I had a generally favorable impression of SF tonight. And would like to see him play in 3 to 4 games to evaluate his play vs RA or MJ.
And a few games ago you were amused that Mike James was shooting as badly and not getting the 10 threads. My opinion is people haven't seen Francis play, so they're romanticizing a bit ... but his problem is viewed as playing the team game and keeping his turnovers down. He did that part well. His shooting/scoring was bad in this game... but that's not generally viewed as his problem. But I can just about guarantee you that Francis gets the same treatment from fans if he shoots 37% for 163 games spanning 2-3 years.
Rafer can start for now but if he is having an off night or allowing opponent to score at will and not helping out in offense (drive, getting fouled), he need to be rested for 10-15 min and let Steve play (assuming Mike get his normal PT).
Support. Posters like myself only defend Rafer for the team's benefit, his shooting make us sick just like it does to the rest of yous, but despite losing and not playing our best basketball yet, we have to stay calm and positive and be rational with our thinking that Rafer is still the best PG on this Rockets squad until a trade happens or Steve/Brooks beat him out. For now if Rafer can get his shooting back to his normal (still horrible) form, his a valuable starter. As for the question whether he is championship caliber... (most experts thinks with this roster we can do it), so stay calm, we have intelligent people in the Rockets organisation that know what they are doing. What we really need is the support for our team regardless of how badly we play in some stretches (New coach/system, working out players, is all a working/learning progress).
I'm going to have to agree that Rafer is our most consistent (even if it's consistently bad) PG, we know what we can expect from him. Low turnovers, generally productive offense. I think as other people have pointed out, it really is his job to lose, and barring injury I don't really see that starting job moving to someone else.
Main Entry: valuable Part of Speech: noun Definition: prize Synonyms: advantage, antique, asset, benefit, collectible, commodity, heirloom, nugget*, plum*, possession, treasure Antonyms: garbage, trash This is a cleverly disguised SAT vocabulary question.
Tonight Steve was great with the ball handling and if he could do that consistently and shoot his career average from the field then he should get start. However, if we assume his shooting % will rise based on his past, it is important to note that defense, playing under control and low turn overs have not historically been strengths. To say his shooting % will rise and his other weaknesses will not resurface is far from a given. Given the weak state of our PG play I certainly won't mind Francis getting a chance to prove me wrong though.
SF3 can boost the performance of MJ and RA The hit percentages is very low of Rafter. I think the coach should Stop him to hit the ball. I think he is not suitable for the 4th quarter. When yao pass the ball to him. The ball will be out. For MJ, he has better hit percentages, but not sometimes. If he perform not well, I think the coach can send SF3 into the court. He has very low hit percentages in the former competition. Today, SF3 is perform normal only. I think the coach should give him more chances to play. He can be one of the big 3 just like Boston. The coach should provide more chances to play, he just 30 yrs old. just older then T Mac one yr. Lets see his fd Mobely, he still can get 30 points in one match. SF3 do not hv any problem. If Houston can also hv Big 3, the winner percentages will be increased. I trust SF3.
Finnish off the Battier arguement that you haven't responded to before you pick another meaningless fight to lose. Your jokes are also very lame. _ Blues
Zboy, I know American's English is bad becacus it's an import from England. But hey, it shouln't be this bad. Main Entry: 1valu·able Pronunciation: \ˈval-yə-bəl, -yə-wə-bəl, -yü-ə-\ Function: adjective Date: circa 1576 1 a: having monetary value b: worth a good price 2 a: having desirable or esteemed characteristics or qualities <valuable friendships> b: of great use or service <valuable advice> http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/valuable
Francis looked pretty good out there tonight. he didn't shoot well, but he also hasn't seen game time in a while. He was able to get to the basket and draw a couple fouls and/or dish though. And I thought his vision/passing was great tonight. Handled the ball and ran the offense pretty well. We almost came back when he first came into the game. You could just tell he was excited out there. I could almost feel his energy from my house. I'd like to see him a bit more, but if he can play like that consistantly, he should start or at least be a regular in the rotation. I still like MJ off the bench. I would say at least give Steve the minutes that luther usually gets to further evaluate him, but Luther showed what he can do for this team as well tonight, so i don't know. I say trade Rafer and/or Luther is steve continues to show he can play like this, and that's a tough decision because I've been a supporter of both of them.
I wonder how many of Francis' missed shots came at the end of the game, when the outcome was pretty much decided. Cuz it seemed to me that he wasn't shooting that poorly or much at all during the first half when it mattered. In fact, I would say that he was the best PG for the Rockets today. He seemed to be the only one able to take it into the paint with any real authority. He also consistently looked to pass, and when he didn't have the ball, he was cutting and moving to get himself open. Defensively, he seemed better able to handle Phoenix's perimeter players and keep them from driving, something I thought the other guards had trouble with probably due to their lack of size. It wasn't a great individual game by any means, but I really liked what Francis brought today. Definitely made a case for being brought into the rotation.
Spell the word correctly before you try to tell someone off. And if that was a misguided attempt at a pun, just save face and claim it was a typo.
Stay out of it internet spelling detective. The only reason I would tell anybody off is because if they were rude to me in the first place, you can ask Zboy why I would take it personally if he replied to my posts with stupidity. _ Blues
I didn't get to watch the game so most of what I've seen is just from the stat sheet and reading second hand but it sounds like Francis' first game back in a Rox uniform was a very mixed bad. It looks like his shooting was off but he wasn't playing like an idiot out there. Before we condemn or praise him lets see him in a few more games.
if you feel that you need to point out a spelling error in order to feel superior, maybe you should rethink your own issues dude. in regards to the point guard debate, just face it. all of francis, james, and alston (and head) are all mediocre guards that should never start for any nba team. if we want better play there, we should make a trade for someone like delonte west or chucky atkins or even mike bibby.
Not trying to spoil any hopes for us Stevie fans but the realistic trial time for Stevie in real-game situations is this period where T-Mac is out. His future PT will highly depend on his performance in the next two/three games. Even if he does perform bad, the playing time should give him the confidence to maintain his dedication (which JVG credited him for) in order to be an on-court asset for the Rockets in the future. _ Blues
Have you figured out where I got that stat from yet? Or, are you still looking, oh self proclaimed internet fight winner? I admit I would have never come up with the idea of calling Rafer "a valuable starter". I got a good laugh out of it. You, sir, are truly gifted!
Are you saying Merriam Webster is the only choice? The one I posted comes from Rogets New Milliniuem Thesaurus. http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/valuable But I like your pick too regarding Rafer. Let's look at Rafer in light of how Labyrinth describes him using your definition (thesaurus pick) of "valuable". Rafer - Having monetary value (LOL! NBA GMs are lining up to take that contract) Worth a good price (Staring at his contract again!) Having desirable or esteemed characteristics or qualities ( No explanation needed! ) Of great use or service (The great climax!) Yep! Labyrinth nailed it! "Valuable" was coined in 1576?! Too bad it was 431 years too soon or he could have done something about it.
