In a time when we are force fed who are superstar athelets are supposed to be, I have come to realize a similarity between our own Steve Francis and Penny Hardaway. Now I know their games are not similar, but their overhypedness cannot be denied. Why is Steve a max guy? Why did he make the allstar team as a starter, or as a player on that squad at all? Is he better that Mike Bibby? The answers to all of these questions is NO. Shoe companies, Sportscenter highlights, and endorsement deals tell us who the "superstars" are. Eventually the world will call this spade a spade as it did with Penny, but I wish it would be soon. Steve is no more than an overhyped athelet that has done nothing to this point in his career to be called a superstar. Well scratch that, he did have some good people around him to get all of these great endorsement deals. I wish we could go back to the time when only great player got this kind of run instead of giving it along with the dollars to those with potential.
Like the handle though... "G.O.A.T." Greatest Of All Time, right? I see some hype similarities... but he's not quite the "semi-bust" that lil' Penny is. However, I wouldn't mind Penny off the bench one day in a Rockets uni.
didn't penny pretty much falter due to injuries? he was amazingly good his first few years in orlando (and had an amazing playoff series vs miami one year after shaq left) but knee problems and other ailments took him down and he was never the same. and no, shoe endorsements and SC don't tell us who superstars are. people who make big diffferences in how their teams play and not guys who are just another cog in the system tell us who are.
IROC it - You got it. And I agree that Penny on the bench would nice. Francis 4 Prez - Obviously you have your horse hitched to this cart so I know you don't like what I had to say. You kind of missed my point though. All I am trying to get at is that Francis is a lot of hype. Don't get me wrong the guy has his moments, but what has he really done to deserve the fame he has achieved. Made some nice dunks and that is about it. You are right, stars are "people who make big diffferences in how their teams play". Unfortunately, it dosen't look like Francis is or will be making a significantly POSITIVE difference for our team. Do you truely think that Francis deserves the run he has gotten even though he has not even played a minute in a single playoff game?
Expect people to argue that athleticism is the only reason he has those numbers for his career. Even though there are tons more talented guys who can make even more amazing dunks that won't sniff an NBA court ever.
Are u kidding me? Lil' Penney in Orlando was a bigger version of Kobe who can pass like Magic while reaching NBA finals and making the playoffs first 3 seasons in Orlando. When did Stevie ever reach that caliber of play? What snuff have you been on lately?
i wasn't saying anything about the comparison, i was just saying hardaway's game left when the injuries hit. before that he was awesome and deserving of whatever praise he got.
First off, the pre - injury Penny was the most amazing player I've ever seen. He was Lebron before there was a Lebron. He's the 6'8 pg that can pass shoot rebound and perhaps one of the most talented players in the league. His career went south after the multiple injuries. He is much better than Steve is now, much. But as far as potential, Steve wont become Penny as long as he stays injury free.
1 less than you seem to think, since Francis can no longer make that claim. I could only find 3, Grant Hill, Oscar Robertson, and Larry Bird. Of course the Big O and Larry Legend surpass some of those numbers by quite a margin. Robertson - 25.7/9.5/7.5 Bird - 24.3/6.3/10.0 Hill - 21.0/6.1/7.8 Francis - 19.6/6.3/6.2 In other words, those numbers have no special significance, they were chosen only to try to include Steve and some great players and to exclude as many other people as possible. It is also worth noting that Steve's career is not over yet, and most players tend to drop off a bit in their later years. 20/6/6 is a clever ruse used by Fancy fans to try to associate Steve with legends like Bird, but the effects on the game are far less impressive.
GOAT, let me ask u this. Name me any point guard in the West under whom the Rockets would be a better team, besides Cassel and Bibby? And remember, this is the first year either one of them is having a better year than Francis, and thats cause Francis is in a slump....u can argue with Steve Nash, maybe, but i doubt it.... Besides, that comparison to Penny is horrible. Penny was good for the NBA when he first came to the league. And he was a good player. Its the injuries that buried him.
I'm sorry but during Penny's first few years in the nba, he was deadly. He has much better court vision than Francis does now. If penny was coming out that same year Francis was I'd take Penny over francis anyday. He was not over rated his first few years. Francis though has been over rated since the beginning. I'm getting really close to putting Yao ming on the over rated list as well if he doesn't step up to another level.
In my opinion Francis has been an excellent player for a #2 draft pick. You can't do much better than what he's done. You'all have a case of what have you done for me lately. Which is fine, but if you look at the production, Francis has been big time.
Are you kidding me what did you forget that Penny played with Shaq in Orlando. With out Shaq penny would of been doing the same as Steve. And as for the other thing Shaq took the presure away from penny just like he does for kobe leaving them more free. Now when has Steve had this he played Olajuwon but when he was on his down fall and couldn't play that well.
