Hm, had to jump on this first part right away. Francis and Yao carried last years team? If anyone needs help its you. You must've been blind throughout last year's regular season. Francis didn't show up till the playoffs, which we would have never gotten to had it been up to Francis to 'carry' the team in the regular season, since his drop off in production and worse over all play was simply staggering. And no Mobely didn't just do what he does, he improved significantly on defense, he gave the team a lot more than Francis did last year. And there was no such thing as "two main" guys last season, it was all team defense, Yao's and Cat's improvement, JJ and Cato blocking shots. Francis meanwhile was discovering how one sided he really was, when his talents just sputtered like stammered speech, confound to any attempt of adapting to a different style of play. Till of course, the playoffs came around, and JVG cut him more slack considering how tired Yao was from carrying them through out the regular season. Last year Steve Francis 40% FG 29% 3pt 6apg 4 to Tyronne Lue 43%FG 38% 3pt 4apg 1 to You're absolutely right, no way we win more than 20 games with lue as our PG, and no way we make the playoffs without Francis' numbers. I bow to your baffling lack of logic. My god, it's unbelievable how blind some people were to Francis' use and production last season. Here's a visual simple enough for even your mind to comprehend.. In this Rocket's team and in the PG position in general. Lue > Francis Oh wait, that's not fair Francis did play 40min, surely that must've been the reason for his horrid play last year, wait no, so did Cat and he managed to fair well.. 43% fg 39 3pt% . Ah well, Francis still rebounds well.
Nope, he's a top five player. KG blows him out of the water in talent and in impact on a team? Uh, no, KG is as outstanding as a PF as T-mac is a SG. I mean, if you want to compare them on talent and impact, T-mac can consistently score, has a longer range than KG, can defend is capable of shutdown defense, can steal, can rebound, can dish assists with few turnovers, and can block shots. How many current SG's can do as much, and are 25 years old? Like I said, top five player, already acheived and set in record, and he still has room for improvement. As for the Magic reference... KG would've been in the same position T-mac was, had he been a part of that Magic team T-mac played in last year. ONE top 5 player cannot do it alone, especially in a team with friction, no chemistry under the command of an unknown coach. Actually, Weatherspoon contributed nicely nearing the end of the season last year as did Boki. And, you do realize, that Pike and Griffin were injured last year, right? According to Pike, he's returning to form, and if we don't trade him during the offseason, that means he'll be back to 44FG% and 40 3pt%. With Boki getting more playing time, and succeeding of course, you'd have 3 productive role players to come off the bench. As I said, not even close to being one of the weakest 'sqauds' in the league.
Jumpman: "Outside of Mcgrady and Yao we have a weak squad" Tell that to all those excited chubby kids and fans at the Mcgrady press conference. They'd rush you.
Well, as far as the two best players are concerned, one led their team to a 7-seed, the other to like 20 wins. Half of the players you mentioned came from the 20-win team.
Why didn't you get some help? You're still sick man, GO! That's just trash man, without Francis and with Lue last year's team would of stunk, just like the Magic did last season! Go ahead and believe that Lue is a better PG, everyone else who is in touch with reality knows that Lue can't even DREAM about being as good as Francis. Again, if the Rockets had Tyrone Lue as their starting PG, a guy who admits that he is NOT good enough to be a starting PG in the NBA, they would NOT of won more than 20 games. You're looney... Anyone that has a clue about basketball knows that Francis is a better than Cuttino and so much better than Lue that anyone who thinks differently is LOONEY. Score? Tie. Longer range? Yes, but Tracy has no post game, all he has is a fade away that usually misses. Shut down defense? You watched him in Toronto too? Ever since then he stopped playing defense, KG plays some of the best defense in the NBA every single night, while carrying his team on offense as well. KG is a much better rebounder, and Tracy a guard would obviously pass better. So right now KG can score about as well as Tracy, rebound A LOT better, and defend A LOT better, all Tracy could do better is pass. That's why KG blows him out of the water in terms of talent... Now impact isn't even close, without KG the Wolves would suck balls, without Darrell Armstrong the Magic sucked balls. Nope. KG in the Least? That Magic team with KG instead of Tracy would of been top 4, should of been a playoff team last season, just lost it's heart and soul the year before. Who had a better supporting cast last season, Paul Pierce or Tracy? You could say Pierce if you want and that's fine with me, since it's like arguing that one dog turd looks better than another. ONE top 5 player can't do it alone? HUH? So the Wolves had more than one last season? There's no excuse for last season's Magic team, the "leader" dogged it and quit midway thru that 20 game losing streak. Can you name one top 5 player in NBA history that lost 19 in a row? Can you name an NBA scoring champ that was on the league's last place team? Tracy was probably the first to accomplish those things, REAL top 5 players don't do that, top 5 talent DOGS do. Whatever Spoon and Nachbar did to impress you still wasn't close to what Taylor did all season long. They were injured... So what? Fact of the matter is those two didn't contribute LAST season, if they do the next that'll be fine with me, although I doubt it. I'd like to see Nachbar do something first as should everyone else, there's only one sure thing off that bench as of RIGHT now, Maurice Taylor, that's why it's one of the worst. Just like to add that I'm a Tracy McGrady fan, now that he is on the Rockets, but I refuse to make excuses for his run as a Magic, especially last season.
That's not trash 'man', those are stats and Francis' are only minute to the affect they had on the team, which wasn't at ALL positive last year. If it weren't for JJ being a pleasant surprise, Cat improving, Yao improving, JVG improving our team defense, we DO end up out of the playoffs WITH Francis production last year. And he doesn't get a chance to show his supremecy aka "elevate his game" over the mighty Laker backcourt in the playoffs. Missed out on all the year round rants/plaints over Francis last year on this board? All those demands to have him traded for a better player before his value diminished further? How lingering it was to see him TRY and adapt to a more controlled style of play and under coach that urges discipline? Those backed up by facts and reason that is? If you couldn't see it, or just wrote it off as 'trash', there's nothing more that can be said, stubborn ignorance can't be helped. There was no overall positive for Francis whatsoever the entire regular season, other then his supposedly 'improved defense' which is as bad/good as Lue's and Francis is 6'3. Lue's 10ppg game at 43% and 38% from the 3, is SUCH a great drop off from Francis' 14ppg at 40% FG and 29% behind the arc, that it just freaking proves how horrible we would've been last year with such a decline in production from the PG spot that Francis so mightly gave an entire new standard to that same season. Indeed anyone that has a 'clue' about basketball knows that Francis is better than Cuttino and Lue.. in the playground.., but also knows that does not equate towards being a better player at a certain fundamental position at a professional level. I don't give a rat's ass how many more ankles Francis can break than Cat, I don't care how much better of a dunker he is than Lue, or how much more he relies on athleticism to make up for a lack of brains and a consistent jumpshot than Lue or Cat. That does not a PG make, therefore, as far as stats, as game play, as fundamentals, control, effeciency, turnover/assit ratio go, LUE IS A BETTER PG THAN FRANCIS PERIOD. But enough of the same old same old, there'll be no getting through to your type of ignorance. Post up game? He's a SG/SF, why on earth would we want him to have a post up game when we have someone like Yao and Juwan? As you said, Tracy a gaurd obviously would pass better, therefore KG a pf obviously would have a better post game and more chance at rebounds. And indeed KG carries his team on offense and defense, that led them so deep in the playoffs, while of course, having a hell of a Sprewell and a resurging clutch Cassell and a reliable fourth role playing option in Wally. As far as impact goes, without KG the wolves would suck as much as the Spurs without Tim Duncan, however you can't say the spurs nor the wolve's wouldn't suck if Tim duncan was surrounded by a more than adequet team, and if KG were with last years Magic, no freaking way does that same unknown coach make Lue, Juwan, KG clique to the point where they as a unite carry the team on offense and defense and miraculously make great noise in the east. You obviously didn't see last years Magic team, they couldn't do anything but throw in the towel, NO chemistry, NO unity, NO players seeing eye to eye with the coach. I don't care what talent is involved, if there's neither of each, your team isn't gonna last long. On a final note, T-mac has never wanted to be the leader, never claimed to be a serious leader and was never sought after and brought here to be the leader. He was brought in here to be a most preferably number one scoring option, to form an imposing complimentary duo with Yao. The leader of the team shall be JVG, if that isn't obvious. No it wasn't close to what Taylor did, but if you'll notice, he had the most minutes off the bench. A competent player would be able to make most of being the number one guy off the bench. Spoon and Boki however, at their minutes did well aswell. This year, Boki is looking to get more playing time, let us see what he does before we write him off as a scrub. Pike is looking to be healthy and 100%, I've shown what that'll lead to as result. Lue, Juwan and T-mac, 3 of the starts of that Magic team that barely one 20 games and threw in the towel. Have many things now, that they didn't that year. A known, respected, liked and competent coach with a desire to win, a chance at better complimenting styles of play with their new surrounding cast, hence a better chance at chemistry, a fresh start all around, Yao Ming, JJ and a posible sixth man candidate in Mo, adequete role players, and most importantly motivation. If you're indeed a fan of T-mac, I suggest you get to know the player a little better, his personality in game and desire. Believe me, he will be A LOT better next year, I've no doubts about it. Because as I've said, he IS a top 5 player, end in point.
