Fox: Francis As Upset as Being Drafted by Vancover

As someone said before, Francis lost his protector.

He now has nowhere to hide, if the Rockets are subpar again next year.

Last year, injuries were the scapegoat. This year, Rudy fell on the ax. Next year, it will be on Francis. Francis knows this, and doesn't want to be under the microscope if things go bad.

I hope Francis uses this added pressure are more motivation to improve on his leadership, playmaking skills, and defense.

This is really a make or break year for Francis, seeing how he will be the first to blame if things go bad. If the Rockets succeed this year, people will see that Rudy was holding the Rockets back, not Francis.

 

For those who continue to be S.F. apologists, I have this to say:

He still led the league in turnovers from the PG spot, continued to dribble ad nauseum (which is the B-ball equivalent of jerking off), and failed to raise his assists significantly. A starting All-Star PG should average 10 dimes... Steve averages what? Maybe 5...

He is an immature punk with all the talent in the world, but until he realizes that his God-given talent IS NOT the be all and end all of Pro b-ball then he (and sadly, the Rox) will go NOWHERE!!!

Oh, and for Steddino -

Parker was TOTALLY clutch in Game 3 of WC finals tonight. I hope Steve was watching in absolute agony as someone he undoubtedly feels is inferior to him torched the Mavs to get one step closer to a Ring!!!

When Steve's play on the court matches his rhetoric, then I will gladly shut up!!!

 

yea he had a pretty good game last night. i guess i just remember what Marbury did to Parker that's all. but yea Parker in the TRUE PG sense, is better than Francis...it's just that when it's crunch time (game 1 WCF, couple of games vs. Lakers) Parker looks like he's lost and makes bad decisions...guess that's what happens when you're only 20....

 

Steve didn't lead the league in TO's last season, Jason Kidd was. Steve averaged more than five assists, I believe it was 6.5. He was 12th in the league as far as assist leaders. Yes it could be more, but his scoring and rebounding were above most other point guards.

I don't think Steve was the greatest PG, or didn't make plenty of mistakes, but there is no need to exaggerate what you see as his weaknesses. It just isn't honest.

 

Unless it's the new coache's fault next year like it was Rudy's this year.

 

If Francis STILL doesn't "get it" next year, it's his fault. How many mulligans is he allowed?

 

"We should change the name abortion, and call it an ovarian mulligan. It just sounds better, doesn't it?"

-Dennis Miller

 

SHUTUP!

 

This is silly. Don't turn it around on the Steve critics. If Steve is criticized for not having leadership skills, maybe it's because he really doesn't have any leadership skills. Some Steve critics go overboard, but there is PLENTY of reason to think Steve is not a good fit for this team.

His vague answer to whether he will demand a trade or not is disgusting. He should say "NO, I will not demand a trade. I just signed a long- term commitment to this team. We failed as a team last year, and that included my faults. I will work on my problems this summer."

But no, he is talking about making meeting with Rudy T. and making "personal decisions," whatever that means! Is he gonna retire? Is he going to break up with his girlfriend? What on earth does that mean? Obviously, he knows people will assume he means that he is demanding a trade. But he "wouldn't say that." So who would? The media? Maybe Les?

This BS about meeting with Rudy before he decides what to do is unacceptable. I'm not sure if he realizes it, but last season was a nightmare. Inconsistency, mediocrity, lack of improvement are not acceptable. Surely he can understand why Les made a change after 4 years of not making the playoffs, and 2 years before that of getting bumped in the first round. That's basically 6 years of mediocrity. Steve should at least understand that much.

 

Looks like someone has gotten their second wind tonight.

You go old man..

 

I second that OMR, but with a classic....STOP POSTING!

 

I guess E J Tucker is still checking his stats. tee hee

 

Listen, if Steve thinks he owns the team and we all have to be at his beck and call, then I say let him go if he wants.

When he gets on Jordans or Dreams or Malones or Shaqs or any of those guys level, then he can start making hints of his future plans.

As of now, he is an athleticly gifted point guard who needs a brain transplant. I really am not interested in his comments. He is a soldier. Not a general.
He is being paid to play. Not decide personnel. Sit his ass in a room and say "Steve, we got X coach. If you are not comfortable with that, name where you want to play. We will try to get you there if the package is good."

Period.

 

I agree with kidrock, next season Francis will be under a tremendous amount of pressure. SO far the Steve Francis era has so resulted in 4 lottery seasons and the firing of probably the biggest sports hero Houston has ever had. If the team has another lottery season people are going to say ‘we should have given Rudy the benefit of the doubt and put the blame on the players’ and Steve is going to be the #1 guy people blame. If you think he’s under a lot of scrutiny now, just wait until that happens.

 

I'm all for giving Larry Smith the job if Gary Payton will agree to come here for the MCE.

 

After sleeping on this, I am not quite sure what to think of Steve's comments. My gut tells me that it is probably not much to worry about.

Its like breaking up with a girlfriend. Steve is hurt, confused, a lil bitter maybe. Doesn't really know what to say and feels he needs to do a lil soul searching. Makes sense to me.

 

SF has to step up this year. He's now clearly in the spotlight. The only way I can see him being allowed to stroll up the court and charge into triple teams with not regard for the team is if we promote from within, which Les has pretty much stated won't happen. As an aggressive defender of SF I can say that i'm truly looking forward to the next season. I have a lot of expectations for this team now, particularly our guards. IF for some reason the offense doesn't change then i'll start listening to the theory that he owns the team and is making all the decisions on the court since he clearly isn't making them off the court.

By the way, SF was saying Personal decisions not personnel.
Personal = individual decisions, as in how he feels
Personnel = employees, staff etc.

so stop with the "what, does he think he owns the team?" crud. He's upset and is wondering how he's going to express that to upper management. He is perfectly within his rights to be upset at the loss of a friend and mentor (even if I think that was the problem to begin with) and wasn't implying that he'll decide who the next coach will be.

 

I seriously doubt Steve is sitting at home and thinking, "damn, I just lost my protector. My dawg Rudy was my security blanket, damn!"

I'm gonna go ahead and believe that Steve is upset that his coach/friend/mentor won't be there full time anymore. If you believe that the only feelings Francis has for Rudy is that he considers him a player's coach who lets him getaway with stuff, that's your opinion, but it really does a disservice to Rudy's legacy if you can't believe that Rudy isn't such a great guy that his players care for him a lot and don't just think of him as a coach.

 

The Rockets all suffer from the same problem. They have no fundamental basketball skills. This, more than anything, cost Rudy his job. He was used to coaching players who understood the game, then he would add that special strategy that took that understanding and made it all work.

I love what Don Nelso has done with the Mavericks, but I'd wager that Rudy might be a better coach for that team right now. Those guys already understand how to run a fast break, how to run a pick and roll, how to swing the ball and hit the open man, and while their man defense isn't great, you can definitely tell they understand rotation and the concept behind it. Rudy would tweak the Mavs in a way Nellie can't and might take them to the promised land.

As a Rockets coach, no dice. We need someone to start from scratch with this team. A whole week doing nothing but drilling fast break into their heads. A whole week of pick and roll. A whole week of close out defense. We need the basics, in a bad way.

Steve, fortunately or unfortunately, is so talented (and to deny that he has an ego is to deny that the sun rises in the east every morning) that he too often thinks he's above the simple things and can just do it all on his own. These aren't new debates to have now that we have a coaching change. These are styles and tendencies that 95% of the board grew to hate over the season. Why the Steve sucks/doesn't suck argument is starting from scratch now, I don't know.

Steve is freaking amazing. Steve is an awesome scorer and finisher. He is strong as an ox for his size, rebounds better than most PF's, and is quick as lighting. But he plays with his head in his ass, out of control, manages the game poorly and is a horrid defender. A hard worker, no doubt, you get the sense that Steve will spend more time concentrating on his one-on-one moves or bulking up more than learning defense for dummies, or fast break for dummies.

There it is - end of argument.

 

"All Steve ever talks about is the playoffs." The key word in that comment is "talks". I don't think Steve's actions mimic his stated desires so at this point in his career, I've written off Francis' comments about wanting to win above all else to good preparation from his agent.