Yeah, it sux, both of them were drafted pretty old. 24 and 22, respectively (very old by today's rookie standards, especially for stars), but they each have a while to go before they reach their prime.
Hopefully you are right hp, as we probably will live or die with Francis as the pg, going as far as he can take us. I'm just not so sure if I recall Isaiah or Jordan making mistakes as dumb as Francis sometimes makes. Sure, they tried to take the game over all by themselves, but I don't remember so many possessions wasted. Wouldn't you agree that Iverson for instance benefitted from moving to SG? And isn't he a far more troublesome personality than Francis? This point is somewhat moot anyway because I think Francis will not be moved to SG anyway, though his recent benching in the entire fourth quarter gives me hope that he can still listen to reason. I'm just afraid that with Yao's recent fatigue problems we might not have enough firepower to reach the playoffs... again. If we played smarter, that wouldn't be a problem, but since we rely on talent alone...
or spelling Anyway, Doc...I'd love to strongly disagree with you but I just can't. Sometimes I'll think he has turned the corner only to see him revert back to his old self a quarter later. I do think he is the most talented player on this team. The way he blew by Kobe on offense makes you think he can rule the NBA. His defense is even outstanding from time to time. I can deal with the occasional 3 for 15 performances...it happens to the best of them. What I have a had time with is his mindset down the stretch of games. Its like he doesn't remember he has 4 other guys on the floor with him, one of them being the 2nd best center in the world.
How about we trade Cat for Payton so he can play the point and Steve play SG. Payton still has some good years in him and would fit in nicely with the team I think. Plus he knows what an ASSIST is.
Why settle for Payton? Why not go for Kidd or Garnett? I'm sure any team would give up their franchise for Cat...
The solution is very simple. Switch the minds Yao and Francis. We need a center who needs to be more aggressive and selfish, and a point guard who sees the court and passes. Now, with the technology we have, surely someone can create a chambers that will transfer mentalities. Joking aside, i think Mobley is a bigger problem than Steve. Francis has shown improvements a little as of late, but I don't think Cat will get it. Besides, Francis has more talent to "cover" up his shortcomings. Mobley is good, but not good enough.
Some insight into the mindsets of Stevie and Cat.... On Best Damn Sports Show this summer (before Yao was officially drafted), Cat came on and said he and Stevie really didn't want Yao, that Lamar Odom would be a better fit because he can run the floor with them, doesn't like to shoot that much, is a good passer and a fun guy to be around. Unbelievable to me that our team leaders have this kind of selfish mentality. This just shows you that both our guards are ultimately more concerned with their own scoring stats and fastbreak highlight dunks than becoming an elite team. Let's see....you just finished the season with a lousy record because you had no inside game and you want to go out and get another perimeter player???
Well yeah, we'd have to give up Cat and another player for the likes of Payton or Kidd, but I'm sure having a real center would pique their interest. Payton hasn't played with a true center in years.
Doc you are right on the money as is HP. Unfortunately how many playoff defeats did the Dream have until he got it? I'm not sure I have that kind of patience anymore. How can this process be expidited? I'm really not sure although I think trading the Cat would be a tremendous first step.
Here are 2 signs that the team gets it more than they did last year. 1 - We are at the top of the league in defense. 2 - Our transition offense has improved by leaps and bounds. No one seems to recognize these! They are HUGE! I would expect after one more year that we will see more improvements. If we can expect two facets of the game to improve next year, I'll take Yao's offense, and decision making in crunch time. I also agree with HP. Playoff experience is vital in the Rockets maturation.
I'm to the point to where its more of a mentality than anything else. Just because a player is 6'10 245lbs doesn't mean he's a center or power forward. In playing a position, its just mental. Its the same with where have all the good centers gone. Guys like Wallace,Garnett,Webber and Duncan, can be centers and should be centers, but the fact of facing someone like shaq scares the tar out of them.. They can do some of the things that a center does, but do they really want to get down and dirty and do it full time? I think the same can be said for playing the pg position. A player may want to do some of the same things as a point, but to be good at it , you have to be dedicated to doing it. Running a team is hard for a pg, he has to know, who needs a shot, where they like their shots, and still make the defense honor his scoring skill. This is where Francis can't distinguish between the 2. How many pg after having a horrible shooting game would come out the next and take it upon himslef to get himself off scoring first? Would, Kidd,Payton,Miller,Nash, or even Marbury do it? I'm not sure which would ,but thats the difference in being a good pg. A pg doesn't care about scoring, he's more concerned about the flow of the game . How many people would have taken that 12pt 11 asst game of a couple night ago as opposed to the one he played against Dallas the other night? After that horrible shooting game in which the Rockets still almost won, the 2nd unti fed off each other. Taylor was posting, Cato and Morris were cutting and the team got good shots until you know who decided to get into the action. Thats what its all about,team work. That horrible game tha francis had, playing against a team like Dallas, if he had gotten everyone started getting layups and short jumpers, then he would have had more bullets in the gun, the team would have played with more energy and played better on the defensive end. When the game opens up and the first 3 or 4 shots are shot by the pg and no one else touches the ball, then the team tend suffer.As much as francis handles the ball, he can shoot whenever he pleases so shooting at the beginning shouldn't be such a priority. I don't think you trade Francis yet. He plays hard, but a player can do that and not be smart about it. I don't think they get it and especially along with Mobley. I would really like to see a combination of Posey and Morris out there with Francis at times, instead of him moving over and playing the 2 guard position. Moving him over only makes his developement as a pg slower than what it is already. They are not as bad as they seem, but we can't pretend to think they're as good as they seem either. The last months of the season are going to critical. The lakers will make a push especially if they get SAR, and Minny gottheir 2nd best player back. The Rockets, if they play like the did against Boston can be a very good 50win playoff team, if they play like the did against Dallas, they can be a 45 win no playoff team like they were a couple of yrs back. Its going to all depend on which team we see for the rest of the season.
I am sick of this. Steve Francis is a point guard, just one who is a dynamic scorer. Where were you last friday when he made that pass to Yao that sealed the win over the Fakers? Is that not pg esque? Have you also not figured out that we do not have the personnel to go inside out right now. Yao is the awesome big man of the future, but right now he is a rookie and while a big asset to the team he is not ready for the load. Do not get me started on the pf's, even though I think Mo will be a lot better next year, another year removed from surgery. Btw, we almost beat San Antonio, a top five or six team in the league at their place without a big game from steve, cat or yao. And they all had average or worse games at best. Then you go into Dallas the next night, and just have an off night against a super club. It happens. Some of you I swear expected the world out of this team as soon as Yao showed his immense potential. It takes time and patience guys. We are a young team by NBA standards. Look at how long it took CWebb to get it, it took Jordan awhile, etc. I also think that we miss Glen Rice. We need his sharpshooting more than I lot of people let on here. Nachbar I think can fill this role in the future but not now. I just don't get you people. We are about 3 games out of THIRD out in the tough Western conference with a team that has no starters with more than five years of NBA experience and unless Cato or Moochie are veteran leaders-none to guide them. Patience is a virtue, I suggest a lot of you get some of it.
Greg M, I believe Dream "got it" much earlier than most here. Dominate big men beat double teams by scoring against them in multiple ways that dismiss the double teams. Guards are supposed to burn them with passes. By comparison, Webber and Garnett are great passers who "get it." But do they really? Aren't they considered afraid to attack double teams when the game is on the line? Do they "get it" or do the PF/Cs who learn early on how to beat double teams "get it." Even Duncan showed a little too much passiveness against the Lakers last year. I mean, what is a center supposed to do except own the lane in the playoffs. Dream dominated all his playoff games. Without the cocaine that took away his perimeter, we win a title before '94...easy. And even if not, Jabbar had Oscar Robertson pining to finally win a title. Without that good fortune, Jabbar doesn't "get it" for 10 yrs. Ewing didn't "get it." Robinson didn't "get it" for 10 years. Shaq, Wilt. Is is really appropriate to say centers who dominate the paint in the playoffs at 50% FGs with great defense don't "get it" just because they didn't get a title. The only centers that "got it" by comparison to Bird/Magic are Russell and Walton then. really? Only them? That's not the way I define "getting it" in the center position. Was Hakeem better in 94 than ever before. Yes? Did he need to be to win it? No? He just needed a stable team. And imo, 1986 beating the Lakers proves to me that he "got it" wrt what a dominating center is supposed to do in the playoffs.
I agree with you about Garnett and Webber. What are they doing taking jump shots? And why don't they have hook shots? Their footwork in the paint is very weak, and they just don't like to bang.
oh my goodness i thought i was the ONLY one that noticed that garnett and webber's footwork in the paint is very, very, very poor. now, you are wrong about webber and the hook shot, he actually does shoot one. however, the footwork on it is simply horrendous. his feet are never shoulder width apart on it, he doesn't remain vertical (usually fades some), and doesn't lead properly with the inside, turning shoulder. garnett i haven't really studied yet, insofar as post moves, mainly because he doesn't have many and i don't consider him an elite player worthy of being "studied"...
Yes I know that Popeye is Oiliepere. My question is why did Doc Rocket put "Popeye??" after "I am saying that someone needs to FORCE him to get it."
