Come on guys...Steve's def a much better PG than James on court!! Don't be deceived by James in practice and his overrated rankings in the year of contract...Let's keep Steve Luther and skip...
I don't think those three will be enough. Having Snyder and/or Harris on this team will be much needed. Harris can man the 3 spot probably better than Sndyer and he can play some 4 if the opposing PF is a wimp. Our depth is a little weak at the three because if one of the three goes down then we will need guys like Snyder and Harris to come in and contribute and use their length. I think the Harris signing is huge because he is a fun player to watch and I am sure he is giving people trouble in camp. I haven't heard much about Snyder but I figured he would be just right for Adelman to use his strengths. I guess we will find out soon enough. I can't wait for Tuesday because I am interested in watching every single player on the roster.
Worst case, it's a one year contract. I'm betting they did that on purpose. No matter how bad SF3 wants/wanted to come back, he still has to fit. If he doesn't, it looks like a Bonzi year for him.
steve cant pick up the offense. where have we heard this before? i dont want to be the one to say "i told u so" b/c its way too soon, but so far what i've predicted since we acquired francis is coming true. i also predict he'll get frustrated and be placed on the bench behind brooks by midseason. don't get me wrong tho, he's probably our best penetrater, but we may or may not need that with this offense full of cuts and screens.
I'm very happy with all the good news about Luther. I love that guy and what he brings us, and I was really hoping he would remain a part of our future... It looks like he will.
^^^ God I wish I could edit posts, heh. Oh well: If Mike Bibby and even Jason Williams could find a comfortable role in Adelman's offense, I have no doubt Stevie can do the same. Francis will do fine. This team will win tons of games. Save your hate.
the difference between francis and mike bibby/jason williams is mike bibby/williams knew exactly where to be. they knew how to cut, knew when to pass, and could effectively operate a pick and roll. francis is lost in this offense just as i predicted. i believe he'll be a HUGE dissapointment to many who thought he would be a major contributor. if anything, mike james is a much better comparison to mike bibby and jason williams because james has a similar skillset as them. im really happy for luther head too. i think we'll be using him similarly to how adelman used peja or how the pistons are using rip. head is a good cutter and dangerous from long distance. just dont make him dribble or pass. his 2 point shooting could be better though.
that's why francis won't start or play a lot w/ tmac. tmac is the best passer and if francis doesn't know how to cut/move w/o the ball, he's useless playing w/ tmac. but i think the 2nd unit w/ him and bonzi will be better b/c they can play more iso bball w/ each other. just not w/ the first unit. james/alston/scola fit better b/c james can shoot, alston passes, and scola is always moving and can pass too.
I don't know why you think Francis is so clueless on offense. People cannot shake this AND1 ballhog perception of Steve, and it's clouding their judgement... You realize that he has never, ever in his career played in any kind of even mildly structured offense before (that's why there's a little bit steeper of a learning curve for him, as even this author implies). So I don't know where you found this definitive evidence you pretend to have that Francis doesn't know how to do something as simple as setting a screen or making a cut. How do you know he doesn't know how to if you've never seen him play a game where he was expected to do any of that? You say that that knowledge/ability was the "difference" between Francis and the other two, and I'm saying that that's not a difference. That's exactly my point: that those guys learned to do those things exactly the way Francis can learn as well. He showed me in Orlando and even under JVG that he is more than capable of playing a different role when he is asked to. He's not exactly a playmaking genius, but he is very coachable, so I fully believe he can pick up this offense. Plus, being that he is better at creating his own shot than anyone in our backcourt other than McGrady, he will be a very valuable asset. Oh, and another example I forgot about is Bobby Jackson. By nature, he is probably worse in almost every aspect that Francis draws criticism for, but (when he was healthy) he was a major weapon on Adelman's teams, and he did his damage in both ways: both individually, and off-the-ball. Besides all that, I can't figure out what kind of fan it takes to confidently declare a guy like Steve to suck before the season even starts... Not only should you want this guy to succeed because we could really use that kinda talent, but you should also want this guy to succeed because he is a Rocket, through-and-through. That's what I love about him, he wants to be here and wants to help us win. He always has. It seems like you want him to fail just so you can say "I told you so". That is weak.
Excellent points. I personally think Steve is best off the bench, where he can have that Bobby Jackson type role.
again some of your points are valid. but again, we're talking about how francis skills fit into this system when he plays with tmac AND yao. francis probably can play with yao, but it's hard for him to fit w/ tmac. again, we never seen him play w/o the ball so it's hard to assume. but how old is he? it's hard to alter your style of play after so long. and for you to compare him to bobby jackson is not right. bobby jackson is a better shooter than francis, either on the catch or any type of shot. bobby can shoot the 3, he can shoot off screens... that was why he was so successful w/ the kings. him and bibby knew how to shoot. i can GUARANTEE you francis cannot shoot like that. he shoots when he takes a few dribbles and rise up over his defender. he's not a catch and shoot player or a guy that stays out in the 3pt line and shoots 3s. the thing that francis and bobby are similar is that both can penetrate. again, as long as james plays more w/ tmac, i'm fine. james is more suited to play with our big guns. francis will still make a HUGE impact playing w/ the 2nd unit. it ain'jt like the 2nd unit means u suck. it means he'll make a bigger impact in that role. when he plays w/ tmac and yao together, i feel he won't make as big of an impact b/c he won't have the ball as much. francis still needs the ball.
Just watch. The only And1 player on our team is Rafer Alston. And he has better course sense than Francis, imo. You realize that he played college ball at Maryland. We don't know. But we do know, by watching him play for more than a few years, that he is not very good at making quick and accurate decisions on the floor. The height of his career was under Rudy. After Rudy's ISO ball, it's all downhill for him. It can be argued that the downward spiral has something to do with other coaches asking him to learn a different role. Yes, that's probably his best value, creating his own shot. I hope he can be used effectively that way. I am rooting for him. But I am not optimistic that he can fit well into Adelman's main offensive schemes.
Mike James is what? 32, 33? And he has never played off the ball before, either. He has played minimized roles, sure, but he has always been a ball-dominant PG or SG in the past. Never just a finisher. In fact, just comparing their overall games, there really is not nearly enough of a difference between James and Francis for it to make sense to me that you think James is going to flourish and Francis is doomed. The only real advantage in James' game (and it's a nice advantage, don't get me wrong) is his jumpshooting. Plus, you have to realize that not EVERY SINGLE PLAY is going to be someone cutting without the ball, coming off of a screen, and getting an easy layup or an open jumper. We will be extremely fortunate if we get even half of our FG attempts like that on any given night, especially against better defensive teams. We will NEED guys like Steve who can successfully come away from a broken play and break down the defense by themselves from time to time, and/or with a clock running down. In addition, as even this article referred to, fast break points are something we should expect to be on the rise this season, and I have no doubt Steve will be able to finish for us on the break better than most of our backcourt (especially Rafer... christ). I also should have expanded on something earlier: Francis is the best in our backcourt other than McGrady at creating a shot, period. Both for himself and for teammates. With all that said, you could be right, maybe Francis could be better off the bench. But I think he CAN be productive with any lineup... and even off the bench, he's going to have to play some minutes with both McGrady and Yao (and maybe even James) on the floor. The main thing I took issue with was the poster saying that Francis wouldn't be able to find a role anywhere in this offense, based pretty much on one ambiguous sentence from one journalist...
i think we will eventualy trade rafer with potential players (reed, novak, landry) for an expiring contract and draft picks. that would be our best option. i just don't see, how someone would want reed, novak, landry, harris, lucas, or any of those players by themself. i want to believe morey can do something, but it's just hard to believe. expect trades during the preseason. if francis can penetrate well with the ball, i'm sure he can cut without the ball. i don't mind if he comes off the bench, with james starting. scola would start, and hayes & mutombo would be perfect with francis/bonzi or francis by himself. all of them play defense in some way. (rebounds included) we'd have a high rebounding 2nd unit, which is good. i'm hoping to see this lineup for the bench head francis (switches on offense and defense with head) battier hayes mutombo great defense, and fracnis dribbling and head show case his cutting ability. hayes and mutombo just have to box out. even though battier isn't a good rebounder, he would cause more rebounds due to his defense, where hayes and mutombo are ready. reason i have bonzi starting over battier is because bonzi at sf would put him in a unatrual position. bonzi is a good sg, due to his abilty to posting up and getting rebounds. my starting lineup would be this james bonzi tmac scola yao bonzi and tmac can switch assignments on defense if they want. we have scola being a good complement to yao, with james and bonzi creating shots when tmac getting tired. to those who think adelmen will use only a 8 man rotation, saying he did in his previous coaching seasons. adelmen is a smart man. that's why hes a coach. if he thinks with this many talent, he has to use a 12 man rotation, he will.
you're right. francis does have a role in this offense. he's too good not to have a role. but like u said, i feel he will spend more minutes playing with bonzi and the 2nd unit rather than with yao and tmac. james will play more w/ tmac and yao, along w/ battier/scola/hayes/head. but again, maybe a few games into the season and francis adjusts and plays really well off the ball, then he can play w/ tmac and yao.
Alston is better than Steve at nothing. NOTHING. Yes, I do... And he was an excellent player there for the same reason he was an excellent player in his first few years in the NBA... Like I said, he's no Steve Nash, but we're not going to ask him to be. That's why I drew the comparisons to Williams, Bibby, and Jackson. All of those guys played the kinds of roles that I know Steve can play, and they did it with less talent. Bibby is the only one of the bunch who's arguably a significantly better passer, but I think he's a little overrated in that regard. None of those guys are Einsteins with the ball. Steve played fairly well in Orlando, even with the smaller role he had in 05-06. I think the destruction of his jumpshot by JVG in 03-04 had more to do with his decline than the change in his PG role. That, plus, the trade of Cuttino. It looked like his career was back on the rise until that trade... He has never looked happy since that point. I think he's happier and more motivated now than he's been in years. Either way, even with his rock-bottom play, he was still a better player (in much, much worse offenses) than any PG currently on our team has ever been. Only James has had one year that was better, and he did it on a worthless team. Not to mention that he had full reign and basically did whatever he wanted with the ball in Toronto. (Not to imply that I don't think James is a valuable and talented asset, too.)
