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Strong Point
Rockets rely on Alston to help organize offense
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- The Rockets endured some of their worst offensive stretches of the season about the same time Rafer Alston was out of the lineup with a strained groin.
Coincidence?
The Rockets think not.
"He's our true point guard," Rockets guard Luther Head said. "The other guys who were trying to run point guard -- including myself -- were mostly scorers. Rafer is a pass-first point guard who runs the team. I think that just helps."
Head and Co. are hoping Alston's return will get the Rockets back into a better flow.
The Rockets have struggled all season long to consistently knock down open shots and adapt to Rick Adelman's high-motion, read-and-react scheme. But when Alston is out of the lineup, things have been even more out of sync and discombobulated on the offensive end.
Before Wednesday's game against Orlando, Alston had missed three of the previous four games with a strained groin. Houston lost all three of those games, shooting a collective 40.6 percent with 57 turnovers.
Luckily for the Rockets, Alston played against the Magic Wednesday night without any significant problems. Despite shooting a 34.1 percent, the Rockets looked more organized with Alston running the offense and Adelman felt like his team started to make progress within his offense.
The point guard is expected to be back on the floor Thursday night when Houston visits the Denver Nuggets.
"Rafer makes a big difference," Adelman said. "He gets us into our offense and he's kind of the glue for us."
The Rockets' starting point guard has been criticized for being a streaky shooter ever since he arrived in Houston.
Still, there's no question that the Rockets are more organized when Alston is quarterbacking the offense.
The Rockets have lacked a flow without Alston mainly because he's the team's lone true point guard. Steve Francis and Mike James can play the postion, but both have a score-first mentality.
During Wednesday's setback to Orlando, Alston was the one who pushed the Rockets into their uptempo game and got the team into its sets.
He knows where everyone needs to be on the floor and makes sure his teammates create enough spacing to get an open shot.
"I take a lot of pride in it," Alston said. "I try to make sure we get in a good set and get a good shot up. I think people underestimate the value of going down the court and getting a for-sure set."
That's not to say the Rockets have been clicking on all cylinders when Alston is on the floor.
Before Thursday's game against Denver, the Rockets were 24th among 29 teams in scoring at 93.7 points per game. They've struggled to find a third scorer and punish teams for doubling Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.
Alston, though, is confident that he can eventually help the offense get rolling.
"I watched a lot of Sacramento tapes," said Alston, referring to Adelman's days with the Kings. "As a team, we understood how effective those teams were running Coach Adelman's system. We just have to stick with it. During our tough stretches, we were getting away from the system. I think we should continue to stick with it and see what we can do."
Alston, of course, is the guy to run it.
"We move a lot better when he's on the floor," Rockets center Yao Ming said. "It's very important for us to have him."
