Lol I predicted francis was done even if 100%. This just makes my prediction just too easy to be right now.
i dont do alot of posting but i sure do read alot in here even before i joined, the one person that keep this forum intresting but i hated every single word that he posted was rofflesauras or w/e you spell, that guy just never stop criticizing about the rockets like they are never going to be good lol, some times it makes me mad at what he says but some times it is intresting and funny.
Did I miss something but that interview says preseason is over a month away. Isn't it just 17 days away? (Training camp is just 10 days). Memphis game is Oct 7th. Unless the interview actually took place a couple of weeks ago. Was it just a typo? Sounds like training camp was about 4 weeks from the date the interview actually took place.
Unless you have some pretty thick anti-Francis glasses on you'd be able to realise what is actually written on the page in that interview. Hmmm... seems that he's been able to do a whole lot of swimming and weights, but hasn't been able to put any weight on the knee. In 3-4 weeks (ie - beginning of training camp) he'll be able to go 'full out' in terms of exercise on the knee. That is: it takes a year before a person has recovered completely from the injury and is back playing at 100% (ie - had the practice etc to hone their skills). This does not mean that a player can't play for a year, but rather that (on average) by the end of that 12 month span a player is 'back to where they were'. Honestly, that doesn't make you think the guy wants to play Bottom Line: Alston is already our starting PG. Francis has stayed off his knee long enough to let it heal to the point where he can begin 'putting load on it' in 3-4 weeks time - and the bonus is that he's not a walking cheeseburger, but has managed to actually drop 10 pounds. Factor in his absolute desire to play again, and it looks pretty good for him. In fact (as the article indicates) he might even be a very useful rotational player in the second half of the season! Brooksball: I get that you hate Francis - you're entitled too - but I don't see how you can read that article and not at least think 'oh cool - maybe he'll actually have some game this season' And if you need help with reading articles in the future I'll gladly help.
best case scenario, francis returns to be somewhat productive 9 points 4 assists 3 boards off the bench that allows us to not have to rely on brooks being our main backup to alston. Worst case scenario, he dosent recover and gets put on the IL or is traded or waived. Most likley scenario is he'll be somewhat usefull in a odd game here and there but he will be a 3rd string PG at best.
Doc - Nice rebuttal. Let SF watch his old tapes and get back to 100% in March, he's got too much talent not to contribute during our stretch run. The second half and the playoffs are what matter anyway.
yeah, let the first half of the season for artest and barry to bond with the team, and then boom, after the all-stars, we have SF3 ready for action. Bout that 3-4 weeks, i guess it meant he will be missing the training camp. Guess we be seeing SF3 on the bike at game side for the start of the season.
For Francis to be mentally ready he must be physically ready also. That is all he has is his physical ability and if that has diminished which it has undoubtedly since his knee has given him fits the LAST COUPLE YEARS, he will not be there mentally. I am not counting on SF for this upcoming season. I will hope that he will be able to play at a DECENT LEVEL but my logic and Steve's knee history makes me believe it won't happen. He may play but I do not see him being any better than our other options.
I don't know.. the doctor told him it takes around a year to fully recover from the type of surgery he had.. he's at roughly six months and he thinks he'll be 100% in 3 to 4 weeks? I wish Stevie the best and hope that he does make a successful comeback and help us get a ring!
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That's just the standard intro I've been using for all of these Q&A sessions and I forgot to update it - my mistake all the way. The interview did, in fact, take place yesterday afternoon. JCF
I'm glad he's at least back to 195 lbs, his playing weight from his early days in the league, and that he's working on his cardio. I don't know how much he'll contribute early in the season, but he can be servicable to the team later. Steve plays with a fire and that's what the team needs.
Great post. Even if it's just a pipe dream, how can you, as a Rockets fan, not be excited at the prospect of potentially getting a really good player for nothing after the all-star break? If he's healthy, it could be a bigger boost than the Lakers got from Gasol last season.
Doesn't sound like Steve is too ready to me. And what about the part saying he's been lifting weights "here and there"? I may be reading too much into it, but I'd rather see him watching old tapes here and there and lifting weights all day long instead of vice versa.
I think the most painful part of all of this for Rockets fans is that we all want to see Francis back like he was in the god-awful francis/cato/mobley/taylor days. Back then francis had so much potential but was so wild and turnover prone on the court that it was basically a one-man dribbling exhibition. Now that francis has matured, everyone wants to pull for him to come back and just the fact that francis is talking about coming back is really exciting. Yet, brooksball makes a good point. Swimming for months is NOT the equivalent of preparing for a rigorous 82 game season, especially when he hasn't played in about 8 months. I can definitely understand the excitement of those that really hope Francis can contribute to the team once again, but I think it's excitement out of nostalgia than anything else. On another note, I hope he can make one last push too, I'd absolutely love to see Francis out there for a possible stretch run. Certainly Francis could be useful, but it doesn't sound like it would be the case until late in the season. We shall see, we shall see.
