I don't think they're trashing him at all. Steve is not in shape and they noted that. Rick the Ruler is right. He played great before those 2 games and in those 2 games, aside from the 1st half on the Toronto game, you can see that Steve is not in game shape. If Steve was playing that well out of shape, imagine a Steve Francis in real game shape. He could give us a big boost off bench or starting if Skip doesn't keep up his recently good play. That's probably the only thing that is holding him back. One he gets in game shape, he'll be able to attack the basket at will. Oh yeah, he better work on his free throws or all those trips to the line won't mean a thing if you can not make them.
I agree, but how long is that going to take him to get in shape? And didn't we go through something like this last year?
you francis fans need to get a grip. noone is trashing anyone. rick is just pointing out the obvious and t-mac is just talking like his usual self. stop trying to blame others for francis being out of shape.
I think everyone knows that the best way to get in shape is playing in actual games. So I don't understand why he doesn't give Francis' 9th man minutes. Rick usually plays 3 of our guards and last game he only went with 2. Maybe Rick just doesn't like Steve?
yeah, this is probably a convo. for another thread...but i'm not even sure rick knows what he's doing with the rotation. look no further than yao's minutes and stretches that he plays. we all know he's less effective the more winded he is, and yet there's been plenty of occasions where he doesn't get taken out til middle of the second quarter. JVG generally didn't play him more than 6-7 minute stretches, so it seemed like he was always fresher than he is this year...could be partly why his production is a bit down. he seems to stick with all of his starters (barring foul trouble) until right around 3 minutes left in the first quarter too. there's been plenty of times where we get off to a good start and then lose a little steam...probably cause everybody's gassed. i still tend to agree with rick's style of rotation more than a set one like JVG's was...but it'd probably help if he tightened the screws a bit.
As a supporting player it is Francis' job to pick his spots and play intelligently off of the superstars. There lies the problem. He is now required to think and we all know he is not a very cerebral player. That isn't meant as a put down but it is the truth. Francis knows how to play one way. He needs to be given the ball and everyone else needs to get the heck out of his way. Unfortunately, he is not good enough to justify making the Stevie iso a part of the offense.
its been this long and still not in game shape. which is kind of evident by his lack of explosion or endurance...but could them saying not in "game shape" just be a nicer way of saying his game is shot without actually saying it? much more than we want to think? I'ma Francis supporter, supporting him to be good role player for this team. But the more I see the "old man" comments, the more it makes sense cuz its a fitting description of what we're seeing...
Rick is right. In the off time Francis did have a chance to push his body to the next level. He could have gone out and worked his body hard. He should have been running stairs an hour a day or putting in the work needed to increase his aerobic endurance. Yeah, playing in games would help to get in shape but he is not going to be able to do that. He just needs to get in the do some cardio work and some sprints for speed.
It may be because Francis' right knee is hurting him more than we know. It definitely is affecting his ability to move more fluidly and have explosion in his leaping ability.
If his knee is so fricking bad, then he should just go and do what Dwayne Wade did. He needs to get Wade's take no prisoner's attitude. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwyane_Wade "However, during a game against the Houston Rockets on February 21, 2007, while attempting to steal the ball from Shane Battier, Wade dislocated his left shoulder and was assisted off the court in a wheelchair.[32] After the injury he was left with the decision to either rehabilitate the injury or undergo season-ending surgery.[33] On March 5, 2007, Wade announced that he would put off surgery and rehabilitate the shoulder with the intention of rejoining the team in time for the playoffs.[34] On April 8, 2007, after missing 23 games because of injury, Wade returned in a game against the Charlotte Bobcats. Sporting a black sleeve to help protect his dislocated left shoulder, Wade recorded 12 points and 8 assists, in a 111–103 overtime loss.[35] He finished the regular season with averages of 27.4 points, 7.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game.[36] In the 2006-07 postseason, Wade averaged 23.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game, as the Heat were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Chicago Bulls.[37] Following the playoffs, Wade underwent a pair of successful surgeries to repair his dislocated left shoulder and left knee. The knee ailment, commonly called "jumper's knee," prevented Wade from joining USA Basketball in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament over the summer.[38]"
Like Adelman said, when you put someone in you have to take someone out. Who would Francis play for against the Pistons? Rafer? No. Luther? He was having a pretty good game. Putting an out of shape Francis in puts us at a disadvantage. We want to win now.
Have you watched him at all this season? He hasn't even tried looking for his own shot. He plays within the offense, making passes that usually lead to a foul or any easy bucket. He gets the ball to Yao the best, IMO. Aside from those two horrid games, Francis has done a good job doing what coach tells him. He even noted that he played great in New Jersey but his conditioning showed up in the next 2 games. In fact, I don't think he's gone ISO once this season. T-Mac, James, and Bonzi are the ones playing the most ISO.
Yeah, but Mike James AND Francis sat out. Usually, it was just one of them. Mike James is the only one that has been playing all the games so I think it's time to try Rafer, Luther and Francis. Which I think works better than Rafer, James and Luther.
That was before the other teams realized that all you have to do to take him and the rockets out of what they want to do is to apply full court token pressure.
I'm wondering if there is something more than just being out of shape. A few posters have pointed to knee problems but I am wondering if Adelman is engaged in a psychological game with Francis and Alston. Adelman is a very experienced coach whose dealt with all sorts of players including players with fragile egos. Given the stretch where both Francis and Alston played well Adelman might be thinking that the best thing for Francis is to keep him feeling threatened for playing time while also making Alston feel threatened about his starting position.
