http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2519569 By JOHN P. LOPEZ Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle The popular term is "street cred." That is, earning the approval and admiration of the hip-hop generation and all that it entails. Shoe deals. Invitations to Rucker Park every summer. Hanging with popular rap artists. Steve Francis has it. And he earned more Monday night in LA with a triple-double performance and triple axel-type hang time. It was a great show. Exhilarating to watch. Real street credibility. Even so, Francis just can't win. On the surface, he was everything he needed to be in Game 2, cutting down on turnovers, putting defenders on their heels with that Rucker crossover and turning up the production. But like we said, he just couldn't win. That was the problem. And Monday's was exactly the kind of performance that must drive the Rockets' front office nuts. The kind they've seen before. On the one hand, Francis put on display a kind of "anything Kobe Bryant can do I can do" bravado. He made twisting drives, impressive pull-ups, fancy passes and added 10 rebounds for good measure. But on the other hand, this was a second-half Rockets meltdown, a disturbingly prevalent feeling of resignation to the outcome down the stretch and a double-digit loss. As much as Francis' numbers were impressive, the lowlights came in the decisive moments and the subtle plays Francis did not make. He protected the ball and put on that tit-for-tat show with Bryant, sure. It was a battle that Kobe ultimately won with 36 points -- 17 in the third quarter -- and found Bryant laughing in Francis' face at one point. But in the fourth quarter, the Rockets had five turnovers, and Francis could not get his team into any kind of offensive flow. As for the determined effort to try to get Yao Ming more involved and aggressive inside, Yao had an impact early on. Even if his shooting touch was not quite all the way there, Yao scored and forced Shaquille O'Neal into foul trouble. But despite second-half defensive adjustments by the Lakers, Francis and his teammates could not get Yao the ball much after the quick start. At least three times by my count, Yao got strong low position in the lane, only to have an entry pass sail wide of its target, pulling Yao away from prime scoring position. Such are the subtleties. Such are the little differences from perhaps getting O'Neal to pick up a fifth foul and Yao having to settle for a fadeaway jumper from 12 feet. So as these Rockets enter the most important game of their playoff lives Friday, the question they're facing is the same one they've faced before. Are they expecting too much from Francis? Or is this as good as it gets -- All-Star numbers but not playoff plays. Because he possesses so much talent, the position he plays demands that Francis' standards for comparisons always be the great point guards. That's a high standard, but fair. So Francis put up a triple double and still can't win? It sounds crazy. It seems excessive. But against a Lakers team that never has seemed more vulnerable, the Rockets still couldn't come close during the final 14 minutes. That points directly to leadership and decision-making on this team as much as it does its physical ability. Think of it like the caged gerbil running on an exercise wheel. There it goes, frantically going 100 mph, chugging and churning, making great time. But, in the end, it has gone nowhere and still is in a cage. That's Francis. He has played two of his best back-to-back games. He has churned and spun all over the court. And sure, this series has made it clear Francis could use more help. The bench is thin. The power forward spot is a mixed bag, with Kelvin Cato offering defense and Maurice Taylor offense, but neither is consistently bringing both. The small forward spot needs help. And Yao needs all that pent-up confidence to boil over into more ambitious plays on the floor. But even at that, would the great point guards to which Francis hopes to be compared, or even the good ones among his contemporaries, fail to control the offense in the fourth quarter? Would they fail to get the ball to Yao at the spot he needs it? Francis has earned more raves in this series for all the things he can do. But if the Rockets are going to find a way in this series or ever become a playoff winner, the only street on which Francis still must earn credibility is La Branch. He needs to back up the numbers with wins.
From the looks of the last 2 games, do you think Francis is happy to be in the playoffs because it gives himself creditability and not for the team? Remember that one-on-one against Kobe in Game 2? Kobe smiling because he knows his team got his back on D....while Francis, showing off his And1 moves. It's just a pathetic display of immaturity on Francis's part. He doesn't deserve to be in the playoffs. The rest of the team does. They worked hard to get here....
Absolutely not. Say what you will about Francis - he's turnover prone, he's not a point guard, he's not a good fit with Yao, he's a stupid ball-player - but more than probably anyone else on the team except maybe Van Gundy - he HATES to lose. He is the hardest player on this team, with the possible exception of Mobley - NO ONE plays harder on this team. He plays stupid-hard a lot of times - but the effort will always be there.
I know its immature, but if i saw a guy smileing and like trying me to put a move on him, ima go after him. Come on Stevie! Drive to the basket at least on Kobster.
That's just what the lakers would want, when you make it a dick-swinging contest ball movement dies and you won't win that way.
have you even watched this guy you continually bash so much play? say anything you want about him but no one in the league busts their ass more than steve. there are quite a few up there with him but no one works harder and it's a joke to your hating that you even try to go that route. he's certainly not the best decision maker but his heart is absolutely in the right place.
And why do u think Kobe was smiling...cause the rest of his team was right behind him ready to rape Francis...he was daring him to take him one on one cause he knew Stevie wouldn't win...hell I'd be tempted too, specially after seeing his arrogant smile flash across his face. But still, gotta think with your head and not your ego.
First off Franchise is in a lose lose situation. He has 1 great playoff game, a so-so game in Game 1 and pretty much lead us to the playoffs with the victory over Denver. He is now doing what everybody wants him to do, yet people are now bickering for him to take more shots. Plus that one on one instance with Kobe, please, the Rockets did NOTHING and left him alone with Kobe and the Zone Defense the Lakers were in. The other 4 players stayed on one side for him to iso while no player was trying to get open to break the zone. Don't get me wrong, Francis has had a bad year, but if he is playing a position that everybody needs and wants, why deal him?
Dave2000, ladies and gentleman, your resident BBS PowerDancer stalker and the voice of reason. I agree wholeheartedly, dude; like the title says, Francis just can't win on this board.
i hate all the steve bashing but it comes with our sorry ass fans....i think steves a great player that still needs time to grow, our fans suck and will always suck, and as long as they are immature, our team will be...just my 2 cents
Outstanding post. That's why I'm so upset about all the Francis bashing. He's obviously trying to do the right thing. Maybe you believe that he's not the right fit for this team and that he needs to be moved for the Rockets to capitalize on Yao's ability...that's fine. However, many step way over the line in questioning his heart and want when it comes to winning games. To be perfectly honest, he's shown much more in that department than his 7'6" teammate has. By far. One of them has shown up these playoffs, the other hasn't. BTW, I love that Francis has his first playoff triple-double in his second playoff game and Webber has his first tonight.
I could not disagree more...... You are saying SF doesn't work hard?! Please..... Congrats....welcome to my exclusive Ignore list....
Did it hurt, when you pulled this crap out of your ass? What And1 moves? I'm begging you to tell me when Francis went streetball in the last 2 games. What did he do that was immature? Was it the taking only 11 shots? Was it the 10 rebounds? Was it the 12 assists? It had to be the 2 turnovers, right? Please, please, please, for the love of god, tell me what a f***ing And1 move is and which ones did Francis do. Was it driving to the basket to score or draw fouls? If you can't fully explain what the hell it is you are talking about, you will just look pathetic, errr, too late for that. BTW, if Francis went 8 for 19 in a game, you mofos, and you know who you are, would sh*t a brick.
You know, what the f**k were you watching in Game 1? All those crappy moves, spinning into double teams, flashy passes....are we watching the same damn game? WTF are you talking about? He only started driving in near the end because he couldn't make a f**king shot!
Ignoring your stupid post, Uprising. We'll see next year when I hope his ass gets traded for a real quality PG. How many TOs will we see in Game 3? How many stupid passes and 1-on-5s will we see in Game 3? We need to get a quality PG in the offseason for this team because SF doesn't fit.
On a team with 1 on 1 gunners, leadership is an abstract concept. For all the talk of Ewing tutoring Yao, who thinks they should've brought Mark Jackson in sooner?
Unfortunately, busting ass does not translate to winning. AND winning is so much the measuring stick these days on a franchise and players.
the whole francis vs kobe thing is hilarious. francis tried to score on kobe all of one time and on the play got off as clean a shot as he's had this series. in fact, kobe didn't even jump at the shot and was about 3 feet away. people keep acting like francis tried all these and1 moves (i.e. any move that isn't a normal dribble apparently) and kobe shut him down and that francis didn't just get off a regular jump shot. and then they try to extrapolate it to francis trying to take things over in a game in which he shot all of 11 shots (one a 60 foot 3 at the end of a quarter) and made 6. john lopez then writes this aggie stupid column for us and tries to blame francis, the guy with the triple double, for the 4th quarter meltdown. of course he pays cursory attention to the triple double, but then tells us all the things he didn't do with the never-failing blaming of the guards for yao's ineffectiveness. yao was 5-16 until 3 late easy buckets but damn if we would've just done more for him (screw the 6-11 guy getting more involved) things would've been fine. point to how great point guards wouldn't have let it happen (yes all those title that great point guards have won tell us they've never let a game slip away). it's lose-lose. francis plays badly, he's criticized. he plays great (a triple double with only 2 steals and then 3 steals and a block to cancel those out and then some) and ways are invented to criticize him. clearly if he'd just been more of a point guard than 12 assists and 2 turnovers things would've worked out well and yao would've had a HOF game and all his teammates would've played great and the D would've been great and we would never lose to a team with 4 HOFers. damn you francis.
I can't believe this slanted piece of sh*t article! Notice how this professional "journalist" amateurishly tries to associate Francis with turnovers he didn't commit: So, we're to believe Francis is ultimately responsible for those turnovers? Hey, Mr. Lopez, would you care to identify "the Rockets" who actually committed the 5 turnovers? Really, this Lopez guy needs to be fired for this twisted, unprofessional garbage .... he shows a total lack of journalistic integrity here. This kind of crap is the reason I don't subscribe to the our local H-town rag ... it ain't even fit to wipe my @ss!
to make the article looks even worse..... Francis did not commit any TO in the 2nd half at all... let alone the 4th Q......
