[ESPN/Ford] Many of Weisbrod's moves have fizzled

I actually emailed Brian Schmitz of the orlando sentinel to ask him about some of his articles, this was HIS REPLY: (NOTE below is the note I sent him)

My point was that the Magic at least made a dent in Francis' maddening game. I agree, and obviously, the Magic agree that Francis will never be a great point. But somebody finally did something to change the circumstances on a Francis team. can you win with him if he's a focal point? Doubtful. Brian
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Hi Brian,

I read your recent article about the Magic's offseason moves and progress
thru the regular season. I was interested in Steve Francis in particular.
You wrote,

" Reaching Francis has been a huge breakthrough for Weisbrod and Davis. The
Rockets couldn't do it. They've improved the club by rocking Francis' world,
moving him to shooting guard after trading his best friend, Cuttino Mobley,
for Doug Christie."

I can't see how anyone has or will ever 'reach' Stevie. Since he has been
moved to shooting guard to compensate for his difficulty running an offense,
Francis has averaged almost 5 turnovers/game. Just last night, vs Sac he had
a great stat line: 25pts/8rb/7ast but 8!! turnovers. I just can't see how
Steve will ever be able to lead a team through the playoffs with the
problems he has making huge mistakes over and over. He simply has difficulty
holding onto the ball and making smart decisions with it. His problems have
always been mind over matter and it appears from this perspective that
little has changed regarding Mr. Francis ways. I've always appreciated his
enthusiasm for the game but have grown tired of some of his antics and his
propensity for turning the ball over (I believe he is far and away the
league leader in this category.)

 

I'm not sure what Mr. Schmitz definition of a "dent" is, how is he quantifying that. I haven't watched much of the Magic this year, but it doesn't sound like Francis has improved.

In fact, I thought Francis played pretty well at the end of the season and in the playoffs last year, especially his defense. Although, no where near McGrady's level of play. Sounds like he's regressed. Feel free to correct me on this, because I have not watched him play this year -- but I'm hearing the same ol' crap we used to hear.

 

I think Francis came into the season with a lot of momentum from last season and the playoffs... then Cuttino was traded, he was moved to the two and overall he's finishing the season playing the worst basketball of his career. Those two moves killed him and the Magic. He was actually having his best season, of course there was the same dumb complaints he has always had, but the Magic were playing well anyway.

Francis should of gotten over that trade even though Christie has been a non-factor and Mobley was perfect for them and his best friend, or at least taken out his anger on the court. He hasn't done either of those things and the Magic are falling out of the playoffs, he deserves a lot of the blame.

Moving him to the SG position was stupid though, I don't care how many times he turns the ball over he's still one of the top PGs in the NBA, moving him to SG makes him a pretty average SG, and a pretty low impact player overall. It's not like they had Jason Kidd to play the point, I mean Jameer is good (for a rookie) but he's not a pure point guard and he doesn't get the offense playing better than Francis was. Also, he seems very uncomfortable at that position, he still looks to have the ball passed to him after a rebound, he still looks to pass a lot more than a SG should, he still looks to make plays for others, basically his PG instincts won't ever abandon him.

With all that said, he should be playing better regardless of the position he plays at and his attitude should be A LOT better, no sense in making the situation worse.

 

Have Christies wife manhandle Weisbrod