ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Hornets 12/5/2003

jopatmc,

I think they are required to grade the entire game...every single play, calls and non-calls. NBA uses cumulative data as a grading system for crews and individual officials.

D R

 

the constant bashing has taken its toll . . .he is simply hesitant now

As seen on the last play in the utah game [regulation]

.9 seconds on the clock. . .he looked to be a PASS FIRST guy

Rocket River

 

Close enough

Love the win, now I can talk Sh*t to all my friends here in N.O.

 

For all you steve haters... how about that crossover and that 20 ft. jumper that hit nothing but the bottom of the nylon.

Lets go Steve, keep playing hard.

 

First of all, Yao was pushed on the back.

 

Yes, Francis's confidence has TOTALY gone down the tube. The constant hatred of him, makes him hesitent to attempt and open jump shot or penetrate. Becasue in his head he is thinking if i atmept this hot will i get bashed at even more, and hesistes and then makes a bad desicion. People will have to support him for him to go away from his slump.

 

SF is clearly caught between two worlds right now:

What RT asked him to do for the last 4 years (which yielded little more than good personal stats), vs. what JVG is demanding of him as a floor leader and playmaker.

Steve is not an intuitively good on-court decision maker, and has really never played a true PG, not even in college. So you can see him hesitate and struggle and his confidence is poor now. I watched his face when he missed a FT late in last nite's game and you could just see him "beating himself up" again.

He's really trying, and JVG is also slowly figuring out how to best utilize each player's skillls and talents within a brand new team concept. So let's be patient with SF.....he's on a bridge right now - caught between two bball worlds. Despite everything, Rox are already better than last year if only because our much improved defense. SF and the offense will slowly come around.

D R

 

I don't think Stevie has lost one drop of confidence. He played last night to win the game, a great game for him. He wasn't selfish, he distributed the ball, he took the shots when he had to, and he didn't force anything.

Mark it down fellas, if Steve continues to play like he did last night, this team will win 50+. And he will start getting more wide open easy shots. His shooting percentage will go up, his assists will go up, and his TO's will go down. He's not going to score 30 every game if he is taking what the defense gives him. But he will average over 20 per game and do it a lot easier and in the meantime his teammates will all get to up their scoring average as the total offensive output of this team rises and becomes more efficient.

If you view last night's game objectively, you have to agree, this team is sooooooooo much better with constant ball movement, spacing, and player movement.

Steve can score 40 but if he dominates the ball with the dribble drives it won't work. He has to throw the ball out to Pike when Pike is open. He has to throw the ball to Cat when Cat is open. He has to bounce the ball to MoT when Mo is standing at the free throw line wide open. He has to lob the ball to Cato when he is cutting to the hoop and Cato is jumping 2 feet above the rim, waiting for the lollypop throwdown. He has to throw the ball to Yao in the post, when Yao posts up. And each of those players has to make a quick move with the ball and either get the shot or find another open teammate. And the other teammates have to MOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE when they don't have the ball. It's really pretty simple. All this Steve or Yao stuff is ridiculous. This team can gel if both players play the right way. Last night Steve played the right way. He can play the right way and still score plenty. It will come.

 

Francis 1
Davis 0

BEYOTCH

 

He's *thinking.*

Now, before you say it.... Yes, I know. We've all heard of that phrase, "Don't think, just shoot..."

But, in the past, Francis took that to an extreme! Francis today is trying to develop his decision making. It just takes getting used to. This is all new to him (he's actually making a spit decsions; while in the past he only had one "decsion" to make: shoot!).

I'm complete comfortable with a few "bone-head" turnovers here and there. But not throughout the whole game. So, he's trying to cut those down and put less of the load on his shoulders.

 

Well said...

 

can we please leave steve alone and be thankful that we won

 

I am not alway in Francis's corner but look at Kidd's FG %. If we win I could care less about Steve's individual stat.

 

Baron Davis also has been an allstar.

 

I guess the waye I'm starting to look at it now is that if we can win now with Steve's offensive game in shambles, imagine what we can do once he gets things back together.

But sweet crap, we're 8-1 against the East now. That conference is horribly, ineffably craptactular. It used to be funny... but it's not anymore. It's reached plain ol' UNFAIR - for both sides.