You know what? I was ignoring this nuthugging thread but some of you guys need to get a grip. Francis is NOT a Rocket legend, he's not one of the greatest Rockets, his number will never be retired, and so on and so forth. I honestly put Bob Sura over Francis in terms of endearing Rocket players cause Sura was humble about his play. Francis, like many of you do to him, just overrates himself. Don't get me wrong, I sorta want Francis to come back and contribute, but that's just because we already are paying him, might as well try to get something out of him.
I have been saying the same exact thing for quite some time, i don't know if you saw, but there was a thread saying we added an all star for free in him. Francis being an all star caliber player is close to an infinitesimal probability, heck, him contributing from the bench is unlikely as well. Before you say anything about his skill or w.e people know that last season the only reason he wasn't getting PT was b.c he couldn't get Adelman's System down which is the #1 concern!
yeah, a former all star. him being in the all star is pipe dream, contributing from the bench is all we ask, if he plays like that suns game in every 10 games, you got a bench warmer that wins you 8 games in the league and 4 games in the playoff. the only reason he wasn't getting PT was being out of shape and injured. When he was finally fit to play, no matter how lost he is in the game, RA still gives him 20min to play.
There's nothing selfish in wishing Francis to do well in his rehabilitation. It will only help the Rockets. If you worry that Francis will be detrimental to a win, I trust Adelman to bench him. He benched Alston when he was sucking it by having Brooks finish a few games last season. The portland game in January comes to mind.
Are you saying next season Francis will be moving and cutting like Rip Hamilton? Newsflash: Francis has never played off the ball his entire life. He's not going to start learning to cut and play off the ball now at age 31. Those are the nuances of the game you learn as a middleschooler. As the saying goes: You cant teach an old dog new tricks. I love how everyone is making "injury" excuses for Francis. Where were your injury excuses when he threw down that put back dunk in the preseason?
The beauty of Rick's offense is, he takes advantage of everybody's skills and mesh them together. That is why you didn't see Yao at the high post like Brad Miller. If Francis can play great on a system that requires him with a ball, Rick will find a way. In the preseason, I thought his knees were fine. I had no idea it was torn. And further more, his play against the Grizzlies and that dunk made me thought he wasn't that injured. Obviously, playing in the preseason can make Steve Novak look like a future star.
You talk as if Adelman could make Ryan Bowen an all-star. The only "offense" Francis would play well in is an offense where he has the ball at all times. Btw, this is rofflesaurus, and I told you all last season that Francis would dissapoint everyone who thought he would contribute (99% of yall). Unfortnuately, the big miconception is that Francis was "injured" when actually he just couldn't grasp the offense. Next season you'll see that an "in-shape" Francis still won't be able to play.
Hey, take this for what it's worth, but this afternoon, I spoke with a friend whose Mom works with a guy whose girlfriend knows someone who works at a gym with a guy whose best friend has a pal who overheard a conversation at a bar recently between a couple of dudes who saw Steve Francis play some ball this summer and supposedly Steve is playing better now than in his PRIME. Look for Steve not just to start but to DOMINATE this season. Nuff said, Elvis "The music business is a shallow money trench where good men die like dogs and bad men prosper. There's also a negative side." -- Hunter S. Thompson
You can bump that up to a size 7 font, but it's still nothing more than you guessing, 'cause you don't really know anything more than the rest of us.
Newsflash, steve has played off the ball. How do you think he gets some of those alley-opp dunks you see in highlights? Last time I checked, he wasn't throwing passes to himself. Newsflash, he's never played with another guy who can pass the ball. Mobley? And those years in Orlando? Who did he have there? The pressure has always been on him. Now it's not. He's not expected to be the main scorer - Tmac and Yao are. He knows that. everyone does. He knows how to cut, and T-mac and Rafer and other players are going to find him for a lot of easy buckets. And his passing is much improved. From what I saw last year, no one got the ball into yao better than Francis. He doesn't even hesitate or double pump it into yao (which would tip the defense off), he gets it to yao from so high up the key - as soon as yao pushes into the pain, you saw a rocket right to his chest. His health is back - i'm convinced, his weight is down, and he's got a lot to prove. To think he's not going to contribute is ridiculous.
What a story if Francis comes back and knocks Rafer out of the starting role and regains his all star form. That would be mind boggling: four all stars and a soon to be all star, good grief, just mail the Rockets the trophy and save the pain.
I am one of the biggest skeptic on this boards - I have never claimed we'd win a championship or jumped on the wagon last year or the past 5 years - in fact I got blasted for the "too many scrubs to be a contender" post a couple of years back. But now, I finally see the potential for a ring. And Francis is going to be a big part of that. I can see it in his play, and the reports of his healthy and fitness level - you don't get that back after an injury unless the injury has healed. He's back baby, and this season is going to be awesome. If Scola improves over last year (and I really don't think he will that much, after all he was 27 when he came in), that would be gravy...but right now, we're going to be totally a surprise for the western conference. In fact, Yao's olympic experience may be a factor in him coming out of the gates strong. He's already tested that foot and been in game conditions - that's the best rehab you can get. But let's look at what we got here: The Star(ters?) 1. Yao Ming: when healthy the best center 2. T-mac: Passes, Shoots, Scores, Dunks, Rebounds, Steals - ultimate 2 guard 3. Ron Artest: Nasty Defender who can light it up 4. Scola: Physical PF who will rebound and score, slightly undersized but hustles. Has a mid range jumper to extend defenses 5. Francis: Explosive guard who is the best at getting yao the ball. Bench: 6. Rafer Alston: The ultimate guy to bring the ball up in pressured situations. Assists, low to's. 3 pt shooting and penetration streaking - may start because of his understanding of RA's offense 7. Shane Battier: All heart - constitent 3-pt shooting and strong lock-down / help defense 8. Carl Landry: Athletic and frenetic player - shoots a high percentage and can dominate the boards. A big lift off the bench 9. Chuck Hayes: A defensive player who hustles. Will find a role on team. 10. Brent Barry - 3pt shooting specialist and savvy vetern - more keyto extend defenses when they double Yao or clog the lane. this is his sole role Others: 11. Aaron Brooks - can provide explosiveness - still needs development. poor defense 12. Deke: what does he have left in the tank, will he be re-signed? if so, can provide Yao with valuable minutes of rest. 13. Dorsey: unknown quantity, but i'll trust the hype for now 14. Harris: bench warmer 15. Luther Head: great shooter, lack of height/strength makes him unable to play 2 (defensively) and poor pg skills (passing, mediocre dribbing and penetrating) make him unable to play the 1. what to do with luther??? Slim shot to make the squad Patrick Ewing - going to play with the globetrotters Maarty Leunen - lacks physical gifts Sean Singletary - very poor man's steve francis.
OMG I can't believe people think is gonna start and be an all star again based on some party pictures. It's ridicolous , don't get me wrong I am rooting for Steve too but to think like that based on some party pictures where you only see his face is naive. You guys are just setting yourselfs up for a huge disappointment.
Not true , last year after he passed the ball he just stood in one place , never saw him cut to the basket , whats even worse that compared to him Rafer is a good shooter from 3 , he wasn't even a threat last year. And I agree he did a good job getting the ball to Yao , still not even close to T-Mac or Rafer , but maybe the best after them so about that part he was good. To think he is the old Francis after the way he looked last year based on some party is what ridiclous , not to think that a player that couldn't contribute the last 2 years will now contribute.
