Yetti, I understand your position for the most part and I agree with you in part as well. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think that you really want to see Stevie use his atheticism to get other people involved early and then score on his own later. Some people may remember that in Jordan's early years he would take many shots and score a lot but the Bulls didn't start winning titles until he decided to allow others to score early and in the 4th quarter the game belonged to him. While he's not Jordan, Steve can in many ways duplicate that philosophy down the stretch for the Rockets. BTW, I'm not bashing Steve either but every player is open to constructive criticism.
Francis played a great game tonight and showed great leadership on the floor. If you watched the game, I can't understand how you'd be disappointed with his play. Regardless of Yao and the new offense, STEVE IS STILL GOING TO BE THE MAN, learn to live with it. The Rockets played good team defense and were very active the whole game, I loved what I saw tonight.
Yeah, but how often do you hear of a player being criticized for scoring 30 points and dishing 10 assists? It's not constructive, it's nit-picking. What can Francis do to get his team involved more? He was responsible for over 50 points, let's hope he does this all year.
Just on the topic of discussion.. 'a great game for openers' .. remember pau gasol didn't play and hes like their best player.. i know ming, rice, taylor didn't play.. but hes a certain proven player that can get 20-30 pts a game..
Loco, this is Gooden's line: 10/19 fg, 26 points, 6/7 ft, 14 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. I respectfully submit that Pau would not have been much of an upgrade over that line.
You know, people rattle on and on about how Steve isn't a leader, yet they can't offer an suggestions on how he can improve his leadership. Why? Because leadership can't be seen on the stat sheet. Some of our fans are still stuck in the past. They can't handle the thought of a guard leading this team after so many years of having a great center. They want the "traditional" point guard that only scores 10 points a game. Well, guess what, we don't have that. The sooner people realize that Steve is a high scoring point guard, the sooner they'll appreciate what he brings to this team? Steve's not being a leader? OK, Kimmosabe (sp?), why don't you tell us how, specifically, he is not showing leadership qualities. Until then, shut your pie hole and enjoy the sweet smell of victory...Clutch wrote it perfectly in the Rockets/Grizzlies recap: In first preseason game of 2002-2003 season, the Rockets, led by Steve Francis, beat up the Grizzlies early in Memphis
Watched the game: Steve- Excellent game Cutino- Played within himself- showed veteran leadership the last 3 minutes providing clutch scoring to ice it Kenny T- Couple nice drives, tried backing it in once too often Griffin- changes shots on defense, stands too much on offense I wish he was alot more aggressive Cato- continues to surprise, he worked hard, hustled and looked like he cared about winning Morris- Excellent game Collier- not bad TBrown- needs more experience, he seems to be forcing instead of playing within the flow of the game Nachbar- Rockets need to set some plays from him and especially give him some picks to come off, he looked like he was going to a spot and waiting for a pass?????? Motion offense- OK I missed alot of this because there is still so much standing around. a few times it did look like there was some cutting and moving, but over all it looked alot like last year- iso- we did avoid the isolation plays but still need to move more without the ball
Nicely done ATrain and Oski2005. I'm in Miami so I didn't see the game or even see any highlights (damn you sportscenter) but 30 and 10 sounds damn good to me! And Yetti you have to chill. I doesn't matter who it is, when a player on your team scores 30 on 22 shots, thats good. He shot 50% from the feild, took far fewer shots than pts scored and dished on 10 asst. He contributed at least 50 of our 106 pts! The team played well. We put up 100+ and picked up a W so lets all be happy w/ the PREseason opener. PS: I have to retract my earlier hate on Drew Gooden, he is going to be a very good player (even though he doesn't know what state he plays in).
Oski, I'm not going to defend my statement, but I will say again, no player is beyond CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM! That being said, I was impressed with Steve's game. Again, I personally would like to see him take over late in a close game because he is the only player( and I mean the only player) who has the ability to take over at his position against anyone in the league. BTW, I hope he scores in bunches and the Rockets win all year as well.
Okay, gang, I was disappointed when Steve didn't pass to Boki for a three. However, I think the Griz had Shane B. lurking at the top of the key to intercept what would have been a long pass from one side of the court to the other. I believe HP said he had this on tape. My memory could be failing, but I hope someone goes back to review that to see if that indeed was the case. Regardless, Steve had a great game and I, for one, was happy with the Rocket's play. Sure, there could have been some improvements, but for the first game of pre-season, this was a magnificent start.
Question for those who are having a wedgie about Francis and his 30 pts: Who was defending him? I mean, Francis only has a couple of inches and approx. 15 lbs on JWill, and 3 more inches and 10 more lbs on Knight. Francis was absolutely abusing Knight, so it would make a little sense to go with that matchup, don't 'cha think? I hope some of ya'll aren't FB coaches. I got Earl Campbell in the backfield, and my OLine outweighs their DLine by 30 lbs a man. I'MA THROW IT ALL DAY LONG!! BTW, I thought Nachbar actually looked good out there in his limited time, he's a nice-looking athlete. He'll have plenty of time to show off his touch, but his fluidity impressed me.
Trying to get sports fans to never criticize their star player is like telling Americans to never criticize the president. It's mission impossible. I don't know why you guys insist on getting so bent out of shape when someone says the slightest thing negative about Steve.
I'm all for criticizing Steve when we lose or he plays poorly, neither of which happened last night. What pisses me off is the way people criticize him. They don't point out specific occurences when he made a bad decision or a bad pass (he did have a few bad passes), but they whip out stuff like, "He's not being a leader" and "He's being selfish". People are expecting the second coming of Magic or Stockton out there, and it's not going to happen...
Hot Rocket:- I am not a Francis hater! If you read my TWO posts I praised Francis in as much as he had a great game! My contention was that important players like Griffin were not realy in the flow of the game and Francis Showboating did little to bring the chemistry of the team togeter. My main concern is that Francis personal goals( MVP) might be more important than that of the Team. He is a great player and we need him very much, but will he, now that he has his Contract,as a Point Guard should, encourage his team and make THEM better? My only concern is the harmony and chemistry of the Rox. Sane:- You are quite right about Yao Ming. I think it only fitting that we should do our best to welcome him into the team! One way will be by getting him involved in the chemistry of the play action. If Francis is shooting for MVP then we must expect many questions and critical analysis of his game and the way he leads his team, or the lack of same! I dont dislike any player on the Rox Team. I am 100% for the TEAM. All things aside last nights game was a very exciting start to the 02 preseason dont you think? If Steve Francis averages 10 assists per game, I will praise him greatly!! Be assured of that !
