Now compare that with Steve Francis' assessment of the Bulls Monday night after leading the Rockets to a 32-point road victory. "They looked like a team with a lot of talent, but with five guys trying to do too much by themselves," Francis said after the game. "They're not looking to get the ball to their teammates. When a guy gets a shot, it's like a desperation shot. There's no continuity. . . You're not going to win if guys are thinking about themselves more than the team." This, of course, is coming from a guy who was facing accusations just weeks ago that he was refusing to pass the ball to Yao Ming and was intentionally blowing plays that coach Jeff Van Gundy was calling. (The rest of the article Around the League GMs and the media are fascinated by potential. Becoming is inherently more interesting than being. They journey from the depths to the despair to the summits of victory are what inspire. Three-peats, on the other hand, are simply a bore. Coaches, however, usually see the world differently. Potential gets them fired. Expectations invariably lead to disappointment. Give them five veterans who know how to play and will show up every single night and keep your high school phenoms with the 7-foot-4 wingspan and 48-inch vertical. So it should come as little surprise that some of our preseason sweethearts -- like the Bulls and Cavs -- have come stumbling out of the gate while teams we had written off -- the Bucks and Jazz -- look pretty good one week into the NBA season. No one knows more about this than Hornets coach Tim Floyd. During Floyd's stint with the Bulls, he coached some of the worst teams in the history of the NBA. What does Floyd think of the Bulls' chances now that he's had some time to compare and contrast his old team with his new one in New Orleans? "I believe they've turned the corner," Floyd told Insider a few weeks ago. "But, with so many young, inexperienced players, nothing is certain." "Winning in this league isn't easy," Floyd said. "You have to be taught how to win. Talent will get you far in this league, but it doesn't guarantee you victory. It's a process. When you start from scratch it can take awhile." Floyd was quick to note a difference between coaching the kids in Chicago and the veterans in New Orleans. "These guys [in New Orleans] are so geared to winning," Floyd said. "It's the most abused thing by the fans that don't know. They want to say it's all about the money. But when you coach a team filled with veterans you learn it's not true. This team is about self improvement, they're about winning. And that's it. They come to work every day, work at a high level. I've just been so pleased." Now compare that with Steve Francis' assessment of the Bulls Monday night after leading the Rockets to a 32-point road victory. "They looked like a team with a lot of talent, but with five guys trying to do too much by themselves," Francis said after the game. "They're not looking to get the ball to their teammates. When a guy gets a shot, it's like a desperation shot. There's no continuity. . . You're not going to win if guys are thinking about themselves more than the team." This, of course, is coming from a guy who was facing accusations just weeks ago that he was refusing to pass the ball to Yao Ming and was intentionally blowing plays that coach Jeff Van Gundy was calling. It took Francis three weeks to see the light. The Bulls look like they're still reaching in the fog. Six years ago, the Bulls decided to blow up a dynasty, to rebuild with youth and hope that they would develop quickly. Floyd, in retrospect, thinks that type of plan is flawed. "Anytime you go into the lottery it's a six or seven year process," Floyd said. "The plan was to be bad. We started over again in year three. Now they have some experience. That will be what gets them over the top. It's a great thing to have." Floyd seems to have had his fill with "potential." He passed on several high school phenoms like Travis Outlaw and Ndubi Ebi in the draft to take a four-year college senior in David West. Floyd said that if he had his way, everyone would stay in college for four years and then have a veteran like P. J. Brown to show them the ropes. "In a perfect world, you'd love for them all to have that experience. It's not a perfect world. What it comes down to is the individual. What their make-up is. David would've been OK with the adjustment after his sophomore year . . . because of his maturity level. It's just about work, there's an edge about him, a seriousness to his job, a nastiness to the way he plays." "He's lucky, based on my experience in Chicago, to have a veteran like P. J. Brown in front of him, to learn from. He won't learn how to lose. He'll learn to win here."
Yet another sports writer taking a bunch of quotes out of context. Steve's been a consummate team player this year. Too much of one almost.
What games are you watching? Steve is just at the start of a long road. He has a long way to go to qualify as a team player, possibly years!
Here another fun one for you'all. "Chicago to me is a young team with potential, but they play too much individual ball," Francis said. "That helped us a lot by them playing selfish. You're not going to win if guys think about themselves more than the team, and that's what it looked like to me out there. They can be a lot better than they are."
