[New York Times] Returning to Houston Bittersweet for Francis

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/10/sports/basketball/10knicks.html?ref=basketball

HOUSTON, Nov. 9 — Steve Francis will celebrate a homecoming of sorts Friday night, but as with everything in his brief Knicks career, the event is not as happy and simple as it sounds.

Steve Francis, who is nursing a sprained ankle, still lives in Houston during the off-season and has family and friends in the area.
Two years and seven months removed from his last game as a Rocket, Francis returned to Houston for the first time as a Knick. He began his N.B.A. career here seven years ago and left behind all of his best moments as a pro when the Rockets traded him to Orlando in 2004. It has been a rough ride since.

The marriage between the Magic and Francis soured in less than two years. He was traded to the Knicks in February, clashed immediately with Coach Larry Brown and is still trying to reclaim his swagger.

Now Francis is hurt, nursing a sprained ankle that could keep him out of Friday night’s game. The ankle was still swollen Thursday.

“It’s tough, man,” Francis said after practice at the Toyota Center. “I don’t want to jeopardize the longevity of my career for one game. You have to be smart about certain situations.”

Francis still lives here in the off-season and has family and friends in the area. As he walked through the arena, he was warmly embraced by security guards and Rockets staff members.

That was about all the joy there was. Francis, as he often has since the trade, seemed dour and distant as he spoke to members of the news media. The injury has put another crimp in the Knicks’ attempt to create a workable backcourt with Francis and Stephon Marbury.

Complicating matters — at least in the public’s perception — is that Francis’s replacement, Jamal Crawford, propelled the Knicks to a thrilling victory in Denver on Wednesday.

In his first start of the season, Crawford scored 35 points — 20 in the fourth quarter — and hit the winning 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left. Crawford was clearly more at ease and in sync as a starter. He and Marbury have been backcourt mates for more than two seasons.

The Marbury-Francis pairing remains a work in progress, but one that Coach Isiah Thomas is committed to developing. He said fans and reporters were making a mistake by judging the Knicks’ guards by “how many points they score.”

“That’s not what it’s all about,” Thomas said. The critical issues, he said, are: “Do we play well? Is our team playing well? Are we moving as a unit? That’s really what it’s all about. It’s not about, well, this guy scored 25 points, so this must be good for him, and the other guy only scored 9 points, so it must not be good.”

Thomas said that Francis would reclaim his starting job once he was healthy, and he said he had no problem moving Crawford back to the bench, despite his brilliant performance.

Statistically, Crawford has been steadier as a starter. In 59 games as a reserve for the Knicks, Crawford has averaged 12.6 points and 3 assists in 28.4 minutes. In 95 games as a starter, he has averaged 17.9 points and 4.6 assists in 39.3 minutes. His shooting percentages from the field and the 3-point arc are also slightly higher as a starter.

Crawford’s performance Wednesday was more striking because he began the season in a slump. He was shooting .213 from the field before making 14 of 27 field-goal attempts in Denver.

“I’m not complaining or anything, but it’s definitely an adjustment coming off the bench,” Crawford said. “But we have a lot of good guards, and I have trust in Isiah. So whenever my number is called, just try to be ready. And when I go to the bench, I’ll try to go with that same mind-set.”

Thomas held up Vinnie Johnson, his former Detroit Pistons teammate, as an example of how to thrive as a third guard.

“Jamal is capable of shooting well not being a starter, too,” Thomas said. Asked if he could help Crawford find the same groove as a reserve, Thomas said: “This is our fifth game? Give me a couple of more games, I think I may be able to help him.”

Nothing short of a trade will ease the playing-time crunch in the backcourt. It will only become more complicated when small forward Jared Jeffries returns next month.

Francis played only one season at the Toyota Center (the Rockets used to play at the Compaq Center), in 2003-4. But it was the most successful season of his career, ending with his only playoff appearance. The Rockets, then built around Francis and Yao Ming, lost their first-round series to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“It was an excellent experience,” Francis said.

It appeared to be the beginning of something good. But months later, the Rockets shipped Francis and his close friend Cuttino Mobley to Orlando, for Tracy McGrady. At the time, it was a low point in Francis’s career. It has since been eclipsed — by Brown’s decision to bench Francis in his return to Orlando last March.

“Nothing is worse than being benched in Orlando last year,” Francis said.

REBOUNDS

Isiah Thomas recoiled from questions regarding the Knicks’ contract settlement with Larry Brown. He also declined to speculate on his future relatioship with Brown, whom he once considered a friend. “If I was to answer that question, I would read it all over the Internet,” Thomas said. “Some guy in your office would make a headline that would just get me all on ‘PTI.’ ” ... Channing Frye has yet to snap out of his slump, and Thomas has reduced his playing time. But he said Frye would remain in the starting lineup. Thomas sang the chorus to Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day,” chuckled and said of Frye: “He’s had a couple of bad days. But he’ll come out of it. The good thing is, we know he’s better. So there is some upside.”