I can't believe you guys are speculating a hoopsworld rumor. That website makes so much stuff up, it's unbelievable. They are definitely the most unreliable source for NBA insider info on the entire internet.
If its a Rocket scoop on Hoopsworld, then you know it came from the Rocket Guy. There, I said it. Now this thread will be locked.
This team would be instantly lottery bound if Miller was running the point. I can guaran-didley-damn-tee that...
We're already lottery bound so what difference would it make. Take a bunch of role players and throw them against the wall and hope a combination sticks.
This is an interesting conversation... Yes, it seems as though you want the team to play a certain style and I want different style. Kenny Smith and Derrick Fisher? NO!. I dislike those type players (and please don't bring up rings; Hakeem/Drexler, Shaq/Kobe won them). If we had Penny Hardaway or Derrick Harper we would have won too. But over-all we'd be a better team. They might not have been as good a shotters as KS or DF, but PH or DH bring the ablity to drive to the basket and create their own shot. They also can pass off the dribble. These skills bring a lot more value than just spotting up at the 3 all day (or dumping it down to Hakeem). I want ball handling and passing skills. Not flash. But substance. Like Mike Bibby or Bobby Jackson, Jason Terry, Brent Barry or Andre Miller. Those guys are not flashy, they are fundamentally sound passers. Remember, it's not the act of the pass, it's the court-vision that allows that guard to make the pass in the first place. It's the setup before the opportunity even presents itself. These are skills that Francis does NOT have. Court-Vision. Please don't confuse SPEED with court-vision. Francis is able to cover up a lot of his mistakes (bad court vision or pre-pass-setup) with speed. This is not the same as court-vision and passing ability. That's why it seems as though Francis's passes are forced, while Bibby's are smooth. Same with Nash. Nash is able to be flashy sometimes because he's SOOOO good at the fundaments of court-vision and pre-pass-setup. He knows what he's going to do before he does it because he is able to deceive his defenders. One other note. I'm a great fan of getting players that complement each other in size AND ability. Thus, two guards that are short (under 6'3") is not a good idea. I love the idea of a big 1 guard (6'4" and higher). Brent Barry, Penny Hardaway, and Magic Johnson. All BIG 1 guards, that could pass and score. Thus, the 2 guard spot could be a shorter, but quicker type player (or a utility player if the 1 guard is a better scorer). The Suns have a nice complimentary set of CORE players that support each others weaknesses. Notice that Marbury is short, quick and thick. Marion is rangy, above the rim player, and thin. Amare is medium range, strong and powerful?! Their strengths are each other players weaknesses. They complement each other very well. Francis and Mobley do NOT complement each other very well. They are similar players in size, body type, defense, and scoring types. If we could get Barry, we'd have a BIG 1 guard, that could run the court and dunk, but also has the court-vision to distribute the ball; both from his passing skill, and because of his 6'6" frame that allows him to see the court better and pass over them. He's very different than what Francis could give us. But there are many things that Francis can do that Barry could not. Nice match! See, Francis's strenghts are Barry's weaknesses. They complement each other. Now. I haven't even brought up the rest of the players. But I see the Francis/Mobley more a problem than the Center spot. I'd say that the next biggest problem is the Power Forward spot. We need a real POWER FOWARD! And that POWER FORWARD, will be able to do things that Yao, Barry, or Francis can't do. The "power" part could complement Yao's lack of power very well.
how can PF and SF not be our biggest problems?? cuttino and steve, whatever redundancies they bring about, whatever mistakes they make, do far less to cost us games than the inability of our sf/pf combo to not suck. and i would argue yao's long stretches of ineffectiveness and lack of stamina and inability to be a great defender (while being a big defensive presence) hurt us more than cuttino's inability to pass. we still needed his scoring moreso than we needed yao's. that will change. anyway, solve the sf/pf problems (or at least one of them) before we start worrying about our sg not being a good passer. i don't think brent barry will fix much if he still has to pass to posey and griffin for 3.
Why do you guys continue to fabricate stuff like this. How do you know that Francis "Hates" Andre? Did you get you information directly from Francis or a related report? If there is no evidence of hate, hush up and focus on what you know.
The thing that scares me most about this is that we already don't have a very good team on offense so if you taka away a scorer and add a true point guard does it cause a fundamental enough change to create offense or is RudyT still unable to get the pieces to flow together? I really think if you put Steve at the 2 and unleash him he could go for 25-27 points/game but if you trade for Miller you're changing the structure of the team and you need another quality player at the 4 to really make it work right. I really do like the idea of Miller running our previously non-existent fast break.
Desmond Mason and Richard Jefferson were shoving and pushing and staring at each other during a playoff game. But at other times...they are laughing together and enjoy dunking together. They are all friends... Only some are true enemies! LIKE ENEMIES.
Gary Payton and Steve Francis are constantly jawing at each other, but they are buds. But when it comes to Steve and Dre, there's a real sense of hate, not competition.
Did anyone else find that last sentence in the hoopsworld article interesting?: "Houston - Steve Francis is tired of losing; so tired that he's willing to do just about anything to put together a winning combination . . .even switch to the off guard position. Francis recently told the Rockets he would welcome a switch if someone like Andre Miller was brought in to run the team. Bottom line? Francis' friendship with Cuttino Mobley isn't what it used to be and winning is more important than old friendships to "The Franchise." I remember someone starting a thread a while back about Francis and Mobley not being as close as they once were, but didn't really think it was true -- y'know just speculation. I guess it's speculation from hoopsworld as well. I like the HW website, though. Not sure how much I'd put into what they say, but hope it's true. I'm not wild about 'Dre Miller though like some seem to be and I always thought they hated each other's guts. Don't think Francis-Dre would be a good backcourt. Get a Payton -- a bud of Francis -- in and that'll work.
Well, at least fix one of them. By the way, I DO NOT think that Francis is THE problem. I just have a problem with his passing skils/decision making. Who knows, him moving to the 2 might allow him to show his natural skills much better; scorer! Next on my list would be the PF position. I don't care which one the Rockets take care of first. As long as they are addressed. Hell, fix both!
Yeah. On the same note - last night (Thursday) Charles Barkley reffered to Scotty Pipen as a good friend ............... and folks he meant it. He said the previous beef was long over and they are really good "bodies" now. Go figure! Who would have thunk it? I was indeed taken by suprised by that revelation.
Well, I think PF is THE biggest problem with the Rox....especially in the brutal West. I mean, when/if Mobley is gone and Francis moves to the 'two,' we (the Rockets) will still get torched by the Webber's, Nowitzki's, Duncan's, 'Sheed's, Garnett's, Brand's, Gasol's, Murphy's, Marion's/Stoudemire's...see a theme here? Our current PFs -- Griffin, Mo Taylor -- can't matchup with any of those guys....there are SOOOO many GREAT/DOMINANT PFs in the West. But I do agree that SF should be last b/c I think Posey holds his own there. Ask yourself, which team would be better: Team A) Francis @ PG and a good-great PF with Yao or Team B) Steve Francis @ SG with our current PF(s) with Yao? Now of course we want the Rox to fix BOTH (move Stevie to the 'two' and pickup a good-great PF) positions, but I think Team A would be better if we had choose one to fix over the other.
OOPS! You replied before I could edit my post. I misread francis 4 prez original comment... Yes, fix both (PG/PF).
i agree whole-heartedly... although marion and fluke-e-mire should have been left off. this run and gun, great backcourt, but weak frontcourt crap isn't going to cut it in the west. i don't know why it's taking les and dawson so long to figure it out. our point, pf (hopefully brand), and center could easily out-do their respective opponents guarding them.
Exactly right. I'm with you man, I don't know why Les & co. don't see this already. Now it all comes back to Eddie G. Do we give up on the "project" (which is essentially what Eddie was/is) or do we keep giving him a chance to improve/get bigger and stronger as our (the Rox) PF? And yeah, I started to leave Marion and Amare off (fluke-e-mire is funny, BTW)...just wanted to be nice to put them on there since a lot of basketball "experts" seem to think the Rockets and Suns will have many battles for years to come.
