The games lately have gone to ISO, there have been other times when they have gone to ISO's, but judging by the course of the WHOLE season and not just the last few games, STeve hasn't been the guilty party, and has made definite improvement in distributing the ball this year. So don't look for him to keep running ISO's for years to come, when he hasn't even done it that much this year. FRancis said that he and his teammates are to blame for what went wrong. He was a man and owned up to it. That kind of attitude and Steve's improvement this year have shown me, that he's what we need for the future.
Dude, did you even watch the game, or did you just look at the boxscore? Amare had 21 points mainly because his guards (Marbury and Hardaway) and Marion consistently drove the lane, were doubled and fed him the ball for an easy dunk. I know at least half of those points came from wide open dunks, and quite a few were in garbage time. Do you see the Rockets players do this for Yao on a consistent basis (get him wide open looks at the basket)? Last time I checked, every national sports station clowns us on a regular basis for not giving Yao the ball when he is wide open and cutting to the basket. Troll......................
Not a Troll. Just a realist. No one handed him his 10 boards. And even though he got set up with some good passes, when he gets it down low, forget about it. I admire good play when I see it. Just like Starbury totally shamed Steve by putting up much better numbers in a big game. I try to look at things objectively and not just see one side because I happen to like someone or dislike someone. LIke I said, there are so many Steve doesn't make good decisions or Steve is selfish posts and threads that what's the use in putting up another one? What I rarely see is an objective look at Yao and how he can improve beyond "Yao will bulk up and dominate the league" threads. That's why I post my opinion. Yes, I think Yao tends to play soft in the paint. Yes, I think he shies away from contact. No, I don't think that's the best way for your big man to play. No, I don't think he has an aggressive enough personality to be a dominant scorer in the NBA. Yes, I do think he has the skills to be a very good player. No, I do not think he can lead a team to a championship without a dominant scorer to play with. Those are my opinions and I have a right to post them. I just don't think it's fair that Yao gets a free pass from the criticism that everyone else gets. And I think just because you personally like someone should not excluded them from criticism.
Nor has he played in a play-off game. However, let's keep all in perspective -- the players have underperformed and that is on them, and the coaches. There needs to be some big time shaking up. SF will be here next season. 100%. The man is untradable with his new contract. If he were tradable there would be a queue for him 20+ deep! The new coaching staff will ahve to develop his game and EG's game, as well as Yao's, and install a system to successfully challenge for a home court seeding, not lottery loserville (without even a pick [ouch]). Keep JPo. Add the right pieces for the (finally) SYSTEM, and offload some bad contracts along the way. (Rice and Cato lead the parade by coupling their respective values with the sluggish expense of leaden contracts of MoT and Mooch.)
I did prefer Francis shut his trap on this issue. I hate when players say stupid things like this. You are not under any pressure to give a statement or an answer - just say NO.
1) Blame the players? What r we gonna do Steve? It is easy to just say I take the blame. What r u going to do? It's taken a long time to admit ur mistakes. I don't know how long it will take to correct them? 2) Rudy may or may not be fired. If he is fired as coach, it is likely he will go to the front office. What is Steve going to do? He will have to go to another team and play with a new coach? How tragic!
Despite what Francis may say, the problem isn't "players" or any one player. I don't think most of us can actually say, "so and so player is the root of all our problems." Coaching, is however, an integral part to the SEASON LONG success or failure of a team. Inasmuch as I don't want to blame all of Rox coaching, I realize that we've had more bumps this latter half of the season than I can remember. But the record speaks for itself. Anyone who's seen even a handful of Rox losses knows how woeful we've been with sub 500 teams. Meanwhile, we let many close games, that shouldn't ever have been close, slip away too. Then there's the, "Give Yao the Damn Ball argument." While "execution" played a big part in our recent two losses, personally, I'm not convinced that "execution"is the reason why we're in the position we're in right now. To "execute" something you have a plan. And as a pro team, odds are you will execute more often than fail to execute. So this begs the question, "How good is/was our plan?" But back the original question, I think Francis is trying to show his "leadership" by being accountable. While that may be noble, it's not necessarily the right answer. The right answer is that the Rox simply look lost during many stretches of games and something can be said of the lack of a system that, w/o which, gives Mobley and Francis license to dribble. Somehow, I see an inequity to it all. Sure there are Rice haters out there, but who says, "all your job is, is to shoot the 3?" Or, "EG, your job too is to shoot the 3?" Some of these constraints are arbitrary imposed on players while Cat and Francis seem to have all the "love" and license to do whatever they want to do. Why is it that we don't see alternative players post up more? Like Rice, a tall forward? Or EG, another tall forward. I've seen Mobley do it. Why can't other players too, when we have the mismatch? Bottom Line As much as we'd all like to rationalize every little detail at the player level, sometimes the problem is really the "framework" w/in which these players are working. And that "framework" is synoymous with coaching style. So contrary to what Francis may think, it's really the coaching, and not the players. theSAGE
You always discredit other player's numbers by saying "did you watch the game" safe to safe, we all watch quit being a homer.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/rox/1864330 Even after watching film of their last two miserable outings, Rockets players said they find no need to dissect their 54-of-177 (.305) shooting performance. After watching film, Steve Francis counted 15 layups he missed in the past two games. Instead of finding the number frightening, Francis actually relaxed at the realization of the problem. "For me, it's about making layups," Francis said. "Hopefully I'll get out of it before the end of the season. ... After going back and looking at the footage, knowing I missed layups, that doesn't really bother me. Because I know I can make those 90 percent of the time." http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/rox/1864460 If Rudy Tomjanovich and his assistants are sent packing this summer, Francis said, he will leave, too. "I hope nothing happens to the staff, because I don't want to be in a situation where I'm adjusting to a new coach," said Francis, whose six-year, $85 million contract extension, which he signed last August, begins next season. "I don't think I could play for another coach. So, like Shaq said he's sticking with his coach, that's what I'm doing. I'm sticking with my coach." I have expressed my opinion in a post earlier and I am trying to make it more clear by quoting what francis said. He said it after the two horrible losses. He thinks that his ONLY problem was about making layups. Moreover, he doesnt want to ADJUST to a new coach. Instead of what he thinks, I think his problems are the way he runs our offense(how many ISO plays in the season and how many shot clock violation in utah's game) and his lack of defense. I think it's not only his problems, but also the coaching staff problems. However, he doesnt think there are any problems between himself and coaching staff. And he doesnt want to adjust to a new coach as well. So what can we expect next year? Nothing except maybe some changes of role players. I honestly think that we wont have much improvement if we dont change the system. Sorry to say that but I think we are a hopeless team.
Okay, now you're being ridiculous. Besides those being great numbers (which I'm sure you'd say had they been Yao's) it was a big game. It makes the Suns that much closer to their playoff spot, taking their magic number down to one, which they can do. So it really was a "big game".
Juugie and Apollo Creed That was a big game for the suns but you guys sound like you did not even watch the game. 21 points and 10 boards is all good and dandy when all 21 and 10 were key stats. The game was over early and Amare had only about 13 points and 8 boards at that point - the rest were "garbage" points.
How am I being a homer by pointing out the fact that the majority of those points in that game came from his players driving and setting him up for easy dunks? Did you actually watch the game (I'm assuming you did). If so, are you gonna disagree and say that is not the case? Do the Rockets players usually set Yao up like that? Last time I checked, they usually give him the ball and stand around. It's not as if the Suns went to Amare and he took the game over for them by putting up 20 and 10. GS could not contain Marbury, Penny and Marion to save their lives, and Amare was the beneficiery. And like someone else mentioned as well, most of those points did come in garbage time.
