Thats a damn shame J-Dubb has more votes than Francis. ------------------ President of the Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford,Larry Hughes, and Charles Woodson fan club.
With Bobby Jackson getting the crunch time minutes we will soon be refering to J-Will as J-Sub! ------------------
LMAO I agree. I think Bobby Jackson is just a better player. He may not have the flash like J-Dubb but he can get the job done. ------------------ President of the Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford,Larry Hughes, and Charles Woodson fan club.
Francis will soon be an All-Star regular. If not this season then he will start a long string of All-Star appearances next season. ------------------ When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view. -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Did you guys hear about Jason Kidd? he's taking time off for at least the Suns's 6-game road trip. You think he'll be out for the All Star game too? BTW, he'll need some time before becomiong the regualr STARTING point guard, cause Kidd and kobe will have that honour for the next 5 years or so. Francis will regularly come off the bench though. Who knows, maybe Francis will make HUGE improvement next year and steal Kidd's spot...Payton is on the decline, and Stockton won't stick around... ------------------
http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/teams/rockets/ Francis' play should earn him a spot in All-Star Game Steve Francis is holding his breath, waiting to see if his name will be called. And it should be. When the 2001 Western Conference All-Stars are announced, Francis should be among those heading to Washington D.C. to play. Francis has already been tabbed for the Rookie game, but he's quietly holding out hope that he will be able to play with the big boys, especially since the game is in the Maryland kid's backyard. Francis is currently fifth among Western guards, behind projected starters Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd, and Sacramento's Jason Williams and Seattle's Gary Payton. But Williams is averaging a career-low 11.1 points and losing his crunch-time minutes to Bobby Jackson. And you have to wonder if coaches are going to reward Gary Payton for essentially getting one coach fired and rebelling against the new coach, who is a crowd (and management and player) favorite. Francis is averaging 19 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, joining Kidd as the only players in the league to be putting up at least 16 points, six boards and six assists per game. Beyond the stats, Francis should be recognized for the things he doesn't do on the court. He has stepped back and allowed shot-happy Cuttino Mobley to move into the starting lineup and effectively become the team's No. 1 option. Mobley has attempted fewer than 10 shots only four times this season, and has a string of 18 straight games with at least 11 attempts and eight straight of at least 16 shots. He could have made it a problem, but Francis sublimated his offense and instead put himself to work in other areas. Minus any big men because of injuries and personal situations, the Rockets have been forced to go to a small lineup (one that is made even smaller by Maurice Taylor's ineffective board work), so Francis has taken it upon himself to become the team's primary rebounder. Over his last 16 games Francis has averaged almost 7.8 rebounds per game. For comparison, consider the following: Over the same span, Francis' rebound numbers are comparable to those put up by big men like Vin Baker (5.8), Patrick Ewing (6.6), Elden Campbell (7.4), Theo Ratliff (7.6), Karl Malone (7.9) and Rasheed Wallace (8.3). This from a point guard. More importantly, Francis has helped to keep the team afloat during a flood of injuries (all four big men -- Hakeem Olajuwon, Kelvin Cato, Jason Collier and Carlos Rogers), disgruntlement (Olajuwon) and spells of absolutely lousy play from teammates (Shandon Anderson and Taylor). He has played through injuries (a sprained ankle that forced him to miss only two games) and still he has helped the Rockets maintain a .500 record (20-20) entering this week's play. Francis has been quite a bit different from the perception most had when the young guard talked his way out of Vancouver. Rather than a selfish, spoiled and arrogant punk, he has proved to be the ultimate team player. "He is a good person," Rockets' coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "I'm sure that surprises people because of the controversy of the draft thing and all that. The first time I talked to him, I could tell that he was a special person. "I can't tell you how much I like this kid. He's super talented. He can do so many things. But he's very conscientious about being a complete player and getting his teammates involved. Sometimes, he overdoes it. Boy, you've got those kinds of qualities, I think he's got a great future." And as a reward, Francis hopes that a trip to the All-Star Game will be in his future. POSITIONAL ANALYSIS Point guard: Need we say more? Grade: A Shooting guard: Mobley is capable of becoming a force in the league, but he is going to have to learn to share well with others. Mobley, who began his Rocket career as a point guard, is averaging just two assists per game, with a high of five and only five other games of four assists. Even noted "jackaholics" like Jerry Stackhouse (5.0 assists per game, 22 of five or more in a game) and Kobe Bryant (4.7, 18 of five or more) are far more generous with the ball than is Mobley. Grade: B- Small forward: Anderson is slowly rebuilding his numbers, now averaging 9.4 points, doing that by reaching double figures in 14 of his last 16 games, with three games of 21 or more points in that span. Grade: B Power forward: Taylor caught the flu and missed the Rockets' 114-101 loss to the Lakers last Saturday. Taylor is still adjusting to what the Rockets expect of him, which is tough work on the boards and some occasional low-post scoring. Perhaps being within sniffing distance of the playoffs will help Taylor focus his efforts a bit more in the second half of the season. Grade: C Center: Kenny Thomas' stint at center should soon be coming to a close. Olajuwon and Collier are both expected back soon, so there won't be as much heavy lifting down low for Thomas. Sample quote after "defending" Shaquille O'Neal: "I am not a center. He (O'Neal) is awesome. On TV, you can't see all that (size). They say he's 325. I know what 400 pounds feels like. He seemed about 500." Grade: D+ Bench: One of the keys in the second half will be how well Walt Williams adjusts to his new role on the bench. He's been fairly successful thus far. Since going scoreless in back-to-back games (going 0-for-6 from the floor), Williams has averaged 14.7 points on 15-of-28 shooting (7-of-15 from the 3-point line), with a high of 22 points against Golden State on Jan. 18. Getting Carlos Rogers back after a six-game absence because of a death in the family will be a boon to the bench. Rogers might be able to play a Theo Ratliff-like role in the Rockets' new small-ball lineup, giving them the athletic shotblocking they're now lacking. Grade: C Coaching: Putting it all together in the second half should prove to be a challenge for Tomjanovich and his crew, but .500 at this point is almost a miracle. Grade: A INJURY REPORT Olajuwon (knee) is out. Olajuwon expects to play Wednesday when Philadelphia hits town. Olajuwon, who has always struggled in Denver's thin mountain air, will skip Tuesday night's road game against the Nuggets. Cato (ankle and rotator cuff) is out. Still rehabbing, something at which Cato long ago lost his amateur status. Rogers (death in the family) is probable. WHO'S HOT In a league that celebrates the obvious and the spectacular, Anderson is an anomaly. His game is all about subtlety and nuance, which means he gets ignored a lot in the Rockets' offense. But when he is involved, as he has been since being moved to small forward, the Rockets are a much tougher team to beat. WHO'S NOT Cato is proving to be a sound investment, isn't he? In the first year of a six-year, $42 million deal, Cato has played just 72 minutes because of a high ankle sprain, a torn rotator cuff and what was called "poor conditioning." (We're all still trying to figure that one out). While players like Francis and Allen Iverson play with injuries, Cato claims he is unable to play because he's not in good enough shape? ------------------ http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/houstonrockets2000 [This message has been edited by DaneB (edited January 24, 2001).]
