Fox: Francis As Upset as Being Drafted by Vancover

I don't recall him ever saying he wasn't a leader. He always seems to refer to 'the team' when we win or lose, and has been heard blaming himself for missing shots. I always took it as trying to motivate his team and when he calls out other players for not playing all four quarters, not blowing off the responsibility. If he wasn't trying to be the leader of the team then he'd just talk about how great he played and ignore the effort of the rest of the team.

Regardless we'll finally get an answer to all our questions this next season. Is it the players ignoring the system or is it the system not taking advantage our players strengths while improving on their weaknesses?
With the new coach we get better and make the playoffs or:
we don't get any better, we don't make the playoffs.
If the players don't improve then we just suck and its time to move guys to all those other teams that our players seem to thrive on.. funny how that happens isn't it?

 

well said, couldn't agree with you more.

I geruntee you he would trade each and every All star game just to have a shot at a title. All Steve ever talks about is the playoffs. He goes to the All star games and talks about how he is trying to learn from these other great players. Both he and yao need to take at least another 6-7 shots each next season.

Yao is such a good passer and such a team player that he passes the ball back out too often. When its to set up steve driving to the hoop or making a beautiful touch pass across the lane i'm cool with that. But Steve is the only guy he should pass to unless double teamed or someone is moving to the hoop for an easy dunk or if we NEED a 3. Passing to Steve is to be done only when he's got the better match-up, which won't be often with another year or two of experience.

These two guys should dominate our team, they should both be putting up all star numbers every season. If the rest of the team played well enough to make teams pay for double and triple teams we wouldn't see those odds nearly so often. SF, YM and Cat are the only guys who have any business taking 15+ shots in a game right now. Nobody else has earned the right, though Cat should move a little more without the ball and pass to the two big dogs when they are doing the same.

As a 3rd option Cat is as good as it gets, he just needs the other two to stop passing the ball out to him instead of taking their shots.

 

From gathering what you guys are saying and also what SF is saying, sounds to me like it's SF (players) and Rudy vs. the Rockets uppermanagemnt(LES). He's disappointed that his mentor and coach was probably given a raw deal. You have to understand that a guy can't just cut on a dime and be ok with everything that goes on, especially if one of his 'friends' gets the axe. Call me a dumb for saying this, but I think Rudy was forced out more than anything.

 

If Francis and his buddies loved Rudy so much why did they cost him his job? Does anyone really believe Rudy said last year do not let Ming touch the ball for a quarter, he only needs 3-4 shots a game, you and your buddies get the rest.

They cost Rudy his job and now they are worried that the next coach might require them to do as the coach says. They got one coach fired doing as they pleased and are smart enough to know it will not work twice.

Hell if they want out of here ask for a trade and see how many teams want there selfish attitudes on their teams.

My bitterness is for the players like Francis that cost Rudy his job and they think we care about how they feel. They can kiss my *** and play or leave.

 

Is it just me, or didn't Rudy sit Ming out for long stretches? Also, somebody here figured out that even though Ming didn't shoot much, he got lots and lots of touches. I'll bet as he gets more experience, he'll shoot more.

 

Rudy should have made the ball go into Ming every time, especially when he was having the ball knocked away and stolen by opposing players or early in the year when he wasn't used to the NBA game. That way Ming could have lost his confidence, and his teammates could have lost their confidence in Ming. That would have been the best.

Of course there were times when Ming was open and didn't get the pass, but it wasn't as if he was ignored either. Thank you for the logic Oski. I'm really disappointed by the way some people view the game. Maybe I'm the one who sees it skewed, but at least somebody else sees it skewed as well.

 

This is what needed to be said.

 

You are talking about the first two week of the season, what was the reason in the last month when Ming got 5-6 touchs a game unless he got a rebound to put back? Maybe the guards thought a pass to Ming was to miss a shot.

We were trying to make the playoffs, or I though and we have the best post player outside Shaq and he never touches the ball and we do not make the playoffs. Wonder if Rudy told Francis do not pass to Ming he might make a basket?

I hope you know shooting requires the ball..

 

Ming got more shots than that per game, let alone touches. Come on at least be realistic

 

I don't get why SF demanding a trade is even a topic of conversation.

Didn't dude just sign a huge contract extension? Me thinks he doesn't have the leverage to demand anything. He can't sit out the year and go back into the draft or go play in the USFL.

this isn't a guy in the last year of his contract who might demand to hold out unless it is renegotiated. he sure isn't going to sit out the next 8 years until he becomes a free agent.

SF may be unhappy but i don't believe Rox fans should be too concerned.

and don't anyone blast me just because i didn't dig up his contract terms before posting - i'm just offering an opinion.

 

Go back and check the stats, then come back and talk to me. You are talking now off what you think is right, but you are wrong and I am giving you a way out.

 

francis, shut up... pretty please?

huff and puff until the cows come home, throw your temper tantrums, hissy fits... whatever. francis, what it boils down to is... what have you done for the organization since you've been here? huh? nothing? oh... ok. maybe when you've accomplished something for your team, maybe then we'll lend you an open ear.

rudy was the fall guy this time. are you worried that the fingers will come pointing at you next?

shut your mouth and do your job. there are too many whiney and immature little f**ks that are ruining the league.

**omega turns into back into bruce banner**

 

Well Rudy said he will ALWAYS be a Rocket.
Or maybe he was forced to say that...

And unless in private he tells Steve Francis to demand a trade...nothin will happen!

I hope!

 

If they cost Rudy his job then its Rudy's fault for letting them.
When your players are doing what you tell them to do you sit them down, period. They will learn more from the simple act of being disciplined before a national audience than calling them into your office and begging them to please play a different way.

Neither Yao nor Franchise shot enough last season. Yao got lost in games, true enough, but a lot of that can be attributed to sitting on the bench for 20 minutes and getting cold. How many times did you hear announcers state ask why Rudy continued to leave Yao on the bench?


This ignores the fact that Yao passes out of the paint quite a bit but still its fun to hate isn't it.

Fact 1: Steve Francis does not get the ball to Yao Ming
Fact 2: Yao Ming is regularly left out of the game for long stretches.
Conclusion: Then we can conclude that Rudy must not want Yao to get his hands on the ball.

Further we can conclude that Rudy was fired because he allowed SF not to pass to Yao. So..

F1: Rudy knew that not allowing SF to pass to YM would get him fired.
F2: Rudy did not bench SF for not passing to YM.
C: Thus we find that Rudy wanted to be fired.

Isn't logic fueled by emotion fun?

 

I believe Rudy is stepping down for the good of the team. The fact that he is FACING cancer MUST have something to do with it. The stress of being a coach would be very hard on the body.

Moving him "upstairs" will be good for him. Might not be the best for stability of the team, but he'll be OK.

As for Ming being left on the bench for long stretches, did you realize that Ming didn't have a break for years? He's one tired man and that, along with the fact that even Ming gets into slumps at times, and he's out longer then some wants.

 

I believe Rudy is stepping down for the good of the team. The fact that he is FACING cancer MUST have something to do with it. The stress of being a coach would be very hard on the body.

Moving him "upstairs" will be good for him. Might not be the best for stability of the team, but he'll be OK.

As for Ming being left on the bench for long stretches, did you realize that Ming didn't have a break for years? He's one tired man and that, along with the fact that even Ming gets into slumps at times, and he's out longer then some wants.

 

I've checked the stats.

FGM-A
401-805
AST
137

You claim that he only got 5-6 touches a game. Well considering he shot the ball 805 times, that's almost ten shots a game, plus 137 assists, plus all the passes he made that weren't assists, plus all the times he handled the ball and turned it over, it adds up to far more than 5-6 touches per game.

Thanks for offering a way out, but the stats prove I wasn't talking about what I think was right. I actually double checked the stats before I made the last post.

 

Good post, man.

Hopefully, Rudy will be able to convince Steve not to say anything stupid.

 

ok i went and checked them. first to your previous post. the best post player except for shaq. please, don't make yourself look stupid. garnett, duncan, malone, nowitzki (he can actually get a shot off on anyone unlike yao), and that's just the midwest. j o'neal from the east is better, brand is better, others are better at posting. ming will get there, but he isn't there.

now for the stats.

in the last 14 games, as we were trying to makes the playoffs, steve, ming, and cat did the following.

yao 53-147 9.8 spg, 38.7%
cuttino 67-162 11.6 spg, 41.4%
steve 89-211 15.1 spg, 42.2%

looks to me like the better guys were shooting more and that ming faltered down the stretch (as did steve and cuttino in certain instances). people, stop trying to blame our two best players for not making the playoffs. try blaming the pieces of crap that were our forwards and backup guards for most of the season.

also, for whoever said rudy sat ming too much, rudy played ming about as much as humanly possible, only larry benched him for real long stretches. ming basically played until he was grabbing his shorts or huffing and puffing each time up and then rudy sat him. ming was not nearly well conditioned enough to play the 40 minutes steve and cuttino played (through no fault of his own) and rudy pretty got as much out of him as he could each game. ming was understandably tired and rudy was right to bring him along slowly. and anyone who contends the offense should have run through ming is a moron.

 

I do think that it sends a message to the players. I really don't care if SF is pissed, someone needs to light a fire under his A$$.

We need a no nonsense coach who knows how to coach a big man.

I think LB or Dunleavy.

DD