Skip To Your Lou Right The Hell Out Of Town
When talking with reporters after Lawrence Frank was fired Sunday, Rafer Alston said that sometimes “players need to go” when a team is struggling as the Nets have. I hope Alston believes these sentiments, because coincidentally, Rafer would be the first person I would fire based on poor performance, with Bobby Simmons running a very close second.Yes, Alston and Simmons have been that bad this season. These two players are so bad, they hardly resemble NBA players anymore, yet because of injuries, and coaching decisions, they both have logged major minutes all season, and have played a pivotal role in the Nets historically heinous start.
I used to defend Rafer in Houston. I thought he was serviceable. And while all the hoopla over Kyle Lowry was unfounded (solid role-player/back-up point, not much more), it doesn’t really matter because it gave Aaron Brooks the ball more. Then Rafer played lights out in Orlando and there was some vindication. But at the end of the day, he entered maturity as a player past the point when his body could still perform at the level he needed to. And if you pay attention, most point guards thrive in Orlando’s system, because you’ve got three guys on the floor who demand doubles or at least man-help.
And so this is how it will probably end. Spot rotation player for the worst team in the league. An exercise in coulda-woulda-shoulda. It’s sad, and the fact that it’s so predictable makes it even sadder.
Oster-Tags: Aaron Brooks, New Jersey Nets, pleaseGodhavemercyonthenets, Rafer Alston
