Francis has to go for this team to win consistently

Funny, and I thought it was the refs taking 6 points away from Yao that cost us the game.

Steve got tripped by either Bibby. It was so obvious he stuck out his foot. Should have been a flagarant, but noooooooooo. After Bibby bricks the shot Bobby Jackson got a bs foul call. Then what happened? With time winding down in the 4th, Francis intentionally fouled Bobby Jackson and got hit with a flagarant.

Yas whacked repeatedly, then when he leans in like every friggin' post player does he get called for 3 offensives.

 

just got back from the game and boy does francis look even crappier in person. everyone ond around me was pissed at him.

 

Yao

 

Now you want to give the team to Yao? Not too long ago you were basically calling the guy a sissy. I'm waiting for the "We need Mooch back - he was the true leader of the team and we blew it!" thread.

Anyway, I'm not worried about this game. We played one of the best teams in the league and ran with them for 3.5 quarters. About 3 months ago, I would've thought this team would've been destroyed by the Kings.

I don't know what Steve's problem is, but I don't know how you can go from being an all-around threat to being this bad without something being wrong either psychologically or physically. The turnovers are bearable. Several big name players are getting just about as many if not more TO's per game as Francis. He's doing so-so in assists. He's actually gone to playing like the Mobley of old. There was a sequence of about 3 consecutive possessions at the end of the Kings game where I honestly thought Steve and Cuttino had money on the Kings. I thought those 2 were trying their hardest to lose the game for us. I've said for a while that having 2 dodo's in the backcourt will kill us. Right now I think Mobley is the lesser of the dodo's.

Hopefully Steve can snap out of this funk soon because with a rotation of JJ, Yao, Steve, Mo, and Cat, that's 5 people capable of posting 20 points on any given night. All of them are "go to" guys. I'm just waiting for the time to come that they all are on the same page and click. I think they've made major steps towards that the past few weeks.

 

They could easily get value for the guy. Just throw in Cato and I guarantee any number of Eastern Conference squads that are starved for big men will be eager to deal. Despite his struggles this season, Francis has been a decent shooter most of his career, and GMs and coaches around the league will be willing to take a chance the guy. Especially if they believe the "change of scenery" argument.

 

Beat me to it Clutch. So far this season, DaDakota has done threads suggesting that Yao is not the one, Van Gundy may have been the wrong choice, and now Steve MUST go. I thought you may have overreacted on the previous two subjects (both after bad losses) and I hope you are overreacting now.

That said, DaDakota is right about one point for sure: Steve is not a max player. The Rockets made the same mistake that the Warriors made with Antawn Jamison. I used to believe that Steve, if he accepted the role of second fiddle, would really break out as a team player. Clearly, with his forced shots in the clutch and horrible decisions, he still thinks he's the MAN. But his complete ignorance of his teammates (except for Cat) in the 4th quarter makes me think its time to move Stevie out.

 

I did not see this. I'll have to take a look at that. Boki is Yao's friend. If Yao doesn't want him going, I think he's not going anywhere.

I recorded the game because I wanted to see what the weaknesses of the Rockets were and analyze them a bit. I saw everything come out of the woodwork today as far as weaknesses go.

 

See, this is what I don't get. The occasional throwing up of questionable shots very well could have cost us the game tonight. Two ill-advised threes within 5 seconds of one another. We didn't even need a three at that point!

The disparity between the defensive ass-busting of Steve and Cuttino isn't that great. I think they're both to the point that they could both be considered average to good defenders. Cuttino is not the excellent defender, that many of you suggest he is. There was no torching tonight. Most of Bibby's points came off of kickouts and desparation-type jumpers. He shot masterfully and swished shot after shot with hands in his face. He was on fire, but his point total had little to do with the defense played on him. The defender could have been Gary Payton, and Bibby would have still thrown up that many points.

 

I just hope Steve looks at this game tape and recognizes what he did wrong. That would help me sleep tonight.

No one bats 1.000 but then again, no one takes 2 strikes and swings away last second long before the hitting coach gets on his ass. Not an all-star thing to do.

On a comparitive line graph representing improvement between Yao and Steve, Yaos lookin at a good 40 degree angle in year one to year two. He's improving. Steve is more or less horizontal over a 5 year span.

 

A year ago, Jordon was trying to convince Francis to move to Washington. I don't think anyone sees Francis as less then an All-Star - trading him would be as dumb as trading Olajuwon back in 91.

The Rockets lost to the best team in the leauge. Francis is struggling clearly now as the rockets move toward a post-up scoring team. But they also had their moments where they looked great.

He got 11 assists, and to me, that's awesome. It means he's making progress, and I think the rockets will be a better team in the long-run if Steve has to make mistakes in order to learn how to find that challening balance between play-maker and shooter. I disagree with all the calls to move him to shooting guard, because at that position he will be good at best. At PG, he has the potential to be even better then Mike Bibby. Now he has the right coach to tune his game, and a guy like Marc Jackson to show him how it's done.

Let the guy struggle for a while and then judge him.

 

I just want to say that I'm one of the biggest Steve Francis fans. Yes, he has had a string of bad games and had a horrible one in a big game.

I believe Steve is just trying waaayyy too hard. He managed to get 11 assists, which doesn't really show when you shoot 20% or something. But it's all about confidence, we've seen what kind of offensive power he can be and he still has that potential.

I want Cato traded, now. JVG suprised a few w/ Cato's improvement, but he can't be our answer at PF. MoT's showing more and more he can handle the load, but we do need to add an athletic, big SF.

 

Maybe we just have differing opinions of WIDE. If the defender is capable of throwing a hand in your face at any point in the primary stages of the shooting motion, you're not open. You can get the shot off, but it is a shot that we have always referred to as ill-advised. This occurred on both of Cuttino's shots.

Like I said, I don't understand the claim that Cuttino has become an all-world defender, while Steve has resorted back to his matador days. It's simply not true. Cuttino couldn't stay in front of Jackson for his life during the fourth.

I don't mean to tear Cuttino down, because I want he and this whole team to succeed. I don't advocate any roster moves, barring the availability of Garnett, James, or Duncan. I think that the current team has tremendous heart and character, and I think they're going to surprise the hell out of a first round opponent come April.

 

Hence most people in this thread(including myself) saying we should let him play out the rest of the season and hope he finds his shot. But if it's clear after 5 years that this team is going nowhere with Steve Francis as its starting point guard, Jeff Van Gundy and Carroll Dawson need to think long and hard about shaking up this roster.

 

Oh ya, I agree w/ your post New Yorker.

 

Dakota, I've got to disagree with you on this one. I say we don't make a move with SF this season. Apart from his horrible shooting slump and his slightly-less-often mental lapses, Steve has come a long way this year, under very trying circumstances. I say we hang on to him through the end of the year and see what kind of effect Mark Jackson has on him.

A sad indication of just how deep SF's funk is was that at the end of the game, with under 10 seconds left and a 5 or 6 point deficit, Steve refused to put up a three, choosing instead to pass it off. Last year, in that situation, Steve would never have even considered passing the ball. The loss of confidence was glaringly obvious.

Even so, something tells me that the shooting slump is a by-product of Steve's being asked to do things so differently this year. Not that MJ has arrived to take some of the pressure off, I expect the slump to end soon. And if it does, I think we're going to see a red-hot shooting streak. Hopefully, Steve gets his head back in order come playoff time.

Man, the all-star break couldn't come at a better time. Maybe that'll be the thing that shakes Steve loose.

 

Kind of nitpicky, but Steve ended with 13 assists, fellas.