I think yesterdays game was a prime role of what steve should be in the game. He was a good floor leader, and he was the 1-2 punch between yoa and ming. You double team ming, you got stevie francis outside, you double team steve, you got yao inside. Steve also has to consistantly penetrate like yesterday. We saw when he does, good thinks happen.
Well said well said. That's the kind of play I expect with Yao and Steve combo. Now if you put Cuttino, Jackson and Mo on the picture, you're looking at a championship team. It doesn't to be always Yao first or it doesn't have be Steve first, it depends on how the defense reacts to the this setup.
Originally I feel disappointed in Stevie because of the Super Bowl incident. But soon I calm down. Steve is a talented player with unusual athletic ability, man. And I read in his eyes: He has heart indeed! He's thirsty for win, he fight for win! More Rox games I watch, the more I confirm we are ganna take a toll if we really let him go. Whether he will ever become a champion caliber, only time will tell. But I still wanna keep him if only he adapt to JVG's system well no matter he'll take Rox to playoffs.
actually after rereading the poll I think it goes as follows: answer 4: if reach finals and lose- then keep Francis answer 5: if win finals- then keep Francis answer 6: if win finals- trade francis actually if we make the finals we should win anyways since it would be against a weaker Eastern Conference team.
I agree with you. Nobody plays harder than Steve out there. I would not trade Steve unless we got fair value in return and I don't think that is possible. I would only consider a trade for a player like Kobe or McGrady and I don't think anybody with a player like that is willing to deal them for Steve. As we saw last night, when Steve has the jumper working, he can be dominating. Yes, he's having a off year shooting. I think every player goes through times like that. He's liable to have a Sam Cassell shooting season next year. And what if this offseason he adds the catch and shoot? Yes, he lacks on running the fast break. So frustrating to watch him run the break. Have you watched McGrady play defense? That can be frustrating too. Have you seen Kobe throw up 30 shots and hit 8? Very frustrating. Of course, I'd love to have Steve Nash's fast break ball distribution combined with Cassell's slick mid range jumper, combined with Bibby's 3 point shooting, combined with Tony Parker's quickness, combined with Gary Payton's defensive tenacity, combined with Jason Kidd's floor vision, combined with Steve's athleticism and heart. But Oscar Robertson is retired. So, at this point, I don't see how we can significantly improve this team by giving up Steve. He adds a street ball toughness to this team that is very important. If he is not there, we turn into a team led by a finesse big man. I love Yao, he's a top 5 player in this league in my eyes right now. But we needs Yao's purity combined with Steve's toughness. Steve brings intangibles to the court. All the great ones do. He brings things to the court that can't be measured in the statistical column. That's why if we are gonna trade him, we've got to get a player like Kobe who has that same mental toughness. McGrady doesn't have it. Garnett has it. Duncan has it. Kobe has it. AI has it. But I wouldn't trade Steve for AI at this point and nobody is gonna trade Duncan or Garnett for Steve. So, as far as I'm concerned, the only possible deal for Steve would have to involve Kobe and some PG back. I'd trade Steve for Cat for LA's starting backcourt. That's about it. All the other PG's in this league have their defeciencies along with Steve. As long as we could acquire a Nelson or Telfair in the next draft, an up and coming PG that can sit on the bench and learn from a first tier PG for a year or so. I just don't think it's possible to trade Steve and improve the team. I don't think any team will give back fair value.
This is definitely not true. Whether or not the Rockets are an elite team or mediocre team down the road will depend wholely and solely on how good Yao becomes. If Yao becomes a 24-12 type of player year after year and dominates the game on both ends of the floor, this team will be one of the elite teams in the league. If he is a just a pretty good player (ie. capable of dominating some nights while being mediocre on others) then this team simply is not going to be more than a team that is consistently in the lower half of the playoff bracket and out in the early rounds every year. The question then is, can Yao become a consistent weapon with this current backcourt? Some folks have felt that it is all on Yao (ie. his positioning, stamina, etc.), but its pretty obvious that is not the case. Yao has shown that he can consistently get position on the block; its just a matter of keeping him involved as the #1 option. In this day and age with zones, consistently getting the ball in the post is VERY dependent on teammates. The old days of lets just dump it down and clear out simply do not apply anymore. Feeding the post requires a team effort without a bunch of personal agendas and hesitations. Teammates need to have very good timing, an understanding of where and when to move w/o the ball and when to make the entry pass. A successful entry pass now requires other passes and other player movement before the fact to be made b/c of zones. Just watch the Lakers and Spurs and see how much goes on away from the ball and before any entry pass is made to Duncan or Shaq. This is why the Rockets offense looks like trash when they play a team like Dallas that relies excessively on zone defenses. The guards have trouble getting the ball to the appropriate place at the appropriate time. Being an inside-outside team with zone defenses legal requires perimeter players that have a very good understanding of the game and dont rely on playground instincts. In response to the question, I think Steve Francis needs to go this offseason. A competitive showing in the first round or a first round upset is not going to change my mind. My thinking here is long term, and Steve Francis simply does not fit well as the second cog to Yao Ming. I would be very content with most of the players that have been discussed extensively ie. Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Kirk Hinrich, etc. I fully expect atleast 40% of the starting lineup to be different next season.
I say that, if the Rox lose in the first round of the playoffs, then they aren't playing up to the potential of the team's personnel, and changes ought to be considered. One might object that the Rockets will likely be playing a first-tier team like the Kings or the Wolves in the first round. But that objection begs the question of why the Rockets only ended up the 7th or 8th seed in the first place. Surely only SAC, MIN, and SAN outclass us. We ought to be running with the Lakers (given the injuries and the Kobe situation) and the Mavs, and there's no excuse for finishing behind the Grizzlies or the Nuggets, let alone not making the playoffs.
how well yao does is directly related to how good stevie is. defenses are oriented to stopping stevie and not alowing his penetration. this gives yao the space he needs. lose francis and yao will suffer. the only way yao will do well if steve is traded is if we get another superstar like kobe, tmac, etc. i have no problems with them both being here for the length of their careers. every good team takes a few years to develop under a system. kings, mav, spurs, all had a good while to develope under their coaches. you people need to calm down and stop whining so much. stevie and yao should have many successful years together if we stay the course.
you guys are spoiled. Look at the past 4 seasons. We have not made the play-offs. Now we have a better record and Play-offs are within sight....and you want to trade Francis to break up the team's chemistry?
Although I voted in this poll in a positive manner. [Conference Finals] The question is not realy valid. The problem with Steve Francis is his inability to play the Traditional Point Guard Role and difficulty in accepting that he needs to play second fiddle to Yao Ming. These two factors are the ones that should be used when considering the future of our All Star Steve Francis. How much is Steves mind set a problem for the development of a Yao Ming centric Team? A Trade of Steve Francis should not be considered without finding the perfect parts ,as a player of Steves caliber is not found too often.True value in return would be essential.
This was realy great and could be our future but this doesn't negate the fact that we MUST have a Playmaker Point Guard to play Francis present designated position. If Francis gets on the bandwaggon its possible that he could play as a scorer rather than attempting to be the floor General.
I see your point and it would be valid if there was Team Chemistry. The point under consideration is that Francis and Yao Ming have diverging Chemistry. We are still a reasonably good team even with our poor Team Chemistry. The consideration of trading Francis is because better Team Chemistry is needed to become a Championship Team.
I second that...Steve will be a great player for years to come if he adds high % shooting to his repertoire of skills. But that doesn't mean that he'll be the point guard of choice to run the Rockets/JVG system. Get me Steve Nash and I'l die a happy Rockets fan
you are never going to be a rocket fan if you belive in changing the core of a team that won you a championship
Funny. When Steve has a good game, all the "we-should-keep-Steve" threads show up, or, at least, the tone turns decidedly more optimistic. Sean Elliott can be a pain but he had in right the other game against the Lakers. Our team doesn't have that drive, that will to win, consistently. Last year we laid down in our last two games and missed the playoffs. That same team still shows up from time to time. We had the Lakers beat. And lost. Thing is with Steve, all we're getting out of his max salary is All-Star exposure. Even if Steve and Yao learn to play well together and consistently, we would still have a tough time in the West. Hence, an off-season trade. Steve will flourish on another (EC) team. But he's not what we need here.
