a study in pork...we don't need any more muslims! gimme some hog, DAMNIT!

Well, that one Muslim that we had for 17 seasons worked out pretty well.

I liked him I guess.

 

you want examples of steve backing down? check out last year's games, when steve either dribbled the ball carelessly only to lose it out of bounds or to dribble it off of his own foot. i believe it was vs. golden state and, possibly, dallas. crispee, i'm sure, can back me up on that one.

It was the Dallas game in early March, that was crucial for our playoff chances. We had led most of the way, were in a close game in the final minute, and Steve dribbled it off his foot and out of bounds with the game on the line and 40 seconds to play.

By the way, great post... but as I'm sure you're aware, be prepared to get some responses comparing Steve's numbers to Cuttino's numbers. The intangibles like leadership, etc. go very unnoticed around here. I have though, like you said, seen Steve try and improve himself in this regard during the preseason.

 

I guess the stress of the offseason has finally gotten you to, huh verse?

 

Part of Steve's problem is he feels like he needs to keep everyone on the team happy. Sometimes, when the game is on the line, he just needs to take the rock and do whatever it takes.

Now I'm hungry for a BLT.

 

I was so ready for this to be a Pig Miller thread...

 

Verse,

Steve doesn't have to take all the last second shots or be "the man" in the final minutes. Hakeem took his fair share, but was not the only Rocket to take (and make) many last second shots. And, he was by all definitions "The MAN" for many many years.

Who hit those big shots in the waning moments during the championship runs? Elie, Maxwell, Cassell, and yes, Dream hit a few.

Mobley has shown the cahones to take and make (or miss) crucial shots. He did it his rookie year with a healthy Barkley and Olajuwon.

IMO, Francis already has the pressure to carry the team and be the "leader". Let Mobley take most of the pressure to hit his fair share of last-second shots.

 

Yup, we need a beefy ball hog who won't play like a lamb; has the heart of a lion, the cunning of a fox, the vision of an owl, and the swiftness of a rattlesnake; can milk the clock when necessary; and gives us chicken rather than feathers. Might that player someday be known as the griffin?

 

I think the biggest measure of Francis's leadership ability is not the last minutes shots, but his ability to make sure we don't have lulls, especially in the 1st quarter! We lost several winnable games in the 1st quarter last year.

Man, let's not argue Cuttino versus Francis. Treat this as a celebration of Cuttino. btw: maybe Steve is Jewish for not eating pork.

Francis also fell against Denver in the last minute. He got stripped and fell against the Spurs in the last 2 minutes of the last pre-season game, with the game on the line. The following possession they swarmed him to force him to pass, and we got nothing out of it. Then Mobley won that Spurs games with an amazing drive down the far lane for a lay-in, followed by the infamous "tackle" by 3 Spurs for the sealing FTs.

This doesn't mean Mobley is better. Just that both Mobley and Francis know that Mobley is the #1 goto option in the last 2 minutes when the defenses clamp down. (Francis said this again in the Sunday Chronicle Season Preview.) This year, we are also going to need Rice to step up. We are hurt that we don't have Steve able to run a pick n roll with Maurice.

Francis can simply take over large chunks of the game, so far this preseason. He seems to have improved his shot, or he is on a roll or something. Plus, he is running more, so far. Overall, simply running the offense smoother...again, so far. This should eventually make him a primary GoTo option, but a lot of that depends on the entire team working together, and Francis working the traps of the pick n roll better. I still believe Mobley dissolves the traps better, and simplifies the offense...which is needed in the last 2 minutes. His success is based on pure speed. During the game, you can pass out of the trap and let your PFs shoot or drive. But in the last minute, I don't want a trap to force an immediate pass, because they'll be playing that PF differently. I want the game in Steve, Rice or Cuttino's hands. Not to say they take the last shot, but to say they create what we want, not what the defense wants us to do. Cuttino seems to be able to deal with the traps better, whereas Steve ends up passing it or fighting it...which is often what the defense wants to happen.

imo, Mobley looks a little faster versus last year, but he still hasn't shown me a goto midrange shot, which he'll need over the course of the season. He still is faded on his shot when not necessary. His defense is clearly better, much more active, so maybe he's tiring somewhat, which can effect a shot. This would make sense in his great performance versus Stackhouse....hounding him to zero points.

 

I'm not sure to which Golden State game you refer, but one of the GS games I saw last season it was MOBLEY who dribbled the ball too much and almost lost the game. It was the one where Mobley dribbled the ball in the corner until there was like 3 seconds left on the clock, and then he had to pass it out to Moochie who hit the fabled 35 foot 3 that won the game. The rest of the examples I am not familiar with, because I didn't see most games....

 

Stack will still take 40 shots though!

 

He didn't dribble it into the corner...he dribbled it right next to Moochie way out front. He somehow lost track of the shot clock. It was a tied game, and he was instructed to make sure the other team did not get any time left on the clock, nor be allowed to foul him, presumably. So he was dribbling out 30 feet from the basket with Moochie. There was no attempt by Mobley to attack, just poor clock management in his effort to follow Rudy's command to not leave any time on the clock.

In the end, he flipped to Moochie who was close to him out front.

 

I guess "the man" is more like "making it happen" than "taking the shot". Hakeem didn't take every last-second shot, but his presence made it possible for his teammates to do so.

 

btw: Francis did dribble the ball off his foot in the Moochie heroics game against GS.

http://www.clutchcity.net/game.cfm?gameID=104

Note also, that after that, Mobley drove for a bank shot score with 29 seconds to give us a 2 point lead. Then, with the game tied he is told to milk the clock and make sure GS has no time left.

 

What about the game against the Jazz when Cuttino heaved up an airball while Francis was wide open and begging for the ball? Or what about that Laker game where Cuttino heaved up an airball with 15 seconds left in the game? Steve is not the only player to make mistakes in crunch time.

And I'm sorry, but that Golden State play was NOT a good play by Mobley. That was a lucky play by Moochie, nothing more.