okay, i stopped reading after the 1st line. 0 star for this thread. it's better to not post anything at all than posting this kind of garbage
What a crock. How does Rosen even come to these conclusions? Has he run Francis through the rookie combine? Is Francis vertical leap less than his rookie year? Is his lateral footspeed less? Does he run the 40 slower? What a load of bullcapoppy! What does he know about Francis's knees? Has he seen the medical report from the doctor? sheesh
As I was reading the article, I thought to myself, "What, did ****ing Charley Rosen write this or something?" As soon as I looked and saw it was him, I stopped reading.
JVG is gone but Rosen's hate still lingers. I don't think it's a lock that Steve will be our starting PG. I think MJ may be our starter. I guess it really depends on who learns Adelman's system the fastest and works the best running the plays. I don't want to see T-mac stuck in the point foward position for the majority of the game like last year. He's still probably our best creator, but I'd rather him focus on scoring more and distributing less this year.
I like how, to Rosen, suddenly being 30 years old and having an injury-plagued season translates to being a broken down, past his prime player.
The only interesting thing is that you clearly didn't read the article, because the revisionist history and things that never happened are abundant in that article. Congratulations to Rosen for "daring to question" things that never happened.
he has tendinitis not arthritis. And his knee has had a ton of rest so I would think that its probably doing quite well.
It's not that he's saying things that we don't want to hear. He's saying what many of us already know (i.e. Francis is older and his body isn't as good as it used to be). What really pisses myself and many of the other posters is the large amounts of misinformation in there. Francis was never much of a 3pt shooter and he did not have a 'move' where he posted up on smaller guards and used a hook shot. Many sports writers have commented that the Rockets are taking a risk, but they're not going to get based because we know we're taking a risk. It's all the stuff Rosen made up to backup his point that puts this article in the garbage.
Wow, I swear this might be the most positive description of the 1999-2004 version of Francis I've ever seen. Now, if it were actually true, why in the world would the Rockets ever made the trade for T-Mac? Or why Stevie would change address 3 times in the next 3 years? Funny that the only time Rosen ever say anything positive about a Rocket happens to be a load of BS about the past.
Nobody on the Rockets has argued that Francis will be essential piece to a championship run. He signed here knowing he will be a complimentary player. If there weren't question marks he wouldn't have been available. What he gives the Rockets is depth, trade options and another player with something to prove. For what they are risking, it is a huge pick up for the Rockets. You can't spin that any other way.
From what I've seen, I'm certain that the old Steve was not nearly as good as what Rosen made him to be and the current Francis is not quite as bad as what is being portrayed in this article.
Steve Francis isn't our savior. And I am not even sure he should play the point at this stage of his career. Rather, I think he should get time at the two, with a bit of time at the point. Rid ourselves of Rafer and let Mike James start at the point. We don't need a true passer with the guys we have, since we just need passing players, not depend on a playmaker to generate everyone's shots. I mean, we have Yao, T-mac, Francis, and James. 4 guys now who can create their own shot or create a shot for other players. I think T-mac plays the sf position and Battier backs him up and at times will play the 4 when we are playing small ball. I think Head or Wells will get time at the 2 behind Francis.... At the end of the day, Francis just wants to be loved by the fans. That's why he came home, thinking he'd be back to where he was cheered on. I think it will inspire him to play better.
Francis is in fantastic shape right now and he will have an extremely solid year for us next season. Francis is mature and ready to help the Rockets win a championship ~ he understands the days of Stevie Franchise are long gone.
Give us a break Rosen? you're mortal enemy gundy is gone.....why continue the hate?. he's entering the senile stages now.
Don't normally agree with rosen, but he's spot on. People who think we're getting the same francis we traded for tmac will be in for a very rude awakening once the season starts.
The Francis of 06/07 certainly was a diminished version of his old self. The question is whether his knees are permanently shot or have recovered sinced last season. We'll see who is right, but for the moment, I trust the judgment of the Rockets since they've put him through physicals and probably see him play (Fonde games, etc) more than Rosen has since the end of the season.
