We are essentially adding 3 (former)all-stars to last years playoff team for free

that would also tell me something that Steve is not capable of contributing to a championship contender otherwise he would at least be able to backup Rafer at PG.

 

Stevie, Stevie he's our man,if he can't do it no one can!!! Go Steve!!!

Signed,
YOUR #1 Fan

 

He won't even be backing up rafer, i felt the same exact way you did last season when he first arrived....you people need to wake up!

He played good one game and got choppy in the rest, not even being able to get minutes over mike james.


The guy shoulda put Ron up there...a border line all star which woulda' made a lot more sense.

 

Of course Francis was an all-star. So what. It is silly referring to him this way in the context of talking about how much better the team's going to be, because you're implying that he's still a great player. Lumping him together with Yao and Artest as some sort of super threesome is ridiculous. Charles Barkley's a former all-star, too. If he came out of retirement and played for the Rockets, would that make them better? I don't think so. Francis might be a serviceable player for the Rockets, and a nice addition, but let's not set our expectations too high. Barry will probably be as significant an addition as Francis. I sure hope I'm wrong about this, but I doubt it.

 

Francis is the definition of a washed-out player.

 

Umm... don't see anyone WANTING Steve to fail, pally. People are being REALISTIC with their expectations. Big difference between a DESIRE and an EXPECTATION.

 

if steve, tracey and yao can stay healthy we will be the best team in the league without a doubt.

 

Lets go Steve! You have alot of doubters![/SIZE]

 

Its interesting on this forum reading people cheering for Steve Francis and expecting him to do well and others expecting him to be a washed up player.
I want Francis to do well, but I don't expect him to be as good as he was in 1999. He will battle Brooks to be Rafers back up and given that he is in a contract year I believe he will play his heart out, hopefully that means he plays well.

 

So do any of you Steve-doubters have anything factual that you're basing your opinions on? Have you heard that the surgery to repair his tendonitis failed or that his rehab is going badly?

'Cause if you don't, then you're just talking out your a$$, exactly the same as all the pro-Steve people are. Get off your high horses. You don't know squat. The dude's effectiveness was reduced because of an injury the last couple of years, and after trying other methods of rehab, he finally decided to have corrective surgery. And this isn't some exotic knee surgery -- it's relatively common.

I'm not saying Francis will recapture his former status, but there's no reason to think he won't be able to contribute in at least a backup role. Unless you have some insider information about the situation, which you don't, how about at least looking at the FACTS about it instead of just babbling away?

 

i cant wait for the season to begin......i think their might even be more then a big 3. Sure there is Yao, T-mac and Artest now...what about luis scola. He was in impecable form coming into the play offs. I can see him being a big contributor to the rockets. If Steve gets back to near the form he had as a franchise player........wow im really excited

 

i don't know why everyone says francis is washed up. the guy is 30 years old. everyone starts to lose athleticism around that age. MJ lost it, but his fundamentals and bball IQ were so solid he was still able to contribute. francis unfortunately never had good fundamentals and had an even worse bball IQ. it's not like he had ACL surgery. the guy had tendinitis, which most high-flying bball players have once in their lives. the francis you see now is the francis you would've seen even if he didn't have tendinitis.

 

Uhhh... you mean washed up?

 

I disagree - I think we'll see his BBIQ has gone up tremendously as I saw signs of it last year. He's been humbled, and that has done a lot for his game.

We're going to see a much improved francis, and a much smarter one as well.


Imagine this starting line-up:

Yao
Scola
Artest
T-mac
Francis

Talk about a fab five.

 

Yes, darned typos.

 

I don't think I've ever seen a player raising his bbiq after 10 yrs in the league. Francis was a guy getting by on atheleticism and effort, not intelligence. Then he comes into camp last year out of shape with a sense of entitlement and now he's supposed to change? I'm glad he's in better condition last year and maybe with this team they can maximize his strengths which no one can say what they are. We know his weaknesses are big at his position, but maybe he can have some kind role. I just think expecting him to do anything is setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

I totally understand your skepticism, and it's logical. So really, it makes a lot of sense.

But I just know everyone is going to be pleasantly surprised. How do I know, because I could see the improvement in his basketball iq last year. Big improvement, but the body wasn't there.

Now that the body is there and willing, we're going to see something many of you have wished for - a SF that has the athleticism and talent, but also the BBIQ.

Humility and hard times can do a lot to make you a better team player - I think that's what has happened to SF.

 

The only thing I saw last was a guy that wasn't ready or needed by the team. If he had shown the improvement , he would have played earlier. Adelman said he expected Francis to b the starter, but alston and james played in front of him. We'll see though.

 

Saying that Francis is no longer all-star material is no more a knock on him than saying Barkley is no longer all-star material.