Steve Francis is having an outstanding year so far. He has matured a lot since he cried at the NBA Draft. As biased Rockets fans, we all think that he should be on the team without a doubt (and we should), but what do we actually think?
The only reason I chose no was because I think the Olympic committee is full of crap and will overlook Steve for AI and Kobe. Talent wise and mindset wise Steve is my #1 Olympic gaurd because he wants it so bad.
Rather that he spends time focusing on the rockets. Let the PG's later in their career get some glory. He'll have his time later.
As a biased Rockets fan, yes. As a very biased Rockets fan, no. More rest in the off season and working out with Yao and others and developing chemistry are more important.
Well, put it this way, from everything I have heard they are looking at Mike Bibby as the backup PG. So with that said I think it is clear that Francis is not going to make this team. It just seems that the committee is going to take the VERY best players in the NBA and then mesh them with solid role players. So the players that are not at the VERY top but are better than role players might get squeezed here. From what I have heard they want to take "8" star players and then with the next 4 spots fill then with situational role players/players that might not complain about minutes. And one of those players might be from college. Right now the team has Kidd, T-Mac, Allen and Duncan and I have heard that Bibby, Kobe and Garnett are others that they want on the team. That is 7 guys right there. Does Iverson get added as the 8th guy? I heard that they are also high on Michael Finley. What about Chris Webber? We'll see. I love Francis and he has really improved this year but I get the feeling that the committee thinks Francis is too brash. I don't know. I really hope he makes it and he REALLY wants to do it so that is a huge plus but I get the feeling he will be left off this team. Chris
I am a biased Rox fan, but Franchise deserves to be there... Only time will tell, but for some reason, the OC is a Franchsie playa hater...
Here's the thing...should Francis be on the team according to the "Take the TOP 12 best players in the NBA" criteria? No doubt; I hope he makes it. And keep in mind Francis wasn't one of the many superstars who joined the bandwagon to be on the team after a poor World 'Ship showing. He was one of the first players -- and small number of great players -- to express interest in being on THAT team. This despite suffering through the M's disease while other players sat out with sore knees. With all that said, he probably won't make it for the main reason that I hear Stu Jackson -- yes, the same guy who had a hand in drafting Stevie with the second overall pick for the then Vancouver Grizzlies -- is apart of the selection committee. There was a report on ESPN that said Jackson defintely is "keeping that in mind" and could keep Francis from being on the team.
(Your HA HA HA HA Face) I thought the onus next time out was to get away from all the one-on-one and play a more team oriented game. Fairly sure Steve's not going to make it...
i like francis, but i weren't pick him on the team because he's not a great shooter nor a great distributor. his game is driving to the hole is not suited in international play. in the olympic, shooters are very the key to win games because zone defenses are allowed. since the committee already picks jkidd as the point guard, who can't shoot, they won't pick another guard who is not a good shooter.
