Even if Yao had 5 turnovers a game and Steve had 5 turnovers a game every game, do you guys understand that nobody would ever think Steve Francis is as smart a player as Yao? Why? Because he's not...Steve's old enough and should be and so is Cat. Again I'll say it - either you get or you don't get it. Does anyone think truly that Steve gets it? I'm not talking about his 44 point LA performance and I'm not talking about his 1 for 12 night the next game. I'm asking a simple question - does Steve Francis get it? Either way, the answer is negative. If he does 'get it' then he's doing NOTHING about it. He is simply not showing he gets it. Please don't insult me with the 'If it wasn't for Steve talk because I'll just reply 'because of Steve!' If he does not 'get it' then why is he running the team? I thought that the team leader MUST get it. I'm basically at a loss. Am I saying trade Steve? No. (Well, for Kidd and Kenyon, Payton and Mason, Andre and Elton, Nash and Finley, Bibby and Stoyo, Derek and Kobe, Marbury and Stoudemire, Arenas and Richardson, Cassell and Allen, Davis and Mashburn, yeah, I'd trade him and Cat.) I am saying that someone needs to FORCE him to get it. Popeye?? Thoughts???
Could that 'someone' be a new coach maybe?? Could it could it could it???? Also, your post contains no cryptic
Some people get it at a later age....Dream...Jordan...etc..etc... Some get it early.....Kidd, Magic, Isaiah. Some never get it.......Dominique, JR Rider..etc. I think that Steve is coming around...at least at home.....now on the road...well.......some day. DD
I believe it is his ego that he can't get over. His version of leader is he has to carry the team on his back, ONLY. I am not sure he can get over such a big wall. It is like he has this " I'm MJ ustoppable" attitude. LIKE MIKE BUT NOT MIKE applies here. To his credit, though, defenses are different this yeaer and he just won't break the habit of isolation offense aas the main offense.
i just don´t get it! its like we are 8-28 we are over 500% and Francis and the other guys just need some time,the next season is u can bash but know the team is feeling each other
I want the Rockets to win another Championship and if they could happen with this team - great. But, I don't see that happening. The chemistry so many talk about, I don't see it in their play. This team is not running smoothly and I do think that this team either needs a new coach (who's better?) or a new point guard (trade for who?). Maybe both. More time you say? How much more time? Other than Ming and Posey (and he's been around the league long enough to know what to do), the main cast of this team has been together long enough to show some fruit. The fruit I see from this group is .500 team destined to be a sometimes fun to watch, 5-8 seed playoff team, but never getting back to championship form. I'm of the camp - "Houston, we have a problem".
I think Jordan's first year, he turned the bulls around and led the bulls to the playoffs. During the championship years, he got more than before, but I think he always got it. A good comparison to Stevie is Kobe I think. When Kobe first entered in the league, he had the same EXACT problems. There are countless times where he has teammates open and bypass them and throw up some crazy shots. He had that selfish me first attitude for the first 2-3 years in the league. Magic, tried talking to him about that didn't work. Dell Harris, nope. The media blasted him for being a ball hog and that still doesn't work. Phil Jackson finally got through to him his first year coaching. To be honest, he still doesn't fully get it. Rudy is too much of a player's coach. He needs to talk to him get through to Stevie. He's our only hope now.
Gettin it lesson stage #1: Sit out 4th Quarter Gettin it lesson stage #2: Trade best friend Cat Gettin it lesson stage #3: Get riddy of Rudy for a hard nosed coach Hopefully Fancy will get the message before stage 2.
He won't get it until it is too late. I bet he will get Rudy fired or Cuttino traded. Let me rephrase it. Cat doesn't get it and he is going to cost Rudy his job or his own trade. DOC- I truly believe that Garnett is coming to town next year. I got this from ESPN. HOUSTON ROCKETS Expires in 2003: James Posey ($1.7 mil.); Jason Collier ($1.3 mil.) Expires in 2004: Glen Rice ($9.6 mil) Comments: The Rockets probably made their big deal when they swapped Kenny Thomas for Posey. Don't expect much more to go down. The team is under the luxury-tax threshold and has no significant holes. It may, however, look at moving Rice this summer. It doesn't look like he's a fit in Houston's youth movement. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES Expires in 2003: Anthony Peeler ($3.3 mil - Team Option); Rasho Nesterovic ($2.4 mil) Expires in 2004: Kevin Garnett ($28 mil) Comments: It's really hopeless as long as Garnett is making around $12 million less than the cap. Now that Wally Szczerbiak has signed his extension, the team has no cap flexibility and no real assets to use in a trade. I think it's premature this season, but don't be shocked to hear KG trade rumors come summertime. It just doesn't look like the team can afford to re-sign him and surround him with the talent he needs to win a championship. Speaking of potential free agents, Kevin Garnett's situation in Minnesota remains murky. He was unable to come to terms with the team on a contract extension last fall. Garnett reportedly was willing to take a pay cut if it meant that the T-Wolves would use the money they were saving to sign another star. "You guys beat me up a little bit, Magic [Johnson] beat me up a little bit, [Kevin] McHale and Glen Taylor beat me up a little bit," Garnett said referring to criticism he took last summer after the T-Wolves suffered another first-round playoff exit. "But I felt like I was between a rock and a hard spot. I don't call plays. I'm not the coach, and I don't tell the point guard what to do. This year, Flip [Saunders] is just calling plays for me [down the stretch]. That's the difference between last year and this year." Whether Steve gets it or not, he is staying along with Yao. I could see a trade that would involve Cat, Rice, Cato, Griffin and/or MoT. We have the players and salaries to use in a trade but so do the Clippers and Pacers. Minnesota has to trade Garnett. I just don't know to who.
No, he obviously doesn't get it, nor does Mobley, and I am starting to wonder about Rudy. Bottomline, when the Francis and Mobley show goes into full gear (dribble, dribble, no passing, drive into five) the Rockets "usually" lose and the game is not entertaining when they win (LA, an exception). Even though the Rockets have a winning record, they appear to be a team in disarray: they look so disorganized, undisciplined, and near "clueless" on offense and lacking intensity on defense. The needed adjustments are so "obvious" on this team, if Rudy doesn't start to make them soon, it is about to get embarassing.
whatever whining goes on around here, steve is NOT the problem. what the hell is "gettin' it"? what, do you want steve to hold everyones hand? or perhaps berate and humiliate them and physically intimidate them in practice, like a certain "air" somebody did in chicago? physically abuse them like a "deke" did in detroit? jason kidd wasn't really a leader or a winner till he was in his 30's. and bibby has a few guys named chris, vlade, and peja who are always on. so tell me, oh wise one, what is "getting it"?
- Getting it is when you and I play ball, I know how bad you are and then make you look like a freaking idiot...or like that post of yours. Getting it is when I can still make you look like an idiot but I pass the ball to THAT GUY UNDERNEATH THE BASKET THAT'S WIDE ASS OPEN! Getting it is not high kicking a leg step across half court when you're down 20. Getting it is not saying how much the Mavs have to work on after your ass was handed to you. Getting it is playing defense when your shot is off. Getting it is simply getting others involved when they have better looks than you. Anyone who's played ball knows what 'getting it' is. You can feel that chemistry as if it's going through your veins. You know when things are clicking. You understand the game and how it's played. As for the wise one, brother, You just don't 'get it!' I love guys who call us all 'Steve bashers' because you refuse to think that we can be better, that MAYBE...SOMEHOW, we are not the best basketball team in the NBA. Let me guess, we're young? You are only young for so long and then it's gone. If Steve blows our years with Yao because of his selfishness, that's gonna be tough to swallow.
I read that Francis quote yesterday, "No way the Mavs beat us playing man to man defense." He said this after the Mavs beat us by 13 in the first game at Dallas. It is legal to play zone defense in the NBA now Steve. Francis is nowhere near "getting it." Personally, I don't think he ever will.
I agree Doc, he doesn't get it, and if he ever gets Rudy fired I'll have to burn he and Les' houses down.
If he ever does get it, I hope he finds a doctor and gets rid of it. Oh yeah, Steve, and don't trust whitey!
Jeez, Doc...you make Francis out to be the worst, most selfish player in the league. I'm critical of Francis a lot, too, but I can see that he's playing a lot better over the past week. He seems to be getting a better feel for where his teammates are on the floor...getting Yao the ball for some easy shot attempts off of his penetration. Francis gets into trouble when he feels he HAS to take over games, and I think he's getting a little better at realizing when he should and when he shouldn't. That could be one of the dumbest quotes I've seen in a while. As if Steve is doing anything close to blowing any opportunities that we have b/c of Yao. I personally don't see the extreme level of selfishness that you see. Steve Francis is the best player on the Rockets. He's not perfect, but it also doesn't seem like he's done learning and improving...and that's a good thing. If you don't see that, then maybe you don't "get it".
I used to play ball everyday with a guy that is the exact carbon copy replica of Steve in the way he plays, talks, walks, grimmaces, everything you can think of. They even have the same exact release on their jumpers and they same messed up teeth. Unfortunately my friend also had exactly the same mentality on the court. He was infamous for scoring 43 in the first half and still finding a way to lose the game b/c he would only pass to certain players and only after he got triple-teamed or he would try to dribble b/t the opponent's legs on the fastbreak or he had the worst defensive skills I've ever seen other than, well, Steve Francis. He never ever got it no matter how many people yelled at him or no matter how many people went out of their way to not be on his teams. Just a few weeks ago - after having fractured his foot and learning that he won't be able to play for quite a while - he calls me up and says "I wish I would've played smarter and won more." He's in his 30's now - too bad it's too late.
I think Steve has it. He just makes boneheaded decisions sometimes. I don't mind his "high kicking across mid court" or whatever you call it. He's just getting himself fired up. I do mind it when he sees a guy with a good look and doesn't pass the ball, or worse, when he doesn't see his open teammates because he's shooting over 3 or 4 defenders. Usually guys with a whole lot of talent feel more comfortable relying on their own game than on their teammates. I think it's really an issue about Francis wanting to control his own fate rather than trust his teammates. That's where I see his greatest weakness. That and how he keeps leaving his feet when he picks up his dribble. THAT'S why Francis has too many turnovers. He has to force the issue every time he picks up his dribble, 'cause he has a tendency to jump shortly afterwards for whatever reason.
