I heard on 610 that Francis has ankle tendinitis and some foot problem and is being held out of practice and wont play against San Antonio. Dont know if you guys had any thoughts on this ......... Sorry if this has already been mentioned in another thread.
I hope they are just playing it safe, but, Tierre Brown is a good matchup with Tony Parker. This would be a good test to see if he makes the team or not.
Its a good bet that both Brown AND Maddox get alot of PT. Moochie has nothing to prove so he might not play alot.
Parker is a tough cover. We probably need to keep a backup that is capable of staying up with him. Im pretty sure thats Tierre,but, it would also tell us a lot about Titos quickness too!!!!!!!!
Youre on the money. Its preseason though, so I dont think Rudy will be as concerned about stopping Parker, as he will about trying to evaluate players competing for the last couple of roster spots.
San Antonio will also be checking out thier backup point guards. they picked up Speedy Claxton {coming off injury} and Eric Barkley in the offseason, but, I dont think they know what they have. The Spurs were so busy unloading Antonio Daniels they didnt consider who would replace him!!!!
Ive always liked Speedy Claxton. He did a good job the first part of his rookie year when AI was out. Eric Barkley had alot of hype before he left St. John's. I think hes bound for the CBA.
If Steve really isnt going to play, tomorrows game may be more interesting than expected. We have jillions of questions about the skill level of both Tierre and Tito, mabe we will find out if Barkley{ Eric that is} will have company on his trip to the CBA. Tito didnt seem to turn any heads in the summer league , before that he was very highly touted for his work in the NBA tryouts in Chicago.
I was in an interesting thread the other day where it was said that Tito's contract might be partially guaranteed (for the 1st season only). I always thought second round picks didnt receive guaranteed contracts but then I found on article on the net that did indeed say that it was partially guaranteed. If it is, Rudy will give him more slack as far as making the roster vs. someone else whos contract is not guaranteed.
I know Rudy has probably made up his mind, but , I hope not. I like to see players win positions not have them given to them. The partially guaranteed 2yr contract gives the Rockets a second bite at the apple. If they sign him to a one year contract, he becomes a free agent next year By guaranteeing the first year the Rockets have the option of re=signing him at the same low price or giving up on him.
Thats probably why Rudy did his contract that way. He must have seen something in Tito that says "hes going to be on my team to start the season no matter waht".
I guess this is it, if Tierre starts hes still in the running for an IR spot. If Steve starts everything is OK. If moochie starts Tony Parker will give him a serious workout. And if Tito starts,,,,,,.............Tierre can probaly pack his bags for the Yakima Yahoos,thier camp should be starting soon!!!!!
I believe that would be the Yakima Sun Kings ....dont disrespect them like that ..... Steve is out of the game for sure.
Kind of disappointed that Steve won't play but I don't want him to kill himself. Kind of worried that its "foot problems." Didn't he have plantar facilitis?(sp?) I don't know if this is still around in him or what.
I remember Steve having it last year, right before the migraines I believe. I just hope this is just unrelated. I think it was caused by his shoes and I thought he got different ones. I don't know. I was just having bad thoughts.
Thats right ...he did have that foot injury around December. Have you ever noticed how foot injuries cause more problems for players than knee and ankle injuries? A player can rip up his ACL and come back good as new. But cr ap, you break a foot, and it affects you your whole career. Look at Ilgauskas and Smits.
That sucks that Steve wont play, but I am looking forward to Tito and Tierre too. I cant wait for tomorrow, I have been waiting to walk back in The Summit since the final game last year. Its finally here!
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1617284 Rockets summary:Francis to sit Rockets guard Steve Francis will miss tonight's game against San Antonio because of tendinitis in his left ankle that has caused pain across the top of his foot. Team trainer Keith Jones said the condition is not cause for long-term concern, and Francis said he could play if the regular season were starting. "It is a little bit sore," Francis said. "It's better now not to rush myself to play. All games are important. I think it would be better if my foot was 100 percent taken care of. It's more of a little tweak or something. I went to the doctor. There was nothing really significantly wrong with it. There's not really a rush to play. "It's an issue of having to do it when you don't have to. I've seen a lot of my friends go down in the preseason, Antonio McDyess and Mike Bibby, getting hurt in games when it's insignificant for them to be out there. I'm cool. If it was the regular season, or even two years ago (in the preseason), I'd be more angry. "I could play tomorrow if I wanted to and if Coach (Rudy Tomjanovich) wanted me to. Rest is good for it. We practiced 13 days straight until we took a day off (Sunday)." Center Kelvin Cato also will miss the game with a strained left shoulder. Guard Juaquin Hawkins was badly cut when he collided with Cuttino Mobley on Monday and also will not play.
