the magic were leading the nba in fastbreak points most of the season last year. the most ridiculous thing ever said on this site during the steve era is that he couldn't or didn't want to run the fast break.
I don't see much wrong in what SF said. If you hear complaints about SF "half-hearted" fight through screens, watch Rafer Alston. He never fight through screens.
I agree with Brown...Steve should have to earn a starting spot. Anyone that thinks they should be starting shouldn't have a problem proving it. You can't just say "I have to be starting" or else. That's weak, man. It's no secret that Steve has some skills with the caliber for highlight reel plays but he is also a sloppy player, is inconsistent, has weak-to-average point guard skills, and is turnover prone. That sounds like a starter to me. lol I'm almost thinking it might not hurt Steve to come off the bench. It could help his game. I'm sure he makes too much money to be a bench player, though.
I didn't watch much of Orlando last year so I won't comment on their fast break stats. I did watch plenty (too much) of Steve while he was on the Rox and he sucked donkey balls at running the fast break. Count me among those few who disagree with your assessment of Steve's basketball skills at running the break. FWIW, I got no problem with what he said about starting. A player of his caliber should be starting.
Knicks lost to Magic 87-111 today. From the boxscore, Francis played only 9 minutes finished with 2points 1 assist and 3 turnovers. Is he injured or Larry Brown just benched him???
LOL. Good one. SF's line tonight against his old team the Magic: 11 mins, 2 pts (1/2 FGs), 3 TOs, 1 ast. That's right, 3 TOs in just 11 minutes! Looks like Operation Shutdown has been implemented. Why were the Knicks stupid enough to trade for a max contract guy who might not even start for them? After this game, the Magic must feel pretty good about the deal. I said in another thread right after LB complimented him that Steve should beware of a knife in his back. LB has become a completely insufferable crackpot since he won that championship.
spiraling..... imo, he'll be back in nyc next year if for no other reason than starbury (yuk) probably has more trade value than francis does. with a max contract, no one's going to be offering much (of value) for francis in the offseason. stephon, despite being a petulant perennial loser, hasn't shown as much of a noticeable dropoff in ability on the court.
i spent alot of time here defending steve francis for the four seasons we had him but you're out of your mind if you think he could run a fastbreak. he is arguably one of the worst open-court decision makers i've ever seen. compared to his over-all talent level, atleast. he may want to run but he's not very good at it.
i like steve and i still think he has game left in him, but francis starting means crawford or marbury on the bench as of now. crawford is younger and a better spot up shooter than francis and marbury looks more comfortable running the offense. it's just a bad/tough situation.
that's your opinion and that is fine but what I wrote is fact. how can the magic have been leading the nba with a point guard who couldn't run the fast break?
The prime reason SF did not run the fast break for Rox was that he was hitting the defensive boards because MoT and Cato were standing around waiting for the rebound to bounce their way. When SF did run a traditional fast break starting with an outlet pass from a big man rebound, it was not a thing of beauty. Memories of Magic Johnson were not invoked I think SF could learn to run the fast break. It just going to take a team where the big men hurt people near them when they rebound.
Steve's time all came in the 4th quarter -- Brown kept him on the bench for the final three quarters. Something tells me LB wants to show everyone on that team who's boss.
what does LB have to lose, he might as well bench every starter. the only starter who consistently plays well is j rose and he's overpaid.