If the preseason game vs Dallas means anything, we may have a nine man rotation involving Alston TMac Battier Hayes Yao Bench James Head Wells Scola Could Francis possibly be out of the lineup, meaning Head may it over him? I've always liked Francis so I hope that isn't the case, but could it be?
this thread is more about francis/head... there is a poll question thread on this exact subject and there is also a Francis thread.
i've been saying since the beginning of time that head would be getting more minutes than Francis. i don't think Francis will be out of the rotation completely but it's certainly not out of the question, especially with James, Rafer, Bonzi, and Head all being ahead of him.
Stevie makes great insurance for Wells flops. But the way that Bonzi has been playing so far... I would put him on the court before Stevie every time. The Stevie/Head debate is worthless. Different type of players. We need Head's outside shooting.
Head has been playing great. Hasn't been afraid to attack the basket, something that I haven't seen him do since college. Francis still doesn't have great ball control. Yes he can dribble and cross people over, but he is just careless with the ball. James might have more of a scoring mentality, but he doesn't loose the ball as much as Stevie. Steve used to be one of my favorite players, but as long as Wells, Head, and James are healthy, Francis will only get limited minutes (Maybe for match ups or garbage time). Oh well.
You are already assuming SF won't improve. That could be a very bad assumption. He controls his destiny on this team more than any of the other backcourt players. If SF plays up to his capabilities (which I agree is questionable), he will earn more minutes than any of the 4 players you mention because he has more talent and athleticism than any of them. It's on Steve to make sure his contribution outweighs his TOs and other flaws. Give him time before you write him off.
I like the lineups with Head in because Head is a hell of a shooter from outside compare to Francis. We have enough penetrator in Mike James and Bonzi. So if you add Francis to the lineup...he's just another penetrator. But the problem as i said with Francis is he's got to learn to play within the system instead of jacking up shots. Look at Luther Head...does he jack up shots every chance he get?? No!! He pick and choose ONLY when he's OPEN!! He's fundamentally sound because he's played under Van Gundy...anytime you play under JVG, you're going to be fundamentally sound. So i like when Rick put the lineup of James, Head, Bonzi, Scola and Yao in there. You have 2 lethal shooters outside from James and Head and you have 3 interior players that can post up and draw double team to kick the ball out. I mean Francis may very well fit in this lineup that's no problem, the problem is him jacking up shots instead of letting the game come to him. If he can follow that rule...he certainly will get more minutes than Head.
Well, Bull and Bill just said RA still doesn't know his 9 man rotation. So much for all those guys who knew what the rotation was after 3 preseason games.
This game means NOTHING. It's just the 2nd game vs. a NBA team, a preseason game. And the whole team have just practiced together for 15 days. It's just too early to predict the rotation.
Francis will play. The nine man rotation will change throughout the season as players go cold and hot.
After the second Griz preseason game, Bullard and Worrell mentioned a 9 player rotation. They didn't include Head in the 9, and mentioned SF as on the bubble for any playing time at all. Interesting. I wonder if they just forgot Luther, or if leaving him out was a thought out decision on their part.
If Luther is in over Francis, this team is going to have chemistry problems via Francis. From his comments all summer and camp, he is not thinking about riding the bench. Someone is going to have to be traded to try to keep the balance - Luther is the obvious choice, which sucks because he's one of our young rotation players. I just don't see the team trading Bonzi or SF - especially when they took so little to get here. I'm worried.
