Hornets.com’s 1-on-1: Houston’s Rafer Alston, Damien Pierce
March 25, 2007
Hornets.com’s Cris Quintana and Jim Eichenhofer interviewed Houston guard Rafer Alston and Houston website writer Damien Pierce in conjunction with Sunday’s game at the Ford Center.
Alston initially became well-known among avid basketball fans for his exploits as a “streetball” player, earning the nickname “Skip to My Lou” for the way he skipped as he dribbled up the floor. Now in his eighth NBA season, Alston starts in the Houston backcourt along with superstar Tracy McGrady.
Pierce covers Houston for the team’s official website, Rockets.com.
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Houston guard Rafer Alston
Q: What are your thoughts on tonight’s game and Hornets point guard Chris Paul?
A: He was on tonight, he was in a rhythm and it was hard to stop him. Once a player like that gets going, it puts the pressure on the defense. They have a lot of movement on offense; they set a lot of random screens in transition. They’ve got guys that spread the offense and can shoot the ball like Jannero Pargo, Rasual Butler and David West, which made it tough on us tonight.
Q: How does it feel to be able to call Houston home after having played for several teams early on in your career? What’s it like to play alongside superstar Tracy McGrady?
A: It was tough early on in my career, but I’m grateful that Houston has believed in me and gave me an opportunity to show all the things that I bring to the table. It’s a great feeling to go out and contribute every night. I feel I bring solid point guard skills, distribute the ball, run the team on offense and play some defense. As for playing with Tracy… he’s an amazing player; he does so many things out there on the court. He’s an unbelievable talent. I’m just glad he’s on my team.
Q: You’re known as a playground legend in New York City. Was there someone that you patterned your game after? When did you realize that you wanted to pursue a career in basketball?
A: I took bits and pieces from guys. In New York, there were so many players that you could learn from like Mark Jackson, Rod Strickland, Kenny Anderson, Kenny Smith to name a few. They were all great point guards. When I got to high school, I knew that I had enough talent to go far.
Q: What do you get more pleasure out of, playing in the NBA or on the AND1 tour?
A: NBA has always been the ultimate dream, something that I’ve always wanted to do. Every day that I play it feels like I’m still dreaming. Playing with AND1 was a lot of fun, but the goal was always to make it professionally and play with some of the best players in the world.
Q: Who is the best player on the current AND1 roster? What are some things that you brought with you from your AND1 days?
A: That’s a tough question. They all do different things, have different styles and tricks. As for what I’ve brought with me to the league is the passion to go out there and perform, contribute in an effort to win ballgames every night.
Pierce
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Houston website writer Damien Pierce
Q: First off, we’d like to apologize. This Rockets-Hornets game was originally scheduled to be televised by ABC, but after rampant injuries led to the Hornets dipping several games below .500, presumably that led to it being changed to a 7 p.m. tip-off. Are you guys OK with having “only” 11 national TV appearances, instead of 12? We were happy to get more than one this season, but then again, we don’t have the NBA’s most well-known superstar tandem…
A: I GUESS having only 11 national television games will work. Actually, the Rockets were slated to be on national TV for three straight Sundays beginning on March 11. How many of those games actually ended up being on national TV? Zero. So don’t worry about it. Some of the television appearances were disappearing before you guys came along anyway.
Q: Speaking of injuries affecting a team’s season, the popular thinking on the Rockets entering this season was that they would be competitive IF Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming stayed healthy. Well, Yao has missed 32 games and T-Mac has been sidelined for nine, yet Houston is vying for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Why have the Rockets been so much more capable of winning games without their stars than they were in 2005-06?
A: The Rockets have a heck of a lot more depth. Shane Battier has given the team a lockdown defender that they didn’t possess last season and veterans Dikembe Mutombo and Juwan Howard have aged well. Those guys really did a great job of rebounding and providing some inside scoring when Yao Ming was out with his fractured right tibia.
That said, I think it’s pretty significant that Tracy McGrady has only missed nine games. The Rockets are 2-7 this season when he’s not on the floor. Really, he carried the offense when Yao was out and I’m still a little surprised that he wasn’t recognized as the Western Conference’s Player of the Month in January.
Clearly, the Rockets have shown they can win without a star. But the offense needs either Yao or McGrady on the floor to set up scoring for everyone else.
Q: Despite missing a chunk of the season, Yao has emerged as the NBA’s premier center this season. What are some of the specific improvements you’ve seen him make over the past couple years?
A: He WANTS the ball. That’s the biggest improvement to me. Before his leg injury, he was determined to score and he fully believed he was going to score regardless of what the defense was doing. He’s taken some time to regain that confidence since returning, but Rockets fans are starting to see it again.
He’s also really done a better job of avoiding foul trouble and improving his stamina. For the longest time, the biggest knock on his game was that Yao couldn’t stay in the game when he’s healthy. Well, he’s averaging 33.5 minutes per game this season.
Q: Yao’s backup, Dikembe Mutombo, is officially listed as 40 years old, though some have jokingly speculated in the past that his birth certificate may not be completely legitimate – and that he’s actually closer to 50. But he’s been playing like a 25-year-old this season. Is there a “fountain of youth” in the Rockets’ locker room we don’t know about?
A: Possibly. Shane Battier actually mentioned after one game that everyone on the team needed to start drinking the same Gatorade as Mutombo.
The veteran center has indeed had a solid season. He exceeded expectations when Yao was out by playing well over 20 minutes per game and being surprisingly active. He anchored the Rockets’ defense for two months with his rebounding and shot blocking. During a game earlier this month in Denver, he became the oldest player in NBA history to collect 20 rebounds in a game.
Mutombo has been so impressed with his own play that it looks like he'll be back next season.
Q: Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy is among the top two or three candidates for Coach of the Year right now. How has he been able to get such excellent performances from some of the Rockets’ role players, something he’s been known for throughout his coaching career?
A: The last thing Jeff Van Gundy would ever want to talk about is Coach of the Year. But as you said, he’s clearly among the leading candidates.
To me, he does a great job of convincing his players of what they’ve got to do to win. He evaluates what he has and what those pieces have to do in order for the team to play at its best. He convinced his team that they could win without Yao Ming by defending, playing with high energy and controlling the glass. And that, for the most part, is what the Rockets did to stay afloat without the big fella.
He clearly gets his team to buy into what he’s preaching.
Q: Speaking of role players, Houston acquired a guy many describe as the “ultimate role player” in Shane Battier during the 2006 draft. Although some questioned the trade based on Rudy Gay’s potential, the deal appears to have worked out incredibly well for the Rockets. What are some of the things Battier brings to a team that casual fans may not notice or realize?
A: Battier doesn’t put up gawdy numbers, but I’m always stunned when fans don’t notice what he brings to the team.
He’s undoubtedly one of the top perimeter defenders in the league. Since arriving in Houston, he’s been given the task of chasing the likes of Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki. His ability to do that helps Tracy McGrady tremendously since he doesn’t have to defend those guys.
Battier also does a lot of the little things. He’s mastered drawing charges. He’ll can the open three-pointer from the corner. He relentlessly dives on the floor for loose balls. And, most importantly, the guy just doesn’t make mistakes. He’s averaging .88 turnovers for a guy that is averaging a team-best 36.7 minutes per game.
Q: Finally, right now it looks like the Rockets will be matched up with Utah in the first round of the playoffs. People often say about T-Mac that even though he is obviously a spectacular talent, he has never been on a team that won a playoff series. How are the Rockets and their fans looking at the upcoming postseason? Is it a case where, if you don’t at least get out of the first round, it will be viewed as a disappointment?
Still, the Rockets clearly weren’t built with the expectations of just reaching the postseason. Yao Ming and McGrady are in their prime and the organization made the move in the summer for Shane Battier because they believed they needed another piece to win now.
I wouldn’t say fans would be disappointed with a first-round exit given last season’s record, but Rockets fans are obviously eager to see this team make some sort of a run. The team hasn’t won a playoff series since 1997.
