Who is a better playmaking distributer at the point than Steve Francis? Additional qualification being that they can consistently knock down the three when Yao gets double-teamed in the halfcourt. I ask because I scratched my head and couldn't think of many despite all the complaints. Furthermore, narrowing the list to ones that might possibly be available eliminated my list to 0. Please inform me.
The real question is what other point guards make their teammates better, and show leadership in the toughest of moments.
Where to begin? Chauncy Billups Eric Snow Stephon Marbury Nick Van Exel Steve Nash Jason Williams Troy Hudson Tony Parker Bobby Jackson Mike Bibby... that is just a start...that's not to say that they are better talents than Francis, but they are all better decision makers than Francis. They can all knock down threes as well. The point is that a point guard that is a better playmaker than Steve is far from mythical. It is common. Did you even watch any games this year?
Stevie is a TERRIBLE playmaker. He makes the same mistakes over and over...Watch when Stephon plays, no he is not perfect, but he does hit the open man. He seems to be aware of how much time is left on the clock. Franchise just doesn't. Stevie has an awful assist to turnover ratio, there is no getting past that. Stevie is an excellent talent, but he has a long way to go before he is even a decent point guard when it comes to playmaking. His primary talent is putting the ball in the hole. I am sorry, but there is a long list of players in the NBA with better playmaking decisions than Steve. Wathcing the playoffs after watching a season of the Rockets has been like watching an entirely different sport. Many of the guys on that list are getting the job done right now, whie Stevie is at home practicing his skipping and watching Raefer Alston And1 mix tapes. "You gotta cup it!"
Troy Hudson did not have a great year and Chauncy Billups is not a playmaker at 3.9 assists per year. I also wouldn't give that much credit to Nick Van Exel either since the Lakers decided to go with Fisher over him. He was pretty much known as a knuckle head throughout his whole career and that has only changed with Dallas. Everyone else, you can't argue with and unfortunately there are a few more you haven't mentioned.
BIllups? A scoring point. Snow? throwing the ball to Allen = playmaking? Marbury? yes Van Exel? Another scoring point Nash? yes Williams? a good decisionmaker? LOL, that is the funniest thing I've heard all week. Hudson? Most effective as a scorer Parker? He can drive and dish. Jackson? another scorer Bibby? yes.
It is true that the list was off of the top of my head, and a lot of those guys really did just earn their props in the playoffs. Although I may have been wrong to include some of those guys, I am far from crazy. Like you said, there are plenty more that could be put on that list. Francis is a clutch player too when it comes to squaring up and taking the last shot. He has a ton of positives. He just plays dumb. Period. Skipping up the court is just plain unacceptable. Just because we are a "young" team does not mean that we are five years old. He just doesn't seem to have a grasp of the game the way the great ones do.
jason williams, in the second half of this season, was playing at a near allstar level. the turnaround he made was absolutely incredible. if you didn't get a chance to see it, i understand...the grizz aren't on tv much, right? but, i was fortunate enough to be able to watch it on direct tv, and he was absolutely ballin'.
Also, on the Snow note. Yes in that case being a conservative pointguard that makes a minimum amount of mistakes does equal playmaking. It's called knowing your role, which is of course a concept foreign to the Rockets (see Moochie, and well, just about everyone else on our squad). We could benefit a lot from a playmaker like Snow that doesn't turn it over a lot and could just pass the ball to Steve and let him go to work. Of course it would help if Steve could play D...Steve he has blown by you five straight times, maybe you should consider bot picking him up at midcourt.
Williams led the league in Assist/Turnover ratio. If that doesn't put him light years ahead of Steve as a playmaker, nothing does. Williams came into the league raw and undisciplined. He has done something that is called "learning" and "improving". The fact that he had such a GREAT season actually provides some hope for Steve as a 1. Instead of laughing, you should be hoping that Steve takes a page from the guy's book. Also, he regularly kicks Steve's ass.
Also, just because someone is a scoring point does not disqualify them from being a better decision maker than Steve. It just means that in game situations they know their role and the roles of their teammates. Our teamis a circus.
That's why I said inform me. I'm an idiot! Seriously though: Stevie, while a great player/scorer, is truly a straight-up defunct point guard?? Is there a plausible way to get a GREAT one? Center and point guard are by far the two most important positions in the game to me. We've got a center who will become one of the greatest to ever play the game. Can we not just grab ourselves a great point guard to pair with him, or is that just mythical thinking? Is Stevie really that bad?? Have I, along with the millions of fans who voted him into the All Star Game, been a complete idiot for thinking he was good?? That's a bummer.
Williams didn't improve as much as people think. Fact is, he was on his way to a misreable year till he had a great stretch. And I admit, it was great, but the guy finished with the same shooting percentage, under 40%, and the same assist per game number.
Nick the quick is the poor man's Steve Francis. He looks good playing aloneside a guy called Nash and doesn't have to worry about feeding the ball to the center.
I am not calling anyone an idiot. I am here just expressing my opinions. I truly hope that Stevie improves at the point, unless we are able to get a servicable pointguard and experiment with Steve at the two. We don't need a great point guard. Look at every NBA Champ since Isaiah and the Pistons. Most teams have had a roll player at point guard. Bulls-BJ Armstrong Rockets- Kenny Smith (may G-d bless, protect, and grant him a long, happy life) Lakers-Derek Fisher Spurs-Avery Johnson Also this thing about the point guard position even being in the same category of difficulty as center when it comes to filling the position is the only myth here. The league is full of great point guards and good ones. Oh yeah, add GP to my original list. My man Sam Cassell too.
Yeah, there have been a lot of teams that won without a playmaking point guard...but name one who won with a non-playmaking point guard as a primary player...Can't be done. The last two teams to win with a star pg were the Lakers with Magic and the Pistons with Isiah...both amongst the best playmaker/passers in the game. When your offense keys around your point guard, he'd better be able to really involve other guys, or you are too limited and too easy to defend.
pgabriel: true. absolutely true. i'm just giving him his props on what he did in the 2nd half. the light switch clicked on, it seemed. i'm willing to bet it stays on next year.
As opposed to Francis, whose assists have gone down every year, and his turnovers only decreasing slightly with it? He cut out over a turnover per game. His assists actually went up by 0.3 to 8.3. His 35.4% 3 point shooting is more than acceptable- actually dead even with Steve. His 2.2 turnovers are 1.5 less than Steve's 3.7. So yes, Jason Williams is a better playmaking distributor than Steve. Yes, Jason Williams can knock down the 3 point shot just as well as Steve. And no Jason Williams is not as good as Steve. He can't score like Francis can, he can't rebound like Francis can, and he doesn't have the athletic ability Francis does. But, he satisfies oakdogg's qualifications. Options are out there.
