I agree that maybe that sta can be misleading because we don't know if people are hittin their shots are not, but for someone who has the ball in their hands as much as Francis did, I tend to beleive it was because of the lack of willigness and growing frustration with other players. It may be a combination of both, but you would be surprised how much harder players would run the break or how much better they play defense when the ball dominating pg gives them a easy shot. I know they get paid millions to do these things, but look how different players play when they get a dumk or a easy layup from guard penetration. No one is asking or was asking Francis to be the next Magic and throw 13 or 14 asst, but 8 is not asking too much especially for someone who handles the ball so much and will turn the ball over. Look at a guy like NVE , who as a starter was known as a shoot 1st pg like Francis. When Nick was starting and playing on a piss poor team like Denver he could drop 8 asst a game. On some of those La teams before shaq got there, he would drop 7-8 dimes and would only turn the ball over 2-2.5 times per game. Personally, one of the best games I've seen Francis play or one of the ones I've been encouraged by was the 14 pt 11 asst 3 to game he had this yr. That game came a day after Glen Rice openly questioned team play on this ball club. Without saying any names, he was probably talking about Francis,Mobley and Norris. To me, Francis showed everyone that when he wants to be that kind of guard, he can be. Also , this is what pisses me off about his game also. Francis is way too talented of a player to handle the ball for an entire half and have no asst. How many games would you look up and the Rockets would have 4 asst as a team for a half? Is this because no one is hittin so Francis has to take the shots or is it because they are dominating the ball, runnng the clock down and forcing bs type of shots? Francis could be a Marbury type of lead guard who gets 8 asst a game, its just a matter of how long and how much more non playoff appearences will it take for the light to come on?
Just using his scoring prowess as a example, thats all. If it makes you feel better, how about dropping 44 and grabbing 10 rebs?
As for the article, it’s garbage and should be posted in ESPN’s notorious Page 2. Feigen, attempt to play the devils advocate, trying to muster up the so called “truths” behind the myths is just BS. I applauded him for trying to be different but his analysis is way off base. I’m not even sure if he wants the audience to take his suggestions seriously because he makes a statement and then backs off from them in the following sentence. Does anyone take his analysis seriously?
I'm tierd of people always talking about Steve's scoring. Is he the only one on the court? Can he win a game by himself? The answers are undoubtedly NO!! There are four other players on the court that can also play this game. How about getting them involved more often by setting up the offense, screening and picks off the ball. Dont complain about other teamates not hitting shots; when little time is left on the shot clock because of the mindless dribbling. What ever happen to the notion that GREAT players make average players GOOD. If that is the case, Francis is lacking in that catagory. But nevermind that......Lets talk real numbers.... His Turnovers Per 48 Minutes(4.33) Ranked #7 in the NBA..... Turnovers Per Game(3.69) Ranked #2 in the NBA..... and last but not least..... Total Turnovers(299.0) Ranked #1 in the NBA. Sounds like sloppy play and overall carelessness with the basketball. The trashy play must not go on!! Protection of the ball and good defense will go a long way in helping win a championship. Oh and also a good coach. Which we now have.
If you want more read my post in the "JVG and the Rox, from Jersey columnist" thread. Lesson #1 to Francis: YOU MUST GAIN RESPECT BEFORE YOU CAN BE GIVEN IT!!!!
Congratulations, egn, you have displayed an amazing ability to use the sorting funciton of ESPN.com's stats pages. However, I too posess this amazing ability, so I will fill in the gaps which you purposefully left: Turnovers per 48 min? Yes, he indeed ranked 7th, and Jason kidd ranked 4th Turnovers per game, no 2? right again, and yet again, Jason Kidd ranked 1st. Also in the top 15? Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Chris Webber, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal. Pretty embarrassing company. Same story for Total TO's. Look, nobody says that turnovers are good, they are bad, very bad. Steve should reduce his turnovers if he can. We all know that. but they happen, even if you are the best PG in the universe.
Yes, that is true, the numbers are there for the previously mentioned great players. The differece between Steve Francis and the rest of the super stars that you have named can be separated: First, those GREAT players have earned the respect and the leadership role of their teams. (It seems that CD and Rudy T deemed the WRONG player our so-called "LEADER") And Secondly, all of the aforementioned GREAT players have made every other player that surrounds them better. When it comes to Francis we just get unecessary TURNOVERS. (Steve's just trying to fill a role that is just too GREAT for him!) He ought to leave the GREAT things up to YAO.
But his scoring prowess isn't that great. He averages 20 points per game, not 25-30. The guys who average 25+, like Pierce, Kobe, and Iverson, are guys who are known to commonly drop 40+ on you. There is a problem when you overrate Steve and think he can carry the Rockets to the championship. He can't do it like Iverson or Jordan, which is why he has to learn to involve his teammates and be the #2 man. (Whether Yao can do it remains to be seen. We do know Yao can involve players and be an excellent #2 man). He's very good, as good as Marbury, but let's be realistic.
Would anyone agree that MO Taylor and Cato for ALLEN Houston would be a good deal? Deep down I just don't wanna let EG go... I'd rather it be MO Taylor. Also, the $$$ on contracts equal out better.
There is no doubt that Jonathan Feigen is useless as far as journalisim is concerned. He is the worst beat writer I know. His presence at the Chronicle only helps to devalue them. What a bunch of apologetic rubbish. Fire this guy already!!!
man, i didn't catch that article (busy with the CSW). That is excellent (except for the part about only Jason Kidd is a pure pg). ummm, what about Payton, Bibby, for starters. but, yep be deppy, that's pretty spot on with how I felt about the season. Reputation vs Reality nice call Easy! hehe
Doesn't Feigen sit near the bench in some cities? He also travels with the team. We don't need Feigen to tell me that Yao hit the rookie wall in a bad way, but his comments are indeed validation. I doubt he made up the "dive, Yao, dive" comments. imo, it was plainly obvious that Yao could not deliver on some nights. No energy. The way that gets turned into an excuse for Rudy or Francis is weird. I'm not happy with Francis (I expected him to learn to free *himself* more effeciently by exploiting Yao), but Yao was not the answer in every game. He just didn't have his legs every game. he hit the Wookie Wall.
I don't really disagree with you. But I think all you are saying is he should have blamed it on Francis. You're right that Francis and Mobley couldn't find Yao early. But Feigen can also be right that they know it. But what is so analytic about placing blame? There's nothing wrong with placing blame, but it often snowballs where everything is someone's fault, with the reverse that everything is fixable...through discipline or trade. It's not always fixable--at least not in such easy explanations that are common around here. A lot of the "Reputation" stuff is based on blame and fixing things. A lot of the "Reality" part is saying that the talent/focus/energy to fix the "reputation" was often lacking, but not far away. I consider that a fact. And I don't think wholesale trades is a sure thing fix either. JVG is here is get the most out of the team. He's not there to beat his head against the wall of reality....like many people do here. It's like the most analytical we get around here is, if you can't fix it, trade it. Well, there's nothing wrong with that, but Feigen is just trying to say that the "Fixing" part is possible, without looking back to placing blame. And Feigen is absolutely spot on about Dallas running more ISOs and PnR with the weakside just watching. It doesn't stand out, because they have so much transition and much much better shooters. That right there shows me the guy watches a lot of bball, and is not concerned with people thinking he doesn't. I still like to believe that if Francis would just run transition, and we got more real depth (not this TMo should be our starter someday stuff), then most all our problems would go away. But he Francis just doesn't look capable of it, and our depth is still growing (compared to the contenders), so I'm not going to blame him for it, I'm going to try to exploit what he can do, and be patient with depth, and respectful of the depth it takes to be a contender.
Since I joined, I found that, lot of times, the Chronicles and other sources are a day behind what we talk about here. It seems like those writers read this BBS, for info or at least for leads for their stories. What they do have over this BBS is a direct or semi-direct link to the official sources, i.e. the Rockets org./ personnel ...
HeyP, After some considerable thought, I have come to the conclusion that yes, this is what Im saying. It's also exactly why this is a BS fluff piece. Here's why: The mainstream media, the so called "outsiders" have been quick to explain why the Rockets did not make the playoffs. They do so by blaming Francis and Cat for quick shooting, poor decison making, and ignoring Yao down low. This article is an obvious attempt to separate "rumor" from "reality" and absolve our 2 guards from blame. How does Feigen do this? First he separates himself by making 2 key points: 1. Yao was too tired down the stretch and he sucked. 2. Eddie Griffin was never tired but he sucked. Both are accurate and fair. Then, he goes on and talks about all the issues that we always gripe about and acknowledges they exist without actually pinpointing the culprits. Among his observations: Rockets can't fast break, unable to make shots, too many turnovers, too much dribbling and needing more discipline and better decision making. As I have stated earlier, who is he talking about? In the above, the rumor is reality. Rumor: Cat and Steve were the grandmasters of this circus and are largely responsible for the Rockets inconsistent play. Reality: Cat and Steve were the grandmasters of this circus and are largely responsible for the Rockets inconsistent play. However, Feigen purposely leaves this part out because it goes against the grain of his entire article to dispel the so called rumors when he can't because the "rumors" were actually true. Yes, blame is not a necessary component of analysis but then why mention this bogus "rumor"/"reality" comparison when a lot of the rumor is reality. This is why the piece is just a jacked up cop out.
