I cant bring myself to say the James is better than Francis. Maybe overall he is but I agree with the others that say its too early to make these comparisons. Not to sound like an excuse maker but Steve has been playing one man basketball for years. We all know he's not a true PG. His numbers were better the last couple years sure, but he was playing isolation half the time. Now he's in a structured offense. This offense worked for the last great center we had so why not this one? Well, cuz Stevie isnt Sam Cassel or Kenny Smith. Francis has to truly find where he belongs in this offense and to do that he better be seen after practice going over post entry passes for hours.
LeBron has been in the NBA for 15 games, how are you going to compare Steve and Lebron mentally? Throwback Jerseys, Hummers? That has nothing to do with playing basketball and nothing to do with the NBA. Ya, Lebron's numbers are better than Steve's, but they are also a lot better than a lot of players. This BBS board has almost gone unreadable, who cares that Lebron is better than Steve, we don't have him and we never will. Everyone is trying to point fingers when we lose, when the fact is we didn't win because the TEAM didn't deserve to win, not just a single player.
Maybe he'll never learn how to shoot? Keep in mind, Steve is about 4 inches shorter than Lebron also.
I would trade Steve for Lebron so fast it would make your head spin. Taller and more talented.....and ....drum roll....A LOT smarter. DD
Let's give Lebron 5 Years like Steve's had and we'll see what he can do. I put money on it he'll be much bigger than Francis could ever be.
What nobody seems to mention about Lebron is his defense!! The kid is 18 and already plays the passing lanes like a vet. Lebron will definitly be First Team All-NBA Defense in the next year. And I will go as far as to say he will be second team THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!
Although it is inane to compare these two at this point, the difference between the two is pretty obvious. They both have similar skills in terms of scoring and desire to win, but the difference is mainly in their MENTALITY. SF never looks to pass. He can be 1 on 1 and passing doesn't even occur to him. Plain and simple, he does not have a PG's mentality, he has a scorer's mentality. Lebron, however, seems to already have the grasp of an all-around player. Watching him play, he seems to look for the best shot for his team. He doesn't have that look in his face like he has to take his guy off the dribble and score every time like SF does. This difference in mentality is something that seems to be very hard to change. If we are comparing the two as PG's, Lebron is already a better passer/decision maker.
I didnt get the oportunity to see Steve play at a college level. What was he like then? Did he pass moer or was he pretty much the same as he is now?
Like most said....James is already better than a lot of players in this league. And he's a smarter player. Francis is a great guard, but not that great a distributor/floor general. James already sees the court better than Steve. Not that Steve is completely blind, as many of you like to believe, but James is already showing a knack for seeing the floor differently than most NBA players. And anyone who has actually seen James play, and think that he's all hype, is blinded by their hatin'. I can't stand hype, and I was all set to call it just that...until I finally saw the guy play. If you can't see the talent, the awareness, the overall level of play - at 18 friggin' years old - it's because you don't want to see it.
OK. With the same logic, Lebron is better than Steve. Bosh is better Cato or Mobley. Antony is better than JJ. I guess we need to find somebody better than Yao and Cat. Then we trade them all. We shall be the champion team! Haha.
Maybe the lakers forum started a similar thread and thats how they ended up with their current lineup. Shaq beats Yao hands down, Most Dominant Ever
Please stop this crap!! I've been coming here since 97' and all this negativity and stupidity has reached an all time low. In the past I thought there was nothing that needed to be done about some of these posts but now I advice Jeff to maybe start censoring the topics. Enough is enough. The quality posters will begin to depart soon if this keeps up.
does it make him any younger than 18 when you repeat this many times that he's 18 and a 18 yo kid? just kidding. i like this guy and also quite agree with what tannersearle78 has to say... very good analysis
hey Mos Def, I'm not sure you are watching the same lebron that the rest of the country is. Are you kidding me? You don't think that 17/7/6 for a rookie line is good? I'd say that maybe Magic and Jordan started off that solid, and that's about it. Yes, he is hyped up but he has certainly lived up to it at this point. Before the season started, everyone was saying that Lebron won't be the rookie of the year and that Carmelo would be the best. That is laughable now. Not only has he already sealed the deal for rookie of the year honors, he's a legitimate MVP candidate. He has arguably the best vision of any rookie EVER! I was sick of all they hype before this season and now that i' have seen him play, I am on the wagon and he amazes me every night. I think you've been watching the wrong lebron buddy.
Actually, I think Francis was 19/6/5 as a rookie. So, all of this drooling over Lebron and we actually ahd someone who played as well statistically as Lebron has. Not saying I wouldn't trade steve away for James (I would), but the grass always seems greener on the other side. I'm not ready to write Steve off yet, it's only been 15 games. If Steve manages to average 22/7/7 in this offense, I will be very happy. I'm not willing to bet how Lebron ends up. He could explode or his numbers could remain stagnant, like Steve's have.
LeBron is not better that Steve. He has higher ceiling but right now he's not better. Lebron can pass better than Steve but think of how the defense would collapse on Yao and force Lebron to shoot from the outside (which he has not shown he can do).
The two reasons why Lebron is hyped like no other is because he possesses 2 things that you can not develop. Crazy athletism in a NBA size body and great court vision. You can not learn those traits, you either have it or you don't. Everything else you can learn. Shooting, post moves, reading defenses, foot work and defending can be taught and learned. Stevie on the other hand has crazy athletism in a undersized body and no court vision. He is better suited to be a 2 guard but is too small to play that position. Don't get me wrong, I think the Franchise is a stud but he is not ideal. He has a ceiling that Lebron does not have. Lebron can be as good as he wants to be. Nothing can hold him back except his desire. Lebron has the potential to be Magic Johnson with Michael Jordan's athletism.
RockBox, Court vision is a learnable trait, it just takes a desire and dedication to learning it. Oh, and you have to be a quick thinker, that is more important than intelligence in court savvy. DD
