um, running alone on a breakaway for a dunk is not "running a fastbreak." running a fastbreak is pushing the ball with one or more defenders back and one or more teammates on your wings and knowing to keep the ball in the middle of the floor and knowing when to make the pass and put your teammate in a position to score - something which steve francis might be one of the worst in NBA history at attempting to do.
oh come on. I think he was better than Mutombo! Maybe even Olajuwon. Although, probably no better than yao
How quickly some forget, hes taken us as far as tmac and that was with a young Yao Ming and Moochie Norris and Mo Taylor etc The guy had his prime obviously,and he was an incredible pg when he was in it, but With some motivation I think he can get close to that level again.
cabbage, no one who watched Francis play with the Rocks can doubt that he ran a poor fast break, with just enough success to add not being able to do so consistantly to the list of things Francis did, or didn't do, that drove us crazy. I'm not trying to rewrite history, but if we can get him cheap, how could he not improve a backcourt consisting of Alston and Clutch the Bear?
Francis turned the ball over a lot and made very poor decisions. Would it be that noticeable if he was the 3rd option? Maybe Not.
Regarding Steve's turn over, here is some data to look at: In his last year with Houston, Steve's number Assist: 6.0 Turn Over: 3.7 This year Tmac's number: Assist: 6.5 Turn Over: 3.0 Sure TMac's assist/turn over ratio is higher, but there is not a huge difference. Not saying his turn over is not bad, just... not THAT bad...
i would no doubt take him back if the price is right. he was fearless and took it to the hoop every chance he got. that still doesn't mean he is the player that some people around here are trying to make him out to be. he is still a poor defender, a bad spot up shooter, dependent on his own dribble too much, a very bad decision maker, and completely unable to lead a fastbreak. And no way in hell are you going to post some clip of him dunking on a breakaway and try to tell me otherwise - LOL.
Francis?? I think he could become a decent defender within a team defense, ala Alston, who probably played the best defense of his life here. I think you have to give Van Gundy credit for that. Alston wasn't all that good, certainly his man defense sucked more often than not, but he improved and played decent team D. Francis might be able to do much the same thing, and is a much, much stronger player. If he found the brain cells, he could do the sort of defense Fish had against McGrady with his body. Pretty darn decent, in stretches, against a far taller opponent. Frustrated the hell out of me. McGrady should has made Sloan pay for that move, but it flustered McGrady enough to be effective more than it should have. Part of it could have been McGrady trying to run the offense while he was expected to do all the other things he does.
Francis is in fact a good defender. You guys are quick to forget, he was supposed to be our franchise player a couple of years ago and is younger than Alston and James. Article from 2005: http://www.82games.com/rosenbaum3.htm
What steve did 75% of the time....dribble dribble dribble dribble, looks up at the shot clock and sees theres 10 seconds left and passes or shoots...I love stevie franchise but the rockets don't want him here unless he realizes if he comes to houston, he won't have the same role as he had in his first 5 years of the leauge...
the rockets need to take some chances on some guys and hope to hit a homerun. francis is a guy that might fall into our laps on the cheap. if he's getting his money anyways, i'd throw the lle at him and see if he really wants a chance to win. he's got plenty of really bad qualities but he's still got athleticism and he can still create offense, even if it's mainly for himself. he's not a good defender but he was ok with van gundy here. he's got the size and strength to handle himself against big pg's atleast. i'd see about grant hill with the full mle and maybe francis with lower one. it's a gamble but it might pay off huge.
1. Francis is not a poor dribbler.. not like Luther Head. He turns the ball over because he is an over-dribbler. At least he makes things happen taking his chances with fancy dribbles in traffic. 2. Steve Francis does not have a problem with Van Gundy coaching... If he did, wouldn't he have been happy to be out of Houston? He did fine with Van Gundy and was only disappointed about being traded. 3. Steve Francis can shoot the long ball about as well as Rafer. Not saying much, but enough to win games with. 4. Steve Francis would at least help somewhat with these beefy guards that can push rafer around.. Also... while I think Rafer is useful, the team desperately needs someone to play minutes during Rafer's bad games...
if we had someone else at the pg spot who could create shots for others i really believe that mcgrady would be able to really score and contribute more than he has to the team. as much as i think rafer is a decent pg, he doesn't have the play making abilities that SF or tmac has, not even close. man i really hope we find a PG or a PF that can really improve this team.
I'm sure the guy would take the minimum to play here in Houston. He's made enough through his career, I'm sure he would much rather play in the city that he loves and still have a shot at a championship.
Mobley could be our version of Jerry Stackhouse. With his shooting, post up and baseline game he could be a great spark off the bench. Not only that but his defense would also be key. Since he's such an excellent defender you could conceivably play him with McGrady to either rest Battier or play him at the 4 in spurs, like you're suggesting. Only problem, as far as i'm concerned: 07/08 $8,400,000 08/09 $9,100,000 09/10 $9,800,000 Pretty pricey for a guy you would plan to bring off the bench, but I suppose it's still worth it since its only about $2M extra per year when you factor in us dumping Howard's contract.
