I know that it's still extremely early and I'm sure that Francis will improve during the course of the season, but can anybody see any difference between his performance over the course of the last week versus last season? I apologize in advance for the quasi-run-on sentence. ------------------ [This message has been edited by steve francis (edited October 14, 2000).]
I knew this was coming someday and have a topic of my own I may post in a few weeks if what I see continues. What I can say is I think his "bulk", the size he put on may be hindering his speed and agility. But then again it is too early to over-analyze this. ------------------ Too often, we lose sight of life's simple pleasures. Remember, when someone annoys you it takes 42 muscles in your face to frown, but it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and pimp-slap the mother****** upside the head!
Dude, are you joking Pimp? Hindering his speed and ability. What? The man is flash gordon out there; He's a freakin wirling tornano; He's lighting; He's Wink. The only thing hindering Steve ability is the Refs and there disbelief that any human being could actually be that zapping quick with a basketball which leads them to make ludicrous calls of palming, carrying, double dribble, or whatever other bull**** they can think of. Yes, Steve Francis has improved so far and he certainly hasn't lost a step. If you'll notice he's making smarter decisions, like pulling up for a mid range jumper instead of forcing impossible dunks. Also slightly new to his repertoire is a turn around fadeaway which he seems to becoming quite comfortable with. All these additions will prolong Steve career and make him make him much more effective. ------------------ [This message has been edited by ROCKETBOOSTER (edited October 15, 2000).]
I was at the San Antonio game tonight and Steve was unbelievable. He looked like crap during warm ups, missing everything but he lit it up when the game started. There was a couple of times they called charging on him when obviously he was up in the air before the defensive guy got into position. It was just that he jump from so far away and was in the air for so long, he gave the defensive guy time to get in front of him. There is no one in this league that could cover franchise one on one. Teams with weak defensive centers will have no chance because he will get by his man, and there will be no one to help out once he gets into the paint. ------------------
I can't make any claims about the Charlotte or San Antonio games, but I was at the Dallas game, and Steve did not look slowed down in the slightest. If anything, he is faster than his rookie season. He made some moves in that game that made the Mav defenders look like they were in slow motion. ------------------ "Nothing is certain but the unforseen." Some Dude
I agree with ROCKETBOOSTER. If Steve has lost step, then I have not noticed at all. This guy is FAST. The only reason that he may not appear as quick as last year is because he is more calm this year. I read in the Chronicle that he said he was wasting too much energy in parts of the game that didn't matter. He said that now he is conserving his energy and it doesn't feel like he is playing 40 minutes a night anymore. That is amazing how he can appear to conserve energy yet appear so quick. He doesn't just "appear" quick, he is quick. This guy is going to be an all-star. I have never heard Steve whine about the coach or his team-mates. He is a true team player. I respect Francis so much because he is committed to being a star in this league and shows a lot of class. Maybe Rockets players showing class is contagious. Francis also helped in recruiting Mobley and Taylor, who are critical in our performance this year. I can't say enough about Steve. To say that he has gotten slower because of bulk at this point is not logical. It's not like the guy has Incredible Hulk muscles. He is just more cut than last year. ------------------
RB, you can't deny that he carry's the ball, but I agree that it shouldn't be called near as often as it is. Sometimes it is blatant and needs to be called. Other times, I'm just like "HUH!?" I'm chalking most of these calls up to it being the preseason and the refs wanting to clean it up. People go back and read what I said. I said it may be hindering his speed and agility and it isn't necessarily on the offensive thing. Defensively, his man seems a little quicker at times. Offensively I haven't seen him drive the baseline or attack the basket like I did last year. He's said he bulked up so he could take it at the bigmen, but I haven't seen that yet. Cuttino is doing it without a problem. It's still early in the season and maybe it is just as RB said, that Steve is adjusting his game to be more effective in this league and save his body. If that is the case, I am very impressed with the maturity Francis has. I do like that he is take more mid-range jumpers rather forcing shots in the paint. If he can keep up this level of play and cut down the turnovers to under 3-4 a game, I'll be happy. ------------------ Too often, we lose sight of life's simple pleasures. Remember, when someone annoys you it takes 42 muscles in your face to frown, but it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and pimp-slap the mother****** upside the head!
An open question from someone who hasn`t watched any games- where are the assists from Steve? In the game vs Charlotte he had zero assists. I`m having a hard time buying the `his teammates just don`t know how to catch his fast passes` thing. Most of those guys have been playing with him for a year.
I haven't seen any loss of quickness from his extra muscle, but to tell you the truth, I would take the small tradeoff if that meant he'd be more durable while drawing fouls more often. ------------------
The most important factor in Francis becoming an All-Star this year may be his defense. He was often castigated in the media last year for being a "below-average" defender. Also, I would like to see him increase his assists to 8 or 9 per game. Strangely, his assists declined during the course of last season. ------------------
I certanly hope that Franchise is all you guys say he is, I haven't seen any games yet, but it's still early in the preseason and it would probably be the best if we gave them a couple of more games to get used to each other, it's not that easy adjusting to your new teamates, especially the ones that demand the ball a lot.. ------------------ against all odds
I did not see the SA game. From the other two games, I find it difficult to evaluate Francis, so far. One thing I have seen is defenses are playing him differently. They are letting him into the wing area unhindered, then playing a strong-side zone by bringing a forward over to straddle the strong-side of the lane. He seems to be just passing out of this. Attacking it is like Kidd attacking the Lithuanian zone; you don't really have anything to do once you penetrate but jump and pass back out. I am not sure if defenses are doing this by design for Francis or simply as an NBA revolution to play more strong-side zone (which we could say wasn't really done in the NBA as much as expected last year). But, I don't think it is a good plan to let Francis in the wing unhindered, zone or not. The Rockets have also gotten Francis in the low post with two perimeter players on the same side with him. This has some possibilities as it helps Francis receive the ball and penetrate into the lane without as many defenders to clog up his passing lanes. All in all, I'm withholding judgement on any claims of huge improvement by Francis.
