Our you saying that James is a better decision maker, better pass first PG then Francis. Was he a great decision maker on a bad Timberwolves team last season? Did he loose his starting role and minutes, due to poor decision making? Was he a better decision maker after his best season in the league with the Raptors. Was this why the Raptors, had not interest in bringing him back? Seriously, Francis & James are mirror images of themselves, except Francis is a much better finisher and James is probably the better outside shooter. To me they both have similar strengths and weaknesses. Its probably why Morey did it... Adelman wants a shooting PG that can finish at the rim. The Rockets probably have no idea which guy will prevail in training camp, but the odds are MUCH HIGHER with 2 similar players, then just one. One of these guys is going to be happy after training camp, and one may be pouting over minutes on the bench..
Agreed. You forgot to mention a guy named Arvydas Sabonis. This player was so slow and was at the tail end of his career and yet Adelman managed to make him look good under his system. The offensive system of Adelman showcased Sabonis' passing skills, it made him look like an all-star caliber player. And yes, Yao is a jet plane compared to Sabonis. Also , assuming the team has more fast break points, you don't expect all five players to run the fast break. It is usually limited to one or three players , usually the quickest on the team. Tony Parker can even run the fast break all by himself. Simply put, if there are no numbers on the break, a team will simply settle down and run its offensive play.
Well thats pretty sad I guess Francis is washed up, and never could excel at being a PG in the league. I forgot how many all star games did Mike James go to? I know he got a ring as a role player on the Pistons, but from his individual game, how many all star games? If he is that much better then Francis ever was, then apparently somebody in the league noticed it
I am not trying to feud with you, thats the beauty of a message board. Everybody has a right to their opinion, and its fun to debate. In my opinion neither has every showed great decision making, so its a coin toss on who will be the starter come regular season.
He didn't, you pull the Sabonis playing for Adelman crap out of your ass. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/coaches.html
I agree Mike James isn't that great at it either, I just think he is better than Francis in that aspect. I still see Francis in the Bobby Jackson role. He can be another scoring option when our main guys are not in there.
In my opinion either guy could be Bobby Jackson. But i think Francis has a better shot at more minutes (PG or SG), regardless who starts. James may be slightly (by a hair) a better decision maker, but Francis is clearly the better rebounder and finisher. They both are streaky shooters, and James is probably the better defender. But what this team was missing last year, was a PG that could break down the defense and finish at the rim. Francis is clearly better then James on this point. But tough call on who starts. I say its a wide open competition. Which is why the Rockets did this on purpose. They need the best of Francis or James, and they are hopeful that one of them will show up.
I'm glad that Steve wasn't a fit for Portland who is rebuilding and not necessarily in a "win now" situation like the rockets. If you're rebuilding, you're looking at year 3-5 as being your "make noise" years. The teams pursuing Francis were like us (veteran teams) that are making noise now (Clips, Rocks, Heat, Mavs). So you can't read too much into Portland dumping Francis and I'm certain Steve is glad for the release to come to a contender like us! Thanks Knicks...thanks Jailblazers...we'll be sure and send you a christmas card from "First Place" in the western conference.
One correction: Saying they are both streaky shooters implies they are comparable shooters. Mike James is a much better shooter than Francis. James is a career 38% shooter from behind the arc while Francis shoots 34%. I just don't see Francis fitting in as the starter, but we'll see.
After his stint in New York, it’s seems pretty clear to me Steve Francis is a whole lot more productive as a starter than as a backup. Mike James, on the other hand, has proven throughout his career to be very effective coming off the bench. That should be taken into account when deciding who should be starting and who should come off the bench.
I would do this. I think James wouldn't be too upset with coming off the bench, but my only concern is McGrady and Francis.
Sorry rookie, I was mistaken. It was under Mike Dunleavy, but it was a similar system where the Center passes a lot. It is quite immaterial in my opinion, the substance still holds true. Yao is still a jet plane compared to Sabonis, and he will still excel in a similar system as the one Sabonis played in.
By the way, both Rick Adelman and Mike Dunleavy are former NBA players ... Its fun to watch NBA players-turned-coaches apply their practical knowledge to the game compared to , say.... theoreticians.
Our shooting will be much better with Francis replacing Rafer. In reality Rafer has a better career 3pt % than Francis. Francis is unquestionably more atheletic, more able to create his own shot, a better rebounder and better at finishing himself off penetration. Defensively they are at best a wash. Rafer is better at running a fast break, feeding the post and running an offense in general, especially an offense where TMac is still likely to dominate the ball on the perimeter. Rafer's incredible amount of 3 point attempts and 10 minutes played per game more than his career average had alot more to do with our horrible bench and the offense we were running than him being a jacker. The reality is that based on career statistics, if Francis had been asked to play the same sort of game plan as Rafer last year he would have shot even worse than Alston. Personally I want James/Francis to dominate the ball and score when they are in because that is their strength. The most obvious time for them to fill that role would be when either Yao or Tmac is out of the game, which in turn makes them better suited to a back up role than starters. We are getting an all star caliber guard in Steve Francis. It's been several years since Steve was an all star, and there is little doubt that if he wasn't playing for Yao and earning the Chinese votes, he wouldn't have made many, if any of those all star starts. There is no question that he has all star level highlights on his resume as the UTube video shows. What the high light films don't show you is the 3 on 1 fast breaks he botches, the general inability to make the simple play because he is trying to make sports center and do the spectacular. Many people want to pencil in the Steve Francis that was here prior to being traded to Orlando, and then want to assume that just because he is older that means his game has matured. The inability to earn a starter's role with the last 2 lottery teams he was on seems to be brushed aside, and the fact that Seattle would rather pay him and let him go (still having that money on the cap) doesn't seem to bother alot of you either. I certainly would take Steve for the money he was given every time, but posting highlight films from several years ago and expecting that to be the norm now is unrealistic. As a back up he is incredible, as a starter I am considerably less excited.
Nothing like what he did when he was with Houston. Francis could drive you crazy, but damn, he could be fun to watch. Thanks for the video, WNBA!
I might be in the minority, but I don't like this signing. I know people are sick of the Morey stat geek gag, but he does seem to be taking the rotissorie approach to building a roster. Yes, we have more talent than we had last year, but I'm still not seeing how it is fitting together. Of course, he has another three months to get it to training camp. Maybe trading Alston and others for a backup center or power forward will make it look better. It has been mentioned elsewhere that James and Francis are similar players. I'm not arguing over who is better, but does it make sense to anyone else that they would trade for James and then deal him before the season? Otherwise, you end up having three offensive minded PGs on the roster after Alston is dealt. I fully admit that I didn't pay THAT much attention to Sacramento and Portland when Adelman was coaching them. Maybe this is what he wants.
