Point (Counter Point)...well taken

I think this is the thing with Steve, that perhaps makes it all the more frustrating. He makes boneheaded plays, but he always plays hard, plays with guts, and shows his potential at times does outshine the mistakes.

I hope that what we saw early on was jitters about the Playoffs, and nerves etc. Because after that he really seemed to get ahold of himself, and finished strong. I hope that now we can see the whole team go out there and play without those jitters, and make up for some of those mistakes.

All in all I loved what the team showed me last night. Cat played one of the best defensive games I've seen. It was absolutely beautiful. Steve played hard, and after he got the to's early on he seemed to come back and play really hard, and helped keep us in the game. Steve even ran the designed last second play very well to get JJ the last shot. In the 4th Q Mo Taylor played with great determination, and didn't give up. I liked it. Cato did a solid job on defense. Yao and JJ had sub par games, but they weren't so far off as to make anyone give up all hope. It was a gutsy first game, and we have something we can build on for the rest of this series.

 

You know what Steve Franics does best? One on one dribble penetration, going for circus shot or draw fouls. That is he feels most comfortable with much less turnovers. Unfortunately that kind of basketball can only take us go that far. I don't see we can win any series if we only run one play.

There has to be some of mix of SF and Yao's game. When they play their best basketball, they completely take another out of the game. That is why we said their game generally don't fit to each other.

If SF will stay for next season, I sincerely wish Rox can bring another PG to take care the ball, let SF play one on one in some period, set Yao some low post in other periods, we has to add some dimension to our offense.

 

Don't confuse "guts and grit and determination" for sloppy, out of control playground basketball. I'll give credit for Steve making a couple of tough layups in the forest of Laker defenders, but that acrobatic crap won't fly next game. If he can't choose his spots better in order to take good, high percentage shots and dish good passes to his teammates, he better have immediate plans for summer vacation because it will begin this time next week.

 

as a piont guard i expect steve to setup teamates for easy buckets more than score; he only had 5 assist last night. I am no way blaming him for the loss; he kept us in it but he needs to pass more. Everyone knows he did dirbble to much.

 

Good point, sometimes we need SF makes some reckless plays, like the 4th QT down the stretch. But most of time we need our PG play under control, distrubute the ball, and play for less turnovers.

For such a horrible Asts / TOs ratio, I will say no matter SF stay or not, we need a new PG to run the offense.

 

Those TOs really hurt last night by Stevie and the rest of the team. But he played so hard and despite the TOs played very well. Mobes defense on Kobe was phenomenal too. Both of those guys despite turning the ball over and making a few bad judgements played real well. Yao also did not play badly but I don't think he was as aggressive in the low post. He definitely crashed the boards hard though. If we play this hard on Monday but cut down on mental mistakes such as the TOs, we will win.

 

I was ready to scream with the early turnovers last nite, but no more than steve. He had to be in agony with the balls thrown away. I do not think the Lakers took us seriously, or had their thoughts on the next series.

I really want to win at least one game in this series. I hoped it would be last nite. there is no more powerful psych undercurrent than beating an overconfident team in the 1st game on their floor.

That being said -I am very proud of the rockets -all of them - they really played hard- I can not ask anymore of them.

What was the mood - expression-persona of Van Gundy at the quick inteview at the half with Jim Gray???? He seemed lackadaisacal, laughing about effort and turnovers. Retiscent?

I'm not condemning Van Gundy - I just do not get it....

I would be so pleased if we could win game 2 in Staples, but it is an extreme long shot. They have so much more talent than us and will be so much better prepared. But if we could win one there - the odds would be with us to win one at home. That would be outstanding!!

If we win one or 2 games I will be proud of the team. Then in the off season - The Steve haters can set Steve on fire in his car on Lamar Street and hooray for Van Gundy!!!!

 

Two sides to every assists
Pass all you want. . if folx ain't hitting .. . it ain't an assist

Rocket River

 

I think Steve's play for the Rockets can be summed up in one quote:

"Steve Francis is the cause and solution to all of the Rockets problems."

14 TOs by are starting backcourt, 22 overall for our team, and we still lost by 1 point to the Lakers at home. As frustrated as I was, I really liked how the tempo was totally in our favor.

 

I dont care what everyone says. Yesterday's game showed that this still is a Francis' team and he is the leader on the floor.
I like Yao Ming, and I have been his biggest supporter but more and more I watch him, he is just making me mad. He needs to step up and take challenge and play with killer instinct.
Francis is a leader. He plays with such intensity, heart, passion and determination. Either you like him or not, he is the leader of the floor and there is nothing we can do at this momment but trust him.

 

Exactly, and our guys weren't shooting all that grea last night either.

JJ was something like 5-14 in the game I think.

 

I dont think JJ will come through.. I just dont see it. He has been bounced around many many times.. and that must be the reason behind it. He doesnt perform when the chance is given.

 

Yes, I agree even though many of us like to think this is Yao's team and he controls it. Its jst not true. This was shown especially last night. Although we might need Yao more than anyone on the team, he still hasnt matured enough to lead this team. For now you will need someone else to lead this team, and that person is Steve. We need for him to penetrate and get fouls from Shaq. What he did in the last quarter, if he did that at the begenning Shaq would be in trouble and have to play a less agressive for the rest of the game. Once he controlled his TO's, i liked what steve did on sunday.

 

yup....JJ was setup perfect for the final shot by steve. what more do you want? a wide open game winning shot on the road as the last play of the game. i'll take that almost everyday.

 

SF is what he is and will always be so. I've come to believe that hoping he'll adapt to running a structured offense is a false hope. Unlike some folks on this board, I'm simply not dazzled by his athletic prowness as the history of the league is littered the broken careers of guys who could run like deer, dunk like demons and jump clear out of the gym. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't play team basketball so that was all she wrote. While I'm not quite ready to lump SF into that category, I not happy with his style of play and the effect it has on this team.

First of all, I feel that he's not really a guard at all but an undersized small forward. If you look at his ability to drive to the hoop, dunk and break his man down on the dribble, you see the same type of skills a good SF needs in order to succeed. However, these are not the type of skills a good PG necessarily needs. A good PG needs superior court vision, passing skills, and an outside in offensive game in order to complement the skills of his teammates. That folks, ain't Steve Francis.

Watching him play this season and in 1 playoff game, I am struck at just how ineffective he is as a PG. Saturday night's game was vintage SF: 18 pts., 7 TOs, 5 assists - another game where your starting PG had more TOs than assists. That is simply not acceptable. With Francis running the point, the Rockets offensive flow, particularly ball movement, was nonexistent and both guards stopped passing the ball into the post. Once that happened they effectively neutralized their biggest weapon - Yao Ming. As a result, Yao was reduced to battling Shaq and setting picks - he was a nonfactor in the 2nd half and his points were sorely needed in a one point loss. Primarily due to this, the Rockets stopped playing team offense and instead reverted back to their (familiar) pattern of one-on-one basketball which worked great for them before the NBA allowed the zone defense.

This may indeed be SF's team. I grant you that he plays hard and with passion and determination. SF is a premier NBA player. It's just that in the end, all of this is not enough to put the Rockets over the top. To win a championship, it takes a total team effort and Francis does not play a style of ball that appears to be compatible with team basketball.

 

Why do people keep going back to this same old tired excuse?!

The Lakers shot 33%.
Kobe had 6 assists, Payton 4 and the Lakers had 21 in total.

We shot 38%, made more shots with the same number of FGA and we had only 13 assists.

Need I say more?

 

Hillboy, Absolutely agree, and in a way, The Steve Francis Story in Houston is kind of a tragedy. He plays his heart out, but it just doesn't work. Sooooo frustrating to watch. I whoeheartedly agree that he is an UNDERSIZED SMALL FORWARD. If he were six inches taller he would be a Amare Stoudemire, a real "terror" under the boards. However, he seems to have none of the skills required of a PG. I am amazed how so many people see him as a "great" PG. I truely don't see what they see, or understand their thinking.

The zone has also restricted his game, but I think he would be much more effective in a situation with a more open lane to the basket. BUT, I don't think he has the ball handling or playmaking skills to be a really effective PG anywhere. Nevertheless, if I were Steve Francis, I would want out of Houston in the worst way. NOW, back to the playoffs! Go Rockets!