going to love Alston. He could hit the 3 and is a true pg. He will fit perfectly into the starting pg role with Sura out. And all you gave up was Mike James

I still miss Alston from when he was with the heat 2 years ago. He is a really good player and a was a fan favorite in Miami


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

*Re: You guys just got better*

Ive been raving about Alston all along... Love this move. It would have been nice to see MoPete included in the deal, as the details are still unclear, Im crossing my fingers that we had also acquired a swing to backup McGrady at the 3 spot.

Our team is near complete... Im hoping for a volume 3 shooter that can come off the bench as our instant offense... MoPete fits the bill.


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## Marshall_42 (Dec 6, 2004)

*Re: You guys just got better*

Me too.....Love it. I hope we get bosh in the deal too, he can back up Swift at the 4.


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## TRACIELOVESCOMETS (May 14, 2003)

*Re: You guys just got better*

Darn! I like Mike James


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## c_dog (Sep 15, 2002)

*Re: You guys just got better*

amazing huh? all it took was mike james to land a decent starting pg from toronto. might as well see if we can get mo pete for david wesley. the team is looking good right now.

c-yao
pf-swift
sf-t-mac
sg-wesley/anderson
pg-alston

that's pretty good i must say. all positions look pretty solid. an upgrade at sg would make this a picture perfect offseason.


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## crimedog (Jun 3, 2003)

*Re: You guys just got better*



c_dog said:


> amazing huh? all it took was mike james to land a decent starting pg from toronto. might as well see if we can get mo pete for david wesley. the team is looking good right now.
> 
> c-yao
> pf-swift
> ...


rafer's not a starting point guard. he's good and with a veteran coach and star like mcgrady, maybe he'll leave the character issues behind him, but he's just a band aid. you guys got the better player, but it's a good move for a rebuilding team to dump salary and add a good defender who's good in the locker room.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

*Re: You guys just got better*

I like the move. I think Alston's passing and ability to nail a three-pointer here and there is exactly what Houston needs. A play-maker to get the ball to McGrady and Yao in good scoring positions. James is a nice player, but too erratic in his decision-making and not as pass-oriented. The Rox will miss his defense, though.


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## Ballscientist (Nov 11, 2002)

*Re: You guys just got better*



c_dog said:


> amazing huh? all it took was mike james to land a decent starting pg from toronto. might as well see if we can get mo pete for david wesley. the team is looking good right now.
> 
> c-yao
> pf-swift
> ...


Can Westley or Anderson play PG for 12 minutes per game? Slow?

Anderson was a pg with Spurs when he was young.


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## mavsman (Jun 11, 2003)

*Re: You guys just got better*

Good move for the Rockets. If Alston can keep his head straight he will be a much better solution at PG then Mike James.

Got to hand it to the Rockets, they continue to work on putting together a solid team.


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## Dodigago (Jan 13, 2005)

*Re: You guys just got better*



Minstrel said:


> I like the move. I think Alston's passing and ability to nail a three-pointer here and there is exactly what Houston needs. A play-maker to get the ball to McGrady and Yao in good scoring positions. James is a nice player, but too erratic in his decision-making and not as pass-oriented. The Rox will miss his defense, though.


yes, hes a playmaker that CAN get the ball to Yao and Tmac

but Will he? hes a chucker big time, bad defender, horrible pickup IMO

+ the ridicolous contract


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

*Re: You guys just got better*



Dodigago said:


> yes, hes a playmaker that CAN get the ball to Yao and Tmac
> 
> but Will he? hes a chucker big time, bad defender, horrible pickup IMO
> 
> + the ridicolous contract


ridiculous contract? he makes less than 4 million this year. it is longterm(he has 4 years after this one left), but the highest it ever gets is 5.25. not exactly a terrible deal.


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## Ballscientist (Nov 11, 2002)

*4 starters contracts were expired at or after 2010 .........*

4 starters contracts were expired at or after 2010 .........

T-Mac, Yao, Swift and Alston.

What is your next step?

Head replaces Wesley and Anderson next season?

Trade for a young backup point guard?

All the pieces are there, you don't need anything?


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## butr (Mar 23, 2004)

*Re: You guys just got better*

You may think you got better. Look out for Rafer's ability to take and miss 3's on a 3-on-1 break, his matador defense and his unstable personality.

Oh and just for a piece of info that does not affect you. James deal ends in 2 years when Rose and Mo come free for about 25 mill. Certainly part of the motivation for the Raps. As opposed to Rafer's 09/10 expiration.


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## Pimped Out (May 4, 2005)

*Re: You guys just got better*



> James deal ends in 2 years


actually james will opt out in a year.


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## Benis007 (May 23, 2005)

*Re: You guys just got better*



Pimped Out said:


> actually james will opt out in a year.


Why would he?

Nobody will sign him for $3 mil +


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

*Re: You guys just got better*

I have 2 comments to make:

1. Just yesterday JVG mentioned that he didn't want to coach any knuckleheads and wanted to have nothing to do with those types of players, probably alluding to Latrell Sprewell. Although Alston didn't choke Sam Mitchell, he did get into a fight with him and also had problems with Jalen Rose. I don't care how much of a SOB Mitchell is, you have to assume that any player who is willing to get physical with his coach is a knucklehead.

This means? The Rockets received some really bad news on Bob Sura last night.

2. We are a seriously badass team. Can you imagine Alston and Barry leading a break with Swift and McGrady on the wings? Not to mention a 7'6 trailer. Highlights galore.


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## TRON (Feb 29, 2004)

I wonder how Rafer will fit into a Jeff Van Gundy system, considering he doesn't play much Defense??

BTW guys...I haven't really seen much of Mike James, but what would you say are his best and worst qualities.


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## Damian Necronamous (Jun 10, 2002)

*Re: You guys just got better*



Marshall_42 said:


> Me too.....Love it. I hope we get bosh in the deal too, he can back up Swift at the 4.


LMFAO! Somebody needs to give this guy a reality check...


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

*Re: You guys just got better*

Wonder if JVG let SVG influence him at all on this trade:

http://www.freebasketball.netfirms.com/skip10.html

Stan Van Gundy has been real high on Alston for a long time.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

TRON said:


> I wonder how Rafer will fit into a Jeff Van Gundy system, considering he doesn't play much Defense??
> 
> BTW guys...I haven't really seen much of Mike James, but what would you say are his best and worst qualities.


Pro's:
Great mid range jump shot, is a catch and shoot type player
Very good in isolation
Aggressive defender, great at pressing
Acrobatic finisher, nice touch around the rim

Con's:
Does not pass/create for teammates
Very weak at running set plays, and rarely makes the extra pass
Can overdribble and has a tendency to ignore star players

Ideal for coming off the bench as an offensive sparkplug and an active defender.


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## dynamiks (Aug 15, 2005)

*Re: You guys just got better*



Marshall_42 said:


> Me too.....Love it. I hope we get bosh in the deal too, he can back up Swift at the 4.


 Even if it was to happen Bosh would start over swift anyday, cuz Bosh is way better then Swift.


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

*Re: You guys just got better*

T-Mac is definitely our GM! lol

DOn't forget -- Mike James was essentially an expiring contract since he said he wasn't going to exercise player option after this season.

I don't know enough about Alston except for what happened with Mitchell. I haven't really seen him play. I'll judge this when I see what he can do for us.


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

*Re: You guys just got better*



Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> I have 2 comments to make:
> 
> 1. Just yesterday JVG mentioned that he didn't want to coach any knuckleheads and wanted to have nothing to do with those types of players, probably alluding to Latrell Sprewell. Although Alston didn't choke Sam Mitchell, he did get into a fight with him and also had problems with Jalen Rose. I don't care how much of a SOB Mitchell is, you have to assume that any player who is willing to get physical with his coach is a knucklehead.
> 
> ...


Dawson was on SR610 saying that they've been planning this move for months. JVG probably knew it was going to go down @ Media Day yesterday, hence his comment "We're through with knuckleheads" means that Mike James was a knucklehead and Alston isn't and won't be -- he must think highly of him because he trusts Stan.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

*Re: You guys just got better*



sherwin said:


> Dawson was on SR610 saying that they've been planning this move for months. JVG probably knew it was going to go down @ Media Day yesterday, hence his comment "We're through with knuckleheads" means that Mike James was a knucklehead and Alston isn't and won't be -- he must think highly of him because he trusts Stan.


True. But think of how fragile Sura is emotionally right now. It doesn't look good if the Rocket's are trading for PG's just a couple days after he had surgery. I think Dawson said that to show Sura the Rocket's still have confidence in him.


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

*Re: You guys just got better*



Mr. Roger's Cardigan said:


> True. But think of how fragile Sura is emotionally right now. It doesn't look good if the Rocket's are trading for PG's just a couple days after he had surgery. I think Dawson said that to show Sura the Rocket's still have confidence in him.


Yeah that's a possibility. I definitely do think it had something to do with Sura's status.`


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## Pasha The Great (Apr 9, 2005)

*Re: You guys just got better*

Its more likely to be because james is a poor mans steve francis and he made a statement saying hes going to opt out next year. He never passes the ball to tracy or yao, and just stands there dribbling until theres a couple seconds left on the shot clock, then messes up.


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## FanOfAll8472 (Jun 28, 2003)

*Re: You guys just got better*

Nice deal for the Rockets. Alston is a better playmaker and can spot up in various places on the floor. Does this mean Wesley stays for defense?


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## MightyReds2020 (Jul 19, 2002)

I wonder how Alston's going to fit in with Van Gundy? But he brings true playmaking skills that nobody on the Rockets possess other than TMac.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

wow! I like Mikey James a lot but I've been high on SKip-to-my-Lou since his FIRST stint with the Raptors. Regarding his incident with Sam Mitchell, I really think Mitchell has a lot to do with it too - a lot of players had problems with him and I'm sure he says a lot of stuff behind the scenes to the players that we don't know about.

This team is like a complete turnaround from the team of fossils we had last year. We still have most of the old guys, but brought in a bunch of young blood as well. I'm lovin' it!


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

Yeah we have a nice mix of young players, the requisite 2 superstars, and veteran leadership. This is usually the formula for a championship. We have big expectations in Houston and Rafer Alston needs to be man enough to not screw it up.


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## TracywtFacy (Mar 29, 2005)

Gawd JVG must be having a heart attack trying to figure out how to manage a team to his disciplined and conservative D-first style with Stro and now Skip, of all people... a streetball legend... although from that link a few posts back he does a good job on D... I haven't seen much of him play, I hope he will be good for our team... I really liked our team last season, I dont care if we don't score much or come last in the league in fast break points, we played good D, good ball movement on offense... I'd hate to see the Rox become a run'n'gun team like the Nets or Suns. Sad to see MJ go but I still like the trade.

Can't wait to see this team in action, but CD probably has a few more surprises up his sleeve...


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

Yao Mania said:


> Regarding his incident with Sam Mitchell, I really think Mitchell has a lot to do with it too - a lot of players had problems with him and I'm sure he says a lot of stuff behind the scenes to the players that we don't know about.


Even if that were the case, I don't think it'd be justifiable to put your hands on a coach. For things to run smoothly, there has to be a certain level of respect. I know that goes both ways, but it's more important upwards.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Hakeem said:


> Even if that were the case, I don't think it'd be justifiable to put your hands on a coach. For things to run smoothly, there has to be a certain level of respect. I know that goes both ways, but it's more important upwards.


oh I'm not justifying it, he definitely shouldnt' have done that. Skip does have a lil' personality problem but compared to Steve Francis he's an angel. And he's also very competitive and has a strong desire to win.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

*Re: You guys just got better*

Good deal for Houston. Mike James is more of a scoring spark off the bench, and Rafer Alston is more of a guy who can distribute the ball and set up the offense. I believe in the "winning cures all" mentality as well, so Alston's past attitude problems shouldn't be a deal. If he still has attitude problems playing for a team like Houston, he is a full blown nut case.


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## sherwin (Mar 21, 2005)

Hakeem said:


> Even if that were the case, I don't think it'd be justifiable to put your hands on a coach. For things to run smoothly, there has to be a certain level of respect. I know that goes both ways, but it's more important upwards.


If the coach is pushing you and challenging you to a fight like it was reported I don't think he should just sit there like a *****. Sam Mitchell is a moron anyways.


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

i think alston will be a good fit on the rockets. he can hit 3s and pass the ball. he's had a 3 assist/turnover ratio the last couple of years. and when tmac and yao are on the bench, he will have a chance to be the main playmaker for the team. he is pretty much everything the rockets need offensively out of their pg.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

[Chron] Rockets deal Mike James for traditional point 



> "Rafer is more of a traditional point in that he passes first, shoots second," Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said. "Mike was very valuable. The role he played for us last year was just great, coming off the bench with an immediate explosion of points. But this will give us a little more of a standard, traditional point for the NBA.
> 
> "I just think (Alston) fits. We've watched a lot of film because we didn't know where Bob Sura was going to be or how long it's going to be (before he can play again after last week's knee surgery). We had done our work to where we really feel comfortable with this guy. He really runs the ball up the court every time. With the athletes we have now ... I think he fits just perfect."


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## Rocket Man (Jun 10, 2005)

Well we knew something had to happen with our full house of guards but I was not expecting this. I was thinking that they would pull off some 2 for 1 trade to improve and thin out the ranks. I agree with you guys that they probably got some bad or inconclusive news on Sura and made this move as an insurance policy to have a healthy team to put out on the court at the season start. I liked MJ's defense but thought that he did not get his teammates involved enough. Mike's assist numbers were pretty pathetic even though I loved his overall game. I think that we improved because our biggest need was someone that can get the ball more cosistently in to Yao and be enough of any offensive weapon to make defenses pay if they try laying off of him to help with doubles on Magrady and Yao. His numbers at assists and scoring shows that with good spacing he could really help out our 3-point shooting percentage also. By the way is Juwan Howard going to be ready to go in immediately? If not maybe it will give Swift more playing time to learn Van Gundy's system.


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## GM3 (May 5, 2005)

As long as he doesnt clash with anybody on the team hes as good as gold for you guys.


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## DWest Superstar (Jun 30, 2005)

*Re: You guys just got better*



Marshall_42 said:


> Me too.....Love it. I hope we get bosh in the deal too, he can back up Swift at the 4.


Back up Swift?

Are you kidding?

Yes, I have determined you are kidding


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## rogue (Jul 5, 2005)

MJ is a solid solid player, his passing is NOT poor, its just that he doesn't think "pass first" passing is an afterthought. He is a penatrator which is good, but not likely to penatrate and dish... That was pretty much the only gripe anybody had with him, but he got better towards the end of the year. We kind of changed his role, he came in to score off the bench, but after a while we didn't need him to score so much. He will be a good player for you guys definitely.


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## Q8i (Oct 23, 2004)

Raptors Are So Stupid.. Not ****en Joke!


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## darkballa (Sep 19, 2003)

FInally!! i was wating for this for the past month!! I move that could get us a point guard that can dish and shoot the 3!!! Although we will miss Mike James' defense on te offensive end we are now really versatile. IF we get sura back its probably going to be 

PG-Alston
Sg-Sura
SF-Mac
PF-Stro
C-Yao

imagine this, all of these alston, sura and stron can easily average around 13-15 points each. Mac will get his 30 and yao his usual 20. You got 3 guys who can average about 5-6 assists each. Mac and Sura are gonna get their 4-6 "Guard" rebounds nd youve got the Stro and yao to gobbel up all the offensive and defensive rebounds. Mac, swift and yao are gonna get their share of dunks, Mac and Alston will get about 2-3 3s a game and maybe Sura can even match that one. Yao and Swift will probably get around 1-2 blocks a game and youve got solid perimeter defense outside. 

NOW were ready to start the season.


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## WhoRocks (Feb 24, 2005)

He dishes, he can catch and shoot from the three point line AND he plays defense? Yeah, I think Alston's a great addition for us; in fact in terms of how he fits with the team, I like it even more than the Stro show signing. Of course people question his character, but we're gonna be a 50/60 win team next year, and winning cures a lot of ills, for example Shaq and Kobe clearly hate each other but they stuck around together long enough to win three titles. Although it would be kinda funny to see JVG unleash his patented ankle strangle again :biggrin: 

One thing that worries me a little though is that Mike James was one of the only guys on our team who'd gone deep into the playoffs before. That sort of experience is pretty invaluable, I'm sure there was at least one Rockets-Mavericks game this spring where he went bananas and kept us in it.


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

WhoRocks said:


> One thing that worries me a little though is that Mike James was one of the only guys on our team who'd gone deep into the playoffs before. That sort of experience is pretty invaluable, I'm sure there was at least one Rockets-Mavericks game this spring where he went bananas and kept us in it.


I think Jon Barry was the motivator.


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## MightyReds2020 (Jul 19, 2002)

The best part of this Alston deal IMO is that allowed the Rox to go small and run a little more and really push up the tempo. It's the best option to break out when the offense went stagnant, which is quite likely considered the offense will still be Yao-heavy - A lot of half-court sets. A lineup of Alston-Sura-Anderson-TMac (at PF)-Stro will be a very good fast break team.


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

MightyReds2020 said:


> The best part of this Alston deal IMO is that allowed the Rox to go small and run a little more and really push up the tempo. It's the best option to break out when the offense went stagnant, which is quite likely considered the offense will still be Yao-heavy - A lot of half-court sets. A lineup of Alston-Sura-Anderson-TMac (at PF)-Stro will be a very good fast break team.



I disagree. Yao anchors our defense. I think we need to keep him on the floor as much as possible.

On offensive possessions, we should definitely work inside-out as Yao has a highly efficient shooting percentage. Every time Yao touches the ball, he converts over 50% of his possessions into points.

The JVG mantra is that we play hardy defense in order to get points off of breaks.

Even though Yao may be slow running, we have Skip, TMac, and Swift that can run the break off of turnovers created by our defense. At no point should we sacrifice defense for a faster-paced game by yanking Yao... which really wouldn't make us that much faster, rather makes us much smaller. JVG wouldnt have us play a running game anyway... He would prefer a slow, controlled offense when it is our possession and would reserve running for fast breaks off of turnovers, only. I like this philosophy.


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

Rafer Alston is a bad point guard. BUT, I think he will succeed in Houston. It is the perfect situation because he won't have the ball in his hands a lot; he will be mostly used as a spot up shooter - where he will thrive.

Good trade for both teams.


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## MonsterBosh (Feb 9, 2005)

Y'all will enjoy Rafer's streetball antics .. as the rest of the team stand there watching without a clue what is going to happen next ... LOL ... !!

It's a good thing to keep the ball out of Rafer's hands because he can't seem to execute a good pick and roll ... seems to forget the pick rolling and thinks he has to always shoot ... !!!

I hope that James continues to slash to the basket because the Raptors need some brave players willing to give up their bodies for the team.

Btw... you got T-Mac from the Raptors too .. via Miami .. or was it Orlando .. ??!!


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

TMac never played in Miami...

and to be technical, Toronto LOST Tmac to Orlando and then we GOT Tmac from the Magic


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## darkballa (Sep 19, 2003)

Id pay money to see Rafer Alston pull an ankle breaker on Yao!! :biggrin: Thatll be a laugh!


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## TManiAC (Dec 19, 2004)

darkballa said:


> Id pay money to see Rafer Alston pull an ankle breaker on Yao!! :biggrin: Thatll be a laugh!



Starbury crossed him over twice.. made Yao fall over.

Starbury also crossed Sam Cassell in one game... Cassell was backpedalling at full speed and Starbury switched speeds and crossed him. Cassell trip on himself on the recovery turn and went flying. 

Anyone know what Im talking about? I would love to find a clip of that.


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## hitokiri315 (Apr 30, 2004)

I saw steve cross over AI so bad that AI grabed his ribs and went to the bench. Sickest cross over in the game.


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## On Thre3 (Nov 26, 2003)

I dont think he will have any attitude problems with the team imo. T-mac and Yao ming are very humble supers stars, and raefer will get along with them very well.


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## On Thre3 (Nov 26, 2003)

man wtf anytime i post somthing in rockets forum it kills the thread. f you guys!


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## Pimped Out (May 4, 2005)

this thread was already dead when you posted. 3 days past between the last post before yours and yours. its only been 2 days since then.


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## TracywtFacy (Mar 29, 2005)

there was one game where I saw Jon Barry put a nasty jab step on his man, can't remember who it was, maybe Eric Snow... sent him stumbling then sunk a three


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