I had great seats (floor level just off of mid-court) and was able to notice a lot of Rocket tendencies that I hadn't picked up on from watching on tv (spacing, speed, etc). First of all, I'm beginning to understand VG's frustration with this team...quite frankly, we're just not that bright and the pieces certainly don't fit... On offense, as we all know, VG stresses pushing the ball up quickly to get into our offense. This is because Francis is the most lacksidasical (sp) player I've ever seen in initiating an offense. You may not be able to appreciate how slow he operates on TV, but watching live, up close gave me a greater understanding of what VG has to put up with. Eg, he swings the ball with no urgency whatsoever when a post player has his man sealed and is waiting for Francis to make the extra pass to the appropriate perimeter player to dump it in... this happened on several occasions with Mot and Yao...guess what? by the time the pass was made, the opportunity had passed. Also, and this we all know, but it is REALLY frustrating to see in person, I just don't know what he is thinking when he dribbles directly into double teams...I mean, Mat Barnes is not exactly a defensive dynamo, and he was stripping our disrupting SF all night. Yao needs to use his entire body when fending off the opposition...guys like Brand use their upper and lower body pushing him out, while Yao only uses his legs...just something I noted. In terms of his shooting, he sometimes rushes his release, maybe afraid of having it blocked...I don't like his face up jumper within seven feet (this is the one Brand blocked...to easy to block, BTW, because of the low trajectory), that's got to be a hook or a pivot spin jumper. I won't get into the obvious of how Cato is a beast on D, but absolutely worthless on O...I almost think he should just stay back on D because it would it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference on O. That said, we've certainly missed his D. Cat had a nice, efficient game, within the flow of the offense, Pike showed a pulse, JJ is a gunner, and I'm pretty sure I could take MJ in game of 1 on 1. SEACREST OUT!
No matter whether you're watching it live or on t.v., it is all too painfully obvious Steve misses too many assist opportunities when a teammate has his man beat. He just takes his time and decides to dish whenever he feels like dishing, which could be at the most inopportune (and r****ded) times and is often a few seconds too late. I always feel better when M.Jackson is distributing the ball. You know he'll pass whenever an assist opportunity presents iself. With Steve it's hit or miss.
Man, I know SF had 9 asts, those turn overs by him were frustrating. If it was a desperation game against Utah or Denver, last night's performance is still not good from SF. How many fast break opptunity did clip miss? Had they made them, it would've been a sigle digit deficit game at the beginning of 4th. Clip didnt play much D either. I think our problem is that we dont know how to adjust to opponent's game. Why are we inconsistent, because something is working one night, may not work the other night, and we dont adjust. I am just afraid Cat and MoT deciside to take it over against Denver.
Finally Francis played a game I've been waiting for: 11 assists and only 5 shots. Yeah...that's what we want...now cut down on the turnovers
http://sports.chron.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=chron&page=nba/scores/final/boxscore.aspx?GAMEID=3805 11
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I see EXACTLY the same thing! It is a "timing" issue, and several people on this board don't seem to realize how critical this is. If you are a basketball purist-traditionalist, Steve Francis is the type of player that will make you crazy. I know JVG is about to pull out the few little hairs he has left, and this is why so many of us on this board get so frustrated. Then we are told we are not true fans, which is even more frustrating. It has nothing to do with fanship, loyalty, player personalities, or anything else; it is about the GAME AND HOW TO PLAY IT.
I will tell you what I observed from the Clippers game..... (and two years ago I would have never dreamed of saying this) How much this team missed Kelvin Cato starting at the PF spot. Dude is a beast on D. Six blocks not to mention how many shots he altered. And Yao looked noticeably more comfortable with Cato starting next to him. Not much on offense but he will get you a few dunks and alley oops per game. Cato is a defensive beast!!! And as we say down home....."You can put that in your pipe and smoke it!"
Yeah I have to agree with the posters assertions. The games I’ve been to, Steve’s fault are so much more apparent. Gonna get another close up look tomorrow nite. Got my 2 row section 119a tickets, I hope I can hear what’s being talked about in and around the bench!
I've been saying this many times because I watch a lot of Lakers games and observe how they pass to Shaq. Passing to the interior often is not just a one pass endeavor. Sometimes you need to swing the ball to another passer while the big man is on the move. Timing is very important. Those are split second decisions. Francis either doesn't understand it or he just is not able to make such fast decision on the court. I'm inclined to believe it's the latter.
I have NO idea why he isn't better offensively, though. When he's at the line, he STROKES those free throws. Is it THAT much harder for him to take a step back and bury that jumper?
You know what, you are probably right. Kind of like most church goers not being theologians; you can do or teach almost anything in churches these days because few even notice and less know the difference.
To a basketball purist, point guards only create for their teammates forwards don't dribble big men rebound and block shots first and only score when open The scoring comes from your shooting guard and small forward The "dump it down low and spot up at the three point line" offense is offensive to basketball purists - basketball purists don't even believe in the three point shot Basketball purists don't believe in big men shooting jumpers or playing outside There are things that all of the Rockets' players do that drive you nuts if you are a purist. Actually, a purists' fovorite player on the Rockets is probably Cato. He plays a tradition/purist big man role.
I dont know about you guys but I want steve to shoot the ball at least 10 times a game MINIMUM. This guy is a frigging All Star not Charlie Ward
Well, I am not THAT pure!! I like the three point shot and my forwards can dribble anytime they want to.
