Francis may make the same mistakes over and over again since his rookie year he also makes the same plays that win most of the Rockets games over the same period. Although we went the lottery every year in his first four years the Rockets IMO were probably the best team ever not to make the playoffs in 2 of those four and probably would have made the Eastern confrence finals in at least one of those two years if they played in the East. Many observers judge him on what he cannot do as a point guard but SF also delivers in categories that do not get noticed since he is a guard. But these categories have defined why the Rockets have been better than all other non-playoff teams. The biggest categories IMO of Steves contributions that go unnoticed. 1) Rebounding 2) Foul problems on opposing big men 3) Confusion on opposing team defenses allowing for open looks for others. Why else would the Rox have been so consistent in the years since Francis arrived. We may not be getting to the playoffs but Steve is definately the main reason for at least 80% of our victories over the last 5 years.
True. He does those things. And he helps win games. But have you heard of the phrase, "addition by subtraction?" I'd trade those contributions for, increased team scoring, 10 to 12 more wins, and about 130 less turnovers per year just to name a few...
If that is what we get, especially the 10 to 12 more wins, it is hard to argue with. But isn't there that akward statistic about the Rockets win/loss in games that Steve was out?
Akward statistic? Which one is that? Francis helps this team. But he also his holding this team back. It all comes down to if you think McGrady can do a better job that Francis.
It's only "ackward" because so much of the team was built around he and Mobley running a totally ISO offense. If you want to believe that the same "ackward" W-L % continues after Francis departs, you're practicing a great deal of self-deception. Francis's $11.5m contract and a trade exception of $6.99m pretty much guarantees the "ackward" figure vanishes.
Dear HMMM ... First off .. here's a big <HUGGGGGGGGG> for you buddy I know you need one .. Since you asked .. I'll politely point out where the change was last year. We have a new coach, therefore we have a new SYSTEM. There's a thought. Now imagine this. We have a point guard that is used to being the number one option (Yao obviously wasn't his rookie year). Now he has a new coach, that said from the outset that Yao is going to be the number one option. Steve did so with professionalism. Second of all his stats are great, even considering he had a down year. Third of all, it takes more than one year to get used to a system. Fourthly, last I checked, coaches dont inherit all the players they are going to go with in order to best execute their systems in their first year. Here's a fifth bone to chew on. I love Kelvin Cato, but the dude has hands of stone. I'm not sure how many ally oops he missed, but 9 out of 10 weren't Steve's fault. Its also imperative to know Steve's assists weren't down either. If so, it was a few tenths at the most. Sixth as I said earlier, It takes energy to play both ends of the court, and Steve certainly did. I don't know how you went off on a tangent in parlaying your rant into Tracy McGrady. I didn't bring him up, and I can assure you, just because I point out that Steve played complete basketball last year, it doesnt in any way shape or form imply my feelings toward Tracy McGrady. He either comes or he doesn't. Alot of people talked about trading Olajuwon in 1990 and 1991, naturally we dont hear alot from them now. This city whines like a bunch of babies too much. If you know anyone else that needs a hug, give them a BIG HUGGGGGGGGG from your good friend Jack. lol
I guess the thing that bothers me is that Steve has been a good player for us. And he has made an effort to fit into the JVG system. Was he the perfect player? Was he everything we ever wanted? Did he make us forget Hakeem? Does he make a lot of dumb plays? (No, no, no and yes, in casse you were wondering). But he does play with heart and he has done a lot for our Rockets. It ticks me off to hear all of this "he is the worst pg in the West", or "addition by subtraction" stuff. The guy is clearly an asset and would be in the eight man rotation of pretty much any team in the history of the league. Quit acting like he is some sort of scum. Same for so many others. Rudy had to go, but he did so much for the Rockets for so long. How can we have anything but love for him. Fire CD. Like any of us know what he does, what the constraints are, who he called, or anything. All of a sudden us armchair quarterbacs are off saying if CD dosen't bring in TMac he has to be fired. Grow up. TMac may not even be available to us. It could be a negoting ploy, CD may have seen a doctors report, may have spoken to Orlando players etc. My point is, have a little respect for what has been done (even if it is not everyting you hoped it would be) and quit acting like you know something for a fact when in reality you are making the same hometown guesses that the rest of us are.
These guys make millions of dollars. Don't expect me to care if their feelings get hurt. It's a profession. Players get traded, and players force trades. TM is doing now what SF did five years ago, so SF hardly has room to complain. Trading SF is no more hardball than SF forcing his way out of Vancouver. TM is better than SF, taller than SF, and younger than SF. The only legitimate reason not to do this trade would be if TM has chronic back pain. The Rockets should offer any combination of contracts for TM and GH, with the only untouchable being YM. You do this trade for no other reason than block any other Western team from getting him. Raven
True. If San Antonio got TMac, we'd be screwed. No matter how many "madd skillz" Francis has. Hell, we'll be screwed if Tmac stays in Orlando. That would mean more of the same for us. Ho-hum... I mean, think about it. If we got TMac, the league would make a collective "gulp!" SA and Dallas would be shaking in their boots. Even the azz-wipes Lakers.
Trading for TM also does something else. It provides a cushion in case the unthinkable happens. That YM pulls a TM in two years, because he wants to play on the west coast or in NYC. Even losing YM would still leave us with one top three player. Still giving us the foundation for a championship team.
I doubt it. If Yao were to leave, unlikely, very unlikely. In two years, those holes we created by aquiring T-mac would be properly filled. Plus I doubt, the Rocket's organization is stupid enough to just let Yao walk without getting something valuable in return.
you are smoking some damn good **** if you think ben wallace has more range than cato.. i went to the detroit and rockets game.. during shootaround.. big ben shot airballs.. cato can hit them.. and has hit them.. i dont recall Ben EVER hitting an outside jumper..
Big Ben has range up to 10feet at least. Cato has no range whatsoever. I checked Ben's shot charts (not from smoking ), and I don't remember seeing once Cato knock down jumper. But Cato is a better foul shooter than Big Ben.
