Gone are the days when SF drives fearlessly into the basket for a shot and sometimes get a foul. 30+ points per game, yes a lot of excitement, win or lose. We WERE satisfied, great game we said. When was the last time you saw SF made a 3pt play? Well, he prefers to shoot now. He could not even finish a layup these days. The bottomline is, he is just hanging in there, playing it safe. Kamikaze days are over. Career first before Rox. Grant Hill is a very good example. Being the best at one time is not a guarantee for a lifetime financial resource. .
What are you talking about? Steve has thrown himself at the defenders and triple pumped on layups more than ever this season. He is constantly looking for the foul first and the shot second. Unless you are only talking about tonights game (which I did not get to see, damn you Comcast and NBATV), then you are talking out of your ass.
steve is tryin to get his teammates more involved....thas wut JVG wants.....thas tough to do that when ur as talented as Steve is....the problem is he knows he's good....he's just tryin to do wut JVG asks him to do.....but sometimes you can see that he just wants to drive, shoot, and jus forget everone else on the team.....
My point is, he's taking more jump shots than drive to the basket. During his first 2 years as a rockets, he was doing the opposite. Give me your address and I'll give send you a copy of my tape collection of the rockets games, in case you don't remember anymore.
That is really unfair! When Steve drives ball to basket in spite of how many defenders there are,u say he's so ISO,a ball dog!but now,when hes acting as a ps ,u say hes playing safely!!! Im not sure that Steve would be a good PS and is doing this job well but u scold him based on that ridiculous reason is simply unfair!
Couldn't have said it better. Steve is being too passive now, he needs to mix in his old school self with his new passing self, but he's stuck a little in between.
What the hell is wrong with Francis? he just passed twice an open 3pt shot tonight against the Hawks in the first quarter. Grrrrr.
The key is just playing. Prepare/Think BEFORE the game. Game time just play. Also you got to watch what you say to the media. I have seen this time and time again. What do the best do? like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods...talk a lot but really say nothing. Barkley didn't heed this and gave extra motivation to his opponents while putting a lot of pressure on his teammates and himself...I'm not saying Steve is Charles, but the his comments recently has put pressure on him... just play...think before the game...for example: Rules to operate by and think about before the game. 1) don't hold the ball without going in a directorion in the half court for more than 1 second 2) if I'm open, catch the ball and shoot. Waiting for the opponent just to watch him dance while I dribble may work 40 % of time, but if I shoot while I'm open the will be higher 3) involve my teammates. 4) push the ball 5) my man won't score over 5 points...even if that means I won't help my teammates. My teammates need to own up individually as do I. These are simple obvious things...it's just that you have to pre-program your body and mind to do this before the game...and during game time, it just happens...This is true of everybody in any venture/activity.
JVG would bench him if he did this. Coach likes to swarm on defense and then rotate. That makes us the best FG% team in the NBA, but it also means the other team is going to get their fair share of open long range jumpers.
Exactly, the only time I have seen him do that was in the LA game, and almost perfect balance between system and street.
As a Terp alumni, I've watched Francis from his ACC days. It's really sad to see him regressing in the last 2 years while every other Rox, including Mobley, have improved or performed decently. The only way i can describe SF's game is sabotaging so he can be traded to team that suits his selfish style. The guy has too much talent to not be able to adjust to half court system and be a half way decent setup man. His 14M requires that he'll be a starter somewhere but he's not earning it by not being a leader, skipping a game for the Superbowl, learning the halfcourt game, and, most importantly, is getting outplayed by guards with lesser talent and salary. It's not a short list and the Rox would be better off with any of them. Sam Cassell Damon Stoudamire Andre Miller GP Mike Bibby Tony Parker Jamal Crawford Jason Terry Chauncey Billups JKidd Marbury Steve Nash BAron Davis Hinrich, Snow, Mcinnis, and J. Williams are not that far behind in PG production.
To get back to your first point - refs are not giving many calls for going to the basket this year - both Steve and Vince Carter have been victimized by this. Steve taking more jumpshots may be a result of this.
It has seemed to be the case that Francis has not attacked the basket as much this year, and it has hurt his production. I assume the reason is that JVG's offensive strategies don't rely on it as heavily as Rudy's did. That makes sense considering JVG was trying to install Yao in the low post early in the season. I don't think the shift is because Francis is trying to avoid injury. That isn't quite as paranoid as bdnguyen's theory that Francis is tanking to get himself traded. Really, does that sound realistic to you?
This is totally false and I don't think even the harshest Steve critics will agree that Steve is driving to the basket more than in the past.
I miss Steve's attack to the basket. this will surely make things easier if he still does this with Yao and Cato on the side ready for a pass in case he attracts the defense. 4 years ago, nobody could take him when he drives to the basket unless he forced it agains't a TRIPLE team. And I mean a trple team.
I meant that when he drives to the basket he is looking for the fould more than in the past. I was refuting the assertion that his kamikaze days are over and that he is putting his career before the Rox. He does seem to drive less now, but when he does drive it is more kamikaze than ever.
