The Bucks run isos for Payton also. I'm not saying to only run isos for Francis, but occasionly run them. When we occasionly ran isos for SF early in the season, we were 6th in the East. Now we are 9th. We run isos to Yao in the post, so why not run some for Francis when he can take his defender off the dribble?
If you watch the game, Francis has plenty of opportunities to score. When we run the double high post or Yao sets the screen for Steve, he has the option to hit that mid range jumper almost everytime. Steve also takes the ball to the hole at least 4 or 5 times a game. How do you think he gets to the line as much as he does? Also, if Francis was better at running the break, he can pick up a lot of easy baskets and easy assists. We already know Francis can score at will, that's not the Rockets problem. If this team is ever going to improve, Yao and EG have to improve their inside game and Cat and Steve have to improve their passing. You don't do that by allowing the PG to take 25 shots every night.
Eddie's inside game sucks. We play our best basketball when SF takes a ton of shots. He shot a lot aat the beginning of the year and we won a ton of games. Well I g2g now. I'm watching a movie with my family.
Look young man - it is obvious that you only care about Steve Francis and his his touches/numbers. News Flash - The houston Rockets are in a "necessary" mid-season transition of transformaing Yao Ming into their number one option. If you do not like that - go ahead and root for another team. In fact if you want go join www.SteveFranchise.com and make your voice heard because this one one you are doing here is a waste of time and myopic. And for you information, Francis is cool with the change because HE WANTS TO WIN more than he cares about his touches or number - fortunately unlike you, JamesPosey55.
I'm pretty tired of people claiming someone is "riding so-&-so's jock" just because they are trying to make an argument in his favor. WHAT A LAME RESPONSE! If you can't contribute in an intelligent way, don't respond to me. Maybe you thought I was going too far by saying that he "clearly" was a franchise player, but it would make more sense if you would tell me why he isn't one & why other players are, rather than come up with that stupid line. As I see it, a franchise player should... ...be the leader of the team... ...be the on-court production leader... ...have the ability to frequently put the team on his back & take them to a win... ...and have certain skills & talents that can make that player unstoppable when hitting his shots... While Stevie isn't perfect, he is all these things, IMVHO. ...as was Sprewell for a couple of seasons in the 90's. Not every "franchise-type" player is the league MVP. As for the ISO talk, I'm done after this post. The Rockets must ensure not to forget that Stevie's scoring ability is very important to the team's success, & whether they run iso's or screens...whether off the ball or on...Steve needs to score well for the Rockets to win. That's not to say the Rox should start ignoring Yao. Yao was part of that early season success also. He had some very solid games at that time...against the Mavs, running the O through Ming could be the best shot the Rox have at getting a win. Since the Rockets are winning again, I'll just sit back now & enjoy the amazing skills of Steve, Ming, & Cat.
Francis played very well. Everyone scored. Yao has definitely been involved. He had his points and rebounds and blocks and assists. Eddie did fine....that's what we need. According to the Houston Chronicle... James Posey provided energy. Glen Rice scored 12. Mobley scored 18 easily...efficiently. Francis only scored 17 points...on 8-13 shooting though. That's wonderful. He could have score 50 if he wanted to. They really couldn't stop him...but Francis looked good. I hope he can continue playing like that...
Another thing about the season two years ago, the Rockets beat just about every team they were expected to beat that season. They only lost 1 game against the Eastern Conference and that was to the 76ers who went to the Finals. They lost the first game to the 76ers at home, a close game, and the second time they played them, they manhandled them because Steve clearly outplayed Iverson. It was one of the best games Steve has ever had as a pro. The point I getting to is that when a team gets about the most out of its potential, that's the sign of a smart team, and the pg on that team was a guy who constantly gets knocked around for not being that smart and that's why I always defend him. The knocks on him are ridiculous sometimes, I know he hasn't been the a good decision, but he proved he was a leader in only his second season, and I bet if this current team stays together for next year, the playoffs won't even be in question.
