I'm not going to play the finger pointing game where everyone points to one player and casts all the blame. What I really believe our problem is that we are playing players out of their natural positions. 1) Francis is a SG. His game is best suited for playing the offguard position, yet we still expect him to be a pass first kind of player and to be responsible for distributing the ball. He is NOT a PG and expecting him to become one isn't smart. I really believe the PG experiment is nearing it's end and before we give up on him we need to give him a chance to play where he belongs. Name a player at 6'3" with the athleticism Francis has? Despite his poor shooting this season, all of you know damn well that he is one hell of a scorer and can attack the basket as well as anyone out there. What we need is a REAL PG to handle the distributing duties and let us all see what Francis can do with somebody setting him up. No offense to Mark Jackson or Mike Wilks, but they simply aren't the answer. We need a PG like Eric Snow (to name an example) who is an excellent passer, defender and makes smart decisions. I know what some of you are thinking: we're better off with Mobley at SG than Francis. I disagree. Mobley isn't exactly playing the greatest basketball either. He is a good defender but he is a streaky and disappears during games. He isn't the kind of player that can take a game over. He can talk all he wants about "wanting to be a superstar" and what not, but he is not a leader and doesn't have the mental edge needed to become a player at the level he wishes to become, in my opinion. I like Mobley, but I would be all for shipping him away in a good deal (i.e. Eric Snow). 2) Jim Jackson at SF. Jackson has played very well this season and is also a good defender. Jackson is the only one of our 3 players that are playing out of position, that are being consistent and showing they are versatile enough to play mutliple positions. He has been an invaluable pick up for us, by far the best move we have made in a while. This isn't a problem...for now. I worry about the future though. Jackson is getting up there, is Nachbar going to be ready for a bigger role? I sure hope so. And last but not least.... 3) Kelvin Cato at PF. Quite simply, this is a horrible idea and needs to end. There is a reason Rudy T. never played Cato at PF: because he is a center! He is too slow and not coordinated enough to guard the quicker and more agile players he's going up against. Plus, Cato's flagrant fouls and technicals out of frustration are killing us, the frustration the develops from not being able to guard quicker players he is being asked to guard. I would like to see JVG move Cato back to backup center, where he belongs. As for the rest of our PF's, something obviously needs done. This is by far our weakest position. Taylor is a good scorer off of the bench but cannot play defense. We need a Kurt Thomas type player to be our starter and bring Taylor's offense off of the bench. Perhaps signing Anthony Mason could be an option as well? Like I said, I'm not trying to point out any one player and say they are THE problem. I believe the system is the problem. All i'm suggesting is: 1) See what Francis can do at SG and with somebody setting him up. If it works, his confidence will be restored and we will have the old Francis back. However, this would likely mean a deal would be made to acquire a PG. 2) Give Nachbar more minutes to develop but let Jackson keep doing his thing. 3) Change our PF rotation. Maybe start Weatherspoon? I don't know, to be honest. A move needs to be made. Anyone agree? Disagree?
