Our team lacks a finisher badly. Until we get one, we're back to Choke City for good.

Let's face it. We have time and again argued about how much we need the 4 to be upgraded, and how the team could be improved by moving Francis to the 2 or by trading Mobley (the addition by substraction theory), and even with someone coming of with the preposterous idea of a petition on Rudy, but after last night it dawned on me that if there's one thing this team TRULY LACKS is a finisher.

Someone who demands the ball and cherishes the idea of putting the team on his back. Someone that shoulders the responsability of taking that final shot and sinking the dagger on the heart of the other team. Someone that God, yes! Someone that can actually HURT the other team by MAKING his ******* free throws if fouled. We need a cold hearted mean spirited sonnova who can put the other team away for good! Sure, Francis might have stepped up in the past, like in the first game in which Yao faced Shaq and even Moochie in seasons past, but when you look at how many games we've lost in the final minutes this season...

Originally posted by carayip

Nov 15 Fri @ Phoenix L 88-87 Marbury blew by Francis for the game winning layup

Nov 24 Sun @ L.A. Clippers L 90-89 Goaltending by Yao

Dec 6 Fri @ New Orleans L 98-96(OT) OT loss

Dec 13 Fri @ Memphis L 114-109(OT) Person killed us in OT

Jan 4 Sat Golden State L 86-84 Boykins buried us

Jan 26 Sun @ Chicago L 100-98 Fizer hit the game winning shot

Feb 5 Wed @ Cleveland L 105-102 A key Francis turnover cost us

Feb 11 Tue Utah L 103-101(OT) Harpring's miracle 3 pointer

Feb 18 Tue @ L.A. Lakers L 106-99(OT) Madsen's flop fouled Yao out

Feb 25 Tue @ New York L 102-95 Yao's 2 turnovers

And we can add last night's game against the Wizards to the list.

As I recall one of our worst problems with that team that just barely made the playoffs, the one with Dream, Shandon and Mo in the starting line-up is that we blew a lot of 4th quarter leads and managed to lose to a ton of teams we should've beaten. Those were the wins we missed later on.

Time and again it has been said that this is a young team and all of that, but I really don't see how either Cat or Francis are ever becoming Clutch if they haven't already. As a matter of fact, with a few exceptions they have FAILED utterly at standing tall and delivering their best at crunch time, which let's face it, does NOT bode well for the future at all, and especially for the playoffs when almost every single MINUTE is played under enormous pressure. Some players play their best under that kind of situation. The more you squeeze them, the more they deliver. So far our backourt has fallen quite short of that.

My point is that either Yao steps up and becomes the team finisher, which at this point is obviously unlikely, at least for a couple of seasons, or we are going to keep losing close games like this one.

Looks like we might need to trade for Robert Horry, if you ask me.

Opinions?

 

Actually I wasn't talking seriously when I mentioned Horry. I should have added to that, lol

Obviously Francis should be the guy to deliver. After all he is, at least in name "The Franchise".

I'm just not sure anymore that Francis can ever be that kind of player. And that's a scary thought.

We might need a 2 guard that can play off the ball and hit clutch shots. Horry wasn't meant as a serious alternative.

I'm just wondering if people have faith in Francis still becoming that kind of player, and if not, what's our options?

I might be even starting to think like some posters that have said in the past, like HP, that if someone needs trading, it might be Francis and not Mobley.

I still don't have a formed opinion on the subject, just throwing some thoughts around.

 

Damn lack of edit.

Another question, before anyone gives me the usual line about how it's just a loss and the team should grow etc.

When was the last time a team has won a championship without at least a clear go-to clutch guy?

 

Let's hope you are right.

I'm just wondering if Francis is worh all the attention and hype, and also his MAX salary if he is not a finisher.

As someone pointed out already, we thought we were getting Jordan and we might be have gotten Pippen again... which isn't necessarily a bad thing as he has to fit in with Yao, but he certainly doesn't see himself like that.

 

I'd trade Francis for Kidd in a heartbeat. He is obviously the best PG in the game and he would make this team so much better. Players like Posey and Griffin would benefit greatly from Kidd, and Cuttino too.

It's not a bad idea, but I don't think it's very likely.

Another thing that hurts this team is it's poor execution, and that comes from Francis being the PG. Do you have any security that Francis can actually execute a play drawn by a coach in the final seconds of the game? A play designed to leave someone open for that final shot?

I don't and that hurts us even more. If Francis is NOT the finisher, and being the ball handler he has the responsability of delivering the rock to a player say like Horry, whose main capability is knocking down the open game winner, who's to say that Francis can get the ball in his hands effectively?

That leaves us in a tough situation in which our franchise player is not a finisher and doesn't have the capability to execute a play designed for a finisher (which at this point we don't even have on the roster).

My point is not bashing Francis but adress a growing concern that our roster may be flawed and incapable of bringing a championship as it is.

I'm sure that after this season if we don't make the playoffs management is going to take a long hard look at these issues.

There are only so many 4th quarter blown leads and meltdowns at the last minute one can take in the regular season against bad teams. Now just imagine that kind of performance in the playoffs.

Scary thought.

 

Call it consistency or finishing, the fact is that the problem lies with the boneheaded playing of our guards.

Looking at our roster I think that Cuttino may probably be the most well suited to be a finisher. He may not be as talented as Francis, but at least he doesn't drive like a madman into the heart of the defense and gives up the ball in the process. With the system we are running, we are probably wasting Cuttino's talent and it's no wonder it led to some frustration on his part.

I'm not sure that with Francis dominating the ball the way he does and not being a smart player we are ever going to contend. I don't think he has a lot to go before reaching his top. And what happens after Francis natural athelic talent starts to fade away? He definitely DOESN'T have the smarts to compensate. Again with "getting it" I guess. Perhaps we might have been looking at our roster in the wrong way. Maybe it would be better to seek pieces that compliment Yao (obviously) and Cuttino, who is cheap as hell for his production.

I was on the trade cuttino bandwagon awhile back but after his back picked up I'm starting to change my mind. If the backcourt has to be parted maybe Francis might be a better option as his value may never be higher and he * could * possible net us a big time player back. Brand, maybe? With Snow at the point?

This team needs a smart savvy player at the point like Kidd, obviously a pipedream I think, but on the other hand if he were to be traded, could someone offer far greater value than Francis? Probably not.


Again, bashing is not the point. I'm just looking at our options after what it seems like will end up being another frustrating season.

 

Of course they would. If it's letting Kidd walk away for nothing or getting Francis they obviously would.

I don't think it's gonna happen though. I'm just using Kidd to make a point about how better the team could be run and how other players can benefit from that.

Let's face it: suppose we trade Cuttino away. Is Francis REALLY that better an SG than Cuttino? With his suspect defense, he might not even be better AT ALL. I no longer see much point in moving Francis to the 2, because, as it has been pointed out already, he would be dominating the ball anyway, just like Kobe or Mcgrady do. One difference though: they are SMART players, while Francis is thick as a brick.

So, if Francis is NOT a finisher, NOT a good ball distribuitor, NOT someone who makes his teammates around him, undersized and without defense to play the 2, where THAT leaves us?

As good as he is, and he is, I'm not denying it, Francis might * never * have what it takes to be a part as big as a championship team as he has to be at this point of his carrer and on this team.