Sorry to say but he really is. fran blinebury's article in the paper today Francis Mobley Fail as Cataylasts is dead on. francis seems to think this is his rookie year. he is so indecisive about many situations. he looks like he is afraid that people will think he is a ballhog. well if he creates for himself more he will get even more assists. the majority of the offense has to be him and mobley because they are the only 2 guys who can score on a very consistent basis. shandon doesnt score a ton every night hakeem is slowing way down and cant do it anymore mo taylor is learning.. he can proly score consistently tho collier is a rookie walt is streaky. mobley has taken it upon himself to be a scorer. in NO way am i suggesting that francis turns into another iverson. but he looks downright scared at times which worries me alot. he plays too quietly and gets his #s quietly. YES he needs to get every1 invovled and he has been doin a fine job of that. but he needs to penetrate up the lane more and not look to pass every time. he was fearless last season what happened this year? i really wish he would learn a pull up jumper. geez how many shots did he take last night? 6? 6 shots! he should shoot 15 a game. that is plenty reasonable. the coaches WANT him to shoot more. a key to having a backcourt offense is having both guards score. francis is scoring but he is doing it quietly and doesnt seem to be explosive at all anymore. also is it me or does he play much more tentative when he picks up a foul or two? turnovers i know that is still a problem but thats not my main worry. francis seems to be a ghost of his former self at times. he is playing good solid basketball but guess what we are 3-4. on a good note he is becoming much more of a team player. he looks to pass alot. he really is trying to get every1 invovled. i really dont buy all those he cant play PG discussions. i just wish he'd take it upon himself to be more of a leader and play with more energy and as shameless as it may sounds i wanna see him dunk on some fool's butt pretty quick. ------------------ --TEX
Damn...you made it sound worse than when I thought of it myself. But i got to agree. Francis doesn't seem as explosive as last year. even though the coaches made it clear since the end of last season that they wanted him to shoot even more this season. ------------------ How Sweet it is!
Yeah thats true. Francis is just not getting the Highlight reel type of plays that he was getting last year. But its early Im sure he will explode in the next week or 2.
lets wait. He's still putting up great numbers. We dont need espn highlights anyway. but i bet steve will be playing up to par in a week or two.
Damn Tex I couldnt have said it any better. Fracis is not aggresive at all. I know its early and he'll come around, but damnit why not now? I mean Damon freakin 2 foot Stoudamire is guarding Francis and he doesnt do ****! This aint your rookie year Francis. Stop being so damn passive! ------------------
Vj is proly right he will be fine eventually hopefully it just looks to me like he is constantly holding something back and playing tentative. highlights are great but we dont need em that bad i was just saying i want him to be more aggressive ------------------ --TEX
How many times yesterday did Steve get right to the hoop for an open layup, and then pass the ball to someone else? One play in the second quarter comes to mind. Francis did this great move to get to the hoop, he had a sure layup with no one near him. He then stupidly passed the ball to Collier for a brick. How long will this go on for? Eventually we will not be able to use the excuse that it is too early in the season. If we want playoffs, the Rockets need to start playing consistently. This starts with Stevie Blunder. ------------------ 2000-2001 Rockets Game Formulas: End of 1st quarter: "They're playing so well!" 2nd: "What a great game!" 3rd: "Theres no way they can lose now!" 4th: "What the ******* **** happened?!!" Revote! Revote! Revote!...... Rocket's Championship 2001!!
Steve is suffering the 2nd year blues because teams are forcing him out of his game. They are double teaming him and hounding him when he doesn't have the ball. He will just have to learn to adjust. ------------------ Time for a new cause.
It's about 20% physical and 80% mental. Once he gets into NBA shape, sheds some of the weight/bulk he put on in the offseason and he starts fighting over the picks and not second guessing himself when driving to the basket, I believe we'll see the Francis of last season. He would do well to take a page from Mobley's book and try to create contact when driving to the basket more. Twice last night he had an open layup/dunk and opted to pass into the defense. He'll come around soon. ------------------ Only in America....do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.
I think the loss last night had more to do with the perimeter shooters esp Walt misfiring than Francis and Mobley being at fault. I viewed Blinebury's article as a major overreaction. The fact of the matter is, when the outside shooters that receive the ball off drives stop hitting, the isolation part of the offense breaks down completely. Walt was bricking wide open shots from the get go which allowed the Blazers to really pack the middle. Nights like this happen in the course of an 82 game season esp for a young team, there is no reason to overreact. Also, Francis and Mobley are being double teamed past the 3 pt line, and the ball movement is not crisp enough yet from that position to pick apart the defense. In time, once their anticipation of the traps increases, they will begin picking teams apart. However, those traps were coming more frequently than usual last night due to Walt and co. being ice cold from the perimeter. My opinion is that breakdowns like last night cannot be blamed 100% on Francis and/or Mobley, there are more factors than just them. Mobley did fully take the blame for it though, which shows that he has the character of a mature team leader. The minute one of the key cogs of the team starts blaming others (Quitten), it becomes completely transparent that the player is not, and should not be regarded as one of "catalysts" of the team. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
The ball movement is not crisp because our guards are trying to beat the double team by themselves. They just need to learn to trust their teamates, and everything will be ok. DaDakota ------------------ If Mankind evolved from Monkeys and Apes, then why are there still Monkeys and apes?
They just need to learn to trust their teamates, and everything will be ok. I was listening to an interview with Carroll Dawson last season where he talked about the virtues of patience with a young team. He was talking about how with a young team you cant just say "Do this" and it gets done. Young players need repeated repetition in game situations before they start making good decisions. He was talking about how fans need to learn patience and realize that becoming a good/great player in this league takes years of development and practice. Francis and Mobley's natural instincts are to try to take the game over when things are going bad. With more experience and repetitions, they will realize that trying to split a double team at the three point line instead of rotating the ball is not the wisest decision. All this takes time, and thats what makes the end goal of a championship down the road much sweeter. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
I agree Mmanual, but why not get Dream involved more often, the guy has proven, he still has it, he just needs the darn ball. DaDakota ------------------ If Mankind evolved from Monkeys and Apes, then why are there still Monkeys and apes?
Olajuwon did look solid tonight and looked solid the last time the Rockets played the Lakers. However, the Rockets are not going to consistently drop the ball down low to him and let him make a move b/c it just is not the focus of this team anymore. Hakeem cannot play like this night in and night out anymore. Hakeem has only looked this good against the Lakers this far in the season. Remember the Grizzlies game? Does the Dream Quake thread ring a bell? ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
Mmanual, IMHO, Dream could still average around 20 pts and 10 boards a game if he was the focus of the offense. He has looked great against both Portland, and the Lakers in back to back game situations. The problem with Dream right now, is that he is still learning a new system, one in which he is no longer going to touch the ball every time down the floor. To me, he just does not look comfortable in that role yet. I think he is still feeling his way, and he is such a polite man, and only wants to fit in, that he is not making waves on this team. Dream still has it, he just needs the ball to show it. Some people are saying that Dream does not require a double team anymore...GREAT, imagine what he can do against single coverage? He just needs the ball for us to find out. I am not advocating the old offense all the time, merely pointing out that we are too predictable right now and have an option that would help us win more often. DaDakota PS. I guess a guy shooting 50% on the season, does not qualify as having it anymore...then what does Francis or Mobley, both under 42% say, they never had it? SHEESH !! ------------------ If Mankind evolved from Monkeys and Apes, then why are there still Monkeys and apes?
There is no way that Dream is capable of averaging 20-10 any longer. That would make him on the level of the elite superstar big men in the game which he no longer is. Dream just cannot dominate night in and night out. Did you watch the Grizzlies game? He was hesitating like crazy against Bryant freakin Reeves. Also, it makes no sense to gear the offense towards Dream any longer as it will only delay the learning process of Francis and Mobley. Francis and Mobley do make a lot of mistakes right now but that is what the learning process is all about. The Rockets are going to have to continue going to them until they develop into more consistent players. This is developed through REPETITION. Re-building is a painful process and does not just happen by turning on a light switch. It just amazes me that fans like yourself continue to call out Francis and Mobley when the Rockets are actually re-building a LOT quicker than other teams. Have you seen a Bulls game lately? How about the Warriors, they were supposed to break through this yr right? You will see more games where Francis and Mobley look like they are making poor decisions, but the end result after they wade through all this should be a contendor. Do you not remember that before last season, Kobe was labelled as a complete shot jacker? Remember those airballs against Utah in the playoffs? Building a contendor takes time and mistakes. The Rockets will live and die by Francis and Mobley; Olajuwon is no longer a featured part of the offense, I wish fans like yourself would just come to terms with that. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
Mmanual, Winning and losing are both contangious, and these Rockets lack the knowledge of what it takes to win. I don't think Francis and Mobley are a mistake, I just want some diversity. Dream can still play the game. Just 2 years ago he averaged 19pts and 9 rebounds, and last year he was hurt. What makes you think that he can not play any longer? The reason he is hesitating, is because he is trying to FIT in with the team. Dream is not dead, he is just not involved. Yes Francis is the future, and so is Mobley, but they could use a good dose of VETERAN leadership, which I think the DREAM can provide. DaDakota PS. How come Miami never has to rebuild? ------------------ If Mankind evolved from Monkeys and Apes, then why are there still Monkeys and apes?
