It seems like people in Houston don't have the appreciation of Steve Francis that everyone else in the league does. I'm living in NY right now so I get the Rocket's games via satellite which means I get to hear announcers from different cities call the games. I can't tell you how many great things they have to say about Steve. Many of them think he is better than Iverson. People in Houston seem to really hate the guy. Just wondering why. It's sort of like the fans of Toronto that think they should trade Vince Carter because they won a few games without him. The rest of the teams in the league would take him. Also, it's like when Hakeem was out with his eye injury and the Rox won some games without him, people were saying we should trade him. I remember Magic saying, "If Houston don't want him, send him here so we can win a bunch of championships." People say Baron Davis is better, but Steve doesn't have Mash and Elden Campbell and PJ Brown and Lee Nailon on his team. He's our superstar, and you win championships in this league with superstars. He's not perfect, but let's support our guy.
I think it's mostly because of the idea that guards can't win championships(especially in the Shaq era). The Rockets historically have been built around big men from Hayes to Malone to Sampson to Hakeem.
exactly. i read some of these threads and wonder about the people asking 'francis for #8,#12, odom' blah blah. they're the ones that need a reality check. i hate fair-weathered fans.
To quote Cinderella (the awful glam band, not the fairy tale): You don't know what you got 'til it's gone. The fans had completely turned on Akeem back in the late 80's. He was nearly traded to the Clippers for Stanley Roberts, Danny Manning and a pile of fish sandwiches. Fans are mostly fickle. When the team is losing, the players suffer. In addition, the team has not done the most effective job of marketing the players, which doesn't help. When the W's start rolling in and the team marketing gets better (which it is going to from all that I have seen), Francis' image will turn around in Houston too.
isiah thomas, jordan.....frankly shaq and kobe need eachother. w/o one, the other wouldn't get as far. the rockets really need to shift that train of thought about big men. yea shaq's dominating. but after he retires, it's fair game.
Most of us love Francis, how can we not, he is the only one that really does everything for the team at the moment. Score, rebs, steals and even blocks shots. The normal problem we have is that we sometime overrate him to early in his career. It will come for him. He will be the best PG in the league soon. Supporting players are on their way and also developing....then Francis will really shine!!! Rudy knows what he has.
actually that's what i'm afraid of. if rudy knew what he REALLY have, he would blackmail/convince/hold at gunpoint/etc steve into playing the 2 spot. imo, francis could be at or above iverson's level but w/o the stupid stories (no practice, rap album etc). and rudy would actually know how to utilize EG rather than just make him launch 3 pters all day.
i always feel compelled to address the isiah thomas/michael jordan portion of these types of posts. The Detroit Pistons were a freak show...they committed to defense and rebounding in a way that I know I had never seen before to that time. Yes...they were a guard oriented team on the offensive end. But the story of the Detroit Pistons is defense...defense won them championships. It separated them from all the other teams in the league at that time. The NBA has never been the same, quite frankly. They were an aberration, I believe..particularly in light of NBA champs to that point. Michael Jordan defies every rule...but keep in mind, theirs was hardly a backcourt. When they had Ron Harper, but he and Mike were 6'6" or more...that's a pretty tall backcourt!!! But even without that point...the Bulls with Mike were just different. My point is...throughout most of NBA history, the story has been big men. They have been the most vital parts of championship teams. Of course there have been some exceptions...but for the most part, you win with big men down low.
Be sure you dont include any Memphis/Vancouver fans here ... ... its our birthright to hate the guy ... It is a shame he is so insecure because it sure would have been interesting to see what a Bibby/Francis or a Jay-Will backcourt could do ...
