Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5276493.htmll ALright guys, Francis is behaving, so lets not ridicule him too much further, he's not even playing. Nov. 6, 2007, 12:35AM ROCKETS SUMMARY By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Steve appreciates support Rockets guard Steve Francis said he appreciated fans in Toyota Center on Saturday calling for him to get playing time, but that it would not and should not influence coach Rick Adelman's decision-making about playing time. "It was unbelievable," Francis said. "The fans always embraced me, even when I wasn't a member of the Houston Rockets. It meant a lot to me. The thing that is scary is what if I come in and miss my first two shots? "I definitely love the support, but that should not make a difference to the coach's decisions. I not going to say that it should, but do I want to play? Hell, yes." Francis, however, said he did not expect to play Saturday in Houston or Monday against the Mavericks. He played in neither. "It's not my decision," he said. "We're 3-0 right now. Nothing is going to change. I'm just going to be patient and stay mentally strong. It's hard."
That's a good attitude to take. Scoring 30+ points is hard. Defending an opponent is hard. But... Sometimes, the hardest thing a player can do to help his team to win is sit down.
Just as I mentioned in the other threads, saturday night was just a way to show Stevie we <3 him. There were no chants tonight, as expected. And again, saturday, those with some sanity could see that the large majority (I hope anyway) were just trying to give him a nice Welcome Home. Not trying to influence Ademlan, not to hate on Rafer/Mike. Crowd was pretty good tonight, considering it was the middle of the week. Although it was a big opponent, I liked the energy from the crowd. It was no where near opening night or playoffs, but much better than last year in the regular season.
DAMN IT ADELMAN!! why is it so hard to play Laoda instead of skip2poopypoop???!! why? why? Zboy, please send an email to adelman, i have faith tat u can convince him!
like i once said,we'll see SF3 in the playoffs,cause he's out there when we really need him.now everything is going well,it's difficult to be changed.i hope we'll see SF3 on the court soon.
At times I have found myself asking that question. It's just the fan in me and not the knowledgable basketball fan in me. The Rockets are doing very well right now. If it isn't broke don't fix it. I will say this... If steve francis keeps his head up, gets into shape and prepares himself, he can add yet another dimension to the team. I feel that at some point, due to injury or bad play he will get his chance. It is up to him to prepare as a pro in the meantime. I am so happy that he is back. I think he has the ability to knock down open shots and we all know that he is probably our most athletic guard. It is a long season. The guy may not be Franchise anymore but he is still very talented. It's all about what happens between the ears with him.
Stevie is saying the right things. I don't get why people bicker that he's "disruptive". He hasn't made any trade demands, all he has said he is his desire to play, thats it. I'm one of his biggest supporters and I believe he will get his shot, once he gets it, he's not going to give it back, take note Luther/Rafer
I can't wait for Steve to eventually be the starter. I don't think he's a good fit, but Alston's really not cutting it. I really appreciate Rafer running the offense quite well, but I'd like the starting PG to put at least a little pressure on some of the elite PG's out there.
I would love to send an email to Adelman or whoever is in charge too. Seriously, Rafer belongs in the deepest corners of the bench where it's cold and nobody can hear you scream. He's not helping much at all. I don't buy the whole "don't fix what's not broken" theory. We're winning because of our good bench and everyone else, not Rafer. He's a negative in the line up, he's lucky that everybody else is contributing. I was never a SF3 supporter, but DAMN do I hate Rafer!
It's tough not to be playing on the court when you are healthy and also once as big star as SF3. I believe more than one Chinese reporters had already extended the supports on behalf of the fans from Mainland China and I hope we could help him to get over such difficult time.
I get nostalgic about Rox in 2002-04 when seeing the pics that he stood beside court line, with sad expression in his eyes... It's really hard to him now. Wish he earn his minutes soon.
Looking at Randolph's performances at the Knicks (espcially last night against the Nuggets, 22points, 17rebounds), I still can't believe Knicks got him by simply trading away Francis to Portland. Just imagine the Rockets could land Randolph. His stock was very low in the summer when Portland decided to rebuild, although his contract huge.
Bingo. Look on the bright side. Steve is getting up there in age now, at least his legs will be 5 games fresher than everyone else's when we start the playoffs.
You know you're having a good season when your complaint is that the 4th string point guard is not getting enough playing time. How sweet it is....
Just wondering shouldn't Francis be backing up Bonzi at the 2 instead of jockeying to get time as the back up 1?
