The first time I ever saw Francis was at Maryland and I was blown away. I didn't know who he was at the time but he seemed to be involved on every single offensive and defensive play. He was flying around the court and seemed to be right on top of the ball when he needed to be. He rebounded, he handled the ball, he scored, he played defense. It was amazing. He was carrying the team, which is often the case for future NBA all-stars in college. During his time with the Rockets he has always dominated the ball, but not always the games. Steve was encouraged to dribble and go one-on-one... I don't need to talk about that any more. Which leads me to tonight's game. I am shocked. I like what I see going on, but so far Steve looks mechanical and seems to drift in and out of the game flow. He is trying to be a team player and a point guard in a way that he has never even attempted in his pro career. I already see him playing smarter basketball with some nice passes, and good decisions. Watching his game evolve this season is going to be very interesting and hopefully very satisfying. I can't remember an NBA player being forced to go through a more dramatic alteration in his game than Francis has and will be this season. Everything is changing for him and all that is carrying over from his previous experience is his natural talent.
That's right. He played a very smart type of "basketball" within the game. He did not "overextend" himself. Van Gundy is trying to keep him focused on the game (big picture) and not the "home run." He played within the team's system. It's the only way for long term consistency. Only once in a while will JVG call on him to be a "hero," i.e., last second shots.
I couldn't agree more. Steve will adjust. As I said in the thread I just started, I don't see Mobley making the same adjustment.
mobley has been making the adjustment havent you see the games? hes hasnt been jacking up shots like last year hes shoting in the flow of the game
I thought Mobley did just fine tonight. The only mistakes I remember him making were missing a couple of shots. Sure, he still drives to the basket, but it's not as if he dominated the ball. Cripes, let's give the guy a chance before we trade him for Brand, Superman and Jesus like so many people expect us to.
It is too early to come to the conclusion. He came back from injury just now. Missing so much practice and pre-season games, he has tough time in be on the same page. If you recall what Steve did in the first four pre-season games, you can tell that is exactly where Mobley has been going through right now.
I can't DISPARAGE Mobley now...he did great tonight. He made open shots...what more can you ask. He's going to be a great role player for us. As well as a 3rd star. Did he start tonight? If he didn't, then i think he will be the best 6th man in the NBA. Very interesting...I wonder how we will do... Can't wait!
It's getting annoying how many people just "assume" that Mobley won't change and they act like it's a fact.
Mobley is just going from shooting guard in one system to shotting guard in another system. Francis is going from shooting guard (who brings the ball up the court) to point guard. I would compare the change Francis will have to make as similar to what most point guards go through when they graduate from college to the NBA.
I'd love to have Brand on the Rockets, but I'll pass on Shaq and Tony Parker, thank you. I thought Cat was alright tonight. I think we need someone other than Yao and Francis able to step up and score on any given night, and I don't have confidence in anyone else on our roster to do that yet. Possibly Taylor.
During the game it was mentioned that after looking at film van Gundy felt that Francis had excellent shot selection and wasn't that bad a defender. The problem was his pass selection. Which is something Yao had a few comments on last year (although not specifically about Francis). It also makes sense, given Francis' inexperience at the point.
I also don't buy the theory that Mobley can't make the adjustment. He does seem to have cut down on the outside jacks. He's just as quick as ever driving to the hoop, and is quite adept at drawing fouls, so I don't mind him driving with reckless abandon assuming we get something out of it (and we usually do). And one thing that I have always liked about Cat is that he can be an genuine lockdown defensive player when he gets inspired. Since Van Gundy is such a proponent of defense and hard work, I think he will be bring out the best in Mobley, in regards to his defense. That will make whatever offensive shortcomings he has that much easier to accept.
Mobley has not fully adjusted - but he can if he wants to. I still saw a few stand still offense late in the game. Also I would like to see more hard cuts to the bastket something Cato is suprisingly doing very well. I would like to see Mobley, Boki and Hopefully pike make more hard cuts and back cuts when Yao or Francis has the ball in as many potential assist situations. But I cannot complain much - I just hope the present spirit and energy continue on into the regular seasson.
The question WE need to ask ourselves is, is the player that Francis is becoming WORTH 12M? Can't we just as well get an Eric Snow-type to do what Steve is supposed to do, and spend that extra 6 or 7M on a forward (indirectly ofcourse)? IMO, we'd be much better off playing Steve with another PG. Steve's not a SG, and he's not a PG. However, I'd prefer to see him playing alongside a PG rather than a SG. This is NOT dissing Mobley AT ALL. To me, he looks like he's adjusting to the system very nicely. However, we have 2 backup SG's who make a combined 4.5M and were very recently signed and not tradeable. They are also VERY capable of handling 20+ minutes at the SG position each. In fact, they are both starting calibre players. So why not keep Mobley on the bench? Because he's a player that could get us the F we need. I doubt we'd be willing to use more than 4M of our trade exception, and so here are the things we are willing to trade: Mobley A portion of the exception (HIGHLY doubt we'll use more than 4M) Griffin Norris MoT (If it brings in a PF) An interesting idea would be Griffin, Mobley, Norris, and a portion of the exception for Reef, Dan Dickau, and their choice of Henderson or Crawford. Yao/Cato/Meech MoT/Reef/Cato Reef/JJ/Boki Pike/JJ/Francis Francis/Dickau/Wilks I remember JVG saying that Piatowski is very good at passing to the post. I also know that he's a superb shooter, doesn't require the ball in his hands, and his game is catch and shoot from anywhere. Shoots a high %, a player defenses to like to leave alone. The rest explains itself.
I'd love to have Brand on the Rockets, but I'll pass on Shaq and Tony Parker, thank you. I thought Cat was alright tonight. I think we need someone other than Yao and Francis able to step up and score on any given night, and I don't have confidence in anyone else on our roster to do that yet. Possibly Taylor.
Now you're just being silly. We'd never be able to get Superman. How about this: Mobley for Jesus, straight up. We lose 18 ppg, but we get a proven leader with good decision making skills. And if that doesn't work for salary cap reasons, we can always do the next best thing and trade Mobley for Vlade Divacs; if you squint real hard, Divacs is close enough.
I totally agree...That is why JVG is the perfect man for this situation...It's a team sport and JVG's scheme will make everyone succeed... Go ROX!!!
