just curious on ya'll thoughts.... what are his chances at being selected as an allstar this year? houston has been a top tier nba team for over a decade, which garners plenty of attention. this along with the cb farewell and hak pre-farewell year bodes well for francis. plus, he has been the most exciting and most touted rookie this year. so whaddya think? any chance of the saint being donned an allstar?
I like Francis, but he's going up against a lot of premier Veteran PG's in the west. It's going to be tough. Also, Francis isn't a lock for Rookie of the Year. The media loves Lamar Odom. They think he has a great attitude and leads all rookies in the stats, and unfortunately, Francis is still overcoming the Vancouver Fiasco. We shall see!!
Francis will win the ROY (his numbers are already better than Odom's and I suspect the differences will only increase) and should be on the all-star team. He might not make the all-star team, but it will because of favortism (media attention, "dues" in the league) rather than play. At the PG spot there are only two clearly better players in the West, Kidd and Payton. Francis should be the third PG on the team. Of course favortism could put some combination of Stockton, Williams, and Brandon there, but he is better than all those guys--with Brandon actually out performing the other more likely two guys to make the team (he should really be the 4th PG after Francis).
Rookies don't make all-star teams unless they overwhelm the league. No disrespect to Francis but he won't get it this year. Payton, Jason Williams, Stockton & Kidd would all get the nod right now. As far as ROY, as long as Francis goes out and doesn't get hurt he will be in contention. In addition to Odom, keep an eye an Szrebiak (however you spell his name). He has been hurt, but he is a good player, getting minutes on a pretty decent team. Can someone give me a history of the ROY as to wheter stats or teams win this. You know how the MVP usually goes to the best player on the best team (or one of the best teams), does team record seem to have any impact on close rookie of the year ballots?
Thanks Juan! Guess the ROY may be a true "Better Player" award, than the MVP (more of a best player on a good team) award.
Winning the rookie of the year is all about karma, flavor, hype, being on Sportscenter every day. The award goes to the best individual rookie...always. If it went to the rookie who did the most for his team, then Stephon Marbury [after leading the Wolves to their first playoff berth] would have won the award over Allen Iverson. Jason Williams [after leading the Kings to the playoffs] would have won it over Vince Carter. Tim Duncan was the best rookie that year AND he was on a good team, so it worked both ways for him. I don't think Francis will be in the All-Star game, but he should win the ROTY. We're on national television more than the Clippers and that should help things out a bit.
Cabbage I think you are right, but don't Odom & Elton Brand possibly have an advantage playing in the larger media markets. I can tell you here in the mid-west that noone really knows about Francis, or they know him as the Rockets rookie or the guy who wanted the trade from Canada. Maybe one huge game against a good team will give him that boost, but right now Steve (or any of the other Rookies) hasn't done anything to make people really stop and stare in awe. I really think Elton Brand (I forgot him in my prior post) might have an advantage, because he was a "bigger name" out of college and he is also leading his Bulls team (who are the worst in the league), even though Francis has better numbers than anyone. I really do think it will be interesting between Francis, Wally, Elton & Lamar! I still think one huge game against a good team will help one of these guys out immensely.
who selcts the all-stars not voted in? If it is the coach with the best record like in Baseball or is a committee of coaches?
If I'm not mistaken, every coach and GM in the league gets to vote, the catch being that they can't vote for anyone on their own team. [Meaning Rudy and CD are not allowed to vote for Francis.] [This message has been edited by thacabbage (edited December 17, 1999).]
I do agree Francis probably won't make the all-star team, but I am not so sure he shouldn't was my point. Part of the reason is with Marbury, Cassell, Stickland and Hardaway now in the east, the west is more loaded in talent at other positions. Francis is having a better year than the likely competitors for the 3rd or 4th PG roster spot in the west: Williams, Stockton and Brandon, which should be the criteria for all-star games. After Francis, Brandon is having the 4th best season of the western conference PG's, but he doesn't get the pub of Williams nor have a hall of fame career like Stockton, thus like Francis he will probably get screwed on this one. As far as the rookie of the year, assuming no major injuries, Francis is a solid 50/50 to get it with say Odom (at 30%) and Brand (say 19%) sharing the next best shots. Wally who I like as a player, and every other rookie would need a major miracle to be in those guys ballpark (I will throw them all in for a 1% chance).
I definitely think the Vancouver thing will hurt Francis this year both with the ALSTAR and ROTY. Coaches and GMs, who are voting in the bench players, aren't likely to overlook that, especially since it could have happened to them. They will have alot of emphathy for Stu Jackson, and will want to send a message to others coming out in the future. To them that's part of the deal of putting your name in the draft - you go where you're drafted, that's the whole premise. That's what supposedly establishes parity - everyone else abides by the rules. I'm not sure who votes for ROTY, but I think the same thing applies. No matter how good Francis is, the public, press, and NBA brass will not quickly forgive, especially since Francis is not on a team that's doing well. I remember reading the press clippings about the Vancouver game - it wasn't just the public, but alot of the players were speaking out about it, and not favorably. His game will make people forget about it, but I think it's too soon. Especially if he's not head and shoulders above everyone else - which he's not at this point.
Kidd, Stockton, Payton, Brandon all have more assists and steals. They also have less turnovers. assist to turnover ratio is the top "statistical" measure of a point guard. Francis will be there next year. Francis is going to be hybrid between the classical PG and a SG. When his assist are above 7, he will be there
It's early yet but at this point Francis is clearly the ROTY over Odom. Take a look at the per game stats for each thus far. (The number before their name is their current ranking in that category among rookies.) Points 1 Steve Francis (Houston) 17.4 2 Lamar Odom (L.A. Clippers) 16.3 Rebounds 3 Lamar Odom (L.A. Clippers) 6.8 5 Steve Francis (Houston) 4.8 FG PCT 8 Steve Francis (Houston) .440 16 Lamar Odom (L.A. Clippers) .406 3PT PCT 8 Steve Francis (Houston) .305 10 Lamar Odom (L.A. Clippers) .288 FT PCT 9 Steve Francis (Houston) .740 10 Lamar Odom (L.A. Clippers) .719 Assists 1 Steve Francis (Houston) 6.0 6 Lamar Odom (L.A. Clippers) 3.5 Steals 4 Steve Francis (Houston) 1.38 7 Lamar Odom (L.A. Clippers) 1.14 Blocks 3 Lamar Odom (L.A. Clippers) 1.18 8 Steve Francis (Houston) 0.38 Min 1 Lamar Odom (L.A. Clippers) 38.5 2 Steve Francis (Houston) 34.8 Double-Doubles 1 Steve Francis (Houston) 5 3 Lamar Odom (L.A. Clippers) 3 Francis is in the top ten of every category and ahead of Odom in seven of the ten categories. If these numbers hold it will be purely a political decision if Odom wins ROTY. As for the all-star game, I would have to agree that Francis probably won't make it this year.
I think Francis will get ROY simply because of his spectacular plays/dunks etc. Odom did put some great numbers at the beginning of the year but has faded since. I haven't seen any or hardly any coverage on espn from brand. I do like Wally World too, but lately he's been hurt and the TWolves aren't doing so hot like everyone expected. Besides, from all the rookies, francis is putting up consistant numbers each night. I think the reason people like odom is because some feel that francis did vancouver wrong. He'll just have to prove the media wrong and show them who's the man.
The All-star selection process doesn't take into account if a player is a Point Guard or 2 guard. You simply vote for guards. With that in mind, here are a list of guards who IMO seem to have the best chance of getting voted in (or selected by the coaches) before Francis: Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant are a lock to make the team (no way those guys get left off the All-star Roster). Michael Finley (listed as a Forward on the Mavericks Roster) is listed as a guard on the All-star ballot. Finley should get serious consideration from those in the know (namely, the coaches). John Stockton has a very good chance of making it .... simply 'cause he's John Stockton and he can still ball (the coaches will probably have to select him though). That doesn't leave much room for Steve Francis, Jason Williams, or Terrell Brandon. [This message has been edited by theWIGMAN (edited December 18, 1999).]
