Rafer Alston

by John Park Williams on May 28, 2009 11:52 PM EDT

I am not a Magic fan, and this is my first post on Third-Quarter Collapse, so forgive me if this is in the wrong spot:

I have never seen a player seem to care so little in such an important game as Rafer Alston did tonight. Forget the 1-10 shooting and the -20 while he was on the floor, those can be chalked up to just having a bad night. But there were a handful of plays where it appeared as though Alston didn't care whether the Magic won.

Examples:

-Magic make early run at start of 3rd quarter to go up 62-56, and Rafer drives the lane, jumps in the air with no where to go, and throws it away.

-Magic up 64-61, Rafer throws a bad pass which is stolen by LeBron, and he casually jogs over and just shoves LeBron. He easily could have fouled him earlier, but he casually jogged over and wound up fouling him from behind to get a clear path foul. Terrible.

-Magic up 67-63, Courtney Lee steals the ball and the Magic have a 2-1 break against LeBron James, and Lee passes it to Rafer, who just stops running. Rafer just stopped! Rather than risk challenging LeBron, Rafer just stopped running! Pathetic.

-Magic up 90-89, Mo Williams misses a 3, and Rafer easily could have gotten to the rebound, but he doesn't make much of an effort to get it, and Williams gets to it and throws it off of Alston.

I realize the 3rd quarter of game 4 was an abberation, and I don't expect much out of him. But I at least expect him to want to win the game.

Anyone who recorded the game, I challenge you to watch the game over and find a single good play Rafer Alston made tonight. Pass, defensive rotation, ball movement. Anything. I seriously did not see him do a single positive thing other than make that one three-pointer.

This FanPost was made by a member of the Orlando Pinstriped Post community, and is to be treated as the opinions and views of its author, not that of the blogger or blog community as a whole.

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its funny, i was saying the same thing to my father during the game… rafer seemed to be resting on his laurels after last games effort… he kept on jacking up uncontrolled treys, and seemed very lackadaisical on d.. mix that with a few bad decisions while trying to distribute, and thats what you get.. SVG should have recognized it early, and went with Pops Johnson…

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by JoeyBarz on May 29, 2009 12:01 AM EDT reply actions

I dont think its that he doesnt care, he distributed the ball...but:

He made some bad fouls on D and shot the ball poorly (to say the least). He had a bad shooting night but he only took like what? 10 shots?

You’re gonna have bad games time to time. Hated his play and wanted him subbed but it happens…

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by Wasabi Steak on May 29, 2009 12:29 AM EDT reply actions

Yah,

Rocket’s fans (the not bitter ones) told us this would happen.

That one game we would prise him endlessly (game 4) and the next he would just be terrible (game 5).

by fwedo on May 29, 2009 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree with a lot of your points, and yes, this post is in exactly the right place.

Welcome.

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by Evan Dunlap on May 29, 2009 12:39 AM EDT reply actions

+1

by hevchv on May 29, 2009 12:39 AM EDT up reply actions

He killed you guys tonight.

Bulls fan here and I think what made me so mad was when he had Pietis wide open streaking down the court that would have put the Magic up by 5. Of course he threw a sloppy pass that was picked off. Then he came down and jacked up a bad three and Cleveland never looked back from there.

by SoulEater7 on May 29, 2009 1:57 AM EDT reply actions

amazing post

by GoMagic on May 29, 2009 2:24 AM EDT reply actions

This is so true. I’ve always been a supporter of Rafer Alston as a starting PG in the league, but we all know he will have his ups and downs. Game 4 was as “up” as he can get and in Game 5 he came back down to earth. Rafer, and Rashard as well, cost Orlando that game and the series.

As a Celtics fan, I’m rooting for Orlando. Let’s hope the Magic get Game 6 at home!

by Rizzo23 on May 29, 2009 9:09 AM EDT reply actions

We miss you Nelson!!

by CityShrimp on May 29, 2009 1:10 PM EDT reply actions

Which Alston shows up for game 6?

The game 4 Alston, or the game 5 Alston?

by RussL on May 29, 2009 1:59 PM EDT reply actions

I'd settle for something in between.

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by malars on May 29, 2009 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Ditto.

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by erivera7 on May 29, 2009 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah

by Dzogi on May 29, 2009 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions

But come on guys..

he was so good at And 1 ball!

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by Artest4Prez on May 29, 2009 2:24 PM EDT reply actions

I don't have a problem with Rafer missing his shots

That is going to happen from time to time. He isn’t a stud so he will have his off shooting days. No complaints with that.

My problem was kind of what the OP was alluding to. His head just wasn’t in the game. I’m sure he cared, but for some reason he wasn’t focused. He made far too many mental mistakes. I don’t have a problem with passing turnovers if it is an aggressive play and the defender just makes a good play on it. I do have a problem if you just toss the ball in the stands and that is what Rafer did and/or caused last night.

by matthan on May 29, 2009 2:49 PM EDT reply actions