SKIP TO MY LOU

I caught somebody hatin’ on Rafer Alston over at www.redrowdies.com . We’re all rooting for the Rockets.. What’s the problem bro? Calling Rafer Alston the worst point guard in the league is A) wrong and B) NOT POSITIVE. I guess you would prefer Sebastian Telfair. Or maybe you would like Smush Parker’s 14 minute, 0-2 from the field, 2007 playoff performance.

For those not in the know, Rafer is a street ball legend.. Alston aka Skip To My Lou was able to make the transition from the parks to the arenas. I met him one time when he was with Milwaukee. We talked more about “Skip” than Rafer even though he made it clear he was very proud to make it to the NBA. Here he is back in the day:

Everybody can’t be Nash, Kidd, or Paul. On a team with Tracy and Yao, you need somebody that can bring the ball up court, get the team into it’s offense, and hit wide open shots when guys are double teamed. STML can do all of those things. Rafer shot 36% from 3 point land this season. His mark could be better, but he’s in line with the league average. He doesn’t put up the biggest assist totals either although that’s more of a JVG style thing.

If you’re wondering why I’m defending Rafer Alston, you haven’t been keeping up with YBB lately. Let’s go everybody. Support the Rockets. ALL OF THEM.

YOU CAN TRACK MY ROCKET SUPPORT AT THE LINKS BELOW:

Why I’m down with the Rockets for the 2007 playoffs.

My only Houston experience and starting on a positive note.

Positive thinking is bringing down the Jazz.

T-Mac Time.

Houston defeats Utah in game one.

Great video showing Yao and Olajuwon. The editor did an excellent job of finding similarities.

Cranking up my support for the Rockets.

Shout out to fellow Rocket supporters, the good folks over at Red Rowdies.

DIGG IT  *  DEL.ICIO.US  *  REDDIT  *  BALL HYPE

1 DOWN 15 TO GO

The positivity tour got off to a good start in Houston last night. Actually it got off to a slow start until Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy read my blog to his team at the half. Tracy McGrady, 1 point in the first half, was so inspired by my writing and support that he came out and scored 16 points in the 3rd quarter. T-Mac’s outburst combined with solid play from Yao Ming and Skip To My Lou led Houston to a 84-75 victory.

I’m not gonna take all of the credit for this victory.. the players and coaching staff definitely did their parts. A lot of people say that you don’t need a coach in the NBA.. You can just roll the ball out and the guys will do what they do. Not true.

Jeff Van Gundy is one of the best coaches in the league. He might not be as much of a pleasure to look at on the sidelines as Pat Riley or older brother Stan, but the dude can coach. Jeff has compiled a winning percentage of .574 in his 11 years in the league. He has only finished below .500 once when he has coached a full 82 game season.  I’ve had the opportunity to meet JVG twice. He pretty much yelled at me the first time (after the Lakers/Knicks, Kobe/Childs game), but he was much cooler the second time. That time we were heading over to Minute Maid Park for the All-Star game or the Homerun Derby..I can’t remember which. Regardless, we put the past behind us, and I’m looking forward to meeting him again when he’s the coach of the 2007 World Champion Houston Rockets.

DIGG IT  *  DEL.ICIO.US  *  REDDIT  *  BALL HYPE