The NBA named Elton Brand rookie of the month, and not Steve Francis..... I realize I am partial, to Francis, but that seems wrong.... Francis put up very good numbers this past month, and was even NBA player of the week for one week during the month... and that is not good enough for Rookie of the month... Who votes on these things? Cause we need either a recount or somebody needs to seek some sort of therapy!!!! Oh well, Keep it up FRANCIS!!!!
According to ESPN, Brand led all rookies in Points and rebounds in January. Pretty hard to argue argue if that is true. The only contention would be that the Bulls went 6 and 9 and we went 7-7, but that's hardly conclusive.
houston was 7-7, bulls 6-8 brand averaged 21.43, francis 21.29 brand shot 51%, francis 45% brand averaged 11.71 rebounds, francis 6.07 brand averaged 1.64 assists, francis 8.07 brand averaged 1.07 steals, francis 1.21 it's a tossup...nothing wrong with brand winning...
I think the fact that Francis is leading his team being there pg...while Brand plays pf. I think that Francis numbers mean a bit more since he is the general of the Rockets offense, while Brand has every thing spoon fed to him.
i agree, this vote was a toss up... Brand is starting to play some really good ball... i wouldn't be surprised if he sneaks in as the rookie of the year if he keeps this up. this will be the closest race for ROY in a long time!
I agree this will be very a tight race. Brand is putting up some great numbers of late. ------------------ - hoopjunkie "and he scorches the bottom of the .NET!!!"
While their stats are close, there is no doubt to me that Francis is more important to his team, and not only gets himself involved like Brand, but the rest of the team as well. Brand is the only option for the Bulls other than Kukoc. The Rockets have more options than just 2. That makes Francis' numbers all the more remarkable. Still, that being said, the NBA probably gave it to Brand because Francis won last month, and Odom the first, and the NBA wouldn't want the same person to get it over and over again. Like it or not, I've seen the NBA, and with awards like player of the month, etc. they rarely give it to someone two months in a row. Nevertheless, we all know that Francis is the top rookie. And all the writers know that too. Trust me, Francis will deservedly win ROY this year.
The Houston Rockets have never been about individual awards bestowed by unknown "experts" in back rooms. We get our vindication the old-fashioned way. We earn it. The next time you see a Rockets player egregiously passed over for the all-star game or rookie-of-the-month, remember that ceremony in San Antonio in '95 where they gave David Robinson the MVP trophy. We're the Houston Rockets. Our motto is: Enjoy the trophy. Here's your jock.
