Exactly...... Too many of us are making assumptions that can never be proven. Hard to say what happened, but it seems like there is a lot of scrutinizing of Francis' decision making, which is fine. But to then attribute it to Francis blatantly disobeying his coach, not listening, or being selfish is just plain silly.
Francis, himself, mentions that he saw the timeout signal: "That was great. It felt good to knock a shot down like that, knowing the game was on the line," Francis said. "Once I saw the clock getting lower and lower, I wanted to get the last shot off. Coach was signaling for a timeout. I told Kenny (Thomas) to throw the ball in. I just wanted to get the ball up and get the last shot. I milked it just right."
Well, then. In either case, I don't like people who one day/season blame a player for not stepping it up at the end of games and then the next get angry at him for doing just that. In the eyes of some ont his board, Francis does little good, and that seems wierd.
With that having been said, I agree that Francis disregarded his coach's wishes. But I do take some comfort in the fact that Francis took initiative to win that game and was confident enough to go and act upon that. Just don't make it a habit Steve. I can see some positive and some negative in what happened. A player with the ability to steal a game from an opponent and the ability to make crucial decisions without direction can be a great asset...ala MJ, Bird, Magic, etc. No, I am not comparing Francis to those boys...just the situation, more or less. But those guys had the freedom to be the on court coach in certain situations. I don't think Steve is there yet. By the same token, the coach is there for a reason, and if he wanted a time out, Stevie should have called one. I am all mixed up on this one.
I'll never get over it. And its not so much because he wanted to leave Houston, its the way he went about doing it. "Barkley is fat." This man was in his thirties. I have less respect for Pippen than any other player in the league, and that's not going to change. And yes, I also thought similar thoughts about Steve with the whole Vancouver thing, but like you said, he was a rookie-not a "veteran."
To the Steve Haters..... Houston trades: PG Steve Francis (21.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 6.6 apg in 41.0 minutes) SG Cuttino Mobley (21.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.6 apg in 42.1 minutes) Houston receives: PG Jeff McInnis (14.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 6.1 apg in 37.6 minutes) SF Lamar Odom (13.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 5.9 apg in 34.5 minutes) SF Darius Miles (9.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.2 apg in 26.9 minutes) Change in team outlook: -5.8 ppg, +2.8 rpg, and +5.0 apg. L.A. Clippers trades: PG Jeff McInnis (14.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 6.1 apg in 37.6 minutes) SF Lamar Odom (13.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 5.9 apg in 34.5 minutes) SF Darius Miles (9.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.2 apg in 26.9 minutes) L.A. Clippers receives: PG Steve Francis (21.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 6.6 apg in 41 games) SG Cuttino Mobley (21.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.6 apg in 58 games) Change in team outlook: +5.8 ppg, -2.8 rpg, and -5.0 apg Mcinnis odom miles griffin kato interesting... not really good but interesting
That's why we are Rockets fans, because we like who is on our team! And who ever wants to bail out on our team will get bashed... etc. If I don't want to feel that way for Francis' decision to leave the Grizzlies, and you think I'm biased, I don't really give a ****. Cause I'm a true Rockets fan and anyone who wants to bash Franchise... who is our Franchise, is not a Rockets fan. Too much b****ing, not enough cheering. Try following the Rockets for a change, instead of picking faults at everyone who may not be so perfect as you are...
Good grief, if Francis doesn't deserve to represent our country based on some attitude issues or run-ins with the law, neither did: Gary Payton Charles Barkley Jason Kidd Vin Baker Patrick Ewing Christian Laettner Karl Malone Reggie Miller Scottie Pippen Yet, all of these guys made the USA Men's squad for the OLYMPICS, nevermind the Goodwill Games or qualifying tourney.
Hmmm, guess who's chairman of the selection committee...Stu Jackson. No wonder he's not on the team. Oh well, Francis can give a big shot out to all them when we win the championship in 3-4 years...I don't want to hear kidrock8 celebrating though.
the pippen and francis incidents are only similar in that they were both traded. as others have said, steve never played for vancouver and even requested not to be drafted by them. pippen wussed out and pinned blame on everyone but himself. these are not similar cases. if jason kidd is on the team than anything you want to say about francis' attitude/actions keeping him off is completely ridiculous. you're just being a steve hata, plain and simple. anyways both should be on the team regardless as it is about basketball talent. in addition they seem to show good character despite said actions.
Every since the fiasco with Kemp,Lj and the other guys in the world championships, USA has been very astute on whom they choose to represent America. How fair is it? I don't know, but I can almost guarantee that no one on the team is high on the technical foul assesment list which seems to be Francis biggest detractor. Francis is deserving to be on that team or any other team, but as long as he picks up those stupid techs, he won't be on there. Had Barkley not been one of the top 10 players in the entire league,( clearly Francis is not), then he might not have been on there either. The NBA and Stern promote whome they want to, and until Francis gets into the McGrady,O'Neal,Bryant, and Garnett stratosphere, then he will continue to be left off these teams, just like Rasheed. I'm not implying Francis has the same attitude as Wallace, but coming in 2nd in tech's doesn't help at all. Not helping the fact is players like Miller and Davis whom are equally as good, without the tech's.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1293242 I think the coach George Karl gives a little insight with these comments. "We already had maybe the best point guard in the NBA, now we add perhaps the best young point guard in the league in Andre Miller," World Championship coach George Karl of the Bucks said. "I love the way he plays the game, and I think it's vital that the coaches and the point guard are on the same page. I think Andre understands the game, he's unselfish and he doesn't turn the ball over." See, we told you that Miller was a better PG then Steve....... DaDakota
Didn't you agree with us when we said he has made Cato a better player? He's hooked KT up several times in the last few games. I think Steve passes too much to Cato. He should finish it himself. With regard to character issues, Big Daddy Kemp and Coleman were on the olympic team once.
