Even though he has a rep for being immature, I think Steve has some natural leadership qualities. He sticks up for his teammates, he's tough and plays hard whenever he's on the court, and he's vocal. He reminds me somewhat of Stephen Jackson. He's a hothead and he makes some bonehead mistakes, but he does have leadership qualities.
A guy who comes into camp out of shape and can't beat Rafer Alston for minutes is not a leader. ENd thread.
He's not the leader. Saying Steve is the leader is like saying MC REN was the leader of NWA and Ringo was the leader of the Beatles and that TITO was the leader of the Jacksons. RICK THE RULER!
IMO by the end of the season, saying steve is this years' rox leader is like saying sura was rox leader in 2004-05
Only similarities I see between sura and francis is that they both have bad knees. Sura did not play in the beginning of the season because he was injured--Francis is not playing because he got beat out by 3 other pgs he was supposed to be "better" than. Sura 04-05 = starter on our current team. Francis--well we all know the story
funny thing While Cube and Dre were the Mental/Talented Muscle of NWA Easy E was the undisputed Leader . . . . Cube = Yao Dre = T-maC Easy E = Steve Francis Just to be consistant Rocket River
I agree. Francis is the only one i can trust as a leader, full of heart and fire. and Scola has been Argentina's main Man for awhile now.
Um. I'd say the initial post is way too pre-mature to call right now. I'm pretty sure Francis will never be the leader in the sense that he's the one we go to for our last shot to win ... But as far as leadership like the kind Bob Sura brought. The fire, desire, and heart aspect ... I can see it. I see it in Scola too. T-Mac has it ... sometimes ... Just not in the game 7's. Yao hasn't really significantly upped his game in the playoffs. If Francis never does start, or get 30+ min, I'd still say he can be the person who ignites the team's fire.
All I know is, we can sure use some of that "leadership" tonight against the Suns. It was nice to see Stevie chase down Iverson on fast breaks during the Nuggets game cuz he's gonna be doing that alot tonight.
If Steve doesn't BECOME the leader of this team by the time the playoffs come, you will have the same leaders that you did last year; and you already know what they got you last year and before that. Francis will not be the most talented player on this team ever again, but Tmac and Yao can't lead this team in "leadership"; only in points, rebounds or assists. You need a guy with heart like Steve to take us to the next level, with the help of Yao and Tmac. So Steve's leadership will not be in points or stats, but in heart and direction. I know he hasn't been out of the first round either, but Im just pointing out that best that we have on the team for this catergory.
dude are you kidding... i love francis too but he isn't the leader on this team if anything the leader is tmac ... francis is more that spark that we need off the bench to put games away or to go deep in the playoffs but he isn't the leader... sorry to burst your bubble.
Francis is a player who inspires others. He is the emotional leader of this team. He brings the fire, passion, heart, and energy the Rockets lack. A representative example was how pumped up he was after the block he had on Marion. His teammates on the court got just as pumped up and the entire bench was on their feet. Glad to see Steve out there doing what he does best. A lesser player would've fallen victim to discouragement.
