Apples and oranges. Let me explain something to you. Francis IS NOT Jordan. Do you see the flaw in your logic? You want me to believe that we should give the same leeway to Francis as they did to Jordan. Do you remember the production numbers that Jordan had even in his first year? Do you? How can you sit there and compare the two then? All you are doing is saying, "The situation is the same." But not really. It's just a statement on your part, but holds no water when you dissect it. Not when you step back and look at the players you are talking about. It's a sentimental comparison. Not a realistic comparison.
The qoutes are off target, once again you're implying that I am saying that Steve is the foundation around which this team should be built.
Duh, few are It's not a player comparison at all, it's a situational comparison, I was hoping to point out to you that no matter how talented a player is by themselves it still takes some degree of talent around that player to be a good team. How much talent it will take will be dependent on the overall talent of the player you're surrounding but that was not my point.
That's right. But why start at a base level that is so bad that you'll need to bring in so much talent in an effort to compensate for SF's flaws? Why not just trade the dead-weight that's holding this team back? I mean, why put ones team behind the "8-ball" from the start? Why not start with a pretty good foundation, and then go from there? What you are asking is to start with a disadvantage, not an advantage. That's not smart team building if you ask me. It's only asking for trouble. We'll always be just good enough to get to the play-offs, but not go anywhere. I mean, how many years do you need to understand that Francis is a cancer to this team? He hurts this team as much as he helps. Over-all, he's holding this team back. Bring in another star (McGrady or Allen; and a competent role player PG) to play along side of Yao and watch the team take off. Just so you understand. Yao is a our foundation. SF is not. We can do much better than he as our "starting foundation."
Everyone's got flaws no matter how good you are, I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on Steve's value to this team.
And I guess you can't tell the difference between a player with A LOT of flaws and another player with A FEW flaws. Sure, both players have flaws. But, there's a DIFFERENCE! And that matters! Heh...keep apologizing for SF.
I only saw one player whose fans need to be apologizing for him out there tonight but then he's not public enemy number one so there's no target on his back; well not yet anyway first you've got to get rid of the excuses you guys use to shield his ****ty perfomances.
True. Yao deserves deriding too. His criticism will increase as time passes... Note that leadership comes with the unenviable responsibility of carrying ones team (the jury is out on whether Yao can do this). IMO, I'd still bring in players that could mesh well with Yao. Players that complement each other. Players that fit well with this team. SF is not one of them. In fact, we have too many ISO-only *individualistic* players: SF, Mobley and MoT. Not very conducive to team play, is it? I mean, it's fine to have ISO ability. But at the exclusion of passing skill? Come on!
And TMac and Ray Allen aren't ISO based *individualistic* players? The bottom line is what I have been saying all year. When the pressure ratcheted up and the heat was on, when it was time to step up and compete, time to raise your level of play, Steve did it. Yao vanished. And I know you guys will attribute it to youth or fatigue or whatever. But what you saw in SF was a competitor. Yao did not compete. If we go through this entire series and Yao shows no more competitive fire than he did in this game, then the Rockets will have learned a lot about his makeup. Also, DavidS, you compare Steve's first two years to Jordan's and said he shouldn't have ateam built around him. Well, by that same logic, pick a superstar big man and compare his first two years to Yao's. Do you come to the same conclusion?
I see where you are going with your bottom line. Most of us Steve doubters do not question Steve Francis' heart and it was on dispaly tonight. But what we recognize and you don't, or choose to ignore, is that Steve is out of control when he gets aggressive and his aggressive play hurts the team more often than it helps it. I mean the guy had a third of the Rockets' turnovers tonight and that's a lot when you consider the Rockets turned the ball over 22 times. It is fantastic that Steve showed he will not wilt under playoff pressure, but if you stumble out of control towards the hoop before taking a low percentage lay up, dribbling the ball off your legs, or making a horrific pass often without even making eye contact with the person you are passing to then I'd rather not have you out there on the court. It's a shame because you're right, Steve stepped up to the challenge tonight, but as usual it was all heart and no head. And second, get off of Yao's back for a change. I'm not going to make any excuses for him because none need to be made. I mean what in the hell game were you watching last night. Yao did a wonderful job guarding Shaq for most of the game. Shaq was held to 4 second half points in case you missed that. The Rockets were in this game for two reasons: they played great defense and the Lakers barely showed up to play. Yao was very physical with Shaq all night long and it clearly took its toll as Shaq was a non-factor as the game wore on. His points were down from his average, but if you think of it, how many times was Yao ignored in the post all night when he was establishing position down low? The guards took the game over and Yao had to get his points off the rebounds. And I'm not criticizing the guards taking over. That is the Lakers weakness defensively. Their guards are have played some of the worst defense in the league all season as opposing guards have blown by them as if passing statues. Tonight's effort was a team effort, not a Steve Francis effort. THe player that should be getting more praise than anyone is Cuttino Mobley for the defense he played on Kobe all night. The Rockets played some good help defense on Kobe as well, but I give Mobley a lot of credit because you can't give Kobe even the sliver of an opening for a shot because he will take it and more often than not hit it in the post season. Mobley defintely had problems at the offensive end (turnovers), but I'll exchange his offense for that defensive efforts on most nights. I really don't think this is a game that gets chalked up to indivdual play though. Team defense was the key tonight if anything.
The only reason anyone had to step up and compete towards the end is because of all Steve’s turnovers. How many points would we be ahead if Steve knew how to pass and dribble?
Francis just cost the team the game with his pathetic play last night. His 7 turnovers and boneheaded decision making was the difference. It's like he's the 6th man for the lakers.
This team underachieved this year. If you replace Francis with any decent pg, I truly believe this would have been a 50+ wins team. Next year if CD does what is right and trades Francis, I can see this team competing with the elite teams next year. You just have to ask yourself, what cost the rockets a lot of games this year? The answer is turnovers. And who leads the team in turnovers? Francis. If the turnovers were cut down by a lot, which would happen if Francis is no longer here, then that would have been good enough for at least 6-8 more wins easily.
It is hard not to imagine what this team could do with someone other than Steve Francis at the controls. We have had a few glimpses of what a real playmaker can do, but M.Jackson is far past his prime. If last night against the Lakers, the Rockets had had a young, quick, crisp-passing, sharp-shooting, smart decision-making, playmaking guard, it would have made all the difference. Poor decision-making, poor shot selection, and stupid turnovers have been so self-defeating for the Rockets. Francis' athleticism is a great asset, everything else he does is a huge liability. I soooooo hope someone else is the playmaker for this team next year. Now, back to the playoffs: Go Rockets!!!
and where the hell do you think we are going to get this player? and if you think steve francis is not one of these, do you think the opposition is going to give up a player like this for one that isnt?
