[chron] Steve Francis ...finally ready to compete at practice for court time

Let's not count chickens, he hasn't done anything in 4 years.....let's hope he can, but I would not bet on it.

DD

 

AB is playing great???

 

The Rox could use some solid play at the guard position. Everyone except Brooks has been marginal this year:

1. T-Mac has never looked worse in his career with the dead leg.
2. Alston has shot even worse than his normal subpar shooting and the offense has been inconsistent under his direction. His defense is probably the most solid part of his game.
3. Brent Barry has lost his shot and he is a defensive liability one on one.
4. Von Wafer has provided a few brief spurts of offense but yet to establish himself as a solid backup. His defense is suspect.

I won't even mention Luther Head.

So, if Stevie can provide some penetration, solid defense and good rebounding then it should improve the Rox. As long as he realizes he isn't the Franchise anymore and assumes a new role where he doesn't dominate the ball and plays within the offense, he could be a real asset.

 

Man this was the best news I've read about the Rockets in months...

let the wait for Steve Franchise end please....

anyone, I mean anyone I'd accept over Rafer

 

Casual Fan

 

i hope steve can play again (i doubt it will be with us b/c AB has been great and we have too much depth at SG with battier now back).

if not, hopefully he'll get another chance with another team since his contract is up after this year. i appreciated with steve did for us during the transition years and hopefully he'll get a chance to play again (he's no marbury that's for sure).

keep working hard steve, we'll look forward to seeing you ball again in the NBA.

 

http://blogs.chron.com/jeromesolomon/2008/11/plenty_of_millions_no_minutes.html


Looks like we have a different take on it.

 

Halftime segment with Stevie Franchise and wifey helping out some folks for Thanksgiving.

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Of course Rick A would have no comment on Steve Francis; he hasnt even gone through a full practice, and u cant say hes gonna get PT if he hasnt earned it yet. Steve also just went through major surgery and nobody really knows hows hes gonna play. But I would still argue that if any1 could come back; it would be Steve.

Heart and Determination have never been Steve's problem

 

Being a defender against the Francis Haters on these boards, this news was a breath of fresh air. He was quoted as saying that he didn't wanna go out there until his knee was pain-free. His knee is all good now, he just needs to shake off rust like anyone that's been away from playing for a while.

For those that say that he wouldn't be able to find time at a position where Alston/Brooks occupy most the time, puh-leese. He will outwork Alston to the point where Alston will be third string, he COULD'VE and WOULD'VE done so last year but the torn quad that had been ailing him since his NY days, and that he held off surgery for, ruined that from happening.

Even with the dribble off his foot, turnover machine arguments that the haters continue to constantly refer to, even with those cons he's still a major upgrade over "airball floater, clunking 3pter, invisible" Alston. You have Francis,Mac,Artest and Yao out there, double teaming would be suicide. Alston doesn't have that ability, that fear factor.

 

healthy alston
PPG
10.1
RPG
3.30
APG
4.7
FG%
0.359
3PT%
0.276
MPG
32.3

Injured francis
PPG
11.3
RPG
3.6
APG
3.9
FG%
0.408
3PT%
0.378
MPG
32.3

 

28.1 mpg for francis my bad

 

This is what I love about statistics. They don't paint the whole picture but they certainly give you a clear view of how things really are.

 

Totally agree with you on this one....

 

I hope so, I really, really do. Rox need a homecourt advantage in the worst way. At this point, watching 80 of 82 games from TV, we have the worst home court advantage of a contender. If Franchise puts fans in the seats and raises the enthusiams, I'm all for it. But realistically, Francis, in his 30s isn't going to improve to anymore, regardless of his game. Add that to the fact he has had very significant injuries the last 3 years, I can't see him being a guy helping us to win during actual games. Locker room and practice, that is a different story...I think most of us underestimate experience and practice.

 

Disagree. Who is going to put up better numbers? A guy playing for a team going nowhere or a guy on a contender? Who gets more pressure to perform?

 

You are correct, Sir!

 

We Want Steve.

 

disagree in this situation,francis was playing along side some of the worst cancers in the league and a guy playing for a contender should be motivated to do better because he knows he has too and knows if he does well the team will go far. In new york they were going nowhere so there wasnt even motivation for francis so why would he have to play big,and not to mention he wasnt even playing at 100%

 

if i were morey, id definitely would want to play francis. if he gets back to his old form or at least partially, he would be a great trade asset. teams would line up to get him. and if he learns to play and orchestrate the offense, we would definitely be able to let go of alston.