Oh come on! You actually think that Yao is going to be slower next year! He'll be 24-25!!!! Dirk was slower/weaker his rookie season than he his now. His first three years was a development process. He wasn't at the level that he is now in terms of speed and quickness. Speed decreases with age only when you are talking about someone well into their 30's! Talk to me then!!!! Oh by the way, Francis is 27. He has a lot more to worry about if his prize possession (hops and speed) start win wane in about 3 or 4 years. Centers can rely on their bulk and strength well into their 30's, even if their achieved peak level of speed has dropped (which Yao hasn't yet reached). But, again, we're talking about someone in their 30's. It seems to me that 33-34 seems to be the cut-off point; where speed starts to drop. There's a lot of players that have improved their speed and quickeness compared to their first 2-3 years. Nash, Bibby, Jermaine O'Neal, Doug Christi, and yes even Duncan. All of which had pretty good fundametals already. And then honed those skills as well as their physical game.
I agree with a lot of what you guys are saying. Although, I have some answers and some debates. First off, Do you guys remember Michael Dickerson, Brent Price, Othella Harrington and Antoine Carr? Some may, some may not, but those are the guys that we gave up for Francis. Dickerson was the only one that was really good out of that group, but he is no longer playing due to injuries. I'm kind of confused with this argument because your claim here is that big men are the ones that have carried their teams to high places, but guards don't. If this is the case then why do you have two power fowards listed here? Above, you have listed great pure point guards that can hit their teammate in great position. I think he was just meaning to say that the ball is pushed and moved through Francis' hands as he is the focal spot of our team (despite our "Yao oriented offense"). I think Francis was just limited in his role with the Rockets. If he goes to any other team, such as maybe the Mavericks or the Kings he is going to kick major @$$ there. So I don't think we should just settle trading him to anybody. . All I can say here is thank goodness that you're not the general manager. That's really faulty arguing. I believe that there is a period of time up until maybe the early 30's that as long as he/she is well trained they can continue to improve. It isn't until later on in an athlete's career that his/her joints start to age that they decrease in speed and athleticism. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I think if we want to really improve this team we need a role playing point guard that play good D and dish out at least 5 apg (with low TOs) and we need a stud power forward that can get a lot of rebounds and blocks. As far as what the team really needs to improve on is forcing steals and getting out on the break. This team is just way too talented and athletic that there is no reason for them not to pushing the ball constantly. Didn't the Rockets of 93-95 push the ball up the court a lot to get easy buckets?
