In his rookie year, did Francis take himself out of a game when he was one rebound short of a triple double? Anyone have an article confirming this?
Unlike Dennis Scott with Orlando. Anyone remember that game when Orlando called a time out with 5 seconds left in a blowout so Scott could get an assist for triple double? Doug Collins took his team to the locker room early to protest. Real classy, Dennis...
My bad. Real classy, Anthony.... Despite what all the Francis-haters may say, I doubt Stevie would ever do anything like that.
This is just a publicity stunt. Francis plays selfishly on the court so he takes himself out of triple double game knowing damn well it will make him seem not so selfish after all. Guys like Drexler and Olajuwon didn't pull themselves out of triple double games, they apperciate all that stuff, and it was a fun thing to watch them go after it because they played the game in a different way than Steve. All this pulling oneself out of a game where one can get a triple double is a selfish publicity move. He knew that move would help to cover up his unwillingness to share the ball. i know, i know, i'm just a hater getting my hate on.
Yep. I believe the game was a blowout, so Steve was like "don 't need me out here anymore. Let's get the Mooch some minutes." Imagine if he stays in one rebound short while we're up twenty. I could just here the outrage if he had stolen a rebound from Mo Taylor or whoever. Anyways, does the Chronicle have archives?
While I don't necessarily agree with Texas Stroke, it does bring to question, "What is the argument this thread is trying to make?" That Steve is not selfish because he takes himself out of possible triple-double games. I hope the reason he does it is to avoid inury/get rest if the game is a blowout. I can't think of any other reason he should. As a fan, I enjoy seeing triple doubles and like to see them, even in "bigger" wins (although definitely not in cheap ways ala Ricky Davis, etc.) As a player, one would think you should also strive for a triple double. It's an accomplishment. Go for it Steve. While definitely more rare an event, does a pitcher take himself out of a possible no hitter in the 8th if the team is winning 5-0 (or something similar) to save his arm for the next time he pitches? Of course not.
Uh, Drexler allowed himself out of a quadruple double game (1 assist shy). He had the points, rebounds, and steals for the triple double. As for Francis...Larry Brown may disagree after the Dan Langhi stunt.
The point of this thread, or the purpose of this thread, was to see if anyone can find me that article.
drexler went for that thing as hard as he could. everytime down the court (we were up nicely) the play was just give it to drexler and then whoever he throws it to takes the shot. unfortunately we missed 4 consecutive shots and he didn't get it but i'm pretty sure he didn't leave early (or if he did it was very late in the game, like 15 seconds left or something and the other team had possession). man, we coulda had 2 quad doubles in the family if someone could just hit a shot.
The problem is that the game in question is not what makes people call him a selfish player. If he was more willing to share the ball and not such a me first player the rest of the time, then people wouldn't call him selfish whichever direction he went in that game. It isn't that taking himself out was incredibly selfish or unselfish, it's that his reputation was built independent of the act.
The jury is still out on whether Stevie was just ball-hogging or the team just didn't have any kind of offensive plan. Was he going against what Rudy told him to do, or was he doing exactly what Rudy told him to do in his guard-oriented ISO offense. It may be a bad example, but I thought Stevie played a totally different game in the All Star game. He looked like a true point guard out there. Once JVG takes the helm, we will find out if he is a selfish ballhog or just in need of a true offensive philosophy to flourish. Personally, I'm willing to give Stevie and the rest of the team* the benefit of the doubt until we see how he plays in the new offense. *except Moochie
