Steve has all the talents and potentials, but he needs a breakthrough season like what Mabury did last year. IMO, this is more about "mind". Kidd is a "conventional" PG and best suited for fast-pace teams. He is 31 now? Put old Payton aside, Mabury is considered not strong enough... Lebron James, will he stick into 1? Maybe in 2 or 3 years, Steve could be ranked No.1?
fair ranking. if franchise just works more on his to% and to make others more involved, then he will easily surpass all those in top of him.. in the next few years, you can surely see this ranking: 1. Steve Francis 2. Jason Kidd 3. Stephon Marbury 4. Gary Payton (( if he still plays )) and so on....
Umm... what? Last time I checked, Marbury was one of the strongest guys below 6-4 or so in the whole league. He's quite simply not an insubstantial guy by any means. Heck, he's got 10 pounds on Steve... Who exactly is Marbury "considered not strong enough" by? This is the only article I've ever seen that even suggested such a thing.
Totally agree...the amazing thing about Marbury is that quickness and that amazing ( for a guy his height) strength. He is ripped, much more than Steve.
Steve played ball at our own San Jacinto Comunity College for a season. He even made the cover of their catalog.
I would say marbury is stronger than Steve, but the franchise is more athletic than stephon. Steve is probably the most athletic point guard in the league, him or baron davis.
I used to consider them even, and that was good considering Marbury has more NBA experience. However, when it was time to make a push last season, Marbury upped his average by a few points and an assist, while Francis went south. Marbury turned it up in the final month, while Francis choked. He couldn't carry us, and Marbury carried the Suns. Right now, Marbury has perfected applying his skills to the PG position, and Francis hasn't. Marbury was 25 points and 8 assists. Francis hasn't hit 25ppg OR 8asst per game in any of his four seasons. Marbury is just better at this point in time. We keep giving excuses that Steve is young, bla bla...We need to realize that Marbury, Kobe Bryant, and T-Mac are in the exact same age group as Steve. So if he's not making the most of his NBA experience, he can't count on his "youth". To be fair, Marbury was aided by the presence of Penny, who used to play the PG position, and can still play it. Having a player like that in the backcourt who can handle the ball while Marbury played a bit off the ball really made Marbury a better player. This is the main reason why I'd like to ship Cat off to another team for someone who's more capable of playing the point. As for the rankings, I think it would be more fair if Payton and Francis were tied for 3rd. But he definitely doesn't deserve to be in the top 2.
Maybe that was his "perception". Or, he could be talking aboud league experience, but if he was, he should have pointed it out.
I do not agree with Kahn's analysis but I do agree with his rankings. If I had to choose a PG to lead my team to the playoffs, I believe GMs around the league would vote the same way, with Kidd, Marbury, Payton, then Francis. Actually, for one year, I would consider Payton over Marbury and maybe equal to Kidd. If you could plug any of those PGs into a random team with the goal of making the playoffs, I think the order would be: Kidd, Payton, Marbury, Francis.
While I agree with your overall assessment, you fail to mention the fact that even though they are the same age, Marbury actually has been in the league 3 years longer than Steve, and Kobe, and McGrady two years longer. So while you may knock Steve for not making the same progress, I commend him for being close to Marbury, as Marbury has been in the league longer and has been a basketball prodigy his whole life, a route quite different from the one Steve has taken.
True, however Marbury was better in his fourth season than Steve was in his fourth. He's better at 27 than Steve is at 27. I haven't seen anything that suggests Steve will, at any point, surpass Marbury in the coming years. Oh, and I actually did mention in my post that Marbury has more NBA experience:
You mean those years Marbury was in New Jersey doing so well not making the playoffs with a team that went to the Finals when they traded him for Kidd?
Definition of: Moxie (n.) energy; pep. (n.) courage, determination. (n.) Know-how, expertise. the only area where marbury has the edge is in the latter category. regardless of age, marbury has more basketball experience. steve has superior physical gifts but there is no guarantee that he will ever reach the mental level of jordan, magic and bird. they all had moxie to spare and were winners, big time. the best always FIND ways to win.
pgabriel, I can see where this is going. For me, it's interesting that Marbury wins when there's talent, and loses when the team is counted on an oft-injured Jamie Feick. There was absolutely NO talent on that New Jersey team aside from Van Horn, who was injured in Marbury's final season there. There's no logical way we'll reach a solution to "who had the better 4th season" since I'm sure you don't agree with individual statistics. I personally believe that Marbury was better in his 4th season than Steve was in his fourth season. Last season, they had equally talented teams, and Phoenix made the playoffs (albeit by one game) despite Penny's injury problems and marbury's OWN injured ankles . All that was lacking from Marbury was leadership skills and his bad rep. Now the leadership thing is gone, and if you're going to pin him with the leaving Minnesotta fiasco, then you're going to have to remeber that Steve forced his way out of Vancouver. Marbury last season had more wins, more points, more assists, less turnovers, and better leadership than Steve Francis. You can't argue with that.
And Marbury had more years in the league. You can't argue with that. Also, I would say, Penny, Amare, Outlaw, and Marion, were a better supporting cast, as opposed to Yao, Mobley, Taylor, Griffin, and Cato. So if you just go on last season, it took Marbury a slightly more talented team, and three years of more experience to gain one game on Steve. Thanks for playing. Oh yeah, and Marbury had Martin, Van Horn, and Aaron Williams on that team, which isn't great but they were playing in the East and they won a grand total of 26 games
I trust Stevie. I don't trust Starbury. Today, even up, I go with -- drumroll please: Steve F for Franchise Francis.
