I really don't want to start about upsides,potential,teams or any of the other stuff that normally hit this topic, but what I'm glad to see and finally happy other Rocket fans get to see is that there are some other pretty good pg's in the league not named Francis. Watching players all yr long on the league pass and getting a chance to watch these players all yr long that the pg spot is as loaded as it has been for a while. I'm just glad Rocket fans get a taste of these other young and talented pg's. What is even more astounding is that we as Rocket fans can't count on Francis to dominate his matchup every night like Hakem did his through the yrs. This plethora of talent just increases the need for us to get more talent on this team if we want to be serious threats and not wind up like Minnesota. I'm just glad people get to see Davis,Kidd,Payton,Parker,Nash and some of these guys playing at a high level. I thought that was pretty amazing Charlotte without their leading scorer still beat the Magic in 4 games and Davis putting up 2 triple doubles in the last two even with plantar fascitis. That was just great basketball.
Francis is better than that whole list( minus Kidd, for now ) and Steve w/o his migranes CAN be counted on to dominate his position everynight. Dont even get me started about how much better Steves stats would be if he had a better team around him.
sracer, Francis is not better then the whole list, he is comparable, but he is not clearly better. When Francis can lead his team....LEAD his team, then he will be better, until then he is a very talented one on one player. DD
i agree, steve is not clearly better than anyone on the list(except for parker, who is WAY out of place), but he is just as good as any of them. watching other point guards does make me realize that there's talent out there, but it doesn't make me think any less of steve. the last time he was surrounded with comparable talent we won 45 games and barely missed the playoffs.
BigM, the talent should be there next season. But no matter how much talent is on the team, we can not win without man-to-man defense. Steve and Cuttino <b>absolutely</b> have to work on their D for this team to make it into the playoffs. <i>Idea</i>. Why doesn't Rudy just hire a defensive coach? It would pay off 10 fold if they could get somebody halfway decent. Man-to-man defense can be taught if the talent and determination are there. Lord knows our backcourt has the talent but do they have the determination and proper defensive coaching? Steve's quotes at the end of the season show me that he's developing that determination to take his play to the next level. As far as Cuttino, I think he'd rather keep playing street ball for a whole lot of cash.
um...cuttino is a MUCH BETTER defender than steve is. so what if steve says the right things about wanting to improve and work on this and that. ex-wives and ex-girlfriends say the same damn thing...
He makes me look good No I dont, you belong in the elite group I said that you make me look good I am the worst of the Texas point guards even
I've always considered Francis and Baron Davis to pretty much be equal talents. Francis is the better scorer and athlete, while Davis is the better defender and play-maker. But after watching the Hornets-Magic series,.... MY GOD DAVIS CAN PLAY!!! Yeah, like all young players he's a little immature a times and can get a little too cute for his own good. But, as much as we may not like to read this, Baron Davis is at a WHOLE different level than Steve. Davis is pretty much the superior of the 2, for now. - Better at breaking down the defense, doesn't over-penetrate as much as Steve does. Davis destroyed Armstrong, who is a pretty quick and defensively competitive PG, anytime he wanted to penetrate in the lane, he did. - Much better on-the-ball defender due to effort! Granted, Davis is on a better team with better defenders, but there's still no excuse for Steve's lapses. - Makes his teammates better! Understands how to put up great stats, make his team go, and win at the same time.
Watching Davis destroy Miami, a team with no speed in the backcourt, and Orlando, a team with a non-existent frontcourt, has shown me what a great guard can do in a pathetic conference that is so marked by parity that it's almost laughable. Same Charlotte team, in the western conference? Three and out.
Come on TPL. With a 44-38 record they would be tied with Utah, split the series 1-1, but have a worse winning position than Utah in the West so they'd be sitting at home hoping for balls like Rocket Fans. Davis and Francis are different players. I don't know who is better sans migranes. I'm partial to Francis, but that's just homey talk. They are in the same elite tier. I would say Davis is near Kidd's equal and it would depend on the teammates on determing who I'd want between the two.
Good point, TPL, I understand where you're coming from. But by that logic, Tracy McGrady's performance comes with an asterisk as well. Granted, Charlotte probably has the best frontcourt in the East, but they still aren't as good as those in the West, such as Dallas and Sacramento. Additionally, Mashburn was sidelined the entire series. If McGrady were in the West, maybe he isn't so anxious to drive and slash, maybe he's not nearly as effective.
Okay, one of you research-oriented types, we need a breakdown of McGrady vs East and vs West. Get on it....
I'm disparaging the conference, not the player. This isn't about trying to bring down Baron Davis; it's about recognizing that this was nothing more than a good team (Charlotte) beating a mediocre team in a bad conference, and the impact that a guard of Davis' talents can have in that situation. Live, McGrady is as talented as they come, but an asterik still should accompany almost anything he accomplishes based on the simple fact that he does play in a far weaker conference, going up against much weaker talent night in and night out. If you're speaking of this series specifically, it would have been interesting to see what McGrady, who was visibly ailing, could have done if completely healthy......
If Charlotte were in the West, they would have to play each west team 4 times. I doubt they would be 44-38. I'd say closer to 38-44. As for Steve vs Baron, based on stats, Steve was the better player. He was the only player to average 20/6/6. But, he's also older.
They are from the same draft class though. Davis, from what I gather from his stats, is a terrible free throw shooter...58%.
Yeah TPL, lets discount Kobe becaus he plays with Shaq or J.O'Neal because he plays in the east or lets just don't count any of the players in the east. If thats the case, we have been a lottery team every yr in the Francis and era and Davis has been to the playoffs 2 times. Not knowing the situations, Davis might just rise to the occassion even more if he plaed in the west, like he has without their number 1 scorer out. If I'm not mistaken, the same was said about Elton Brand and he came over and was 2nd in the league in double doubles and was 18pts 11 rebs over here. I've heard of being partial to a player or team, but sac riding can only go so far. Anyway,its still nice to see a pg run a team effectively without making excuses. I like both of them , I just wish some people would give other teams players their due and respect.
Actually I think Davis is Steve's closest comparison right now, but saying Davis is on another level......well no $#it sherlock. What do you expect him to do? Regress in the playoffs. Good players step up their games in the playoffs, Steve just hasn't had the chance. I do agree that the consecutive triple-doubles were nice, but if you recall this past season Steve had 2 triple-doubles in 3 games and was only off by like one assist in the middle game. I personally feel that Steve has the mental toughness to turn it up in the post-season so until we see how Steve does, I can't give the nod to Baron, (although I do like his game.) I think these two will have great battles in the future especially if the league moves The Hornets to the west.
