Although I have refused to get pulled into the whole YOF/SOF/AYOF crap, I have for some time believed that the future of this franchise rested more squarely on Yao Ming's shoulders than Steve's. That said, I felt that Steve's presence and development as a second star was essential to avoiding becomg a treadmill team, and have long wanted BOTh Steve and Yao to take more shots. None of this is what I want to address in this thread, but I just wanted to make it clear that I have no Yao/Steve based bias. But a lot has been made in here lately about what Steve doesn;t do. Mark Jackson's playmaking wizardy has made it more clear that Steve does not possess similar abilities. Yao's ability to carry the team when Steve was stinking out the joint has made it clear that we don't need Steve as our main scorer to win. Etc. Etc. And all of these statemtns posses a lot of merit, and have been fully addressed. What I wanted to focus on was the other things we have not seen Steve do during this stretch which haven't garnered as much attention...things which the 'old' Steve would have done, or at least that is the percpetion; * We have not seen Steve sulk in the face of not being The Man. In fact, the reverse, he's been happy with winning, and encouraging Yao to shoot more. * We have not seen ego based flurries of iso-Steve as a means of showing Yao isn't the only scorer on the team. * We have not seen Steve slack off on defense because he wasn't getting the shots on offense. Again, if anything, the reverse, as this latest stretch has seen some of the best D out of Francis that we've ever seen. * We have not seen Steve pout or act threatened by Jackson's playmaking pizzaz, but instead Steve has often been the first guy off the bench to cheer a Jackson assist with notable enthusiasm. * we have not seen Steve complain to the press about JVG, about feeling shakled, etc. Instead we have seen him repeatedly empasize JVG's defensive priorities in interviews, and bask in the victories it has brought. All of this has, IMO, confirmed what i always knew was at the chore of Steve francis, beneath all the confusion about roles and lack of faith in players other than himself: A dying desire to win. For the first time, i believe Steve believes that he doesn;t have to do it all for his team to win, and has actually bought into a system designed around other than his remarkable individual talents. For all his well documented weknesses as a playmaker, decison maker and defender, I think it is important that we also keep in mind what he has accomplished this year a basketball player. H emay never be a pure point guard a la mark Jackson, but I think he has shown lately that those who assumed that this meant he would never be a winner or a team player were vastly underestimating him, and hius desire to win.
driven by the desire to win, he has definitely improved this year the D is now on the page he is clearly trying to think things thru a lot more, and i suspect this is the reason his shooting % is down, his shot seems to no longer the only and first option which is a big change... and probably the balance to too much the other way now...... but again that is easier to fix, he has that desire to hit the key score when needed (ie end of game).... overall his offensive balance is getting better...
Although Steve has a lot bad habbits, I don't think he deserves that much bashing. Afterall he has sacrificed his stats to a certain degree trying to fit JVG's system, which is not designed for him, resulting the decrease in his stats. Yao deserves time to develop, Steve also deserves time to change his habbits.
Another good point to make is that during the Yao run, Franchise has actually improved his shooting. His scoring remaining relatively the same. While guys like Cuttino have gone into a horrid dry spell. Shooting just 30% and scoring 11 points. If anybody's game has suffered in a structured offense. It has been Cuttino and not Francis.
If you guys want to have a "delusion-fest," go for it. As you speak your idol is overdribbling, jacking up ill-advised shots, playing "ziltch" defense. He has gone 1 for 7 shooting, but in all fairnes he has only one turnover; miracles can happen. It is no secret that I do not like Francis' game, have never liked it, and will never like it. He has tried to make adjustments, I will give him that, but his "natural" iso game has suffered and his lack of "true" point guard skills has become painfully obvious. I have no personal issue with him. I don't know him; I might really love him if I did. After four and one half years of watching him, I am impressed with his hops, with his hustle, with his sheer athleticism, BUT, IMO, his basketball fundamentals really suck. I think he is in the wrong role, and he either needs to be moved to another role on the team or moved to another team for "talent in kind." Before you begin bashing me, I want you to answer these questions 1. Does he have good to great court vision? 2. Is he a good to great passer? 3. Is he an good to great defender? 4. Does he have a "deadly" (consistent) outside shot? 5. Is he a great playmaker? 6. Does he protect the ball well and avoid silly turnovers? 7. Is he a heady player who usually makes the right decision? 8. Does he make the players around him better? 9. Can he run a fast break? Want more? Fantasy feels so good, hype is so fun, smoke and mirrors make things look so wonderful, but reality is tough to take, no.
I agree, but I still like Steve and think he's a good player. GREAT athlete, but good player. Solid--the answer is no to most of those, but if he truly wants to win and not just stroke his ego he can improve on some of the not so glamorous aspects of his game...even if that mean scoring goes down. It's all about winning.
Tozai, what a reasonable response; not what I was expecting from the contributers to this thread. Sir, you are gentleman and a scholar. In my heart of hearts, I know Francis is trying to make the adjustments, but I don't think he can. He is not cut out for the structured game that JVG is playing. Francis may be the best one-on-one player in the league. He needs to be in a situation where he can play to his strengths. He is very creative, and deadly around the basket.
He may be great playing 1 on 1 but the NBA is 5 on 5 with help defenders waiting if Steve takes his man off the dribble.
Well Steve is trying to change but even if he drops 50 on a team, he'll still get bashed but thats what losing would do.
kinda hypocritical arent you? you say you expected harsh words...but you start out your initial post with sarcasm and words designed to make fun of others opinions... "If you guys want to have a "delusion-fest," go for it. As you speak your idol is overdribbling...." starting out like that is just asking for someone to come back with harsh words.. you shouldnt see this as a attack....but look back at what you posted and ask yourself if you wanted to start a fight or not...looks like to me you did.
Boy did MacBeth pick the wrong night to hold a "Francis Appreciation Dinner," but to answer your question, he really doesn't have the outside shot or defensive prowess to play the shooting guard. I know I will be laughed off the board for this one, but, (this is just too crazy) but I would like to see Steve (for maybe just one game) play small forward. ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha I know. But just one game. His hops make him much taller, he is a great natural rebounder, and he is a deadly scorer around the basket. O.K., I'm sorry I brought it up.
Steve is a great player. The flashes we see and have seen in the past are still there and will always be there. I think to date Steve has been a second tier player, and yes, I think he has been overated. However, having said that, I think Steve is in a transitional phase now. Once he comes out of this slump he is going to break out. In basketball or anything in life it usally takes a bad event or circumstance to make any significant change. I think everyone here would totally regret it in hindsight if we traded Stevie.
i'm not a steve basher but MAN YOURE SPEAKING GRADE A BULLPLOP BULLPLOP! he is having his worst career EVARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!! _______FG%__3P%__FT%__TotREb__APG___PPG 99-00__.445__.345__.786___5.3_____6.6___18.0 00-01__.451__.396__.817___6.9_____6.5___19.9 01-02__.417__.324__.773___7.0_____6.4___21.6 02-03__.435__.354__.800___6.2_____6.2___21.0 03-04__.397__.290__.756___5.7_____5.8___16.8 face the facts man, francis is struggling this year.
MacB- bad timing You should edit your thread title to read: Official Steve Francis Hate Club: Trolls welcome (I wonder where egn is, speaking of resident trolls?) Anybody know why there aren't any anti-Jim Jackson threads floating around tonight?
O.K., I admit it. I was being sarcastic, maybe I was "baiting" a response. But you didn't answer my questions. What's wrong with inviting a "lively" discussion. I have had difficulty getting people to respond to a "rational," "objective," and "intelligent" discussion of Francis' assets and liabilities. They either love him or hate him, and when the "factual" issues are brought up, they either call names or don't respond at all. Just trying a different tactic. Sorry, if I offended you are anyone else.
