Chron: Yao, Francis set for All-Star Sunday

Yao, Francis set for All-Star game Sunday




By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle


ATLANTA -- New levels of media madness swirled around Yao Ming. Camera lights almost burned holes through the walls at one end of a ballroom. Hundreds of voices fought to get a question through to the center of attention.

Steve Francis sat almost alone a few feet away, happy to be just another All-Star, when it hit him that he wasn't.

Francis played with his new All-Star ring, taking it in and out of its polished wood box, trying it on and putting it away again. He looked over at Yao, then down at his new jewelry, and he saw neither. He saw possibilities. He saw championships.

"I'm hoping to get the real one of these, the real one," Francis said Friday. "Me and him. Together. We need to get the real ones."

Francis watched the latest Yao-inspired hysteria and was convinced again there was something different, something special out there for them somewhere. All the magazine covers and television commercials cannot be wrong.

He was not just one of the All-Stars, or 10 starters, or even one of the four repeat starters.

He and Yao would Sunday become the only teammates to start in this season's NBA All-Star Game. Yao would face another round of intense scrutiny of his worthiness. And in many ways, the Rockets will be judged again.

Their place as All-Star starters could be a milestone on their way to the glories to come. Or they could be flavor-of-the-month celebrities, answers to trivia questions.

But Francis looked at Yao and was convinced Sunday would be no fluke. This would be a start. Friday's rewards would be the first of the rings they both would wear.

"It's good for him and for us, good for the whole organization," Francis said. "It's good to see for years to come, we're going to be Batman and Robin. Who's Batman and who's Robin, I don't know. We're going to be like that from now on. It's going to be great."


History rarely announces its arrival, rarely is understood in its time. But there are moments.

"It's like when (Vince) Carter made that dunk against France. I was like this," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said with his eyes wide and mouth open in shock as they were when Carter flew over Frederick Weis in the Sydney Olympics. "I turned and Jason Kidd jumped off the bench and said, `And we were here when it happened.' "

A sense of one of those "we were here" moments" follow Yao like the photographers backpedaling in his path. But the selection of two Rockets players to be All-Star starters is far from unprecedented for the league or for the Rockets.

There is a hope among the Rockets that this will be one of those moments to be captured before it becomes a part of celebrated history. But the selection of two All-Star starters cannot be considered a reliable indicator of future greatness.

There have been five teams to get at least two All-Star starters without reaching the playoffs, most recently the 1978 Celtics with John Havlicek and Dave Cowens. The 1966 San Francisco Warriors had three All-Star starters, Nate Thurmond, Guy Rodgers and Rick Barry, without making the playoffs.

"I definitely feel it makes it more special," Yao said of starting the All-Star Game with Francis. "We can continue to play better. I think we have been improving all year. We have a chance to be a very strong team.

"But I don't know about the future. I don't think about it. It's only my first year. I take it step-by-step. Of course, our goal is to win championships, but I think the most important thing is to look at what the next step is."

Yao also said he does not like to think of another night of scrutiny on him and the judgments that will be levied again.

But to other All-Stars, the Rockets' place in the game is more of a sign of things to come than the vagaries of the fan voting popularity contest. If clever commercials or charismatic personalities helped make the Rockets starters, their place on the team was not viewed as a voting fluke.

"He's a great player already," Mavericks forward Dirk Nowizki said of Yao. "He's going to keep getting better. It's amazing how he already is playing in his first year. He deserves it. He's making the game more globalized. China is watching every game now. He brought a lot to the NBA. I think he deserves all the hype.

"The fans vote the All-Star Game. That's how they got their starting job. That's great, though. If the fans love them and the fans think they should be starting, they deserve it. They should start. It's no big deal. Nobody is jealous of them, or anything.

"Whatever happens, we'll have to see. But they're going to have a special team. Steve Francis is an amazing athlete and an amazing point guard. He's great for them. With Yao Ming under the basket, they're going to have a great team. It's not good for us. I don't like to see Houston getting good, but they're going to be a force for probably the next decade."

Francis had long-since cemented his reputation among his peers. But such statements were not made about the Rockets before Yao began shocking doubters with a sense for the game that went beyond his size and skills.

"I've watched him as the year's gone on, and he's got unlimited talent, not just skills, but the way he sees the game and the way he understands the game," said Western Conference coach Rick Adelman of the Kings. "The pressure he is under, I don't know how he's doing it.

"I just watch his composure. And he's really very even-keeled. He has up games, but he's not down after he has a tough game. He keeps playing. He's very gracious to the people he plays against, but he's a competitor. You could have a situation that could be very tough, but he could handle it."

With that in mind, Adelman said it did not matter if the Rockets deserve to be starting or merely to be on the team. More to the point, at least in Francis' vision of championship rings, Adelman saw struggles, and potential.

"It probably would have happened anyway, to Yao when Shaq retired," Adelman said. "It is a fan thing. Who has the hypes? But they are both deserving to be All-Stars. If you want to take the next center in the Western Conference, that guy is there. Stevie is certainly an All-Star. They deserve to be there. That team has a lot to do. But I'm glad to have both of them.

"They could be really good. They're going to run more and more through him. We couldn't handle that guy, and it opened it for everybody else. They just have to keep it together. They're going to have to keep together. They're going to have some rough times. But I see that team as being a very dangerous team."


Steve Francis has two goals for Sunday's game. One goal is for himself: He wants to score more than three points, his total last season. The other is for Yao.

"I'm going to get my rook the MVP," Francis said.

Told of Francis' plan, Yao said, "That's touching. I think I'm going to cry."

Francis spent much of the day explaining again that he doesn't mind the levels of attention Yao receives, except when "it wears him (Yao) down."

But more than being willing to share the spotlight or responsibility, more than getting help on the court that he clearly needs, Francis said there is a genuine affection.

"He's my brother," Francis said. "I mean, look at him. He's just like me. There's so many times I catch him joking around with people. It's just a good, good feeling that somebody from another country sees things and does things like me. I'm so glad he's here.

"And he knows basketball. The other day we lost to Cleveland. And I threw a pass at the end of the game. I was trying to throw it to him. He was the first one that came up to me and said, `Don't even worry about it. Things like that happen.' He knows about basketball. He knows things outside of basketball. It's great."

He knows how he will be measured again this weekend. But even privately, Yao said such burdens, to simultaneously prove himself again and represent the world's most populous nation, are too much to consider.

"The burden is too heavy for me to stand it, so it doesn't matter which one is heavier," he said. "So I just try to make myself a student of basketball. I don't think what I've done is enough (to be starting in the All-Star Game). As far as my profession is concerned, people can see the difference between me and Shaq.

"The thing that I really wanted to do has already been accomplished, which is to be here. I want to keep myself here because this is a luxury I can never have (playing in China). I have a very fresh and exciting feeling."

His was a feeling that Francis could share. Maybe such honors never get old. Maybe they are best for every player when they are fresh and exciting.

But there was also a sense that because Francis and Yao got here together so quickly, there is something else out there for them.

"I know he ... likes the challenge," Francis said. "I don't think he thinks about proving anybody wrong. He wants to prove to himself he is a legitimate player in this league, a force in the most athletic sport in the world. That's like me. I never say I told you. But whenever I surpass something, I keep quiet, but I like it. I never really accomplished anything, yet. There's no playoffs. There's nothing.

"People will probably be gunning for us. We're the only teammates starting. Yao has those commercials. Everybody sees him on TV all the time. Everybody is going to be gunning for him. And I'm his running mate. So they're going to be gunning for me.

"But as much as people are looking at the immediate impact of it, it shows we can do a lot of great things. My first few years we lacked an identity. I think we developed that. And we just scratched the surface. After the years start piling up, we'll say, `Man, they're really good. They're special.' "

 

After Blinebury's article yesterday it's also good to see a positive article. Now maybe I can enjoy the all-star weekend and keep my hopes up for the 2nd half of the season.

 

According to another article posted here, Yao is wearing one of his Chinese National team shirts in honor of his teammates and fans back in China.

I think that's pretty cool.

 

Jeff,

I was going to point that out too. I told everyone from the beginning that I thought the whole Francis thing was blown out of proportion. Whatever the case, it's great to see them getting along right now.

I wonder how Cat feels about it???

 

Photos courtesy NBA Photos