Francis is showing the right attitude right now. He's not pouting or complaining like a lot of people said he would do. He's just going out there doing what coach wants him to do. With that said, I see Head and Francis playing depend on the matchups and what they need. Francis is just too talented not to make the rotation. Once he gets more familar with the offense, I have no doubts that we'll see Steve get more minutes. He looked good playing with the starters playing within the offense, not even looking for his own shot. Didn't look great with the scrubs because well, they are scrubs.
I want the guys who will help us win in the playoffs. Unfortunately, Rafer has proven he does not do that. Francis at least has that potential. Also, the motion offense is great for the first 3-1/2 quarters, but just like every other offense in the NBA, when a championship caliber defense shuts down motion and passing lanes, there is one last way that you can score..... beat your defender. Francis can do it. Alston can't. I've placed my vote. Visualize Rafer missing the rim instead of Mario Elie hitting the Kiss of Death.
Give him some time. Everyone toes the line in the pre-season (except Wells??? last year). Even Spanoulis didn't start complaining till a little farther in the season, and Francis is much more accomplished than that Greek quitter. He's still fighting for a rotation spot. Complaining is not in his best interest yet.
I was impressed with Mike James last night. He looked highly effective with the starting unit. I'm thinking something like Sura, Butler, Snyder, and possibly Rafer to Portland for Lafrentz. There's your backup 4/5, and a perfect fit in an Adelman offense.
Right. I wonder if SF3 is always fit for VGD? Anyway, I hope that Yao, T-mac and SF3 will win a Champion for Houston.
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It's kind of sad that Adelman is sticking with basically the same starting lineup. We already know that it is not an elite lineup as demonstrated from last year. I know now our bench is stronger, but I really think James or Francis should be starting ahead of Alston. Part of Alston's good play right now stems from familiarity with his teammates and his excellent physical conditioning. Hopefully James or Franics takes a bigger role during the seasone and playoffs. Hopefully Bonzi also gets more minutes because he is much much more gifted offensively than Battier is, even though the preseason might indicate otherwise.
The thing is, Steve didn't come here because he thought he was going to be a starter. He made it clear from his press conference that he would play whatever role they wanted him to play. He's happy to be back here. You can see him talking to all the young guys trying to show them the NBA ropes and chatting it up with the vets on the bench. I'm pretty sure Steve rather be back home in Houston on a team with championship hopes, as opposed to playing on ANOTHER bad team while getting lots of playing time. Steve has definitely matured. I don't get why people keep saying that he still wants to be a star after all he's been through. Just by looking at his preseason performances, he has yet to try to be a "Star" but rather more of a team player. Just remember, Steve was never a character problem in Houston. Even when JVG came, he deferred to Yao so his big man could get better.
This is what i've been saying all along as well. Francis is behind Bonzi, James, Rafer, and Head, and if he's not careful, he might even be behind Brooks. He's defintely on the outside looking end, and if a guard is going to get shafted then it's defintely Francis. Bonzi, James, Rafer, and Head are too important to not make the rotation. Adelman said he didn't want to give sporadic minutes, so if that's the case, Francis may not even see the court on some nights.
If Rafer starts in the regular season I reckon he will log 30, or 30+ mins especially if James and Francis see time at the two. His shot attempts will go up and trade Rafer posts will become popular again. I'm surprised that so many posters think he's a different player to last season. Rafer has always been capable of good games but he's just very inconsistent.
I think Francis might be on the bench to start the season, but he's definitely going to be in the rotation come playoff time. Unless his talent has taken a serious hit over the past couple of years, Quite the opposite, actually. The Rockets played extremely well when their starting lineup was in the game last year. It's when our second unit comes in that things do not go so well.
Potential = you are currently a crappy player. This isn't an all or nothing proposition. Your opinion of Rafer is based on him playing 40+ minutes. Now we have the luxery of NOT playing Rafer as much. You say Rafer won't help us IN the playoffs or in the last 5 minutes of any game. HOWEVER, Rafer will allow us to get to that point without losing our hair. So under certain game situations, we can sit Rafer (unlike last season) and put in James or Francis. I love the idea of keeping Rafer and having a MJames/Francis. Ying and Yang. We get the best of both worlds.
Portland would love to break the logjam of big men and rid themselves of Lafrentz' salary. However, if we do this we should demand one of their draftees like Rudy Fernandez be included. They are too deep in raw young talent to trade 2 or 3 for one (even with Sura), but this would make sense for our future and theirs.
not realy. it means you have a chance to improve, from any stage. anyone has potential, but usualy the more athletic/smarter you are, the more potential you have. tracy mcgrady, going from a defensive specialist in toranto, to a scoring champion, is an example of a pretty good player fullfilling his potential to an all-star. steve francis will get better, once he gets used to the offense. i was hoping rick will change his lineup depending on our opponents. cause, there are some teams, rafer/steve/mike can not play against. rafer against deron williams, is an example. hopefully, adelman will change his mind. but, hes the coach, and knows way more than we do.
Exactly. It'll take him some time, but I'm sure he'll pick things up. There's ALWAYS a need for talented players, and Stevie will be right there to pick up the minutes if/when Ralston flames out.
Adelman cited Francis' fitness for his slower start, but Francis said he did not believe his conditioning was an issue and would have his game in shape by the time the season begins Oct. 30 in Los Angeles against the Lakers. "Offensively, there wasn't anything there for me," Francis said. "They were in their zone. I just made the right plays. Playing extended minutes, despite not scoring, I was able to get up and down and test my wind. It wasn't bad." Hmm, Adelman says Francis isn't fit enough, but Francis says he's fine. Bonzi of last year anyone???
