The mental aspect of Steve's game has been discussed to a dead pulp on this site. But physically, ever since Francis collided in mid-flight with Rasheed Wallace early last season and went spiraling to the Compaq Center floor, he has not been the same player. He is no longer "Stevie Franchise." Before the cited incident, Francis was scoring at a blistering clip, averaging nearly 30 points per game. Maybe he's been burdened down by having to handle playmaking duties, but he seems to lost a great deal of quickness and his fabled explosion. The only way he can get free for a shot now is by dribbling right and then coming back left with that sweeping crossover move of his, while in younger years he could seemingly blow past his man at will. Is it just me or does Francis really look like he's broken down considerably? I'm hoping that he just looks this way because of his playmaking responsibilities. He's 27 now and has been amongst the league leaders in minutes played every year in his career. The plantar fasciitis(sp) and numerous spills to the hardwood can't be helping matters any. Couple all of this with the fact that we have maybe the worst player in the NBA as our backup point guard, and I think there is cause for concern. A concerted effort should be made to reduce Francis' minutes or I fear he will have deteriorated to a shell of his current state by the young age of 30.
I think Stevie is fine, sure he is struggling with this shot right now, but players do that, hopefully it won't last for too much longer. Steve is also struggling with this new system, but its clear to see that he is trying, maybe trying a little too hard. There are times when you can actually see Steve struggle to decide whether to shoot or pass, that will eventually go away when he get more use to the system. I do believe that Mooch inablility to give Stevie some real rest during games is affecting him. Mooch is a huge liablility when he is in, in fact, our leads or runs usually crumble when Mooch is in. JVG finally has realized this and Steve is only getting 4-5 minutes of rest at a time.
Steve adds a considerable amount of muscle each year. If he's any slower, I suspect he's stronger and more durable in exchange.
I think Steve is not playing "his" game and that is why the play has been poor. He is doing things that are not natural for him. He is "thinking" too much instead of just playing. He is hesitating. This leads to his inconsistant play. In a football analogy, it is like asking McNabb or Mike Vick to ONLY be a pocket passer. Don't run around. That is taking AWAY part of what makes them special. Let them loose! Same with Francis. Find his strengths and use them. Enough is enough. Let the guy go. Take the leash off. Put him at SG and let him play. Bring in a taller PG. Watch him go to work on slower bigger SGs by blowing past them. Watch the turnovers go down by having a true PG handle the ball. Watch the "execution" down the stretch happen because of this. BTW, In terms of "wear and tear" since we don't have any semblence of a backup PG Francis IS playing too many minutes. That has to be some sort of factor. Regardless of position, the shooting slump Francis has been in this year has just killed us! When one of your star players is in a month long (perhaps season long) shooting slump...how many games are you going to win?
Francis currently ranks 12th in minutes per game for all players. He's near the top of point guards. Regardless, he needs to suck it up. Francis 39 Some other point guards: Stephon Marbury 41.5 Baron Davis 40.8 Cassell 36.1 Snow 36.8 Kidd 37.8 Payton 33.2 Bibby 33.7 http://www.nba.com/statistics/default_regular_season_leaders/LeagueLeadersMPGQuery.html
