I'm just saying that his D is suspect. JVG's system might be perfect for Tmac with all its help D. I watched Tmac quite a few time this year on League pass and he was horrible on help D...hopefully VG can whip him into shape while not hurting his 'O' too much like it did Steve. Tmac's offense IS very inticing as he could help with the scoring droughts that plagued us throughout the year. No doubt. Like I said, I'd take Tmac over Steve.
Unless Orlando can unload Grant Hill, or he comes back full strength, they seem hamstrung. If I were T-Mac and I had no loyalty to Orlando, I'd be outta there, looking for a stable situation.
Are you insinuating that coach Van Gundy was the direct reason Steve's offense game suffered? If so, you need to stop trying to deflect the blame. I'll admit that coach did not want Steve going on one of his "one on four" isolations that he so frequently explored in past seasons, but the only thing that was hurting Steve's game was his own head. In watching the games it was clearly obvious that Steve was scared of his own shot for the majority of the season.
Yeah, he had a lump the size of a softball on his elbow man. Did you see that? Probably not, Steve didn't talk about, he just went out and played.
It wasn't THE reason but A reason. If you don't think spending a ton of energy on the defensive end is going to affect your offense, then I suggest you go out and actually play ball for an hour and try it yourself. You'll see that its true.
fool they are in the nba conditioning should not be a problem for Steve Francis, he hesitated on alot of shots, and passed up alot of them too. reason why his offensive production wasnt as high as it was in the past seasons is because he tried to become a REAL PG like all of us wanted him to right....so thats wat he became a real pg...and passed...assists went up...pts went down....thats wat yall wanted rite
Nah, we wanted assists up and turnovers down, and smart, dependable consistency. Which PG under JVG or shooting PG under Rudy, either way, he's never been able to obtain that ever so fleeing skill of consistency. Haven't ya heard? Steve=All heart, zero brains. Ah, well. Personally, I like the guy, like his attitude. But, if we kept professional basketball players for those reasons alone, we would still have the likes of Bryce Drew, Michael Dickerson, Tierre Brown, Pig Miller and Braggs. If you desire to win and a championship in the ever competitive basketball league of the NBA. What must be done must be done, all in the cause of improvement. Even if it means letting go a guy, who means well, has great attitude, and just does anything possible to help the team even if he just can't seem to because it's just not in his capabilities, but still endures on with heart. I mean, only if it'll get us something that'll IMPROVE and HELP our team. Something a lot better for us. We have been patient afterall, we gave Steve more patience than we have given Yao in his 2 yrs. The "Steve haters" and whiners didn't start until his 4th season. And Steve as much as he's tried to fit into the coach's wishes, into the fans wishes of a "real pg" or whatever, he just can't. We can't force him to be something that isn't him and just takes away from his positive talents and takes away from the team. Steve, has never shown us anything different, not even this season of him trying to do whatever is asked of him. He has given us what we've expected of him since his rookie season. His all star near triple doubles, his heart and desire to win, to change to do what's asked of him even when he knows it's just not gonna work, still that desire makes him do whatever it takes. And I just don't see us seeing anything more out of Steve than that for his career. You can forever count on his double digit ppg, his 6apg, his 5-6 rpg and heart. But, I doubt you'll ever be able to count on him for consistency, on knowledge, on growing, learning, on diversity. The diversity he needs in order for him to fit in this team, and to just be a consistent winner. He needs that diversity, cause as someone put it, Steve's cursed having sg skills in a pg's body. Definitely in the west, I mean with the sg's he's up against, and the better interior defense, stronger guys inside. That's why I'm for him going to the east, if we could get T-mac for him. He could be a sg there, and just have no need of being anything else. Even with his inconsistency, he'll flourish there as Allen Iverson has. But, I'd only be willing to part with Steve, if it get's us someone like T-mac, or another consistent superstar that could really help this team and give us what we so need. Anyway, since people have said my posts are too long. The point of all this, is to just say, that we really should stop pointing fingers at Steve. And just bombarding him with all this blame etc It's really not his fault, he's just being who he is, and just trying to please the people that demand all these changes of him. It's really those people's fault, be it the coach or whatever. You can't force a player to be what he's not meant to be, you kill his skills and take even more from the team. Because stripping his skills takes away what they added to the team which really isn't much. And then you damage the team by giving them a hindered, restricted, confound player. So, we really should be objective, without whining blame, without blind defenders. Steve is being Steve, let him be just that. Our team's shortcommings are not because of him, and he is not going to lead us to a championship either. But, we he is the player that can get us something much better. It's just the way it is.
from BBS fav Vecsey: http://nypost.com/sports/17171.htm MAGIC STILL LOSE FOR WINNING Magic's triumph in draft lottery "means nothing," says source close to Tracy McGrady, still expected to opt out of pact with team after next season. May 28, 2004 -- HEY, you wanna mute the merriment down there in Orlando for a second? I've got an announcement to make: As peachy positive as it is for the city, its fans and the NBA's decaying franchise to have lucked into a third lottery transfusion of rare young blood, Tracy McGrady's floor plan does not include the Magic past next season, if not sooner. According to a McGrady loyalist, the prospects of playing alongside UConn's Emeka Okafor (whose skill level hovers somewhere between Hakeem and Adonal Foyle) or any other eligible draftee fails to provide any incentive whatsoever to stay. "It means nothing," minces my man. Nor does the thought of trading the prime piece of property (VP Pat Williams advocates a speedy deal before the pick can walk away without compensation) for an established player. Nor does the fuzzy chance of Grant Hill's repeatedly reconstructed ankle allowing him to return to his former glory. "Tracy wants to play some place (other than Athens, of course) where he can compete for a championship every year," the source underscores.
Something to remember. How is his elbow? Anyone know? Is it a factor regarding his trade value, and does it need surgery? If that news was around, I missed it.
"Tracy McGrady would rather quickly relocate to another team this summer than slowly rebuild with the Orlando Magic. If the Magic can't significantly improve next season by making deals -- moving their No. 1 pick for veteran players, for example -- McGrady told the Sentinel on Friday that he would "probably have no choice" but to push for a trade in mid-July to a Western Conference team. And, contrary to reports and rumors, it's not the Los Angeles Lakers or the San Antonio Spurs that McGrady is eyeing. McGrady said from his south Orlando home that the Houston Rockets likely would be his first choice should he and the Magic part ways." Orlando Sentinel
I got goosebumps when I saw T-Mac in a Rockets jersey on the main page. Thought the deal had been done.... He'd atleast bring some excitment to the Rockets.
Well said Severe Rockets Fan.... Anyone that has played basketball, and I'm not talking about Playstation either, knows that it takes an incredible amount of energy to play BOTH sides of the ball. Under Jeff Van Gundy's tutelage, Steve acquiesced and did just that. For him to still put up numbers almost similar to last year, while also exhibiting the defensive progress necessary to help bring the Rockets to the playoffs, shouldn't be understated. Steve can play.. point blank... When you run a system of ISO's for four years under Rudy and then all of a sudden change systems, and are required to play more defense, get different shots than what you've had for four years, and at the same time defer to Yao, then yes your numbers will go down a bit .. To go from 20 points a game to 16, whats the big deal here? Steve isn't a natural point guard YET. Steve wasn't required to be a distributor his first four years, mainly because HE WAS THE ROCKETS BEST OPTION! Its clear as day to see why he has played the way he has played. Once he starts being the distributor more like he did last year, we'll see he becomes much more astute in his playmaking. His talent will put him over the top. Anyone that sits there and rags on him from their desk, are just venting for the sake of venting. Its a frustrating thing to not go further in the playoffs, but answer this, what team has given the Lakers more trouble in the playoffs, furthermore, what player took it to the Lakers with the most B-A-L-L-S?!?!?! A knowledgeable basketball player and fan will say STEVE FRANCIS.
Well, that sounds well and good.... But you are forgetting one thing: Francis's brain. He hasn't shown that he's capable of learning. He can only concentrate on "one" thing at a time. This should be evident in the last five years. So, unless you think that he's going to suddenly learn how to be a "natural point guard" over night, or become a prolific scoring SG. Well...sounds like wishful thinking to me.
If you actually know Steve Francis, or have administered psychological tests to him, I would appreciate it if you would state your qualifications or what you base this statement on. Otherwise, please do me a favor and put an "In my opinion" in front of this type of statement.
Ok, IMO, Francis has shown no sign of learning....Over the last 5 years, he's made the same rookie mistakes over and over. This lack of attention to detail is evidence that he hasn't even made the smallest improvements in shooting, court vision, passing, turnovers or making his teammates better. He's been stagnant. Do not confuse his lack of learning with a willingness to change. He has changed his style of play. But that still does not address his development, or lack thereof. He's still the same player that he was his rookie year. Now, if that's not evidence of "an inability to learn." I don't know what is.
Thank you, you have made this day a bit brighter for a crotchety old man. Pretty hard to argue with your statements. But I think that SF did learn a lot about defense last year. Call me an optimist, but I think he can learn. And by the way, he does need to learn. That we are in agreement on.
