JJ SUCKS BIG TIME!!!!!!!! he is the worst player to every wear a rockets uniform. He is the most inconsisten player ever and he never makes a shot, just look at how he played tonight!
I agree with Macbeth, Steve has a tremendous desire to win. And he has changed his game in all manners possible to accomodate Van Gundy. For that we have to give him his dues. But, I also agree, that Steve is overrated. Especially in the role that Van Gundy is having him play on this team. I'm starting to have some doubts about Steve's place on a team with a dominant big man. I'm beginning to wonder if Steve is destined to become the next Allen Iverson, an unstoppable force who powers his team a long ways but in the end he can't win it all. By the way, I don't think AI will ever win it all, until he learns to take far fewer shots and defer to an inside presence. As great as AI is, he reminds me of Tiny Archibald, and Steve reminds me of AI. Great player but too small to dominate the game by shooting and cranking up impossible layups on 3 defenders. Maybe able to dominate A game or several games, maybe even a playoff series, but not able to dominate for a season or for an entire playoff run, especially against defensive teams who shut down the lane. After seeing just a little flash of a far over the hill, slow as molasses, out of shape, point guard named Mark Jackson and the passing skills that MJ brings to the team and the ability to set up the offense and get the ball to the right player in the right position, I can't help but wonder if indeed Steve is a misplaced 2 guard. Misplaced because he is a large 1, and a small 2, and is not a good enough shooter to play the 2, and is not a good enough passer and ball handler to play the 1. A player that has to have the ball in his hands to dominate playing on a team for a coach that wants the ball moving crisply in and out of his hands, with the first priority on getting the ball into a big man's hands. Steve has been great at being the team player this season. I'm just wondering how long he can hold it together before his ego and desire to be the #1 option eats him up. I don't know if he has the ability to defer to Yao on a permanent basis. I don't know if he has the skill to get the ball to Yao when and where Yao needs to get the ball. This off season will tell the story. It would not surprise me one bit if Steve came out wanting to change the offensive system or either wanting to move on to another team. It would surprise me if Steve said after this season that his desire was to remain in Houston and retire a Rocket and win championships here with Van Gundy. I would hope that he would feel that way and say those things and if he did, it would mark another milestone of maturity for him. It would also mark another milestone for Steve, if he would learn and adapt to Mark Jackson's game when it comes to running a team. That's what I'm looking for. Will he let MJ teach him the passing game? He is talented enough to learn if he puts his mind to it. It's not about athleticism. It's about thinking. Will he let MJ teach him how to think on the floor? And will he still be supportive of Van Gundy after the season is over?
Basically you have been waiting 4 yrs for this moment? Talk about waiting to kick a man when he is down Rocket River
Despite all the flattery out here for SF, the fact he doesn't have the complete package is what makes SF a second tiere star. He doesn't defend well against quick guards, poor passer on the break, terrible at penetrating the lane and setting up team mates. No in between game when he gets in the lane. Terrible set jump shooter. I probably could list another 10 things Stevie does poorly, get the pt. Stevie is an athelet, not a clutch baller. I should set up a poll and compare Stevie to Cassell, and let the forum decide who's better? Damn Cassell's game is taylor made for Yao.
Steve Francis is Michael Vick when the Rockets need a Tom Brady. I wouldn't be surprised if Van Gundy is making sure his trade value stays up by talking positively about Steve's contribution to the team. That BYC rule is making sure he stays here to the end of the season. The Rockets just need a point guard who can shoot a jumper and pass the ball well. That's not hard to get, and that kind of player is cheap to sign. It's the dunking ability that makes a player more expensive for some reason.
I believe that PG is natural and the passing skills cannot be taught. It's all instincts and it's hard to convert a shoot first PG to a pass first PG.
Nope he was never close to leading this team on his shoulders. Not after Charles retiring and us starting over with the trade of Hakeem, nope, he never took us close to the playoffs, he never led us to a sweep of the central division, he never led us to wins over many playoff teams through his four years. he never came close to taking us to the playoffs, but when he did go out due to having some meningabubu disease, the whole team collapsed and thus getting a top pick. Nope Francis hasn't come close to any leadership on this team, It was always YAO, even when the Rockets were so close from making the playoffs, it was YAO leading us to it, from his cozy home in China
Francis led the team right to the lottery. Vick led his team to a playoff win in Green Bay. Hardly comparable.
Francis AND Yao led the team to the lottery last year. If Yao's first couple of years don't count as many around here say, then neither should Steve's. So using YOF logic. Steve has only missed the playoffs 2 years and one of those he was out several games.
For those saying this was poorly timed, I ask a question: I didn;t see the game last night, but did Steve do any of the things I mentioned he hadn't been doing lately? I haven't heard. My point was not that his play has been great lateyl, actually I said it hasn;t...my point was that his attitude has been great.
something had to give with steve. we either needed to trade him or rebuild him. we seem to have chosen to overhaul his game and we are at square one. I LOVE IT! given we can all agree that he is playing much better on defense (which is 99% want to) and has sacrifised his offense and bought into JVG's system, can he play any worse? no, he can't. sometimes one has to take two steps back in order to take one forward (or however that cliche goes). steve is at rock bottom and he will start playing better, count on it.
That's ridiculous. I was posting about the "deficits" in Francis game when he dropping 25-30 a night and was considered god, jr. on this board. I have been taking abuse for my views for years. I was responding to the "pollyanna" posts on the thread. It is absurd to continue ignoring the obvious, and, you know what, you didn't answer my questions either. Wonder why?
1. he has decent court vision 2. he is a decent passer 3. he is a good defender 4. he has a streaky but deadly outside shot 5. he is a poor playmaker 6. but, he is protecting the ball well and avoiding silly turnovers 7. he is becoming a more heady player 8. he makes the players around him better 9. he can run a fast break
QUOTE]Originally posted by jopatmc I agree with Macbeth, Steve has a tremendous desire to win. As great as AI is, he reminds me of Tiny Archibald, and Steve reminds me of AI. Great player but too small to dominate the game by shooting and cranking up impossible layups on 3 defenders. Maybe able to dominate A game or several games, maybe even a playoff series, but not able to dominate for a season or for an entire playoff run, especially against defensive teams who shut down the lane. [/QUOTE] AI managed to take a team (admittedly Eastern) to the Finals, mostly on his back. Pretty impressive for a guy whose back is nowhere near as big as a Moses Malone or a Tim Duncan. Archibald on the other hand is a comparison I like even better and would like to see used as an inspiration. Even though he did manage to be the only player ever to lead the NBA in both assists and scoring in the same season, for most of his career he thrived as a driver and scorer. In 1978-1979, he went through a very stormy season, took a lot of criticism, and the Celtics reached a seriously low point, the likes of which the team hadn't seen in over 20 years. The next year, they got Bird, but don't let anybody tell you that Tiny was a tiny part of the reason for their revival. In the words of nba.com's 50 greatest tribute: "Archibald returned to Boston for the 1979-80 season in a far different role. The Celtics didn't need him to score as he had on the Cincinnati and Kansas City-Omaha teams of the early 1970s -- they had Bird, Cowens and Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell for that. So Archibald emerged not as the flashy scorer of old but as a controlled, efficient playmaker, running the offense like a general." The result: 184 wins over the next 3 seasons and an NBA championship in 1981. And it wasn't that Tiny didn't set up isos or take over the game at times. It was that he balanced his scoring with his getting the rest of the team involved and with getting the ball to the player with the "hot hand." If the other team allowed it, he would put the team on his shoulders at critical junctures and go on a scoring binge. If they blocked the lane off, he moved the ball in a different direction. The purpose of Mark Jackson on this team is to help teach an eager-to-win Steve Francis, who has as much heart and desire to win as anyone on this team, how to play the role of point guard. I don't expect Steve to become Isaiah overnight, or even by next season. But he has the desire and athleticism to be that type of point guard (Isaiah or Archibald) if he has the dedication to work at it and learn. His enthusiasm at watching Jackson's passing is part of what convinces me that he does. With half a season to watch and learn from Jackson, I expect to see a small, but noticeable improvement in Steve as a PG by the end of this season. With a training camp to work on the fast break (not just Steve, but the whole team), I expect a quantum leap next season. Speaking of Isaiah, I notice that nobody mentions him when trying to claim that a "drive and score" point guard can't be a leader and a scorer while taking a balanced team to a championship. Oh. It's because he did. And for those who subscribe to the "best single player in the game wins championships" theory: are you really saying Isaiah was the single best player in the game in the 1989 & 1990 seasons? I didn't think so. Top 5 maybe.
