Tony, That's kind of unfair about Ming prone to injuries. He has had a clean bill of health with the CBA. Shawn Bradley has stayed relatively healthy in his career despite his height, and it's not his injury problems that's keeping him on the bench. Mark Eaton who was 7'4" had a long fruitful career with the Jazz. Rik Smits had nagging injuries later in his career, however, I think that's more attributed to him being over 30 and never been one to seriously condition himself. As a Rockets fan, sure, we had to endure Ralph Sampson's injury, but have everyone concluded that he got injured because of his height? Or maybe it could be something else that caused his injury. What I just want to say is that no one here has proof that a taller person is more prone to injury. So please, until someone here have some proof, stop calling Yao Ming injury prone simply because he's one tall mofo.
Chuck, I kind of agree that Francis' progress has been stagnant the last couple years. However, I think that's due to the lack of weapons on the Rockets. Hopefully Ming or Odom (whoever we get) can change that. Odom has more potential than just an above average player. He's one of the few SFs that can break down the defense with his ball-handling and passing. If he ever develops a good perimeter shot, and continue to improve defensively, he's an annual all-star I think. Ming on the other hand can be something truly special. He could easily be a player that can change the face of the game. He shoots the ball with the best of them. He has ball-handling and passing skills that's better than most centers. Now if he can ever learn to do all the other small things that good centers can do, then we could have a player that can lead us to a dynasty. He'll never be Dream, but a more advanced Sabonis type player is very possible if he keeps developing. This is a question between long term vs. short term. Do we want to be good now, or do we want to be great later? I honestly believe that once this draft is over, Francis and Mobley will be happy with whoever they end up with. However, it is easy to see why they would prefer a known quality player at this point.
The perimeter shot is KEY to his future. Cause right now. . . people just lay back and give him the shot Rocket RIver
I don't buy it. As someone else previously pointed out The first two years in Houston, Steve Francis refused to call the team his own. That doesn't sound like someone who wants to hog the spotlight. He's also said he doesn't mind Cat taking the last shot instead of himself. That doesn't sound like someone who has a one track mind to make the hi-lite shows. The coaches have been on Francis from the beginning to Shoot more. You and I might disagree, but they think he doesn't shoot enough. I agree that he needs to get more assists, but no wonder he wants to pass to Cat more than anyone else. How many balls does Cato have to bumble to discourage that kind of passing. And after all Cat is the best scoring option for Steve to pass to. Francis is not only learning the NBA game, but also a new position at PG. It took Hakeem a lot more than 3 years to have the teammates he could trust, or develop trust in his teammates enough to pass the ball regularly. Yes Steve should work on distributing the ball better, but having a consistent line up that's not inury plagued and hopefully a little more talent-filled will help.
