I am not so sure I am missing you point, perhaps we will just have to agree to disagree. I will concede, on a statistical basis, Francis is more consistent than Yao, and more productive. But, IMO, on a game to game basis, Yao will usually have more of an advantage over his opponent than Stevie will (really more a commentary on the relative caliber of point guards and centers in the NBA, than a knock on Stevie). I also think Yao is ready (mentally) to be the focal point of the offense, moreso than Stevie. Yao may not be ready physically, but given the failure of our guard oriented offense in the past, its worth the risk to try. On the flip side, I guess its possible that under JVG Stevie will begin to play smarter basketball and it would be fine for him to remain the focal point of the offense. In any case, I'm looking forward to finding out.
we have an integrity issue here. steve has to get outside of his ego and look at the truth. the truth is that yao is a unique player that no other team has an answer for, lakers included. what yao gives up defensively he will more than make up for by opening up the offense. steve is worried about the PERCEPTION that he is the #1 option. WHO CARES. prove it on the court, know you are the best, don't be so aware of what other people think of you- you can't control that. championships will bring respect, not hype or idle talk. one can just sense the inferiority complex welling up inside of francis. he may indeed clash with JVG this year. i hope so because something has to give. JVG is ONLY about winning and could care less about his image. he earns respect. francis needs to earn it too.
Shawn had 12 pts, 7 rebs and 6 blocks against Yao in their last meeting. Did I not say "something like" (i.e. I posted those stats based on memory)?? Lorenzen Wright had 24 pts and 9 rebs against Yao one game. Magloire had 16 pts and 17 rebs against Yao one game. Battie dropped 20 points on him one night. Does that help you recall?? I would expect a Rocket's fan to know that. Your act is weak as usual RF. Go read my post prior to this one. I fully acknowledge that Francis has bad games. I pity your ability to read posts before you respond to them.
Pipe, We agree more than we disagree. I fully believe that Yao will have to be the one to lead us to the promised land. I am just not in favor of throwing him to the wolves and making him the #1 option before he is ready. Despite his shortcomings, this team has won 43 and 45 games in Francis' last two healthy seasons. He is a capable #1 option, but not the type to win a title with. Like you said, Yao holds more of an advantage over his competition than Francis does, mainly because of the quality of opponents at their positions. Thus, you want to exploit the biggest mismatch on the court. I just believe at this point, that Francis exploits his mismatch more than Yao does. Thats why I dont have a problem with Francis' comments at this time. Its very possible that both can be #1 options on this team, then everyone will be happy.
This is pretty simple stuff: When teams are losing, there becomes an "I" mentality. People want to blame everyone else for their shortcomings and think that things would be different if they had control. When a team is winning, there comes a "team" mentality. People give the credit to everyone else, and tell how much better the other person will be in the future. The rockets have lost for 4 years. SF is used to losing. He has, at this point, the views of someone who is used to losing. Once they actually start winning, his views will change. Prediction: By mid-season, he will be telling the world how much better Yao is than any other center in the league, and saying that he himself is just an average point gaurd.
You, again, prove yourself that you are wrong, yet keep talking out the other side of your mouth!! I said your numbers were not "entirely" accurate and you proved my statement. BTW, Bradley had 6 blks, 3 were against Yao. 3 against others. You enjoy blaming Yao for letting Bradley have all those blocks, don't you ? I said "not many mediocre centers got 20-10 from Yao" and you proved me right again. Or does it come down to semantics now ? Do you want to draw a line on how many is many? Bottom line ... you just don't like Yao for some reasons ... You used stats/ stories that prove your points and ignore those that say otherwise. I am a Rockets' fan and a Yao's fan. I will defend them and Yao everytime ...
RF, You are the one that loves the semantic games because you have nothing else to add to a debate, ever. I originally admitted that my stats were rough, and all you did was waste a post by confirming what I already said. Free posts are free posts I guess right? I am a huge fan of Yao, but I am going to critique him just like every other player on the Rockets gets critiques, especially around here. I have critiqued Francis ALOT more than I have Yao. How convenient that you don't seem to notice. BTW, keep ignoring what I have said in several posts about my belief in Yao being the one that will make us great, and not Francis. You are good at skimming over my posts.
Did everyone miss this statement? Francis declares, "I'll do anything to win and make any sacrifice to make the playoffs." I like the fact that he still wants to be "the man" and at the same time acknowledges that JVG has already laid down the law and he accepts it. Stay hungry.
I disagree bigtime with this. Yao is ready. He has had lots of professional experience now. In his second year, Hakeem was the focus of the Rockets offense, but Yao can't be in his second year?? Yao is ready to be the man. Franchise needs to sacrifice his game a little.
Four straight years without playoff isn't exactly what I would call "Thunder". Francis need to shut up and do exactly what JVG tells him to do.
I'm with you on this one. Steve needs to shut his pie HOLE and just play baskeball at his postion. Run the offense through Yao rather than play streetball like WHITE CHOCOLATE.
Francis's assumption: You should be the no.1 option if you are the "best" player. But "best" in what? And no.1 option to do what? I am guessing that he meant best in scoring and no.1 option to score. That lies the problem. Everyone knows that Jason Kidd is the best player on his team, but he's not their no.1 option to score. Is Kidd the best scorer on the team? It's hard to know because he doesn't try to be the best scorer on the team. He knows that the position he plays is not the best to be the best scoring position. Why do you have to be the no.1 scoring option to be the best player, and vice versa?
There are a few things that amaze me here. First of all, I agree that Shaq is all there is left to dominate and if he can't manage that, boohoo. there is one player in the league he can't dominate. how awful. because I seem to recall Yao having some very impressive games against the twin towers in San Antonio. secondly, Yao is an incredible passer. He has an amazing sense of court awareness. He sees the court well. I can't even imagine how it could possibly hurt us to run the offense through Yao. Get him the ball and if he doesn't have a shot he'll send it back out to the guards. WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH THAT? this statement by Francis makes me nervous, but basically i think he'll have to end up making the adjustment or he's going to suffer consequences. JVG doesn't take crap. WOOHOO! god i love JVG! just knowing our coach can't be walked on is so great.
That article is typical Vecsey trying to create controversy where there might not be none......All I get from that article is that Stevie will do anything to win!
Thanks for reposting this Article! I would like to have my say about it. The Article expresses a renewal of the concern that I expresses over a year ago. You cant develop a Dominent Center on a Team where the starting Point Guard has his mind so firmly set on being a great scorer. JVG who will be stronger than Francis, will take control of the Team. He is going to stress sacrifice and I hope that Steve realises that its him that has to make most of the sacrifices. JVG wants wins, not individual glory. I just hope that JVG and Francis can find a happy medium.
