I don't often feel wrong, but I for one overestimated the dominance that Yao and Francis would have. For me, it was the thought of instant championship contender. However, it was a long and drawn out process that never did materialize. That was frustrating. But it only got worse because T-Mac was the exact same situation, but with even more talent realized on the court. Appreciated those teams, but was left with the same frustrations that Warren Moons left me with. How did they not do it.
True but I dun think they had that much talent around them the first time with JVG. I mean Chuck Hayes, aging Juwon, aging David Wesley, Rafer Alston, Kirk Snyder, Scola wasn't there. Mike James.......
We were better with Francis and Mobley than T-Mac. Two competitive, passionate, talented players vs a spoiled crybaby.
with Francis, I was just hoping to make the playoffs with T-Mac, I was just hoping to make it past the 1st round I never thought we could ever win a title with any of those JVG squads...maybe in 06-07 if we could’ve beaten the Spurs, but Utah had our number...I just didn’t have much faith that T-Mac could chuck his way to a title with Yao and a bunch of limited role players yeah, those teams were definitely lacking talent...08-09 squad could’ve been special, but T-Mac was done by then
Yep, unfortunately. It should be that with Francis you are entitled to make 2nd round. With Tmac you should be entitled to dream about Conference Finals. All the talent in the world but back luck and underwhelming performances at times.
Great to see them well hope we retire his Jersey he brings his best years with Houston arguably one of the best at his time fast good, movements, good shooting as a personal opinion ( equal as T-mac but differents positions) and he was great with the Big Wall of China
Hmm, a lot of hate for Francis ... For those saying he wasn't as athletic as westbrook, there's only a little truth in that. He actually had a higher vertical than westbrook, had an arguably better first step than Westbrook as well. But besides being highflying, playmaking pgs that are around 6'3, there's pretty clear-cut differences in their games, circumstances. Francis I would argue is better in the creating his own shot in the halfcourt than Westbrook. His go to hang-crossover was 2nd only to iverson during that era and got so many people leaning (especially bigs). Like someone else said, if he had MDA as his coach, you'd see him average 25 and 9 easily, if not more. He would literally destroy bigs on those types of switches, as he absolutely abused them in the few scenarios he'd get. Francis also rebounded just as well, and actually finished with just as good an efficiency as westbrook if not more (since WB takes more high difficulty shots). Francis smartly and aptly would put his body into the big, absorb the contact and routinely finish and-1's. But like WB, decision making was always a big problem, but being on a rebuild team also doesn't help. Had Francis had KD on his team, his whole playstyle/career would look different (take a look at his 44pt performance with kobe guarding him) Westbrook I will say has proven to be the better overall player. I think WB was a better defender, battled better against guys taller than him, and despite not being the best half-court player, really doesn't need it as much because of how much transition offense he creates. When WB is going downhill, it's something that is not only efficient but often times on that "unstoppable" tier for a defense. While Francis and him both weren't the best 3pt shooters (i'd give Francis a very small edge there), Westbrook's intangibles definitely outshine the franchise, as does his passing and post game. What is crazy is that both of them saw opposing teams scheme their defenses into baiting them into the off-the-dribble pullup from midrange. WB is coming downhill a lot of those times while francis is doing his hesi into the left hand gather, but it's eerily similar defensive mindsets. Overall, WB I will give the nod to for sure, but Francis was no slouch, and had he be given a better situation/teammates, and a coach like MDA, he'd be close(r) to replicating Westbrook's insane stat line. It is very true that JVG kind of robbed him of all his strengths during that one year and when francis was shipped to the Magic, he averaged about 21-6-7 during his first year there.
Anybody who calls themselves Stevie Franchise and claims that he was the reason the Toyota Center was built is a narcissist and you're never going to win a championship with these kinds of guys. I look at the Francis era as a waste of time.
