Interesting article from a Mav's beat writer. http://startelegram.typepad.com/mavs_fullcourt_press/2007/11/the-miserable-t.html The miserable tale of Steve Francis As Steve Francis sits on the sidelines during tonight's game against the Mavericks, stretching out his legs for imaginary minutes he wants to play, one has to wonder...what happened? When Francis was unceremoniously traded with Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato for Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard and Tyronn Lue in June 2004, the Rockets were obviously wanting to move in another direction. Francis had run afoul of the organization by missing plane rides, tardiness and general locker room cancery (yes, I know that's a made up phrase). Francis was unhappy as he had established roots in Houston and was not interested in moving into a rebuilding project after leading the Rockets to the playoffs for the first time in five years. But, he begrudgingly moved on to Orlando, which was likely some karmic payback for forcing his way into Houston in the first place. After a season and a half of putting up some solid stat lines, but getting few wins, he was shipped off to the Knickerbocker circus to pair up with another overrated point guard, Stephon Marbury. Averaging career lows in points, rebounds, assists and steals over 68 total games, Francis looked done. But why? He's only two years older than McGrady, who despite his chronic back problems is one of the best players in the league. Francis just turned 30, so it isn't like he's over the hill by any stretch despite a few injuries. My theory is that once he left the confines of Houston, where he always felt free to run wild, he started to change mentally. Instead of feeling like the identity of the franchise and the player that fans would stick with through thick and thin, he was now the best player on a team with no expectations. He was just a stop-gap solution for Orlando. Then, when they finally found someone to dump his contract to (New York, who else?), they shipped him out for expiring contracts and youngsters, thus solidifying Orlando's rebuild. As it ended up, Francis moved to an even worse situation. Not only was he no longer the alpha dog on his team, he was 3rd, or maybe 4th string in importance. Enter Larry Brown the next season, the stodgiest of old timers, into the equation and Francis could no longer be Francis. He played second banana to Marbury, and Brown wasn't having him do any of the crazy stuff he always used to do when he was with Houston or Orlando. Now, he has come full circle. He's back with a Houston team that has moved on without him. No longer is Yao throwing him alley-oops and vice versa. He has yet to play one minute so far in the Rocket's promising start of the regular season. Yao has a new best friend, and one who is a far superior player. The irony of it all is that Houston's new coach Rick Adelman employs a system that would probably allow Francis to bloom if only he could be trusted with the ball in his hand. So, the pathetic story of Steve Francis continues. A selfish player sits on the bench and mopes, and Houston keeps on running. The shame in all of it for Francis is that he came back partially expecting to jump right back in where he left off. The only thing is, he doesn't seem particularly wanted. And that is what makes him most miserable of all. -Scooter Hendon, Hoops Nerd
http://www.nba.com/games/20070310/NYKWAS/recap.html Francis’ Three at Horn Lifts Knicks Over Wizards By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Sports Writer Posted Mar 10 2007 11:38PM New York 90, Washington 89 WASHINGTON, March 10 (AP) -- A hug from Grandma. That was one of many rewards for Steve Francis on Saturday night, when he shook off a gash on his shooting hand to swish a 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave the New York Knicks a 90-89 victory over the Washington Wizards. The shot completed a late comeback, moved the Knicks into a tie for eighth in the Eastern Conference, and eased some of the pain of a trying season for Francis. He grew up in nearby Silver Spring, Md., then starred at the University of Maryland, and his grandmother, Mabel Wilson, was among about 100 friends and relatives in the stands cheering for Francis. "She sits there, every time I come,'' Francis said. "She's been there for eight years. This is my eighth season. She's always there.'' Francis finished with 26 points and seven rebounds, despite cutting his right hand below the thumb when he dunked the ball after a whistle. He didn't seem to show any ill effects as he dribbled behind his back to get space away from defender Antonio Daniels and released the winning shot with about a second on the clock. When the ball went through, Francis hopped on the scorers' table, crossed his arms and nodded at the crowd, before teammates mobbed him. After Francis got down, he met Wilson for a hearty embrace, before teammate Nate Robinson jumped on the guard's back for a ride across the court. "Just happy, man, that we won. A win is a win. I don't care how you get it,'' Francis said. "Anybody will tell you that they'll be excited just to win. We've been struggling.'' He has, too, averaging a career-worst 9.7 points and playing in fewer than half of the Knicks' games this season because of right knee tendinitis. He even left the team to rehab on his own in Houston. "He was so hyped and he wanted to play well here in Washington,'' Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "That's a big moment in his time here with the Knicks.'' Francis' final flourish was precisely the type of thing Washington's Gilbert Arenas has earned a reputation for producing. Arenas finished with 25 points Saturday, but he never had a chance to hit the winner. The Wizards were up 82-76 with about 3+ minutes to go, but New York kept whittling that, and Arenas missed a layup with 40 seconds left and Washington ahead 86-84. "That was a really tough loss,'' Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said, "but we have to move forward.'' The game devolved late into a display of poor free-throw shooting by both teams. The Knicks finished 16-for-28 from the line (57 percent) - and Francis even appeared to blow a chance to send it to overtime with 7.1 seconds left. With Washington up 88-85, Francis drove and was fouled by Caron Butler. Francis' shot went in, but with a three-point play in the offing, he clanged the foul shot. Washington's Andray Blatche grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled, but he went only 1-for-2 from the line, setting up Francis. "We didn't make the plays we needed to win the basketball game,'' Daniels said. "We gave them every opportunity to win the game.'' The Knicks held a 44-35 rebounding advantage and outscored the Wizards 40-26 in the paint. Plus, low-scoring games are rarely to Washington's liking, and both teams shot worse than 42 percent. New York's Eddy Curry had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Stephon Marbury scored 15 points - well off the 37.3 he averaged over the previous three games. Quentin Richardson was a late scratch with a sore lower back, and the Knicks already were without Jamal Crawford and David Lee. So for Southeast Division-leading Washington, it was the latest example of having trouble against an undermanned opponent, including losses to Denver without Carmelo Anthony, Memphis without Pau Gasol, and - in its previous game - to Atlanta without Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams. "You have to tip your hat to New York,'' said Washington's Antawn Jamison, who scored 18 before fouling out. "They fought, they continued to play well, and they found a way to get it done.'' Before the game, Thomas was asked whether it would mean something to pull even with the Orlando Magic for the final postseason seeding in the East with 19 games left. "Stop the season, we are in the playoffs, no more games to play,'' Thomas said, breaking into a wide grin. "You have to play some more, but it would be good to be in a position where now you have control of your own destiny.'' Notes: After making a 3-pointer in the third quarter, Francis turned and slapped palms with Thomas. ... Washington is at Miami on Sunday; the Heat have won 17 of the teams' past 18 meetings. "After a win, we're going to have a party in Miami,'' Jordan said, then paused to gauge reporters' reactions. "You can write it,'' he continued. "I didn't guarantee it, but you can write it.'' Copyright 2006 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited To me seems like he still has something in the tank when given a chance....maybe now that Tmac is out he will play ahead of MJ ...
I've always been a fan of Steve's, so one might take this with a grain of salt. I believe that RA is to blame for Steve's poor play since getting into the rotation. It seems that Steve is leery of rocking the boat and so he basically plays Rafer's game (bring the ball up court and pass to TMac). I see exactly why he does this as on several occasions RA has played Steve in the first half only to go with Rafer the entire second for some reason. I, and most likely Steve, thought the Rox were looking for a 1 that could do more than that but RA's rotation speaks otherwise. I agree with the previous poster, maybe without TMac Steve and MJ will get more minutes in situations where they can do what they do best. Atleast then we'll have an accurate idea of what both of these guys can and cant do. If it is apparent that SF3 is done then I'll be content with whatever happens (though I'll always be an SF3 fan)>
He's recovering from an injury. His recovery is slower as he's not young anymore. However, I don' think he has fallen yet. If he can avoid serious injury and get himself into better shape with some PT, he will be back (not fully though) but at least can provide us some push come playoff.
