After watching tonights game against the t-wolves, Steve looked like a completely different player out there. He looked more jason kidd out there making smart passes and making his teamates better as a result. Is this a sign of a new steve francis from now on? Although i'd like to see steve be one of the best scorers in the league, perhaps if he changes his role to a playmaker then the team would be better off and perhaps this would push this team over the hump of mediocricty. I do recall earlier in the summer that jerry west had told steve that he should play more like jason kidd and maybe Steve is finally taking Jerry's advice after being frustrated by this latest homestand. We will have to see how Steve approaches the next couple of games to see if his new style will benefit the team.
Seriously, you do realize how idiotic this sounds given that this is ONE game...freakin one. For more serious discussion, though, I found a stat they mentioned on teh radio very interesting. Steve averages over 6 assists per game on the 18th best shooting team in the league. Jason Kidd averages over 9 per night, but on the 4th best shooting team in the league. Does Kidd's playmaking mean the Nets have a higher fg % or vice versa (or a little bit of both)
I will be more than happy to see Steve play a team ball like this. At the biginning of this season, I was not happy with his games. Now he is changing his role and people will credit him for making more contribution to the team than just working on personal stats.
jay, my statement idiotic? maybe if u watched the game and didn't listen on the radio then you would have noticed a difference in steve's play.i'm not saying there is a direct correlation to steve's passing ability to the rockets winnnign. I'm only saying that its interesting that he seemed to play differently today and maybe he has changd his style of play and perhaps that if this continues to play like that and it works then maybe he'll change his style of play to be more like jason kidd for good.
Well, this depends on his teammates shooting. If they are making shots like tonight, SF is going to be happy. Otherwise, who knows how long SF is going to be patient and playing like this. Good Luck! Rox.
also, if steve does change his game, that doesn't mean that he isn't our go-to-guy. In the 4th quarter, i would still want him taking the big shots and taking it to the rim when we need a basket in a tight game.
I love to see Steve play like that. That's my ideal PG performance. Frankly, we don't need him to be one of the best scorers in the league. We need him to be the best PG in the league. Keep it up Steve!
From now on, the opponent teams will have to study the whole Rockets team, not just focus on Yao, Steve and Mobley. That will keep them busy. Hope Rockets play team ball consistently.
But tonight's game is not only about a different Steve. It's also about a different Glen, a different Mo, and a different Edi.
Sorry for being quick to call you out, but my point is I don't even have to watch the game to know that it is dumb to even ask "A different Steve?" after one game of apparently different play. How about less knee jerk reaction and more careful analysis of the game, and waiting to see what happens in the upcming weeks I noticed, for example the Rockets shot better than their season average tonight despite two horrid quarters, and, more specifically, they were scorching from the 3 point land. Steve has been a very consistent passer to the open man along the perimeter all season. Maybe more shots than normal fell tonight, opening up the rest of the game, and making Steve look different. Maybe it was the Timberwolves defensive approach. As someone who didn't get to watch the game because he's stuck at work, I'd much rather prefer a more detailed analysis of issues like this or what about the game made Steve look so different, then a thread which seems more likely to turn into a debate about Steve Francis' passing abilties, why so and so would be better than him as a playmaker, etc. Just my $0.02.
Unselfish play is contagious. If our leader, Steve, keeps doing that, everybody will follow, and Rox will get a whole lot of better.
Uh, no Gimpy... as usual your abilities to run a bbs from the backseat are about as awful as your posts generally have been. This doesn't need to be in the game thread as it's general enough to stay out here. But I'm sure you and your minions will drag it to the depths of negativity.
If Steve keeps doing that unselfish play, I am sure Mobley will follow. That will be good for the team. But my concern is that if all the team do rebounds and assists, who is going to score?
While I agree that 1 game is a bit too quick to make judgments, this Steve was definitely different. His first statistical FG attempt if I recall (could be wrong) was with a few seconds left in the 1st half. He was looking to pass the entire first half or set others up with his penetration. We shalll see...
He played a very good floor game tonight. He kept the to's down and got players involved as should any pg. The difference is, how long can he keep it going . Tommorrow night he'll be playing against a constant jolt of energy in Armstrong. Traditionally, darrll has has good games against Steve.
