[ch 2 video] Francis interview: "I definately didn't come here not to play at all."

lol that would be the steal of the century if the clips gave us magette for francis...wont happen though. francis signed with us for the minimum so we may only get cash or a 2nd rounder if we traded him.

 

Steve is where I expected he would be. Expecting him to be the starter or an "all star talent" when the last 3 lottery teams he was on dumped him was naive at best. If he is playing John Lucas III's minutes this year he is a huge upgrade, assuming his complaining doesn't over ride those contributions. Great insurance against injuries if his attitude stays positive. Unfortunately that is a big IF.

 

This was bound to happen.

The question is, can he handle it. We will need him... but not if he's not right in the head when coach calls on him.

 

Here's the good part. If Steve can keep his ego in check and work hard no matter he plays or not, he will work into the rotation during the season and eventually be our starting point guard. Reason? He's the most talented PG on the team. Don't get over excited about Rafer. He will be left wide open and won't let the other team pay. He will be taken advantage of by the elite guards. In the regular season, teams will think hard about how to defend the other team as a whole. That's when Rafer's weaknesses will be exposed. Sad thing is, that might not be exposed when it really matters. Hopefully, RA is a insightful coach and envision the team deep into the playoffs. Then he'll realize Steve is the one that really matters. How about MJ. Someone thinks he and steve basically has the same skill set. That's not true. Steve is a good rebounder, which this team dearly needs. Steve is much stronger than MJ. That means he will better be able to deal with tougher defense. Last but not least, he's a better defender than MJ. Based on the above analysis, Steve will become the starting PG by mid-season.

 

LOL that is some wishful thinking bud, and those are some HUGE if's. francis a better defender than MJ? hahahah that is the funniest thing ive heard. francis isnt even a better defender than luther head. keep praying though.

 

I concur. I also like to see MJ to replace RA. Its just fructuated to see the same problem repeating over and over again.

 

sf didn't play good enough to unseat rafer. he hasn't showed any promise with the new system. whether ra can come up somthing for sf depends on how good ra is. don't forget he is hyped to be able to bend his system to fit all players he has

one thing for sure is that we hasn't improved our pg position.

 

Mike James isn't an improvement over not having a backup PG? Just because Rafer is still starting doesn't mean we aren't better off at PG. If rafer starts, or should I say when Rafer starts shooting us out of games, then we can replace him with Mike James, who is a far superior shooter then rafer and steve.

 

Do you really think a 100% Steve is more talented at running the Point Guard position then Rafer on a Adelman Princeton-esque free-flow offense?

Do you really think Steve is the solution on DEFENSE to the elite guards in this league? How many PG's actually have the ability to shutdown or control players like Tony Parker, Steve Nash or Deron Williams. Are you going to bash Alston because he doesn't have Jason Kidd or Earl Watsons defensive ability?

Yes our defense at PG is probably unremarkable as to our excellence wing defenders (Mac and Shane), but if your answer is Stevie, you need to get a reality check.

Why is Stevie the one that really matters? Because he made a bunch of highlight-reel plays in the past that has taken control the man-crush parts of your brain?

Stevie is inferior to Alston to running the offense (85 minutes ZERO T/O; +/- Stats when in game last year and during this years preseason) and inferior to James as an offensive spark (MJ is a much better shooter) and is the least effective defender of all three at this stage. Have you seen the game against Memphis where Lowry torched him? Do you really think his a better defender then James or Alston? Did I mention how underrated Rafer's defense is? (Exellent at the passing lanes and an adequet man-to-man defender).

His probably a tougher rebounder then both, but what's the point of your PG grabbing a rebound and then be unable to run a fast break properly or efficiently?

It will be a remarkable feat if he manages to take the starting PG job without any injuries to Rafer or Mike James.

I certainly wish him the best of luck, (I've always been a fan of "Lao Da"). But the new Rockets won't be needing him for significant purposes, and yes if his ego can be kept in check then he might serve SOME purpose. I Certain hope Stevie can play a major role, but I really doubt so and his conduct at the latest interview has shown that he has more potential to become a distraction rather then an asset for the Rockets.

_ Blue

 

RA isn't going to go out of his way just to work something out for Francis, I mean he could, but that would just damage the team. I mean would you rather see Luther cutting/slashing, hitting open 3s with a very low usage rate or run isolation plays for Stevie? (his best offensive option).

The upgrade in PG is the depth and having Rafer playing 20-25 Mpg rather then 40Mpg. We will see an increase in Rafer's efficiency and have a more efficient scoring threat at PG (James) at our disposal. Did I mention the insurance we have in Francis and Brooks that we couldn't find in Lucas and VSpan last year?

Do remember that our starting 5 last season had the best +/- stats. Hence Rafer can be seen as an extremely good option at PG next to Mac and Yao, it's only when he is forced to be the 3rd option whilst playing 40mpg that those bricks start flying. Having Rafer and James splitting minutes at the 1 is a tremendous upgrade from last years One-Man-Point.

 

No, he is the highest jumping PG on the team. He is also probably the worst of our options at actually playing the PG role of distributing the ball. Don't get me wrong, I suspect Steve COULD average 20 + points a game still if he was given 40+ minutes of play and allowed to dominate the ball for those 40 minutes. It's just that this team has too many better options for that to happen barring major injuries.

The funny thing is that Rafer has a better career 3pt % than Francis. So as far as kicking the ball out to a wide open 3 pt shooter, historically Rafer has been better at that. Now certainly Francis is MUCH better at creating his own shot and being a primary scoring option. It's just that he only really fills that role when he is dominating the ball, rather than in the flow of the offense. A ball dominating PG on the starting unit is not something this team needs unless we have major injuries.

Defensively Francis might be the worst PG on the team. He has the atheleticism, but he has always relied on reaching defense either getting a steal or getting burned rather than focusing on keeping his man in front of him. His only possible defensive strength would be in post up situations, but I don't recall having our PG's posted up being a problem.

If you want your PG to average 20 points on 18 shots with 4-5 assists, 4-5 rebounds and 4-5 turn overs in 40 minutes of play, then Steve might be able to still do that. Just don't be surprised if every other player on our team has their scoring average go down in that case.

 

The Dallas Cowboys were one of the first NFL teams to realize the potential of using computers. The Rockets should consider getting a software (read gaming) company to develop a "simulator" for them which could be programmed to apply a coaches "system". Also, the computer "team" could be programmed to provide any defensive set or scenario. Players would play (like a video game) in these scenarios and get immediate feedback/analysis on whether they are in the flow of the current "system" or not -- with the computer prompting them to "move" or "cut now", "go to the open space", "take your shot", etc. Then a more in-depth analysis could be requested to break everything down in detail for player.

Something like this would help players like Steve. It's not a lack of desire or even IQ -- it's developing new instincts. Instincts come from repetitive scenarios. It would be more concentrated than playing time. It would be the brain's "reflex/weight room".

... sorry... just daydreaming.

 

I didn't watch any preseason games, but I'm going to assume Alston played most of his minutes with Yao and Tracy. SF and MJ on the other hand, played mostly with the likes of Scola, Bonzi, Novak et al. Am I right? If so, it's kind of hard to compare the guard production when Alston had the advantage of playing with the A-unit.

 

You didn't watch any preseason games, exactly. Watch the game (against Memphis, I think) in which Alston is resting and Mike James was the starter along side the A-unit playing majority of the minutes at PG. He hoisted more shorts then Yao and TMAC and ended with zero assists with the offense looking dull with many Mike James isolations. I understand this is only a small sample and we need more games to determine who is more effective with the A-Unit, but judging by that game alone you can make an educated assumption that the A-Unit will benifit more with Alston starting, heck, Alston is the A-Unit. James on the other hand will stand out as an offensive spark off the bench (along with Bonzi) for the poor shooting Alston.

James might have better statistical games playing with the A-Unit because Yao and Mac will get him plenty of open looks but were not trying to compare PGs here, were trying to compare which group of players play the best +/- ball and efficiently together, and Rafer's ability to run a smooth offence with adjustable tempo is too valuable to come off the bench.

There is no need to compare the two PGs, just use them both timingly and accordingly, to extract the most efficiency out of the PG position.

_ Blue

 

He hoisted more shots*

 

Your assuming Stevie hasn't had time with the A-unit during TC and practice. While we are at assumptions, Stevie probably(more like certainly) didn't mesh with the Yao, Tmac and the other starters since Stevie requires the ball in his hands to be effective. Hmmm, whats better Yao and Tmac creating shots for others or Stevie creating shots for Yao and Tmac and others? To play with the first unit, you have to be able to read and react to what the defense gives you and move without the ball, it would also be nice if you could make jump shots.

 

<br>
rafer alston can make jump shots????

 

If you want your starting PG to be a primary scorer then obviously Rafer is the worst choice. I'd rather our starting PG focus on creating shots for the other starters and only shoot if he is wide open. In that role Rafer is not as bad as many of you make him out to be. The problem is when Alston is asked to be the 2nd or 3rd scoring option. Fortunately this year Rafer can be deligated to 5th scoring option and subbed out any time when he would not be the 4th or 5th option. As for spot up wide open 3 pointers, Rafer's career average is better than Francis, and he was ONE percent less than James last year at 36% vs 37%.

 

shoots 3s better then francis

 

I guess you've never seen Mike James play or remember the fact that last year he eventually never saw playing time because of his play since he couldn't distribute the ball.

Are you saying because Rafer has better assist average? Sorry, that award still goes to Steve. Rafer has only averaged more than 6 assist per game three seasons in his career, Steve has only averaged less than 6 assist per game in two seasons of his career, part of which were 68 games over a season and a half with New York and the other part a half season in Orlando in which he average 5.7.

A better career 3pt %? Let's see, you're trying to make an argument over a 1% difference? Also the fact that Rafer has taken from 300 to last year having a whopping 529 attempts as opposed to Steve who only took over 300 attempts his first two seasons. Bottom line is that Steve has never been a three point shooter, that's not his game. This argument might have value if JVG were still our coach.

Besides that if this is where you want to go with that, how about the fact that Rafer is a career 38% FG shooter and has only average over 40% twice, neither of which was playing for the Rockets where as Steve is a 43% FG shooter and has never average below 40% in his career ever. You can say it's because Steve doesn't shoot, he drives it to the hole, yet that means he is able to take a higher percentage shot, whereas Rafer shoots his "tear drops" from hell and can't hit. What I have seen in very little action from Steve actually playing with the starters, is that he has deferred to them more that dominating the ball.

Fact is you make a presumption based on very little. Fact is that the coach has stated on more than one occasion that Steve was out of shape, not that he couldn't produce on the floor or wasn't passing or had to dominate the ball etc. Fact is that the only negative statement that the team, coach's, or other players have said is that he is a little out of shape and has lost a step, beyond that they say good things about him. Fact is Aldeman has said that the rotation is not set in stone.

I can see this if it were just a comparison with Mike James because I believe he is the best defender at the point. At what time has Rafer stayed in front of his man? He gets beat off the dribble on regular occasions with any PG that has any type of speed. Steve is the same in that regard but has a better career average in steals than Rafer, which means he has had more success at getting a steal rather than getting burned.

I could see this if it was just a comparison with MJ because Mike takes more chances yet has low TO's. Its easy for Rafer to have lower turnovers when he takes less chances meaning he comes down and dumps it to T-Mac then gets out the way. Yao and T-Mac both have higher turnovers. Why? Because they draw defenders and make more high risk passes which increases the chance of a TO. Steve is the same, he draws defenders with his penetration and makes higher risk passes. Rafer can't and doesn't draw defenders because he can't shoot, his defenders will purposefully leave him to force him into taking a shot.

Since when were we wanting a point guard to average 20 points a game? We already have two players that do that, no body is asking or expecting that. What we do expect is to have better success offensively in an offensive minded team from each position. We signed Mike James and Steve Francis plus drafted Aaron Brooks for a reason. We signed Luis Scola for a reason. Every sports guy in the NBA has said that Point Guard and Power Forward were our weakest spots last year which says a lot about who was playing those positions.

Lastly, I'm not advocating that Steve or Mike is our savior at the point, but I do feel they are upgrades over Rafer. Steve and Mike have capabilities that Rafer has never had and will never have, but they still have flaws. I'm not expecting them to be as good as Jason Kidd or Steve Nash, that's unrealistic, but definitely better than Rafer.