Francis at the 2 won't as much as a defensive disaster painted out to be. If someone as a good defender takes over the 1, then defense at the 1 would be upgraded, negating some of the negativity of playing Francis at the 2. Second, the defensive problem of Francis at the 1 often stems from his inability to stop penetration by the quicker 1's in the league. Putting him at the 2 would help Francis stay with his man, less penetration is better than some tall sgs shooting over Francis, after all, Mobley is just one inch taller than Francis. That one inch isn't gonna make a hell of difference.
You are right, I read between the lines and you are an idiot. Mobley is his best friend. Have you ever had a best friend?
Okay, I forgot. I want to prove that I'm an idiot too. I think Mobes should play point and Steve should play the two. I think this would teach Mobes to be a more complete player and get him more involved in the offense. Ready to be blasted; by Zacatecas first of course.
Sorry no edit. Sorry Zacatecas, I reread my post and it sounded too mean. I don't think you are an idiot, I just disagreed. Sorry, I did not mean it as an insult.
I am an auditor (that's my profession), my job is to read between the lines. I can only interpret what I hear and see. I don't go with feelings, because that's a bunch of fluff. Family I can understand, but friends come and go. Remember Dickerson, wheren't he and Mobley best friends too? Mobley is everyones best friend from what I hear. He's just a cool cat. Jeff does have a point, maybe Steve got coaxed into that answer by a savy reporter in Philly. But, Calvin ain't that savy, and he got the same answer from Steve. Bottom line is that, Iverson is playing the Shooting guard and is 3 inches shorter than Steve. If Steve was playing the Shooting guard he could average 24 points a game, 4 to 5 assists, and 6 rebounds. Contrary to what a lot of you say, Steve is a decent passer. If he were no longer the point guard, he would still get assists in the flow of his game. But he would be getting 30 point nights on a nightly basis. And for all of you, don't forget that the Zone Defense is legal in the NBA; so Steve would always have help defensively. Never forget "When life give you lemons (a short shooting guard named Steve Francis) make lemonade (a quicker natural scorer who can get help defensivley in the zone, once again named Steve).
It's more reasonable to assume he thinks the Rockets should bring in a new PG and bring Mobley off the bench. He probably understands that he and Cat play 42 minutes a game because their third guard, Moochie, is garbage, and they have to play as many minutes as possible. It makes little sense to give starter minutes to a guy who only gets on the court because Cat and Steve would get too tired playing 48 minutes.
I agree with WinkFan. That is more reasonable. But Mobley plays 42 minutes. He's going to play 42 minutes off the bench? I think our team will be fine like this. BUT MOOCHIE REALLY HAS TO EITHER GO OR IMPROVE. He sucks.
Not to sound like a broken record and repeat everything MManal said, but it is becoming more and more apparent to me that Francis is better suited for the 2-guard, both offensively and defensively. Offensively, mindset aside, Steve's forte is quality shooting (he shoots a high percentage 3 pointer and mid range shoot) and getting to the hoop with sterngth. He is a very very good finisher. He doesn't distribute the ball well at all. Now, add in the fact that Steve would much rather score than pass, and it strengthens the argument. As a 2, not having to worry about getting everyone their touches, would Steve become an even better shooter/scorer - it's scary to think its even possible?? Defensively, I think Steve becomes a better defender at the 2 guard. I remember the last Lakers game, and the few times Steve was matched up with Kobe, while he did get abused just like Mobley, he also had a steal or two, and, for the most part, kept Kobe in front of him with better sucess than he has with most PG's. Plus, Steve is more muscle than he looks. The boy is solid. I think he would be an average post defender, which would mean his defense improves dramatically (from crap to average). Defensively, we are eitehr talking about Francis/Mobley in the backcourt or New PG/Francis. I personally don't think Mobley is that good a defender to worry about the defense getting worse. Sadly, there really aren't any great true PG's on the market. If I was the Rockets, I would push hard for Jason Kidd. I understand it has about a 1 million to 1 chance of happening, but Kidd doesn't know what he wants to do. I get the feeling that he likes, to an extent, the team NJ has fielded, but he really wants to (a) return to the West - better, bigger, more competitive conference that you have to go through in the end anyway; and (b) get that dominant bigman to team up with. San Antonio may make a push for him, but there are questions on both sides. Why should S.A. break up the foreign backcourt that is young, growing, and has taken them to the top (almost) so far this year? Is Kidd ready to slow his game down considerably to play the Spurs style of ball? Can Parker and Kidd co-exist, etc., etc.? Where else can Kidd go? Denver? Please. What does H-town have to offer. Specifically, Yao Ming. Kidd would do a wonder for his game and vice-versa. Plus, we would still have Francis at the two. Kidd could rack up assists there and Francis could rack up points and boards. They'd become a great running team immediately, and, defensively, I dont see how they could get any worse in the backcourt. Salary wise it could become a long term problem as you eventually have 3 players who are getting paid big time. But, hopefully you can entice NJ by offering them Rice's expiring contract, Mobley (who has some value), one of the PF's and draft picks. Or, if necessary, give them Cato instead of Taylor or Griffin(who, let's admit it, could be very solid in 20-25 minutes a game in the East). This leaves the Rockets al ittle short in the backup PF/C and SG areas, but, with three players the caliber of Kidd/Francis/Ming, each with different and complimentary styles (as oppossed to Francis/Mobley's completely similar style), you fill those other spots. You still have Nachbar (who's suppossed to be great, remember ), Morris occasionally plays solid role player minutes, and either Cato or Griffin (depending on who is kept) splits time at the backup PF/C position, with Yao getting increasing minutes. Anyway, pipedream, but would be perfect summer scenario.
Beautifantabulous post. Jason Kidd......I am dreaming of him... I would do anything to get him. I would trade our entire team (besides Yao and Steve) for him. ANYTHING!!!... Jason Kidd and Steve Francis. Imagine. With Yao Ming. HOUSTON HAS PLENTY OF OFFER. BIG HOUSES FOR HIS WIFE and cute son, wonderful weather, nice facilities, plenty of chances to win. Les...who care about salary caps! Go for it! Man...the Rockets would definitely be the most talked about team in the summer. Bill Walton would be WHAT THE?!? That would be sweet. What a surprise. Glen Rice makes the same amount as Kidd. How much do you think Kidd will want next season? WE COULD GET HIM!!!!!! lol.... Give them Glen Rice, Cuttino Mobley, Eddie Griffin and Maurice Taylor, and Kelvin Cato, and our next 2 first round draft picks!!!
nice idea. i would trade anyone short of steve and yao for kidd. i dont think that steve would be a good two, but w/ kidd it doesnt even matter. how about if the spurs get him, than we try to trade for parker? it would probably mean mobley though, and that would help the spurs more than us. duncan, kidd and mobley vs. ming, steve and parker.
You're forgetting, he would go through the same thing Iverson goes through. Physically getting beat up by the bigger guards. They would push him around and post him up. Also quickness can only do so much, against the bigger guards he would have to work physically on both sides because he would be playing guys bigger, stronger and almost as fast EVERY NIGHT! What good is Francis scoring 30 points on Kobe or Ray Allen when they come back and score 40 or 50 points on him because they're physically stronger and pushing him around? I mean why send Francis out there to get abused by bigger SGs!?
Unless you can get Odom, this option will not work. Also, if you go for Odom, Mobley will need to be off the team imo. Mobley-Odom-Francis, none of which are good off the ball players combined with Yao who needs his touches will be a chemistry nightmare. [/B][/QUOTE] Why the hell do we need Lamar Odom? Who is Lamar Odom anyways? Let's see here. Lamar Odom has been suspended from the league numerous times for drug offenses. Odom has been cited as a lethargic player who does not seem to have the desire to maximize his talents. He is a little bit above average in scoring ability. He has not played a full season in three years. Odom, however is a good ballhandler especially at his size. However, there are too many questions about him, and why risk this for Mobley, a proven scorer?
Jeff I have your solution. Find a SG or 2 guard that is at least 6' 7" that is a good enough ballhandler to bring the ball up the court and initiate the offense. Move Steve to the 2 in the sense that he will not be the initiator of the offense, but keep him defensively guarding the weaker or shorter of the 2 backcourt players for the other team. The way I see this working is that most teams are not going to change their starting lineups to match up against the Rockets. They will allow their PG to match up with Steve defensively, and put a bigger player on our PG (who is 6' 7"), probably their shooting guard. But, coming back up the floor, our PG will guard their SG so that Steve doesn't have to deal with a defensive mismatch. I think this would solve most if not all of the Rockets offensive problems. Although, I think the other part of the equation is that 80% of the time down the floor, Yao Ming should be the true initiator of the offense. That's because he is, night in and night out, the biggest mismatch for our opponents. Give him the ball in the post, and let him either draw the double team, shoot, or pass to cutters. He is already a better passer now than Hakeem was even late in his career. In my opinion, Yao is the best passer on the team. He just needs more touches and experience before he can get consistency. So, a taller PG that will force the team to match their SG up against him, and make Yao the primary pivot for the initiation of ball movement. THEN we will start evolving into a true contender.
Axeman, You might as well just have Mobley be the player you are talking about. He can defend the bigger player. He draws the bigger defender. He passes it in to Ming. He can handle the ball. While he is not 6'7" he does have a tremendous wingspan.
i have novel (or is it naive) idea! how about is steve and cat just switch places. steve could move to the two, like he obviously wants to do and cat could go back to pg like his rookie season. that way calvin and steve can both be happy. cat may be pissed, but he doesnt have a nickname like "franchise" or "dynasty" so who cares what he thinks.
I honestly think Cat would mae a good option at the point Guard spot. On offense, we've seen that when he has the ball first in his hands and has a set play where he dumps off the ball, he is good at it, his selfishness only comes intop play when he is forced to make quick decisions, which almost always end up in him putting up a stupid shot. Defensively, Cat would just match up on the opposing 2 and Frnchise takes the opposing 1. I dont see why the Rox cant run an offense through Cat. It's not like we run a motion or something.
My thoughts exactly. He has trouble against pg's on most nights. Yes he could have some success, but constantly shooting over players 3-4 inches taller than you will send your fg% down just like Iverson. Iverson last yr at the pg he avg 23pts and 7asst and shot 44% fg, now he's always closer to 40-41% and once he slows a little, it will be worse. The best solution for the rockets and Franis is an offense like the triangle that doesn't require him to make all the decisions with the ball. That was the purpose of that offense is because they didn't have a true pg. Install a offense that can involve other capable players making passes and cuting and moving. Sure it may take away from Francis 1 on 1 skills, but it would make him harder to defend if he had defender running at him before he dribbles and moving and stuff. The easiest player to defend is a stationary one.
