Defense, and trusting his teammates. I think with the improvement of our team, trusting teammates will come easier. But I think his defense is the number one thing that has to improve.
i agree with everything you said up until right here. dunking is fundamentally positive anytime you can do it. there's a saying that a dunk is worth 4 points. why? because not only did you score, but: 1) you showed aggression, which can sway the refs in your favor 2) you might get the "and 1" call just because you went strong 3) you can demoralize/embarass an opponent 4) it gets the emotions of the crowd, the teammates, and yourself going! 5) the next time you go to the hoop, i bet there's less people in the way! (read: pride/ego) 6) it's easier to avoid injury by dunking than by laying it up. i could be wrong, but i have to assume you don't have that physical ability. trust me, it does wonders for you psychologically on the court. it takes away the "intimidation factor" the other team(s) may have. it shows you're not afraid to take it to the hole. it is fundamentally positive.
I would say defensively is where he could make his biggest improvement....there is no reason that he can't be in the top 5 in steals with his quickness.
Steve needs to focus on Defense, Defense, and more Defense. I believe he is currently among the best point guards in the league offensively, although I expect and hope that he will improve further as maturity leads to better decision making on offense. But he is a liability on defense, and he needs to improvein a big way to reach the class of Kidd & Peyton. He wants to be numbered among the best, we need for him to be among the best and huge improvements on defense is the only way for him to get there.
Like others have said, Steve really should utilize that mid-range jumper as much as possible. This will save him some energy, and more importantly, lessen the bumps and bruises he gets on his body from the big hackers inside the paint.
Verse, Sorry, I wasn't taking about the half court game. I was talking about the fast-break. I should have clarified that. Now, I'm not saying that fast break dunking doesn't have its time and place. But, not every time down the court on a fast break. I have seen Francis turn the ball over so many times trying to dunk on a fast break because he can't palm the ball. He ends up going for the spectacular when all we need is 2 points (and a possible foul). Sometimes you can use your body to fend off the defender on the fast break. This will cause the foul, instead of a turn over. Haven't you ever seen a guard *slow* down so that the defender catches up to him, so that he can make contact? Calvin Murphy, Nate Archibald, Ron Harper, and Steve Nash use(d) this technique a lot. This is very effective Also, sometimes Francis will try to dunk on a fast break when he should pass the ball off to a trailing player.
