http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/sportstoryS1105FRANCIS.htm Francis happy in Orlando Guard thrilled to be leading Magic BY JOHN DENTON FLORIDA TODAY ORLANDO -- The designed play was a two-pronged attack, but the truly telling aspect was that Steve Francis was trusted and given the freedom to do as he saw fit. Orlando Magic guard Steve Francis celebrates his game-winning shot Wednesday in the season-opening game against Milwaukee at TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando. Image © 2004, Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY When Francis took the inbounds pass Wednesday night with 3.5 seconds remaining and his Orlando Magic trailing by one, he could have looked for teammate Grant Hill on the wing. Also, there was the option of throwing the lob pass to Kelvin Cato or Dwight Howard, a threat that Francis believes now led to his path to the hoop remaining clear. Francis ultimately called his own number, knifing in for a layup that proved to be the game-winning shot in the Magic's 93-92 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. But the most important facet of the final play was that Francis was actually given the liberty to be creative and counted on to make the correct read with the game on the line. Francis professes rather bluntly now that that's a dramatic departure from last season when he was mostly miserable in the Houston Rockets' methodical, structured offense. He is, he said, finally a happy man in Magic blue. "Basketball-wise," Francis said, pausing for effect, "the situation here is 200 percent better for me." Francis' comfort and delight in the Orlando offense were evident in his debut as he had a hand in practically everything that went right for the Magic. He once again looked like the player capable of being a triple-double threat on a nightly basis, contributing 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. As an added bonus, Francis turned the ball over just two times and gave the Magic the steadiness from the point guard position that they have been lacking for years. But the grind of the NBA season gets no easier for Francis as he will have to face Baron Davis tonight when the Magic square off against the New Orleans Hornets. Francis said he watched the footage of Wednesday's game-winning shot just once after Thursday's practice and then immediately shifted his focus to the task ahead against Davis. "It's over, man," he said. "We watched it on tape (Thursday) morning, and I've left it behind. I've done things like that before and hopefully I won't have to do it again." And Francis hopes he never has to go through a situation similar to the one he was in last season in Houston. Head coach Jeff Van Gundy was often quick to throw up the stop sign just as Francis started to run, preferring him to instead work the ball for a sure shot. And instead of allowing Francis to utilize his quickness and stellar dribbling skills to break defenders down, Van Gundy instructed Francis to look to 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming as the first, second and third options. Just last week before an exhibition game in Orlando, Van Gundy was highly complimentary of Francis' willingness to change his game for the good of the Rockets. Houston made the playoffs last year, a first in Francis' five NBA seasons. But for Francis that success came at a cost to his pride and his style of play. He was frustrated and out of sync all season, ranking second in the NBA in turnovers and first in technical fouls. Also, the indecision was evident in his shooting percentage and scoring falling to career-worst lows. In essence, he looked like a player sapped of his energy and a star that wasn't having fun anymore. "Last year was strictly a half-court deal and it was really different for me," he admitted. "I was eventually able to adjust last year, but I'm adjusting back now to a style that fits me." Magic head coach Johnny Davis said to trade for Francis and his longtime backcourt mate, Cuttino Mobley, and play anything other than an uptempo style would be foolish. Several times during Wednesday's game, Davis could be seen yelling at Francis and Mobley to push the ball as soon as it came off the rim. Davis said he's worked hard to try and not overcoach Francis, something that he hopes will encourage the three-time All-Star point guard to play "free." Davis knows that that means he will have to stomach some instances of overdribbling and bad shots, but it's worth it if Francis remains aggressive. "With any player or entertainer who is good at something, you have to allow for creativity," Davis said. "If you stifle the creativity, you stifle the player. But along with that is a discipline that's involved so that it's not totally freelance. "It's like a jazz ensemble where the group all has to be in sync. But you also have some solo acts mixed in there. But ultimately that solo part comes back to join the group and functions as one." Contact Denton at jd41898@aol.com
I dont understand. They always act like JVG didnt want this team to run. If that is the case then why was Francis doing his little hop skip up court when JVG was repeatedly waving his hand to get up court and run? And they act like the Rockets always threw the ball down to Yao when in reality they didnt throw it nearly enough!
I think Van Gundy waives his hands to signal the other players to hurry up the court and set up his time consuming half court offense, not for a fast break, he's still waiving his hands right now isn't he? As for Yao not getting the ball enough, well he did lead the team in shots per minute, got the ball enough to almost lead all centers in TOs, and the guy passed the ball back out way too many times instead of shooting over double teams.
I'm glad Steve is happy in Orlando - they should be a fun team to watch this year. I'm more glad that the Rockets got rid of a player with a max contract that is just as likely to dribble the ball out of bounds with the game on the line as he is to make the game winning play.
You can be happy without being a title contender. I mean really, there's only about 4 teams in the league (Detroit, San Antonio, Minnesota and the Pacers) that are solid contenders, so should the other 26 teams be miserable?
Again, he's doing it just fine in Orlando... And I love how you guys are still criticizing Francis' PG skills even though the Rockets probably have the WORST point guard rotation in the whole NBA right now. I'd rather have a shoot-first PG who averages 20-6-6 than 2 or 3 crappy PG's who turn it over even more than Steve did and STILL can't execute a fast break.
If we don't have the worst PG rotation then I don't know who does... I luv how Steve get's criticized even though he's not even a Rocket anymore.
That's because our guards were not efficient enough to push the ball quickly across the half court last season, sad to accept it's still a question mark till now. Yao did lead the team in ball touch per game, but he certainly did NOT lead the team in shots per minute, please check the stats before u post. Making the ball go through yao's hand in every play doesn't mean yao must get most shot counts, especially when he's still scrabbling in 2/3 teams... look back last season, we would have the chance to kiss the 2nd round in playoffs if yao's adept at decisions on when he should shot over double/triple teams or dish out pass instead according opponents' D, which is valuable experience he need to improve all along...
Im gald, Steve is happy in Orlando becuase im reallly happy he is there tooo Seriusly though i think it was a great trade for both teams. I'v said that from day one, both sides got what they wanted.
I don't think he's waiving at the guards at all, does he care if they get there quickly if all the forwards and the center is still on the other side of the court? Maybe somebody should call his show and ask him... Yao took .38 shots per minute (1025 shots/2692 minutes,) Taylor took .37 shots per minute (765 shots/2081 minuts,) Francis took .35 shots per minute (1117 shots/3194 minutes,) Mobley took .33 shots per minute (1081 shots/3229 minuts.) Unless my calculator is screwed up or the formula is wrong Yao took the most shots per minute on last year's team, he won't repeat that this season though.
So, did JVG stifle the creativity of steve with his pedestrian half-count offense and "work the ball for a sure shot"? I think our forwards/center usually have been across half court while guards moving the ball around centre line... yeah, I mistake them, just take those stats in whole season and neglect their pts--our former backcourt are both top durable players in NBA.
The 2004 Magic should be better than that 2001 Rockets team. The Magic have 3 players that can put up 20 pts or more per game in Francis, Mobley, and Hill. And, they are in the Eastern Conference, so they should have an easier road to the playoffs.
The thing that most amazed me was that Dwight Howard had 3 steals and 4 blocks. At this point, it looks like Weisbrod did a magnificent job of putting together an energetic team there. If Howard turns out to be a defensive beast like Ben Wallace, and has better offensive skills, I don't see why Orlando should not be one of the top teams in the East.
