Bryce Drew should have stayed in the game over erractic Francis

I am inclined to agree with on some level this game. Francis could not accomplish anything. He turned the ball over often, and looked like he simply did not want to pass, even when he was double teamed. His failure during many possessions to swing the ball and think no doubt cost us some buckets.

Drew seemed to have his confidence going this game. He reacted quickly and decisevly in many situations. He was much more under control than Francis, and was able to knock down a couple outside shots, which was the only thing that Potland gave us.

But still I want Francis in the game come the final ticks no matter what. Drew may be coming along well, considering his turnovers are a no longer a big issue, his confidence is growing, more shots are falling, but he still has to learn to play better on defense. He seems to be close enough to people, but it's like they absolutely have no fear of him. They always hit tough shots on the kid. Francis come 4th.

 

I tend to agree with you too,but C.S. I don't think Steve's D is really that much better.

mantronix,
Why did you start 2 threads to say basically the same thing ?

 

Absolutely. This game made it crystal clear that Francis is a wasted pick, a scrub who will never amount to anything in the NBA. Every time we made a run with Drew in the game, that idiot Rudy would yank him out and put in Francis, and we'd slip further behind. I can't believe we kept Francis instead of Matt Maloney.


------------------
The truth is out there... but not in this post.

 

That's it,just let our future superstar just sit during crunch time when dividends beyond belief will be seen down the road from situations like this!While we're at it let's give Drew a giant contract too!He he he

 

Sometime's even great player's need to sit.There is lesson's to be learned in that also.

 

Rudy's probably calling plays for Francis... I wouldn't put it all on Francis.

But, as a point guard he's definitely not cutting it right now. He's a terrible post passer and he can't defend the pick and roll at all, much less make decent passes in the half court or in transition.

Damn, that just about covers everything, doesn't it?

 

DARO,
Seriously,wouldn't you want Stevie in the middle of those situations now(no matter what),so that when we are in the thick of it he has that experience under pressure?
Yes, he was playing out of control,but Rudy is the one who must reign him in during timeouts.I realize Drew had a good stretch,but he had shot his wad.I don't dislike Bryce.In fact,I see improvement.I'm just worried about his ball handling and the control of tempo.We need a veteran point.I'm sure Drew's trade value has increased of late.It had no where to go but up.I just see him as a poor man's cross between Horny and Kerr.....a 2.I just don't think this is the right place for his game to blossom.(right now it's not a very good place for anybody's game to blossom...LOL) HH

 

Rudy should put Mobley at the point, Anderson at2 and Wiz at 3 in the fourth, they way they were playing this is the best combination, Drew hit 3-6 while Wiz 2-6, so the difference is not large, but, Drew thought he was red hot after he hit 2 shots and started to hog the ball a little, besides, oh my god Wiz was playing defense!

 

obviously, we will win more w/ francis down the road than we will w/ drew. but it was more important to win this game that it will be in hindsight "gee i guess Francis learned something"... yeah, he learned that if you get injured in the previous game and don't practice for two days, you might be off of you game a bit...

did anyone notice that AS SOON AS FRANCIS CAME IN that dunleav(e)y called the pick & roll against francis at the top of the key?

i thought that was interesting, and since i've seen francis get burned on it before, i'm curious about his defense of the pick & roll, does he always go beneath it?

also, how come drew shut down greg anthony on THE SAME PLAY 3 trips later down court?

drew might be spastic, but at least he works more on his fundamentals than he does his jumpsoles.

 

HH,
No, Not no matter what.I wanted a win last night and it was apparent that Steve(for whatever reason)was'nt getting it done.

 

i'm not defendin francis or anything, but it was francis who gave bullard that great pass on the last play of the game. it was francis that drew the defense away from bullard. he flew in the air, double pumped, and hung there so that he could spot the open man. i think whoever was guardin bull thought francis would shoot and backed off or something. but francis did make that nice pass.

 

bullard missed the shot, but the rockets shouldn't have been in that dire of need to begin with...

francis missed a key ft (for the tie)
and he didn't shut down his opponent on two key plays... a pick & roll against greg anthony (fight above the screen, young man)
and he played to not get posterized against mmouse a couple of plays later...

as i noted earlier:
drew incidentally shut down greg anthony on a pick & roll later in the game.

this is moot, however, since francis has already taken the blame himself for this loss by pointing out that he shot the team into a coma...

 

Francis also blocked a key shot that could have one the game. Drew missed a shot that could have gotten us the lead after we'd lost it. Drew missed reads on the defense that could have led to a pass to an open man. Francis and Mobley both made bad reads in Fast break situations. We can go on and on about what each guy did wrong and it will get us nowhere. Damn people. The team played a good game and put forth a lot of effort. They are improving. Don't toss the baby out with the bath water just because it didn't get us a W. That kind of effort against most other teams will better our record.

"drew might be spastic, but at least he works more on his fundamentals than he does his jumpsoles."

That's a rather presumptuous statement, my friend. Francis' fundamentals have been improving every game. In particular, his passing and decision making--parts of his game that didn't get much work as a Terp. Francis' game is all about fundamentals. His shot, pivoting, footwork, dribbling are all based of sound fundamentals (and tend to be better than Drew's). They are accentuated by his great athleticism which is all people tend to notice about players like him. I enjoy hearing Murphy rave about the kids fundamentals.


I didn't think Francis should have been brought back in since he was having a bad game and not really using his explosiveness. But at the same time, the kid has to get the feel for these big game moments now. Now, after reading soem of these posts, I agree with Rudy on the call. Considering the b****ing about playing Francis late in an early season game, I can imagine the b****ing Rudy would have heard had this happended in the playoffs. Fact is, Francis will win us more games than he'll lose for us. Let him learn and grow up.

 

That's right I cant believe I am saying this but it is true Francis had no business being in that game in the 4th quater last night he was down right sorry last night. Drew is by no means a great player because he played well but damnit why put francis back in when he is 2 for 15 it just does not make sense. Rockets need to get some wins not give on the job training to a guy who cant come through in the clutch. In my opinion Rudy T is brain dead for drawing up a play for Francis in O.T.

 

jeffb:
of course francis will be the better player. on the line:

"drew might be spastic, but at least he works more on his fundamentals than he does his jumpsoles."

i was pointing out (partly as devil's advocate in defense of bullard; partly for naysayers against drew) that in the last few minutes of the game drew seemed to be giving his all... now whether 110% of drew's abilities or 55% of francis's abilities is more helpful, is up for grabs...

besides i'm not sure if drew had more poise at the end of games before or after rudy gave him all of these 4th quarter minutes the last 14 games...

either way, i'll concede that it was a great game, it was a refreshing one in that francis will not have games like that many more times... i think an 8 game win streak is not entirely out of the question

jeffb: (since i'm out of the houston area) what does murphy say about francis' defensive skills; in particular, does murphy question everybody's defense of the pick & roll, what did he say when anthony burned francis? i would find that educational. thanks in advance...

 

Anybody that thinks Francis should have been in that game in the last couple of minutes does not understand the game of basketball not saying Drew is all that but he was playing better than Francis that night. So far in his short career Francis is 0 for 2 in clutch situations. He went brain dead vs. the Lakers at Houston and dribbled the clock out and this time he couldent hit a simple free throw to tie the game maybe he should have tried something fancy when he took the free throw perhaps he would have felt more comfortable.

 

From Murphy's comments I gather that he like's Francis' defensive tenacity and wants the kid to fight over the pick (when Francis goes under Murph seems to get pissed) in pick-and-roll situations. He like's the way Francis plays the passing lanes and his ability to steal the ball as well as block/influence the shot. Murphy doesn't say too much about the defensive play other than team stuff. One thing Murphy says a lot that stands out in my mind is that Francis hasn't been running the break well. Stevie doesn't always run up the floor without the ball and when he has the ball he tends to run up the sideline to initiated the play instead of taking it strong up the middle and backing out if there is not scoring opportunity. Now it urks me whenever I see Rocket guards not running the break in the middle of the floor. The only guys who do it properly are Anderson and Mobley.

 

jeffb,
thanks for the info...

maybe murphy can sneak a video of stockton's patented play on the fast break: cutting down the middle, and as his offensive opportunities vanish, he merely cuts baseline back to the elbow...

now that i think about it, maybe dream & chuck can watch the same thing so they'll know how fluidly stockton's counterparts let that play flow, rather than let their defenders help out on stockton...

 

First off every game as important as the next game. Sure one is more important to the fans but all are equally important, they all count the same. That being said in crunch time you always want your best players in. If Francis is not in the Rockets are crucified for not playing him. Also you cannot judge a players defense on a few plays. Judgeing a point guards defense is very hard. You are not going to shut down the top point guards the only difference is the bad ones are not going to light us up anymore. For example, Gary Payton is generally considered the best defensive PG in the NBA, well he sure shut down Francis right? Stevie lit him up on a few of the last plays I gues that mens he is not a good defensive PG. THat being said you want your stars in at crunch time, if they are not in contreversy usually starts. However lets not discount his effort. Without him we don't go to OT. He has the baseline dunk to get them within 1 and on a drive to the basket the offense is forced to double him do to his pure athleticism thus freeing up Cato for the game tying salm. I am a Bryce fan as long and think he is effective as long as he does not rush himself but do you think Drew would have been able to drive around Anthony either time and when faced with a double team Drew would probably not ahve got off a shot more likely a dangerous pass. You are not going to get away with playing your second unit in crunch time very much.