Too much Francis, not enough hustle, Rockets' coach says

I think I found myself a new signature. Preach on Jeff!

 

I got Mine several weeks ago!

 

Great article... good news.. this is a good sign of having a team chemistry....... but with a lot of work to do

 

JVG says Steve is our best player? Nice.

 

Don't let the topic of this thread mislead you, coach made a very important point.....

[l]
He did make a point to say that his criticism of the Rockets offense was not pointed at Francis. Instead, he said Francis has been forced to go for "home run" plays because of the problems offensively, rather than Francis has caused the problems by swinging for home runs.

"The first thing is last night -- and I shared this with Steve -- I said we're trying to hit too many home runs," Van Gundy said. "That wasn't on Steve. That was poor team offense that led to our best player having the ball in his hands trying to create something from nothing, which a great player can do occasionally. But you're not a very good team if that's what you rely on." [/l]


If some of you actually knew basketball instead of being FANS you would understand that when you have players on floor and the play breaks down.......you have one last option. This is nothing new, Steve was doing this last season and was criticized for trying to make something happen because the play broke down. I'm a Francis supporter and that's because I understand what the hell is going on out there on the floor. I've played professional ball before and believe we have too many "wanna-be" coaches with irrational options. When the team learns to play hard, everything will fall into place. IMO, I never thought Steve was a true point guard. I would love for C. Dawson to bring in a big point that can defend shooting guards and dish the rock. That's not very easy to find people....maybe I'm wrong.

 

He is!

 

You are wrong !!

Steve sets the tone of the offense, he sets the table, and allows everyone else to eat.

Well, his ship is falling apart because Steve is not running the show correctly.

Chemistry is the main issue....Steve needs to learn to play WITH his teamates, and not one on one....

Pass the ball...get everyone involved, it will come back to you....if you trust.

Don't believe me? Just ask Oscar Robertson who told Steve the same thing last year.....and I think he knows a little bit about how to play the game.

And YAO is the best player....Steve will flame out more quickly if he doesn't learn how to play the game....he gets by on athleticism, and not smarts......those players don't have long careers.

DD

 

DD...... please!!!!


So when Steve calls the play out and his teammates run the wrong sets or maybe Eddie, Mo or Cato misses a pick they should have made, that's Steve's fault? See, I now you are one of the many that do not know what's going on on the hardwood. If one thing breaks down on a detailed, set play....all of it breaks down and you have 8 or 9 seconds to come up with something. That's why coach stresses perfection and clearly doesn't blame Steve for the teams struggles. WHO are you to disagree with that?

Yao WILL be our best player eventually, but you can't hand that to him until he earns it. It's called night in and night out, Steve gives that! 21ppg 6 and 6... Go back to sleep.

 

Steve is not our best player any more. Think about it if a rumor was spread out that Yao Ming and Francis were on the trading block do you think we would get more calls for Ming or for Francis?

 

So, basically what we've come to is that when Van Gundy criticizes Steve, he's the greatest coach ever, but when he doesn't criticize him, he's wrong...

 

Steve in several instances was the one breaking down the plays. He held the ball too long. I watched him pass up wide open players several times and inside looks to other even more often. Maybe he doesn't have confidence in his players because he knows they suck. But if that is the case then we are in for a long season.

You have to move the ball and move it until you find the open man and the guy doesn't have to be wide open just a little more open than you are and then he passes it to someone who is a little more open than him and so and so on until someone is open and takes the shot. A lot of times the person who started the passing will get the ball back and be wide open. But the quickest way to move the ball around and breakdown defenses is passing. If you played pro ball you know this. And that is not Steve's forte.

Rudy preached this and preached this last year and it did happen last year in several games. Remember that winning streak we wee in. We were playing ball better than ever. But on the whole the team didn't get or refused to get it and now they just look terrible. We are a better team than last year but we look terrible.

 

That's doesn't mean that Steve isn't our best player right now. A legit center is hard to find period. Especially one that is 7'6 with skills like Yao. We are talking about being consistent on a night in and out basis and when Yao starts to do that, then he will get that label. You can't give him that yet, he hasn't proved that he can carry this franchise every night. And I don't want to hear about he wasn't given enough chances to prove himself because Yao was abused many times last year because he could not hold his ground on the blocks. I'm not bashing Yao because I believe he will earn that right to be called the "Franchise", but for now he's Yao. I big guy with a lot of promise.

 

"...that's because I understand what the hell is going on out there on the floor. I've played professional ball before..."


Wow. The rest of us are really lucky to have you around. Thank you for your expert analysis.

Who did you play for and when?

 

I totally agree, I'm not saying that Steve is almighty nor do I want people to think I believe Steve doesn't make mistakes because he does. Steve is not a natural point guard and that will lead to quick shots on his part, but he is not the reason for the team's offensive problems and never has.

 

The Hank McDowell Mud Monkeys.

I played overseas for you info. FYI....I didn't mention that for publicity or respect from a basketball forum.

 

I love this. Van Gundy is going against what most of you want to hear by saying the offensive problems are NOT Steve's fault, and he says that Francis is our best player! So now that our coach, who is with the team at every practice, before games and after games and in the lockerroom, says that stuff about Steve, are you Steve-haters still gonna put the blame on him?

The coach has spoken out, who on this board is going to listen to the truth?

 

I agree with sjack on this one: STEVE IS STILL OUR BEST PLAYER.

Yao was a good rookie last year, but NOT the best player on our team. If you're judging Yao on all the stuff he's done for/in China, then you could also make the case that Boki is our best player. Judging purely from NBA careers, Steve is our best player for now, and probably will be until AT LEAST midseason.

 

wow, this is amazing.
the first post about the previous jvg rant was interpretted completely wrong by all the usual suspects, and many were prepared to string up francis, and when a clarification article was printed, it is pratically disregarded.

i really think that this board has become less about the nba team the houston rockets, than a bunch of uneducated (for the most parts) fools trying to one up each other. and uneducated as far as basketball analysis, i know nothing about you guys personally.

but there are so many things that can happen in a game, that we know nothing about, how can someone break down the play, IF HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE FREAKIN PLAY WAS TO BEGIN WITH?? i have been trying to bring it up as often as possible, but we are not in a position to crucify someone about their basketball skillset and IQ. so, please, i beg of you, just try to reign in your ego just a bit, and stop dissecting everything jvg or steve says to fuel this ridiculous on going fued.

ps- by the way, there was a much more stubborn and unruly player that no one wanted, was not as talented as steve by a long shot, and jvg got him to play team ball in a championship series. if all your talk of how awful steve is is true, yall should be glad jvg is the coach!

pss- remember when we used to argue about players ON OTHER TEAMS and what crap they were compared to our guys? negativity will kill any good time.