I think lin/harden is more versatile and would like to think they'll help you win more than Francis and cuttino.
I was never a big Francis fan but Mobley was a very good 2 guard. He was efficient and played good D.
In a vacuum, Francis was a more gifted player than Lin and Harden is a more gifted player than Cat. To what extent for each? Unclear. That said, Francis/Cat had inherent limitations on them because of the BB IQ and playing style of Francis. Lin/Harden at their best is going to be more conducive to winning if they both pan out. There is a pretty high bust factor though with Lin.
It's pretty close, actually. Total Playoff Game Victories as Rockets: Francis and Mobley - 1 Lin and Harden - 0
Cuttino and Francis was always destined for failure. Harden has already been to the NBA finals at the age of 23 and has won an Olympic gold medal. Lin is the worst out of the four but he's a smart player who knows his place.
Yeah, 2 vs 2 I take Francis and Cuttino. But in team environment where you are trying to put together a championship, Lin has the potential to be more valuable. Potential. I still wish we had Dragic.
First off, you make great points. But I do wonder why you say that the bust factor is so high? If someone plays great in high school and college and in his only starts in the NBA, breaking records in each case, what causes you to think he's more likely to be a bust than not. No offense.
Harden and Lin are better basketball players for a winning team, though when Francis was on his game he was unstoppable. The supporting cast for Harden and Lin is going to be much better than the one for Francis and Cuttino. Shandon Anderson, Walt Williams, Kenny Thomas, Mo Taylor and Kelvin Cato. That's a pretty solid bench, but three of those guys were starters.
Of the 4 being discussed, Lin is the least "known quantity." The other three you know what their floor is. With Lin we don't really know how good he is going to be. Is he going to be average? Above average? A little below average? A superstar? I think it's a pretty wide spectrum of what he might turn out to be.
Mobley and Francis won 45 games with no talent around them when the west was brutal. Who cares how smart they are.
mobley and francis were loose canons out there, very erratic. It took the entrance of van gundy to somewhat buy into the team concept. Harden and lin seem to understand the game, though lin's shooting scares me. But with the help of CF posters, I know he'll get off his arse from playing video games and practice his shot even more =)
Francis (pg) was Batman and Mobley (sg) was Robin. Harden (sg) is Batman and Lin (pg) will be Robin. If I am going to have an awesome back court, I'd rather my SG be Batman. Don't get me wrong, it's a great problem. I am not suggesting you don't take that PG if they drop in your lap. I am just saying, if I could chose, there isn't a long list of all-time teams where the PG's was the best player. Just look at other great duo's with PG's. Westbrook is Robin. Stockton was Robin Tony Parker is Robin Jason Kidd (always Robin, at best) Think of great PG's that were Batman (Iverson, Nash, Payton) and they always seem to come up short. I can only think of two modern PG's that was Batman (Magic, Isiah) that won championships. So, my take, if Lin can rise to the level of a Robin (we'll see) then I'd take a Lin/Harden combo. Harden is every bit as good as Francis ...but Harden is a SG. Will Lin ever be as good as Mobley? Dunno yet.
