DaDakota, I trully believe a person can be a better passer by studying tendancies and just trying to be more aware but court vision to me is different. It is the ability to see what is going on all over the court and not just what is front of you regardless of what you are doing. Its the ability to see all 9 other people on the court and see the basketball dynamic between them. Lebron in the limited amount of time I've seen him has impressed me with the ability to get players the ball in a position they can score and to see players open even when he is looking to score. To compare it to football, Warren Moon was a great passer but Montana had great vision. Montana knew where all his recievers were at all times and made decision accordingly. There is no doubt that Francis can be a better PG. I just don't think he will be able to find open people out of thin air like Magic, Stockton, or even Nash does. I've seen Lebron do it on occasion and I think he has the talent to do it as consistently as the previously mentioned PG's.
Just have to look at Wilt Chamberlain. In his first few years in the league, he averaged only 2 assists per game, then 7 to 8 years later, when his scoring was down by 10 points, he became a better passer because losing to the Celtics meant that the game is more than an individual player but a team sport. His highest assists at one point in his career was 8.6 apg.
I agree that he improved. But that was not his forte. SCORING WAS. I think that there's a misconception about players games/skills..in terms of what we would like our player to develop like, and why some players get some slack and some don't. For example, Jordan. Was he the best passer ever? No. Was it necessary for him to develop a good passing game? No. Why? I mean, some might as why we are asking so much of Francis. Well, the reason why is this: Jordan was soooooo damn good in scoring that his passing game didn't really have to develop to say "Stockton level." Jordan's passing game was just needed to supplement his scoring game to make him a more complete player. This goes the same with Wilt. He was such an asset in the scoring department that he wasn't really required to learn how to pass. But because he wanted to supplement his game (total game) he learned passing later in his career. Now, when we talk about Francis we don't have the luxury of saying that he's the best at anything. He's not the best passer, he's not the best scorer, he's not the best shooter, and he's not the best defender. He's just "good" in a lot of things. A jack of all trades. Master of none. Supplementing Francis's game will require a WHOLE LOT MORE work! Because he's not a master in any field (maybe rebounding). So, the holes in his game are many. That's why it's not good enough to just say, "Francis can improve in his passing" over time. Because he needed to improve a long time ago in many skills. Francis needs to work on every single aspect of his game, not just the one-on-one stuff, but the techinques of the game. How to get advantges, how to trick your oppoent. How to use deception. How to use leverage in your moves to get your oppoent off balance. If I were him, I would spend time in the off-season with Isiah, Magic and Jordan. Maybe even call Oscar on the phone. Hey, I'd even pay those guys $10,000 for a week course in basketball. Why not learn from the best if you can afford it? Francis can. You know what I've learned about Francis? He seems to learn by "doing" not by "telling him" or "showing him." That's why basketball camps with the greats would be a good thing.
Stevie is better than LeBron because the rockets are in the west and is more difficult. Last year the rockets have best record than the 6 or 7 place in the East, and Lebron can get 30 victories to his team and Steve got 40 last 3 seasons. And the numbers is not only way to see who is better, you have to see the leadership, and other things that dont have a number. so Steve is much better than Lebron and always be, so ypu are wrong you are not a true rocketfan
Because most people assumed (and they should be able to do so) that a 26 year old supposed all-star (or any player in general) would progress instead of regress.
This post is r****ded. Youre basing this on what youve seen in the first part of lebrons career in the NBA. He is not better than Steve. He might be better in the future but not yet. Lebron is on a scrub team with nothing to lose while Franchise is on a team trying to compete for a playoff spot. I would think Lebrons media pressure has got nothing on that. Just see the stats at the end of the season and wait to make a r****ded post like this till you have enough of the facts. We arent far enough into the season to be able to tell anything yet.
I won't go into who is the better player, but I will say that Lebron is playing WAY better than Steve. Also, if the Cavs is a scrub team then the Rockets are a scrub team that haven't made the playoffs for the last 4 years, not too much difference to me.
Lebron is the better player, but didn't you exect that, Lebron is the most hyped player since Jordan. I don't think 1,000 hypees were going to be wrong. He's the real deal. It may take him 8 years to get some extra players on his side. Then the wins will come, but as for right now, one player can't win games. The Cav's suck. But it isn't Lebron's fault.
Yes Lebron is making smarter decisions than steve right now but this whole post is still r****ded and the cavs might not be a scrub team but they arent looked at as a very big threat in the nba like we are starting to be seen as.
Don't you think Lebron's numbers on a "scrub team" speak for themselves? Steve is a starting all-star guard with 5 years experience and he is already putting up better numbers than Steve--on a "scrub team" to boot. Oh yeah, and he's 18 years old. I think you're in denial and/or you're looking through rose colored glasses.
Lebron is better than Steve this year. Steve was a better player his rookie year than he is right now. Steve in his rookie year was as good as Lebron this year. Steve in his sophmore year was his best year as NBA player. Steve this year sucks and is playing too timid. He is no longer playing like the "Franchise" that we know in the past.
heh, heh. it was my point to drill the fact that Lebron is only 18. I figured it would be annoying, but I knew it get the point across, ha
How can Steve see the court? He can't possibly see 2 ft from him in any direction! Look at that grimace. He is hell-bent on heading that way ... It's easy to see why he falls on his face or barrels into wall of defenders at times! Have you ever seen Magic dribbling like this ... ever? Even when Magic tried to score, he also seemed to have eyes in the back of his head.
Of course he's not a franchise player...Nobody wants him to be a franchise player any more. That's why he and Yao can't co-exist. I'll miss Steve when he's gone...
Well im going to try and be as honest as i can being such a big rockets fan...but truth is that by the time lebron is in his 3rd year or so, he will be a superstar. Francis, on the other hand, will never be a superstar because he lacks superstar personality. steve is an allstar by all means he has superstar talent but because he lacks the leading mentality that each superstar must have, he has reached his potential. now i know people who disagree might refer to the year we played w/o steve and had a terrible record. i do realize that steve is a top talent as far as guards are concerned, and he shows it sometimes WHEN HE PUTS HIS MIND TO IT. when steve goes into a game with the mentality that he wants to take over he does so with no problems because he cant be stopped. however, when he goes into games without a purpose, he hisitates on shots and passes and you see him turn the ball over alot and take bad shots. superstars are consistent EVERY NIGHT and steve has not been able to accomplish that yet.
