...or maybe league MVP for the year! In two games he is averaging 27.5 pts a game 11.5 rebs a game 5.5 assists a game and 3 steals a game Those numbers are Jordanesque. To top it all off Franchise has been Clutch when it counts dominating both games in OT! I can't beleive how he has elevated his game this year. I don't know how long it will last but I am going to enjoy it while it lasts. Those numbers just seem so impossible for a 6 foot 3 inch point guard.
I thought it was interesting that the two ROY winners and the third major candidate for their class were all in the same game for the first time (in a regular season game): Steve Francis: 49 min, 10-20 shooting, 12-12 FT, 10 rebs (4 Off) 7 assists, 3 steals, 3 TO, 32 pts Elton Brand: 41 min, 6-14 shooting, 14-17 FT, 13 rebs (3 Off), 1 assist, 0 steals, 2 TO, 3 blk, 26 pts Lamar Odom: 40 min, 4-19 shooting, 2-4 FT, 10 rebs (4 Off), 8 assists, 1 steal, 4 TO, 2 blk, 10 pts I think Steve deserved that honor all to himself.
Stevie will keep it up. I first coached the kid at the U of Maryland hoop camp when he was 12, and he was special even then. He would always stick around at lunch and try to get in games with the older kids, and get mad if they wouldn't let him in. He'll remain hungry unitl he retires, no doubt. Your city is damn lucky to have him.
kipperpop - Oh my goosh, did you say you coached Steve Francis. WOW that must of been fun and exciting to watch him grow up and become a superstar in the NBA. Glad to have you here!
You know the funny thing about those stats? Steve didn't even have his shot tonight. That's why I would agree that those numbers were Jordanesque plus some bonues rebounds. Once the Rockets start shooting, we are going to bury people. Steve was effortless in the preseason, and I expect that to come out soon. I think what we are seeing right now is that the Rockets want to win soo bad that it's throwing them off a little bit.
On a couple of those lay-ups he kinda looked like Jordan. Did anybody see that Kobe dunk against Utah tonight. If you didn't its a must see.
Lil Francis - I watched that Laker game while listening to the Rockets game. Yeah that 360 windmill dunk Kobe had was pretty wild. Last week in a preseason game Kobe was about 15 ft away from the basket threw it up hard on the backboard and it bounce straight at him at a high speed and with ease caught the ball in the air about 10ft away then jamed it down hard. Yeah Kobe does have some nice highlight dunks so far. Have u seen his comerical where he flies in from the right side jumps in the air and at the same time puts it behind his back then while in the air switches hands and jams it hard one handed back with is right hand. I just love with when Francis and Kobe play, they just go at it with dunks to show each other up.
Steve Francis is the next great one. I would not be suprised if he does win the M.V.P. trophy. He is stright nasty..
Not to be a party pooper, but if steve continues to shoot like he did in game 1, forget any honors. please also dont forget that he only could manage 4 assists in that first game. sure this was a grat statline against the clips, but i felt that he waws abysmal against the hawks. this is generally the attitude of most rocket fans. "steve can do NO wrong, but if any rocket does anything slightly sup standard they suck and are hated" look at cuttino. clutch the leader of this merry band mentioned mobley in his recap of this game as shooting poorly. sure hes right .333 is poorly, but he didnt mention steves poor shooting in game 1 against the hawks. cuttino has a extrememly solid game against the hawks with turnovers being his only fault, however it was mentioned by some posters(manny ramirez i think) that he jacked up some bad shots. but no mention to steve going 6-21 thats .285% thats Abysmal dont get me wrong on all of this, steve is good, damn good, and he deserves alot of credit for todays win, but if you are talking player of the month smack, then you are wrong. he has to [play his position. he needs to shoot soundly and he needs to pass like a PG. and for the love of god dont rip mobley, or any other player for that matter while extolling steve. especially if you choose to ignore that steve could barely hit the court let alone the basket the other night. just my poinion, so in sure your alll gonna go back to steve is god posting, while ragging on every other good player on the team. have fun. (this post is a responce to the whole bbs, not this thread persee) peace
Everything being equal, had the Rockets shot the ball with any decency Tuesday and Thursday, Franics would have easily had double figure assists. He has passed to wide open shooters in both games (Rice especially) who have failed to make their shots. When they get their timing down, Steve's assists will go up considerably.
um, let's not be too modest here. those #s are not jordanesque. those #s, from his position, are truly unprecented. MVP would be a foregone conclusion. allstar starting point guard would be a foregone conclusion. league icon (in the mold of jordan) would be the next step if he could keep that up. you'd be talking about *arguably* the best season EVER for a point guard.
what are the odds of him sustaining 27.5 pts a game 11.5 rebs a game 5.5 assists a game and 3 steals a game over an entire season? What do you think?
It has been only 2 games for Pete's sake, keep that in mind. That said, if anyone has doubts in their mind whether Stevie is better player than Stephon they should just about be totally erased. Right now it looks pretty solid that Payton, Kidd and Stevie (not necc. in that order) are a notch above the rest of the point guards in the league. Steve might be a solid case as the #1 guy by the end of the year. I would say there is a better than 50% by the end of the year Marbury is consided 5th best at best, behind Davis as well. Also, I think the Brand/Stevie split of the ROY was quite fair. If you are basing results on 2 games, Brand is the best power forward in the league right now--he also beat up Duncan the other night. He has been better than I thought he would be coming in the league as a 6' 8" PF with less than Barkley-esk athleticism.
I'm the biggest Stevie fan in the world, but, can he really keep up this pace? His stats are somewhat inflated cuz of the 2 ot's. The scary thing is, I thought he was awful at times against ATL. It is almost Jordanesque how he turned it on at the end. If Stevie finds his jumper, he may be unstoppable. I think he'll only get better, but 27.5/10/7 would be very hard to do. I'm guessing 23/8/6 as his final #'s. I think they could be better though.
ma-gaga and Desert Scar, Like I said I don't know how long it will last but I am going to continue to enjoy it while it does. I don't think it is unthinkable that Francis could finish the season at 25 6 and 6 with 2 to 3 steals a game thrown in for good measure. Those are still Jordan like numbers. The Voice of Reason, You need to be reasonable. You are the first one to try and bring up the Francis vs. Cat argument this season. I've have yet to here anyone critisize Cats play yet. Cat did have an exellent game Tuesday and I thought he had another good game last night although he did not shot well. If you want to complain aout people bad mouthing cat or other players on the team at least wait until the posters here start bad mouthing them. We all regognize that the team (including Francis) has not shot very well in the first two games but the rest of their games (perticularly defense) has been very good. Also if you think Francis numbers are not MVP caliber just because his shooting percentage is down you are nuts. Not only are his numbers mind boggling but he dominated when it counted the most. In both games he was the single most dominating player in overtime. MVP status is not just about numbers but also the value a player has on his team and I don't think you can argue Francis' value just based on his overtime performances. One last point, several posters have pointed out that Francis might have had several more assists in both games if the Rockets had just hit there wide open shots. The dismal shooting percentages certainly have had an effect on Steve's assists so far.
