What is your take on Francis' playmaking abilities? I don't know if this subject is already discussed but would be interested to know if he is a true point guard or would flourish more being a shooting guard like Iverson or Jordan. It seems like he dribble too much to free himself for ISO and pass the ball only if that option is not available. What do you think? Don't get me wrong, I think Francis is a great player but I also think he is playing out of position. Not? I would defer myself now to the experts on this board.
We've had this discussion since his first season. He's not a true point guard. He'll never be an assist guy like Kidd, Stockton, Bibby, Magic, Andre Miller, Payton, Davis, Marbury. If we're lucky he'll get almost as good as Moochie is.
Even the Sixer's announcers, while complimenting Francis, commented on his unwillingness (inablity?) to distribute the ball.
Thanks, Woofer It just get frustrating sometimes like today's game although pre-season to resort to the old ISO option after wasting too much time dribbling instead of the much advertised five man offense. Anyway, if this is old news then I will go back to my favorite pastime.... lurking
Like I said in the chat, this is Francis only bad passing game this preseason. The rest of the time, not only was he passing the ball, he was putting up double-digit assists. The guy is fine at the PG spot. It's more of a case of ball movement throughtout the entire team then it is Francis.
I'm no expert but here's what I think ... It's hard to tell whether it is his playmaking ability or the offensive system that is to blame. I've noticed the over-dribbling by Steve and Cuttino, and I am thinking, "Oh! God! Please don't let the iso come back and haunt us." Tonight is a good example of the iso killing us. But wait ...... We are testing different lineups and it is understandable that it's hard for the playmaker(s) to adjust with so many different players on the rotation. Plus, in the 4th quarter of the Philly game, I noticed that Rudy wanted to get Yao into the flow of the offense and that was when we turned the ball over and got out of sync. So is Francis a good or bad playmaker? i really don't know. IMHO, he is no Kidd or Stockton as far as passing skills are concerned, but he may be at the same level as Baron Davis'? I'll leave the question to the real experts.
I'm not a steve hater, but I thought this was interesting: "I'm playing with more confidence. I worked on my shooting a lot this summer. But with all this power we've got now, I think passing is something that's going to be very important. I've got to be getting the guys involved." ---Steve Francis http://espn.go.com/nba/camp2002/columns/stein_marc/1449785.html
So at this point it is too soon to know...okay. I think the addition of Yao Ming will determine either Francis will develop into a champion (a lot agrees he is already a great player) or Rudy's system is really flawed. Francis development, IMHO, is more important at this time than Yao Ming's improvement. As he is the pulse of the offense, his decision making abilities is very crucial. Unless of course, all plays are called by Rudy during the course of the game.
be honest, who else can he trust in this team offensively??(maybe yao will earn some respect soon). i mean, this team dont have ANY solid true shooters(except nachbar).
Huh? Are you serious with that comment? Boki has been all but impressive. I know he will get better, but what does your comment mean? Yup! Rice has been solid.
Amen Rocketability. I think Yao's been par versus expectations, but Boki is behind, even accounting for his recovery.
I noticed the times right before Francis would go one-on-one the offense would already become stagnant. That doesn't help his cause either. Other times though, I'd scream at my TV for ball movement.
I have also been little concern about the one-on-one play of Stevie and Cat. However, Rocketability made a good point that Rudy is throwing alot of different lineups out there. The flow of the game can get kind of messed up. I love Stevie and Cat. I will be an optimist and hope this is just a preseason thing.
Yes, I think so much hype and attention has been focused on Yao Ming, that some may forget that basketball starts with the point guard. Steve Francis has enormous responsibilities, the first of which is to pass before taking his shot. I'm very much tempted to start bashing Steve Francis, and suggest a trade for someone who knows how to pass, and actually passes the ball - Steve Nash. But I'll hold that urge until the first ten games of the regular season, and then reconsider. And besides, I hope the addition of new blood in Tito Maddox, and the continued improvement of Tierre Brown will see more playing time for these guards.
Some of you are crazy. It's true, Steve is no Stockton or Kidd, but who the hell else, besides Andre Miller, can you compare to those guys? They are special in their own way. Magic Johnson was special for being able to dish and score. Francis is also special, the guy is the most athletic player in the league and he keeps getting better. He's not a natural PG, he never played the position until the NBA, so to be upset with him for not getting 8 to 10 assists a game is crazy. He's still in the top 15 in apg, how can that be considered terrible? I think he had a very productive pre-season when it came to assists and this was really his worst game in that department. Why does it not surprise me that after a bad passing game, he's already being called out and there's premature trade talk. By the way, Steve Nash avg 7.7 apg last season, that's about 1 more than Francis and he's on a team that had way more weapons than the Rockets.