The reason why Francis is getting defensive about the "no. 1 option" issue is that, everywhere he goes, people are asking him why he didn't get Yao the ball more or saying, particularly in the press, that he must defer to Yao as the key man on the team. Why shouldn't he be defensive? I'm sure he's willing to defer to him somewhat, and I'm a huge Ming fan, but since when does Yao have to be the only focal point? I don't know, I understand some of the flack he gets, but I think he gets singled out a bit too much- some of these writers make it seem as if he never passes the ball to anyone. Even JVG said he studied the tapes and agreed that Yao did have enough opportunities in many instances. So let's give it a chance to work.
Because Yao has a mismatch 95% of the time, whereas Steve has a mismatch about 60% of the time....which is better? DD
In order for the Rockets to succeed they will both have to excel ala Shaq & Kobe, Magic & Kareem, Mike & Scottie, etc.
Yeah...I just heard Francis say... something like...whenever we are winning, guess who will be on the front cover of the newspaper or whatever...or who is the franchise. I thought that was pretty funny...I think he was joking though. If he was serious...he is too full of himself!
I was going to say 50% as most PG's lit him up like a cheap firecracker. Someone needs to splain to Steve that it is not a mismatch if you opponent scores as much as you do..... DD
You were talking about getting the ball to Yao. Whether or not Steve can defend has nothing to do with that. So the only pertinent info on mismatches in regard to that subject is how good Steve's offense is, and how good his defender is at defending. On the other side of the ball, Francis can't be passing the ball to Yao, so it hardly matters if Francis is not a good defender.
ahh so you base your decision on how to best score the most points on how many points are given up on the other end? hmm, that seems stupid. i would go with the guy who can most easily score on his defender, i.e. steve. with yao guarding juggernauts like brendan haywood and jerome james every night, how does he outscore them? of course your 60% and 95% numbers are laughable. yao might be taller than 95% (4/82 vs bradley) but that's it. being physically manhandled or fatigued still counts. and francis had an offensive advantage on essentially every point guard he played. or did he score 21.6 on accident? but of course i'm sure DavidS will be in soon to tell you how right you are on that 60/95 thing.
What about the impact of keeping a player involved in the game. I, for one believe in that. And then there is definitely the mental aspect of Steve thinking he's all that. Cause unless you legitimately think Steve just doesn't have the athletic ability to play better defense, then it must be the want/desire, which, imo, is partially stemmed from the fact that he has been allowed to do whatever he wants offensively. Which means you have to indirectly factor defensive incompetence into offensive mismatch, and vice-versa.
stevie boy needs to understand kicking the ball in to yao ming isn't about becoming #2 it's just about smart basketball and playing a good inside outside game. drawing double teams, opening the floors, giving more room for the guards to operate... that's hwo to get the plays and motion working for the team
The impact of keeping a player involved in the game has nothing to do with the percentage of how often Francis has a mismatch while on offense. I'm not saying Francis is a better scorer than Ming. I'm not saying give Francis the ball more. I don't at all understand your argument on why defensive ability indirectly factors into offensive mismatches. A player either has more offensive talent than his defender's defensive talent or he doesn't. What Francis does on defense wouldn't really change that, to my way of thinking.
exactly! he needs to realize that being #1 is not always being the scoring leader. being the leader, is about keeping everybody involved ala john stockton or gary payton or jason kidd. if he does that, then that is proof itself that he is the "Franchise". he is the leader. he is the captain!
steve passed the ball to yao quite a bit last year only to have it thrown right back to him. he wants yao to have the ball but he also wants him to be ready to be the man first. that's all it is, he will defer the primary scorer role when yao proves that he wants it. steve has NEVER said i want to be the spotlight win or lose. he has constantly said, i will do what it takes to win.
Steve should have listened to Oscar Robertson when he told him to ride the big man every game. Then Steve asked him about the days that Yao just doesn't have it, and Oscar told him that on those days, feed him the ball in an advantageous position for him to succeed. Steve needs to learn that a PG is responsible for the entire teams offensive efficiency. I think the biggest thing Steve needs to learn is how to set up teamates in advantageous offensive spots. DD
I don't know whether Rudy or SF is to blame, but last year our offense is F***ed up and plain ugly. I know it could have been better and I sure hope it will get better this year.
I love Steve. Heck my moniker is based on Steve Francis. I think he passed the ball to Yao okay. What I really hate about Francis is his lack of defense. I mean come on! The dude's idea of defense is stand as far from the opponent as possible and dare him to shoot. If he improves his defense he can be a top ten player in the league.
We need to learn to play as a team and recognize each other's strengths and utilize them on the floor.Yao needs more touches but he needs to get a lot better as well.When he struggles Francis and Mobley try to do everything on their own.This has to stop.Unless everybody learns to trust each other and play as a unit we won't win and even getting to the playoffs will be a pipedream. Francis is not a true point guard so to expect him to be a Kidd is unrealistic but what the players can do is pass the ball better among themselves and get the best possible opportunity to score.The defense also needs to get more consistant as well. This can lead to fastbreaks and easier baskets and make things harder for opposing teams to beat us. I think we have gotten better over the offseason even though we will miss Posey and Rice at times.It's time to start putting things together as a team.
How can anybody really believe that he passed to Yao in an acceptable manner? Want to argue he wasn't as selfish with the ball as some make out? Ok. Want to argue he's really damned good and that makes up for his ignoring Yao? Sure. But that his passing to Yao was in any way "ok" last year? That's absurd. Francis gets far too much mileage out of "not being like Jason Kidd." I'll be the 1st to agree that scoring PG's are very valuable. Hell, I like that kind of PG more. But the PG's first duy, scoring or not, is to run the offense. And that means ensuring that every weapon is not utilized. Francis completely failed to utilize Yao adequately last year. And he deserves criticism for it. How much criticism, is of course, open to debate.
haven - i can agree that steve failed to use yao ming adequately last year, but my beef is with the argument that he is selfish because of that. he is not. selfish implies that he only cares about his points and his numbers and not winning the game. i've never once had that impression about steve. what he needs to improve on, as well as the team, is what saleem said, better recognization of each other's strengths and weaknesses. that way he won't have to try to do everything himself when his teammates struggle and it won't look like he's just trying to showboat.
