being a Francis fan even after his departure, I gotta say that you summed it up pretty well. If there's anything I've noticed about Steve Francis since he was traded to NY till now ... He's realized that he's having to start all over in making his legacy in the NBA. He has been very very cooperative with the idea that the title of "the Franchise" isn't given to him anymore. He's noticed that he no longer boasts a 44 inch vertical. He's not as quick and fast as he once was (though I'd like to believe he is). Thus he's played in a noticeably more calm and controlled style. He's not playing 100mph every second anymore. Do I believe it takes away from his maximum potential? Hmm. Maybe at times it may take away from his aggressiveness that he used to have to just drive the lane over and over again ... regardless if he'd get thrown down by Shaq each time in the process. If you notice on his drives nowadays, his attitude is even more calm than the young Francis who wore his emotions on his sleeve ... and drove the lane with a more uncontrolled nature (though combined with athleticism and his heart, it'd produce decently good results). What he's learning to do now is trying to mix that ability with decision making (shot/pass selection) ... so, he's trying to choose at which times are best to unleash what he's best at. Those who have watched him in NY a little bit and now with the Rockets also notice that he's not iso-ing anymore. As entertaining as it was, Stevie has to remind himself that he doesn't have to break his opponent's ankles every opportunity he gets. I noticed that in the Denver game, he almost got in that mode where he was going to attempt to break down AI (a part of me got excited ...). He took one or two dribbles between the legs and you could tell he was in that mode but he restrained, backing out and running the play. At that moment I was like "aww dangit" ... but also "hmm, he really has matured." To an extent, these past years, I believe he was trying to win over the critics by dribbling less, passing more, taking less shots, etc. He probably got tired of hearing everyone say how all he did was dribble, dribble, dribble, and turn the ball over. Though there's a difference I see in Francis now as compared to NY Francis. The NY Francis had a pretty decent game of coming off a pick, taking one dribble and shooting. We saw a little bit of it in the preseason when he made those 2 3pters. Also when playing with Marbury, I believe he played more 2-guard and he made a bit more of an effort to practice his spot up shooting game. Does anyone else notice that when he shoots, his feet are set more than he ever had them in the past (who can forget that left leg b/w the leg dribble + juke + shoot shot). Only when he had the ball in his hands (pg) was he able to penetrate. As for now, I think what he's trying to implement into his game (to be most effective), is being able to penetrate by making one decisive move off a pass and going to the hole, on top of developing his spot up shooting game. Everyone was hoping Stevie would just get a pass outta a double team from Tmac or Yao and immediately just drive to the hole (which has yet to be seen since those 3 havent played together much), but most of us would agree Francis usually does his penetration either off pick n roll or iso (break down defenders). If Steve can get some consistent playing time (tomorrow will tell a lot about that situation), I believe he'll be able to develop that stuff quite well along the way. Well, another thing is, I'm thinking ... Steve is trying his best to implement this type of game, IF he's playing alongside the two stars. If he's not, then I'm not sure whether it's crazy to suggest he be the #1 option off the bench ... meaning bringing the Stevie who just constantly drove the lane time and again, back ... Personally I'd rather him develop the other type of game, so that he's in the final 6 minutes of the game, rather than Rafer or Mike.
Somehow watching that Rafer video made me thinking about putting Steve and Rafer on the court would be a good combo. Rafer can put up his floaters all night long, if he makes it then great! If not, steve can finish up with put back dunks, he will be racking up rebounds and field goal percentages for my fantasy team. WEEEEE
Yao + Tracy + Steve = more winning! For those that don't remember this was Steve Francis Rockets team when Yao arrived. Steve opened his arms to Yao and took him under his wing and they formed a great relationship. Steve then got the boot and was sent to Orlando, along with his friend, Cuttino "the Cat" Mobley. Along the way he bounced to New York and Portland, and was humbled along the way. His love for Houston and this city never seemed to die. He took less money and a lesser role to come back home. He could have had hard feelings for Houston the way things went down,(I would have) but never ever once said and thing bad about Houston. So he finally makes it back home and get the benched. Then there where many scrutinizing and throwing dirt in his eye, because of his disappointment from being at the end of the bench. Was he waring his jersey? He had his head down. He's not a team player, and on and on. From what I've seen at this point, is that my gut tells me Steve will continue to more playtime as Rafer sees less. Now, will those same people be scrutinizing Rafer? Will he keep a good attitude down on the bench? I wonder? Yes Steve is a home town boy, he came here when he was a rookie and has showed nothing but love for this city. To me Steve is still Stevie "Franchise"!
If Francis is teamed with a playmaking guard, he will excel. If he is teamed with a me first dribble guard like Marbury it's not gonna work. Alston and Francis might actually be the perfect backcourt combo. Alternately, if he's got a guy like Cuttino Mobley who's deadly with the three pointer and is pretty smart knowing when to drive, that would work too. If we could combine Luther Head and Mike James into one guard we'd have it!
poprocks - great post. if the only good thing that comes from this past loosing streak is more pt for steve then it was worth it. if steve is as good as I think he is, he will prove himself as a better pg than rafer. I have a feeling steve will play at least 20min tonight and that will only increase in the next few games. There's a reason we pay Morey all that money... he knows what players can do. and he claims steve is our best pg. I love mcgrady but he was joking around and smiling after we lost a 17 point lead to dallas. I was thinking... does this guy even give a rats a$$? Steve brings heart and passion to the Rockets.
Cumlative Stats for all 3 guards over the 2 games they all played in (Pheonix and Denver). FRANCIS 7-20 FG, 0-5 3PT 4-4 FT 5 REB 5 AST 3 STL 1 BLK 1 TO 18 PTS ALSTON 5-13 FG, 1-4 3PT 1-2 FT 4 REB 9 AST 2 STL 0 BLK 1 TO 12 PTS JAMES 10-24 FG, 2-6 3PT 3-4 FT 7 REB 4 AST 2 STL 0 BLK 4 TO 25 PTS
Nobody made a case for anything, they are simply stats from the only 2 games they all played in so people can get a statistical sense of how each player compared. Certainly 2 games is insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and hardly means this is the way things will look 30 games from now, but unfortunately that is all the data there is so far.
You already posted your stats in another thread. As I replied in said thread before, you're argument is flawed. Mike and Rafer have 14 games under their belt, Steve has a total of two. If Steve had been given minutes regularly, there might be some basis for statistical analysis, but you can't compare based on two games that Steve was shaking the rust off. The fact is Rafer and Mike should have much better stats in the two games since they have been playing regularly, they don't.
unfortunately these stats doesn't show how the offense was run as a team with each of these guys on the court. The tempo and motion of the offense runs much better with Franchise on the court than Rafer or Mike. Show the teams stats when each guy is running the point and that will be more valid than the stats above.
All I know is that one of the worst shooting PGs in the league is starting for the Houston Rockets, which is a strong case for almost anybody else. How many years and how many coaches does it take to figure this out!? Duh.
The only real statistical analysis would be their career stats. It does make you realize that coaches are just like everyone else in life, some smart, some dumb. DD
Well I didn't even post an arguement in this thread in regard to those stats I agree that you can't make any long term prediction on how Steve is going to do based on 2 games, but certainly there are more than a few posters who want to give Steve the starting job based on those 2 games. It's reasonable to project Steve to improve shooting wise to around his career average with more play time, but I would project Rafer's 3 pt % to increase to around his career average by season's end too. Likewise 2 games of playing under control with only 1 turn over doesn't mean that is something we should necessarily count on with increased minutes based on past history. But I certainly agree that Steve should be given the same chance and similar minutes to Rafer and James at this point and see what happens. If he continues to play under control then that would be awesome. I'd love it if he proves to be much more than I expected because that means the team is probably winning
