well besides the fact that that Francis can hit a shot for now is this quote link Lebron even though not living to the hype right now, knows that team is bigger than him.
One game is nothing. And talk is cheap. Let's see what Lebron does in the long run. And who says Francis won't change his game this year?
HA... he has to give it to someone that can put it in the hole cause James certainly is having trouble doing it... Dont be so quicjk to judge, Francis is changing how he plays the game as we speak... all you have to do is watch...
If LeBron could score like Francis, he wouldnt be passing it to Z. With the way he is shooting, I dont blame him.
Yep, I was impressed when I read that quote earlier, and I put it in my sig. Just one game? If he scored 40 points, then yeah, you can say "just one game." But passing the rock to the big man is not hard to do- IF you have the right attitude. Lebron could do this all year. The guy is 18 yrs old, it is refreshing to see a guy that young play basketball the right way. Enough of this Iverson/Kobe/Ricky Davis ballhogging crap.
And it only took him 5 years and a new coach to do it... Seriously, I do see Steve changing, and I hope it's permanent. Guys like Lebron just serve to remind us that there should be NO EXCUSES.
I have watched two James' preseason games so far, and I feel his court vision is already better than SF, some of the asts were impressive. However, his shooting skill is light year behind. And I agree, if he cound shoot like Francis, he wouldn't pass to anyone.
a lot of people seem to say that the most impressive aspect of Lebron's game is his passing and I have to agree. The best comparison so far seems to be with Magic, but all the comparisons are unfair at this point. In any case, his shooting has been horrendous but his passing ability is amazing.
I thought the difference was that Steve doesn't spend pre game warmups listening to his headphones in the locker room...
What do some of you want from Steve? He's been moving the ball around, he only took 10 shots last night. He only had 2 turnovers. He's playing Defense....he's improved everything you guys bashed him for over the summer, yet you still bash him. LeBron is a rookie and Z is a veteran. LeBron has yet to play a regualar season game and Z is an all-star. LeBron is averaging about 9 points a game and Z is in the upper teens/low 20's. LeBron can't shoot and Z can. THAT is why LeBron is giving the ball to Zydrunas. On the other hand, Francis is a veteran and Yao is a 2nd year player. Yao is an all-star, but so is Francis. Yao averaged 13 points last year and Francis averaged 21. Both players can score, and both players DO score. THAT is why Francis has the right to shoot the ball. Just get off of Steve if you don't have any reasonable cause to bash him
Agreed, it's frustrating to see our best (well maybe now second best after last night ) player changing his game sacrifising his stats and still gets bashed. Seriously, Steve is not only giving up points but his assist numbers to run the new offense (dumping it down, and give to a open slasher doesn't get him assist), he'll look a lot worse on paper this year but I guarantee you he'll be playing better (hopefully).
Now that's what I call a strong guarantee! But seriously, I agree with you completely. Assuming neither Yao nor half the players on the team other than he and Yao suffer serious injuries, the only way to measure Francis' results this year (especially if either scoring or assists go down) is in the W-L record. If we win 50 games, Francis is doing his job quite well, no matter what his scoring or assist totals. Stats are for baseball players and fantasy owners. In basketball, they are often misleading, way too often a matter of the context in which they are achieved, and very rarely useful in measuring defensive play, especially on an individual level. In basketball, the only things that matters is wins and losses. Rebounds, assists, points, blocks are poor measures of how well you stay in the flow of the game, take advantage of the opportunities you have, and create opportunities for your teammates. Even turnovers can be misleading -- often it takes two to create a TO and only one gets credit for it. 5 blocked shots a game can be a bad thing -- if you constantly leave your man to converge on the ball-handler and your man gets 30 points as a result.
Jesus! Shouldn't you at least wait until Lebron played a regular season game before you compare them?
Damn Gocartmozart.....that is the best post you have ever made... congrats on a well reasoned, rational post. needless to say..I couldnt agree more(on the part about the Rockets)
Let's face it, Steve will be hated until we make the playoffs. And then probably hated still until we go far in the playoffs.
King James cannot carry Stevie's snickers. The only think Lebron can do better than Francis is zip those fancy no-look passes - but it still only results in 2 points if the recipient converts. Somehow I think Stevie will end up better than Lebron after all is said and done in their respectively careers.
