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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/trainingc ... recast0809

Pretty much stuff we already know, but still a good read.

Good read but its gonna piss off the Alston lovers on this board. I been saying we have 4/5 of a championship team since we got Artest. Hollinger agrees....you can guess what he thinks our weak spot is.

I don't see how the "Alston lovers" would be insulted by that. Alston is clearly the weakest link. Hell, with the lineup that we can send out, there aren't many PGs in the league that WOULDN'T be the weakest link on our team.

Nonetheless, Hollinger (like all of us "Alston lovers") understands that we NEED Rafer Alston.

jove9 wrote:I don't see how the "Alston lovers" would be insulted by that. Alston is clearly the weakest link. Hell, with the lineup that we can send out, there aren't many PGs in the league that WOULDN'T be the weakest link on our team.

Nonetheless, Hollinger (like all of us "Alston lovers") understands that we NEED Rafer Alston.

I guess 'needing' because we have no other option and 'needing' because he is good make no difference in that we still need him. As an "Alston lover" don't forget to mention that he said we should trade him....and we probably will. Other than injuries...he said Alston would be the reason we don't win a title. I mean comeon....some of you simply make me laugh b/c you know this guy is a liability but your love for him makes you say dumb stuff like "we need him" so he must be good which is essentially what you are saying.

I think we'll figure it out. But my point here Jove is that Alston is a terrible basketball player and there are more than a handful of 2nd and 3rd tier PGs that we could send out there that wouldn't be a liability. Look Derek Fisher would be perfect for this team and he isn't on that Paul or Williams or whoever top PG you can name level. Just because your limited basketball knowledge doesn't allow you to name PGs that would be better than Alston....doesn't mean that there aren't any.

I've been rather worried about that "32 year old dropoff" thing myself. It's about our only weak spot other than health and sanity.

did he just call Landry a "fantastic defender"

he's not horrible...but fantastic?

moofs wrote:I've been rather worried about that "32 year old dropoff" thing myself. It's about our only weak spot other than health and sanity.

Given the fact that he isn't the biggest guy around...he relies on his quickness. If he loses any bit of that we are toast. I think Adelman is gonna have to take some risks and I would very disappointed if McGrady didn't play PG during key stretches of a game.

We've heard it over and over again for the past what 3 years now? Health is the main issue.

Alston is a solid defender, good dribble, doesn't turn the ball over, and does the things a point guard should do. Wish he could increase that shooting percentage this year, maybe into the 40% mark, that would really help us out A LOT IMO. Maybe we should look into Starbury as a backup/just in case option? lol just a thought...

Baller 24 wrote:We've heard it over and over again for the past what 3 years now? Health is the main issue.

Alston is a solid defender, good dribble, doesn't turn the ball over, and does the things a point guard should do. Wish he could increase that shooting percentage this year, maybe into the 40% mark, that would really help us out A LOT IMO. Maybe we should look into Starbury as a backup/just in case option? lol just a thought...

If Francis can stay healthy..I think he would make a good backup. Can still penetrate and finish and is still a big PG. No need to go with Marbury on this front. If do something at that position it should be to move Alston along. Alston, Head and a pick should get us a PG that can shoot and stay in front of his guy more often than not.

NO to marbury.

this guy is a cancer.

i rather have 5 rafer's on the court than 1 marbury.

the main thing going into the season is t-mac's health. He has already stated that he isn't 100% and possibly will be 100% the whole season. That just kills the chance of getting first seed because at any point in season mcgrady would be sitting out.

it just sucks that mcgrady can't play 75+ games in a season.

oh well.

hopefully yao manages to stay injury free and plays at least 75 games.

5 Rafers? You could win some games with that. How about 4 Luther Heads and a Brian Scalabrine?

Iggyemu wrote:

jove9 wrote:I don't see how the "Alston lovers" would be insulted by that. Alston is clearly the weakest link. Hell, with the lineup that we can send out, there aren't many PGs in the league that WOULDN'T be the weakest link on our team.

Nonetheless, Hollinger (like all of us "Alston lovers") understands that we NEED Rafer Alston.

I guess 'needing' because we have no other option and 'needing' because he is good make no difference in that we still need him. As an "Alston lover" don't forget to mention that he said we should trade him....and we probably will. Other than injuries...he said Alston would be the reason we don't win a title. I mean comeon....some of you simply make me laugh b/c you know this guy is a liability but your love for him makes you say dumb stuff like "we need him" so he must be good which is essentially what you are saying.

I think we'll figure it out. But my point here Jove is that Alston is a terrible basketball player and there are more than a handful of 2nd and 3rd tier PGs that we could send out there that wouldn't be a liability. Look Derek Fisher would be perfect for this team and he isn't on that Paul or Williams or whoever top PG you can name level. Just because your limited basketball knowledge doesn't allow you to name PGs that would be better than Alston....doesn't mean that there aren't any.

WTF is up you? And at what point in reading my response to Hollinger's article did you think that attacking me was a good idea?

No need to go there. Are you disputing the fact that we need Alston?

Stop putting words in my mouth. Did I ever claim that Alston is better than a 2nd tier PG?

Yeah, Derek Fisher would be great. And you know why? Because he runs the offense, doesn't turn the ball over, and plays decent defense. But guess what. We're not getting Fisher any time soon.

If you don't understand what makes Rafer valuable to this team, you have no reason questioning MY basketball knowledge.

- KR

Iggyemu wrote:Good read but its gonna piss off the Alston lovers on this board. I been saying we have 4/5 of a championship team since we got Artest. Hollinger agrees....you can guess what he thinks our weak spot is.

It isn't that big of a deal; he still pegged Houston as one of the three toss-ups to make it out of the West. Last offseason, Hollinger claimed KG, Ray & Pierce were surrounded by a bunch of D-leaguers. He wasn't the only one either, but winning has a way of silencing critics. No one questions Perkins, Rondo or anyone else on that team anymore. It'll be the same story if Houston goes deep in the postseason with Rafer, which Hollinger thinks they can do.

Not bad. Was that just three "not to question your inferior understanding of the game of basketball, but"s out of Iggs in a single day?

Might be a new record!

(I particularly liked the part where he said we need Rafer out of absolute necessity, then pointed out that we plan to get rid of him and started offering alternatives. You know, cause if those things had been there then that whole "absolute necessity" thing wouldn't have been all that necessary. Not being able to lay claim to both points for the sake of a really weird and unsupported superiority-granting conclusion is such a trifle though!)

b-ballwizard wrote:It isn't that big of a deal; he still pegged Houston as one of the three toss-ups to make it out of the West. Last offseason, Hollinger claimed KG, Ray & Pierce were surrounded by a bunch of D-leaguers. He wasn't the only one either, but winning has a way of silencing critics. No one questions Perkins, Rondo or anyone else on that team anymore. It'll be the same story if Houston goes deep in the postseason with Rafer, which Hollinger thinks they can do.

Right after the trade, they were, but Ainge was able to get a bunch of lucky FA signings and trades in right after that. The problem was remedied by the start of the season, iirc.

Iggyemu wrote:I guess 'needing' because we have no other option and 'needing' because he is good make no difference in that we still need him. As an "Alston lover" don't forget to mention that he said we should trade him....and we probably will. Other than injuries...he said Alston would be the reason we don't win a title.

For Hollinger's suggestions that "the best option would be a trade" and "we should be watching the point guard market very closely this summer", while I agree with him, I would like to know who his alternative options are. 'Course if Alston's defense drops off like I'm expecting, the range of acceptable options is going to widen. .. I hate to say it, but we might actually need Francis and Brooks this year, which is.. a.. scary thought.

He didn't say that Alston would be the reason we didn't win a title that I saw, though, just that he was obviously the weakest link. Doesn't mean he's not any good. I almost suspect Alston's shooting percentages could go up some this year like they did last year when the offense started clicking.

...Almost.

Nice to get a feel for what others are thinking,but Hollinger's piece has many WTFs that I'wouldn't waste much time getting upset by what he says.
He has Artest starting at PF.
He says best bet is T-Mac as defacto PG w/some combo of Battier/Artest/Battier on the wings. But if Artest/Battier/Barry are playing the wing positions,T-Mac isn't the defacto PG-HE IS THE PG!
He believes Landry is a "fantastic defender".
He states it was T-Mac's back that was bothering him last yr,when it was knee and shoulder problems-not his back at all.
He seriously undervalues the Western Conference as a whole. He basically has Utah,LA and Houston winning a tad more and everybody else having major drops in wins. Overall he has West winning 221 games against the East when over past 3 yrs the West has won 258,257 and 252 games.(Last yr he predicted 227 West wins against East,actual 258.)

moofs wrote:

b-ballwizard wrote:It isn't that big of a deal; he still pegged Houston as one of the three toss-ups to make it out of the West. Last offseason, Hollinger claimed KG, Ray & Pierce were surrounded by a bunch of D-leaguers. He wasn't the only one either, but winning has a way of silencing critics. No one questions Perkins, Rondo or anyone else on that team anymore. It'll be the same story if Houston goes deep in the postseason with Rafer, which Hollinger thinks they can do.

Right after the trade, they were, but Ainge was able to get a bunch of lucky FA signings and trades in right after that. The problem was remedied by the start of the season, iirc.

Not in the eyes of the public. They added James Posey and Eddie House, but people still had huge doubts about Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins starting on a championship team...and Doc Rivers coaching one. Remember...hindsight is 20/20.

moofs wrote:5 Rafers? You could win some games with that. How about 4 Luther Heads and a Brian Scalabrine?

how about 2 artest, 2 battier and 1 yao sounds to yah?