its amazing that someone can be so absolute and have an incredibly r****ded and biased argument. i hate to get personal, but you came out as an arrogant calksucker first, so what can i do? 1) stevie does not draw doubleteams cause he is a penetrating guard, he moves to much, the goal of opposing defenses is to pressure and trap in the open court, then block off all lanes and to prevent penetration at all costs. this leaves gaping holes in the frontcourt. man, your argument is so incredibly anti steve that you ignore the fact that all i said is that a player of steve's caliber needs to draw the defense for yao to be effective and vice versa. this year is an abomination, steve is usually a much better shooter, but jvg offense has effeectively castrated him. he is tenative on his shot, so i figure another year, and he will be much more comfortable. 2) elton brand is a big man, he is not a perimeter player, so i have no freakin idea what the hell your talkin about. steve needs yao, i never said he didn't. but yao DESPERATELY needs steve too...at least for now. thats all my post is about anyway. 3) also, i have no idea what you have been reading, but i read francis for hinrick, berry, crawford and an endless string of roleplayers. roleplayers were good enough for hakeem, but yao is no damn hakeem, thats for sure. he needs a superstar RIGHT NOW, and why bring in a new one?? why not keep the one that you know will bring all the heart and passion he can muster, nite in, nite out? i can't really say i have any respect for you, but i will refrain from anymore personal attacks, but you haven't ever really offered anything to any boards you post on, so why don't you just shut it about francis, and wait till the offseason the talk trash? this team has been together a total of 60-some games, and dallas, sac, and the spurs have had years to gel. if you cant stand to watch this team, then stop.
for the non-sane arguments, elton brand is and has been the only superstar the clippers have had for a while. odom just barely started sacking up this season, and it was after he left clipperland. they will continue to suck untill he gets some real help. cat is a scorer, but the dumbest player on our roster. he doesnt give up the ball, because he doesn't give up the ball. the passes he does try to make, usually have a 50/50 chance of being a turnover. also, next game, count how many times the ball goes the other way after a stupid cat jumper with 22 seconds left on the shot clock. but none of that is really important, my only point was to offer up the fact that yao and steve need eachother, and if kept together to grow and learn, can be a lethal combination.
Francis is all flash and no substance. The sooner CD see this and trades him in the summer, the better it is for the growth of the rockets.
Even though he does hustle, have determination, etc, etc., I still agree that Francis is all flash and no substance. He definitely has desire, to show everybody his hotdogging moves. If the Rox don't make any kind of noise in the playoffs, Francis is gone.
Too bad that doesn't equate to FG%, assist and low turnovers. Those things are important ya know? "All Flash, no Substance" means that player enjoys flashy dunks more than "efficient basketball" and "fundamentals." "Hustle, determination, and desire" are important. But if the *other* things are missing in your star, you are asking for trouble. Pssst, pass me that check book for 85 MIL! Not!
1) stevie does not draw doubleteams cause he is a penetrating guard, he moves to much, the goal of opposing defenses is to pressure and trap in the open court, then block off all lanes and to prevent penetration at all costs. this leaves gaping holes in the frontcourt. man, your argument is so incredibly anti steve that you ignore the fact that all i said is that a player of steve's caliber needs to draw the defense for yao to be effective and vice versa. this year is an abomination, steve is usually a much better shooter, but jvg offense has effeectively castrated him. he is tenative on his shot, so i figure another year, and he will be much more comfortable. No more "another year, and he'll be better" crap. It's been 5yrs for god's sake! Geezus! Steve has never been a consistent spot up shooter, alright? Face it, that's what we need with an offense focused on a center who can pass. Yes, Steve has many talents, mostly in athleticism. Even his layups are streaky as hell, more so than his passing. Yao has had 2yrs, two coaches, one who kept him away from the post, or just let him do his thing. And now one who forces him in the post. So he two has had to try to adapt to a change in coaches and their ideals, difference is Yao managed to adapt and improve while doing so in a way noticeable from his first season. Steve has had 5 freaking years and what has he improved on? Passing more? Those awful, drive to the lane and if I have no chance to score, dish it over the shoulder and hope it lands in a fellow teammate's hands? I don't know if he means to pass it like this, but you gotta admit it sure looks like it when you see it in action. Steve is a good shooter, yes, but one that demands control of the ball, that needs to dribble and move around to get that shot. Cat is a much better slasher, and finishes his layups with way more consistency. As I said, never been a good spot up shooter. 2) elton brand is a big man, he is not a perimeter player, so i have no freakin idea what the hell your talkin about. steve needs yao, i never said he didn't. but yao DESPERATELY needs steve too...at least for now. thats all my post is about anyway. No, Yao DESPERATELY needs a smart pg, that can spot up shoot in the perimeter. And also, a complimenting pf. 3) also, i have no idea what you have been reading, but i read francis for hinrick, berry, crawford and an endless string of roleplayers. roleplayers were good enough for hakeem, but yao is no damn hakeem, thats for sure. he needs a superstar RIGHT NOW, and why bring in a new one?? why not keep the one that you know will bring all the heart and passion he can muster, nite in, nite out? He brings all the heart and passion he can muster, but no brains. What's so great about a player throwing his body around, if he can't pass? And he can't, cause it's pretty freaking inconsistent and mostly wild. Can't keep the ball in his hands? Dribble dribble, drive, oops turnover etc Or dribbe dribble dribble, oops one dribble too many, there goes the ball. And can't finish a layup on a decently consistent basis? He's basically an energetic kid at heart, with the same mind of a child. i can't really say i have any respect for you, but i will refrain from anymore personal attacks, but you haven't ever really offered anything to any boards you post on, so why don't you just shut it about francis, and wait till the offseason the talk trash? this team has been together a total of 60-some games, and dallas, sac, and the spurs have had years to gel. if you cant stand to watch this team, then stop. All teams with good point gaurds, with players with a lot of heart AND brains. I hate to tell ya this, if you yourself haven't notice. But even Cat has more brains than Steve, and I'd say more desire, afterall he is the better defender and if he wanted to, could average just as many points as Steve. Not only can he slash, and drive into the lane SUCCESSFULLY and CONSISTENTLY, he can also spot up for the three with more success than Francis. All Steve has that Cat doesn't, and it's fair to compare them since they are both SG's. Is the innane ability, to throw his body around, dribble like mad, be indecisive while dribbling like mad and while driving to the basket, and to force(desire) plays that result in stupid turnovers. Oh and of course, can jump and crossover better.
One more thing. Open your eyes!! It's been 5yrs and he has done so little to meaningless improvement. With two coaches! With two different playing techniques and styles! With a changes in teammates! And still, he's the same old stevie "franchise", with all the heart, no brains and dumb plays. Think about it! Perhaps, god i hope i don't shock anwaya.. but maybe it's because...*gasp*, he just isn't a PG! Or has the skills to be a PG!
hmmm, apparently you can use the quote function, but you cant *****in read. i never argued that stevie is a great pg. i never made this a yao vs. stevie thread either. its interesting that the hatred for stevie really comes out as a purely emotional responce. you offered NOTHING but your feelings. "cat is smarter", "stevie can't pass" etc. etc. not a scrap of fact anywhere. and since i never said anything but yao needs to have a proven superstar to share the defensive attention, the burden of proof is not on my shoulders. i really just was trying to put out something positive about the team we have, and the argument that steve needs to be traded is a bad one. but whatever, THIS is why i almost never post and wont even bother to try to be a part of this hate fest anymore. i am going away again. some of you people are so obviously full of hate and negativity that it really makes me feel sick just to come here. see yall.
You're right, I am full of hatred. But, not over Steve. But, over the "one more year for steve" crap, it's just freaking nuts. Half a decade to learn and improve, and still nothing and people go "one more year for steve" wtf is that?? Steve will be 33 and we'll still have people going "one more year, just one more, im sure he's there, honest! REALLY!!". And I never said you were defending Steve as a pg. You were defending or praising or slightly applauding, whatever the hell, Steve the player, and that's exactly who I voiced my opinions over, the player who plays the PG position in our freaking team!! And cat is smarter than steve, isn't a feeling, it's proof just by having seen both of em play for the rockets over the years. And seeing how much Cat has really grown this year, and Steve has regressed. Steve isn't something positive about this team. If you wanna state something positive about this team? JJ, Padgett, Cat, Yao's improvement in 2yrs, Mo's sudden hussle and finally acting like a PF as of late. Those are things to feel positive about, over OUR team. I don't know what crawls up your ass when someone speaks truths of Steve's play over the years, and how it's been basically the same no matter the players he has around him, or the coach behind him. He doesn't adapt his game well when he has other good players around him, like Cat does. He doesn't know his limitations, like Cat does. What he does, that Cat does, is play within his game, which isn't needed here. About the only thing Steve isn't inconsistent with, is his rebounding. If that's your gripe, then hey package him up with Cato or another player to get us a good rebounding, offensive and defensive PF. Not only will it make up for the loss of Steve's rebounding, but add defense which is a plus, since Steve never had that in his athletic arsenal. I hold no ill feelings or pleasant feelings over Steve. He's a basketball player, I don't care, never met him, never talked with him. All I care about is the team, and what it needs and doesn't need. And it just doesn't need Steve and his game, we already have two promising two gaurds. What we need is a decent pg, and a "superstar" pf complimentary to Yao's game.
Did you mean to say that "Francis turn the ball over, and playmakers makes plays." That would sort of make sense. Against the Jazz tonight at last count, Francis has five points and six turnovers.
Are you that blind and arrogant that you don't see that you are reacting the same way in this thread? In your mind, you've labeled everyone who disagrees with your points of views as haters filled with negativity. What you fail to realize is that we find your point of view just as stupid and idiotic as you find ours and we react to what we see as total nonsense the same way you have reacted. Thats what happens when you bring a large number of people together with many different views. If you can't deal with it, then I recommend you don't come in here because it does take a lot of self control.
What good are fundamentals when you're too big of a puss to put them to any good use? What good is 7'6 when you've already had your shot blocked by every center in the league by the end of your second year? "All Fundamentals and no Nads" means that player enjoys a nice game of horse more than "playing with heart" and "being a man inside." "Being a nice guy and having a shooting touch" are important. But if the *other* things are missing from your star, you are asking for trouble. Pssst, pass me that check book for a max contract! Hell no!
That's right. You need the aggressiveness as well. But I'm willing to wait and see what happens. The physical part of the game was the last part that I felt was important. Why? Because you could develop strength and speed as time went a long. It's the fundamental game that is very, very difficult to learn late in ones career. That's why they call it "fundamental." They are basic elementary skills that one must learn when YOUNG. Not when old. Yao's already taken care of those basic skills. Now, we just have to sit back and wait for his physical strength and speed to improve. And they will. Don't believe me. Compare a 5th year Yao to a 5th year Francis. Just wait. You'll see. Yao will be the more complete player than Francis is once his physical part catches up. It will because he does something that Francis can not do: improve! By the way, I'm not implying that Yao will become *as* athletic as Francis. But he will be good enough to complement his skills base which will make a much more complete player than Francis. Francis has the physical part down (natural). But he has yet to show that he can improve on the fundamentals. Zero improvement since year 1. Even if he held his rookie numbers, he'd still be stagnant. Even then, that'd be NO improvement.
Steve is garbage. Plain and simple. Rockets don't need him and would be better off if they could just cut him loose.
