Is Steve Francis hurt?

I think Steves shooting struggles are mainly because of Mobley being hurt. Francis and Cat feed off each other, if one its not hitting the other is picking up the slack, Once Cat is in the back in the swing of things. I think Francis will pick up maybe not to where it was to start to season but probaly where it has been the last 3 seasons. Lets hope hes not hurt if he goes down the rockets are in big trouble.

 

I hope you're wrong. We can't afford to have our marquee player have his game rely on the presence of a specific 2 guard. We need Stevie to be able to produce on his own, regardless of who his teammates are. I think he can but is just in a slump right now.

 

It's possible but not likely. If Steve was hurt to the point that it would effect him this much, we'd know by now. Rudy would have picked up on it.

 

I've noticed it too. Lets just hope it is not his migraines coming back. I know Yao Ming is good, but we are going to need Steve in this game. He is just as important as that inside presence Yao brings. I hope it's not his head. Oh please no.

Blatz

 

When watching the game tonight I noticed that many of his early misses were just slightly off. Keep in mind that he only scored 4pts in the first half and looked much better in the second. Like Ref said I highly doubt that he is hiding an injury. His typical explosive move to the basket is still there his jump shot is just a little cold right now. He should come around in a few games.

Also keep in mind that Steve was extremely hot to beging of the season and that spoiled us.

 

I Know what you mean, but I hate being spoiled.

I'm watching The Rockets encore on 51 right now. It just went in to over time and I'm getting sad all over again

Blatz

 

hey blatz it just ended about 20 minutes ago i feel ur pain as well. only i rip the baron davis picture out of beckett

 

ive also noticed how francis is more hesitant to the basket and i dont blame him i saw that fall.

 

Come on guys, his shooting touch is off because he is adjusting to playing with Yao, and having the ball come FROM Yao instead of him getting his off the dribble.

Basketball is a rythmn thing, and Steve has to find an all new rythmn to his game now that Yao is getting settled.

DD

 

I think Steve just has too much pressure on him right now. Most of it internally.

I think Steve honestly wants to do what is right for the team, and for since even before Hakeem was gone, Francis has been "coined" the leader of this team. He became the leader by working the hardest and being the most explosive, athletic player on the team. People stood up and noticed. This player is exciting! The team had a poor record, but they also had lots of excuses: youth and inexperience, injuries, jelling, Francis' migraines, no help in the front court, etc....

Because of the excuses, there wasn't an overall high expectation of the Rockets.....and there wasn't much pressure on Steve. Hell, everyone thought he was doing all he could. He busted his butt through severe migraines to eke out the occasional win almost all by himself with some help from Mobley. Those two WERE the Rockets, and Mobley made enough bone-headed plays that it took even further pressure off of Steve. Not too many people noticed that Steve's decision making skills weren't always the best for a point guard. Nobody noticed that a lot of times, he can be just as boneheaded as Mobley. After all, why not? Steve was "leading" this team almost singlehandedly to as many wins as the opposing teams would allow.

But things have changed now. Surely Francis had to realize even before we drafted Ming that the excuses were running out. Migrines? With the diagnosis that Steve had Meniere's Disease, it became apparant that he'd live with this forever. But it also became apparant that Steve controls his own destiny against these Migraines through diet. Youth and inexperience? Yes, we're still young, but most of our team has been in the league for several years now. The only thing most of them haven't experienced is the playoffs. Injuries? That was last year? Jelling? Francis said it himself? That better not be their problem.

And that leaves the no help in the front court excuse. We've learned that Cato and Collier are both servicable enough to clog up the middle a bit. Mo. T. is back, and although he looks like crap, he'll adjust. Eddie is a year older. KT is more versatile.

The excuses were running out, the pressure was on the "leader" to take them to the playoffs, and then.......along comes Yao Ming.

There were too many reports to deny it. Francis didn't want Yao Ming on this team. "We should draft Jay Williams." "I've never been able to play with a guy like that."

Too much pressure to succeed.

Now Yao is here, and he's blowing away everyone's expectations of him. He's the real deal. TALL, athletic, and I can hear Shaq now: "he's the BIGGER Fundamental!" Like Iverson said, "he's a gift from God." He really can play.....and play smart. And guess what? He works harder than anyone else at getting better. Francis said it himself: He's the first to arrive...the last to leave. Talk about pressure.

Everyone is clamoring to run the offense through Yao, and we're doing it! And for the most part, it's already showing signs of success? Guess what Francis? Have we got a deal for you! You no longer have to do your high flying act and win games on your own. We got you some real help up front, and all you have to do is be a point guard. Life will be so much easier for you!

But guess what? Francis isn't a point guard. He's got a point guard's body. He has more athleticism than any point guard needs. He can score. He can play some D. Hell, he can even rebound. But can he make heady decisions in the heat of the battle?

Time will tell.....and I think he can. But I hope we don't have to wait until his body starts to fail him. And every time Yao makes a heady play, it's got to scare Francis. Francis is being asked to be a point guard; he's being asked to play smart. He's being exposed.

 

DD,

Absolutely fantastic observation. Thats how I feel.

Its all about a player being in a rhythm. Steve is use to creating his own shots. Hes not a catch and shoot type of guy, not to say he cant add that to his game.

It will take him time to adjust to playing with Yao, as Yao has had to adjust to playing with Steve.

 

Pole - that is a pretty good read. I am a really bad golfer. (I aspire to suck). My biggest problem is I swing to hard, because I want the ball to go far. When I ease up, strangly enough the ball goes further and srtaighter. But it is jsut hard to do - very counter intutuve. It that what you are saying about Steve. Ease up and it will fly right.

 

I don't really think it's Steve readjusting to Yao. He's taking the same shots he usually does, the stop and pop kind. I haven't really seen him doing much catching and shooting. And, as crash said, Steve's shot has been struggling before Yao even emerged as the focal point of the offense.

 

I see the analogy, but (and I'm in no way slamming golf; it's damn challenging), I think there's more to it than just "easing up."

Steve wants to be a point guard. At least that's what he said when he swore he would not play for Vancouver. I tend to see things in shades of gray, so I'm someone who thinks there's a little more to it than that. Those who see in black and white either believe Steve truly wants to be a point guard or they believe he's a punk who bucked the system just so he wouldn't have to go to a historically bad team in Canada. I tend to believe the truth is somewhere in the middle.

All that being said, Steve has put himself in a position where he needs to remain a pointguard. If they switched Baron Davis to the two, nobody would raise their eyeballs much if they had a good distributing point guard to take his place. But if you move Stevie to the two, people will come out of the woodwork reminding us of how he didn't want to be anything but a point guard. They'll say things like, "That punk just didn't want to play within the system. He didn't want to go to a poor team in Canada." I know, I have relatives up north who still talk smack about Steve. Should Steve worry about that? Maybe not, but it's human nature not to want to have your integrity questioned.

The point is, we've all noticed that Steve's skills and style lend him to being a better two, but he's put himself in a position where he needs to succeed at the one. Yao's presence should make it easier on a point guard, but it's actually making it more difficult on Steve because it forces him to play outside of his comfort zone. The pressure is even greater on Steve because he knows he has to adjust. He put himself in a position where he has to remain the point guard. Yao's presence has forced him into a position where he now has to play like one.

Can he adjust? I think so. But I don't think it will happen overnight. There will be nights of course, when Steve will continue to carry this team with his one on one style. That can be good and bad. His current strengths will always be a luxury to have, and many nights, they'll probably get us over the top. But I don't think relying on those skills like we've done in the past will get us into the playoffs. That's why I say it could be good and bad. Hopefully, on those nights where Steve successfully lapses back into his old style of play....and wins the game for us....he won't be left thinking that this is the way he should always play.

But, maybe you're right. Maybe if he just "eases up," everything will fly right.

 

I don't know DaD, I thought all of his shots in the first were from his own pullups off of the dribble. I know you're saying that steve has to adjust his role of monopolizing the ball before he shoots, to shooting in the flow of the offense...but that should be easier, shouldn't it? He's shooting 38% over the past 8 games, with over 4.3 turnovers/per as well, not good.