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

Alston is a great point guard. From what I saw last season, he should start and see tons of minutes.

 

i wish you could go into detail, cause i seriously thinking you and me are watching a different rafer alston.

Any GM can say tmac can't play winning basketball. Rasheed, didn't play winning basketball before detroit. a player that players "losing basketball" can always win. a winning player can lose.

 

francis i think will man up through this and try to work it out BY HIMSELF which is great. i think as the season progresses, he will eventually be a big part and either replace head/alston.

he's just too raw for this system right now. alston has sucked the last 2 games he's played offensively as he has returned to his usual brickfest. so francis should not worry. if he takes his time, learn how to the run and move in the offense, he'll replace rafer.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5250167.html

"That's what we all have to have," Francis said. "That's the mindset we have to have. We all came here to win. Nobody's looking to outshine Tracy or Yao. It's reality that they are going to be doing the bulk of the scoring. For us, for Luis, myself and Mike, we have to fit into what they do."

"I think if guys see me willing to take a back seat, everybody will fall in place," he said. "This league has been great to me. Financially, of course, it's been great to me. The only thing left is to win. That's the way we can do it, if we can all come together."

 

"Anybody might have a big night on any given night. There's going to be consistency with Yao, consistency with T-Mac. But there are going to be other guys that will have to step up and play their role. One night it may be me. One night it may be Steve. One night it may be Scola. Whoever it is, we have to believe in each other."

One thing is certain: The Rockets have been altered, and they believe the changes are for the better.

"It will change," Scola said. "The team will change. It will change a lot. It may change for good. It may change for bad. But it definitely changes. ... I think these changes will be for good."

i forgot that quote. as u are seeing, players know this is not where they want to be either. again, new system, new players. we have guys adjusting to new roles (star-> role player).

we'll be fine. until they consistently proven to me they can't win big games during the reg. season, then i may be more pessimistic. but i'm just so excited to see tracy playing the way he is.

 

francis said if he won't be in the rotation then he's gonna do something. that worries me. what exactly will he do? he can only be a distraction from here on out.

 

Generally players don't get to choose if they sit in the locker room. I assumed Adelman sent him there. Either way, it was odd because he needs the minutes to practice and Adelman has indicated that in the media.

 

also, francis said in the paper that he "turned down a lot of money from other teams to play here." he's expecting minutes, and thats not a good thing. its even worse since he will most likely be out of the rotation. i have a feeling he'll demand to be traded. actually, i hope he will, that way the front office wont look like the bad guys and we can get something quality in return.

 

that is crap. he didn't turn down alot of money. he parlayed a relationship with yao into an epic shoe contract with a chinese company. spin it anyway you can, but the bottom line is that steve got what he was going to get. he also knew that on every team other than the lakers, he was probably going to ride the bench.

*I'm not targeting that at you rofflesaurus, just the qoute from steve

 

Same ole' Francis. There is no "I" in TEAM but there is two in Stevie Franics....

 

I think it would be pathetic for the Rockets to sign a guy under market value for the sole purpose of trading him. Management and coaching need to get on the same page.

 

i have no clue what your talking about, but have you ever thought francis actually matured? him gonna do something is very BROAD. it could mean what you want it to be. (i know you want francis to fail) or it could mean, he'll use it for motivation. stop thinking negative, think postive.

give me a break. when you come to an organization, an organization saying you'll have playing time, but not alot. but instead, will receive no playing time, he'll complain or use it for motivation. he never said, anything selfish.

either way, i dont' expect francis to not to play, i'm expecting rafer to be rafer again.

 

I'm thinking that "something" means he's going to have to really step up his game in order to get playing time. T-Mac said he hasn't been pouting or anything so far. I believe he loves Houston too much to cause problems within the team. Worst case scenario is he demands a trade. Best case scenario is he gets in shape and cracks the rotation as the season goes on. It still way too early to write him off.

 

yea this is how u know francis has matured. he knows he will NEVER get the shine tmac or yao will get. and he knows he's our of the rotation right now. why pout and hurt his reputation even more and not play?

he knows he can get in there b/c alston WILL struggle.

 

best case scenario is he demands a trade and we get something of quality in return

 

This is coming from what?

According to everyone interviewed Francis isn't complaining, whining, or causing a distraction from the team. He actually said that he is willing to come off the bench, and hoped that if his teammates see him willing to take a backseat then they would all be willing as well, because winning was what was important.

Furthermore on the court during pre-season Francis has looked to pass first, doesn't dribble out the clock, and seems to be trying to fit in with Adleman's game plan.

It sounds like you had a preconceived notion of the type of player Francis was in the past, and when you heard that he wanted minutes(which every NBA player should want) you jumped to conclusions.

What exactly has Francis said or done in that interview or the pre-season that makes you think he's putting himself above the team?

 

quality? what quiality do we need? with a cheap player, we can't get anything in value except for draft picks. if we're gonna get draft picks, we'd look to get 2010 +, and we have no idea, how a team is going to do in that season. you're hate to francis is greater than everyone in this forum's hate on rafer.

 

Low risk - potential high reward.

Right now, Steve doesn't fit, but that may change.

The key will be how he handles it in practice.

If he is out of the rotation, and the team is getting better, it may be best to trade him....good for both him and the Rockets.

DD

 

Dude, you know nothing of basketball.


Anyone...and I mean anyone who wants to argue the merits of running the same starting 5 as last year and think adding James/Scola is going to scare the Suns, Mavs, and Spurs is absolutely nuts.

Francis is the ONLY player other than TMac who can create his own shot, get to the rim, get FT's, and rebound at the same clip.

For you to gloat about Rafer is absolutely hilarious. For anyone to want a PG who gives you this is just stupidity.

a. Doesnt run the offense at all
b. Cant Rebound a lick
c. Is the worst shooter in the NBA over the last 27 years
d. Cant create his own shot
e. Is a terrible FT shooter
f. Plays terrible D


g. Doesnt turn the ball over that much.


Thats a fact. It wont take long before Rafer is benched.


You guys dont know what the F your talking about. The Rox were something miserable against the better teams last year and the last three years.

Last Year

Utah 1-3
Spurs 2-2
Suns 1-3
Mavs 1-3
Warriors 1-2

 

lol dreamshake. obviosly rafer is doing something right in order to start at PG, and francis is doing something wrong in order to be out of the rotation. i predicted as soon as we acquired francis that he would dissapoint everyone who thought he could contribute to this team. i think i know plenty about basketball

 

I think you still assume steve is the same guy as 5 years ago