Its an uphill climb for Francis. He's already been away from full-out basketball longer than anyone else on the team. He has to work through whats sure to be initial rust. Which is expected but will work against him since he only has 2 weeks and maybe 2 games to show anything. By the time he rounds into form its time for roster cuts. Or in his own words it wont be until 2009 when he's in real NBA condition. Depends on the kind of role they expect from Francis. If they want the occassional 20-25 minute game then he figures into the plans and they can take a wait-and-see approach. A lessened form of Battier's injury situation, a proven player who isnt in danger of being let go cuz he's not playing. If its for 12-15 most nights...Brooks, Strawberry and Wafer have shown that team play will not suffer much if at all when they're given minutes...These guys have been going against the opponents 1st teamers some nights, and playing well.
"from quadriceps surgery on his right knee " well that was the problem! why wouldn't he just have knee surgery?
I don't see why people think Francis is done. First of all, he only had trouble with his quadriceps, which is far less of a long-term problem after recovery than other types of knee injuries; he was just stupid for putting the surgery off for so long. Secondly, he is only 31, still within the window of being considered in your prime(generally 28-32 for basketball players). It could be true that he won't regain his prior form, but I'll wait for the evidence to suggest otherwise rather than jumping to an idiotic conclusion before he has even really begun to test himself post-surgery.
New post to correct my previous post since I can't edit it(which is completely idiotic). I don't see why people think Francis is done. First of all, he only had trouble with his quadriceps, which is far less of a long-term problem after recovery than other types of knee injuries; he was just stupid for putting the surgery off for so long. Secondly, he is only 31, still within the window of being considered in your prime(generally 28-32 for basketball players). It could be true that he won't regain his prior form, but I'll wait for the evidence to suggest such rather than jumping to an idiotic conclusion before he has even really begun to test himself post-surgery.
Last season: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SlZA4vrUmWE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SlZA4vrUmWE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/icuT1PJ43nw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/icuT1PJ43nw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Keep in mind this was "fat and out of shape" Francis, on a bad wheel. There's really no reason to believe he's lost that much athleticism.
This should be posted on every Francis thread. The man could potentially come back and be a contributor. To assume he is done is foolish. You can argue all you want about his fit on the team, but he could still be back.
And you are basing this on...? Last year was by far his worst season, and he was still averaging 19 minutes before he got hurt.
AB can't be used in every situation...some games, their will be matchup problems with him against the big guards that would probably punished AB for being too damn short (ie. baron davis, deron williams, felton etc) basically, we do need francis...a healthy one of course
Man, thanks for posting those. Good memories. I really hope he can contribute this season, I was so excited when I heard we got him. I won't forget I was on the road and heard it in my truck on the radio and I started yelling.
actually, brent is undoubtedly able to play PG for minutes but someone doubted whether tmac can also play PG. tmac is too high to play PG and his bad dribbling skills also make things worse. But do the size and slowness really disable tmac to become a great PG? No, I think he can do even better as a PG than a wing, because of his name which tells us the fact---tmac is contemporary magic. In addition, I don't think SF will frustrate us again. He'll not break his words when he says"I'll be back". Maybe SF will no longer be as great as he used to be but he's definitly way better than AB who is more of a SG. AB's 3pt% will never be seen in regularseason where the defense is a lot tougher.
