Whoever it was that said that we can officially take Mike James out of the PG equation is absolutely right. RA barely uses him as a traditional PG anymore.
i was at the game and my thoughts: -Tracy and Yao didn't show up today. -Daryl Morey shooting 3's during warm ups and was terrible at it haha -All the warrior fans around me believe Steve Francis was playing good -Rafer sat all the way at the end of the bench and looked very upset -Warriors played their game and we didn't
Cumlative Stats for all 3 guards over the 5 games they all played in: FRANCIS 107 MIN 14-34 FG, 2-10 3PT 7-11 FT 14 REB 19 AST 7 STL 4 BLK 3 TO 37 PTS ALSTON 146 MIN 21-46 FG, 8-20 3PT 2-4 FT 14 REB 24 AST 7 STL 0 BLK 6 TO 52 PTS JAMES 95 MIN 21-46 FG, 4-13 3PT 5-6 FT 9 REB 8 AST 3 STL 0 BLK 7 TO 51 PTS Season long FG%'s: Francis:41.2% Alston:.37.8% James: 37.7 % Season long 3 pt FG%'s: James: 36.2 % Alston:.27.0 % Francis:20.0% Season long AFG%: Alston:44.6 % Francis:44.1% James: 44.1% Stats Per 48 Minutes Alston: 13.9 PTS 4.9 REB 7.7 AST 1.94 STL 0.00 BLK 2.5 TO 3.04 AST/TO 2.3 PF Francis: 16.6 PTS 6.3 REB 8.5 AST 3.14 STL 1.79 BLK 1.3 TO 6.33 AST/TO 6.7 PF James: 21.7 PTS 4.2 REB 4.3 AST 1.83 STL .26 BLK 2.6 TO 1.65 AST/TO 3.3 PF
^Hey that's nice. Thanks for all the info. It's funny that Mike James put up as many shots as Rafer did while playing the least minutes of the three. Francis, so-called ballhog, took the least amount of shots and dishing assist at a good rate. It also wouldn't hurt if these guys shot better.
Francis has been making decisions better than he ever has in his career, granted in a very small sample size. His defense, particularly fouling needs to improve though, along with 3 pt shooting. Right now he would foul out before he got his theoretical Per 48 Minute stats averaging 6.7 fouls per 48. It was good to see James break out of his shooting slump last night, though it hard to rate anyone as having a "good" game in a 20 point blow out. Francis put up a good effort, but fouled alot and shot 1-5 from the line. Rafer didn't play much. His strength is getting other players the ball in spots they can score, but if both our stars are having off nights you have to add more scoring and that is what Adelman attempted to do. Plus with Steve making good decisions with the ball and James shooting well there was no reason to go back to him. In the end I don't think any of the three were primary reasons we lost beyond poor defense across the board for the whole team. Bottom line is when both your franchise players struggle you lose, especially on the road.
I love how Steve's been playing...but last night, for the first time this season, I thought he was bogging down the offense by dribbling too much and not attacking like he has been. Haven't we heard that before? Hopefully this doesn't continue...
Because Rafer's strength is passing the ball to our stars so they can score. If they aren't hitting anything then you need some one who else can score to step up and that isn't Rafer's strength. Beyond that Francis was playing fairly well and James came in and was hot so there was no reason to bring him back. Just like there was no reason to take him out vs the Clippers when he scored 15 on 50% shooting and had 9 assists and 1 turn over. Adelman will play who he thinks gives the best chance to win on any given night. When both stars struggle on the road and the whole team is playing poor defense it doesn't matter what role players you throw in there though.
Even without Steve, the offense looked pretty dead. But he didn't seem as active as he was the past two games. Don't know if he was just tired or that hard fall he took earlier effected him. Shooting 1/5 from FT is not going to cut it either.
Well you have to keep in mind that James was shooting and shooting well so that took away some of Francis's opportunites. I'm tend to doubt that Steve can maintain this high a level of play, considering he is far exceeding his career best numbers as far as assist to TO ratio. But that doesn't mean he still might not be the best man for the lion's share of the minutes by the time things are said and done. My gut tells me that all 3 guards will have their share of good and bad games. The good thing is we have the option of plugging in a viable alternative, unlike last year when Rafer was the only choice whether he was playing well or shooting 0-10.
That's how Steve has always been. He would have a triple double, then he would have a very mediocre game where he would bog down the offense. Then he'd have another good game, and back and forth. I don't think he's starter material for this reason. He wont be consistent.
I agree. I think he needs to come off the bench, and I also think the team can live with his inconsistencies as long as he can maintain the passion and fire he's played with, and he doesn't settle for jumpers.
I dont really think steve was bogging down the offence..its just that the warriors defence against us was THAT good...everyone was quicker/ stronger than us; Harrington even looked like he was strong than YAO ...Everyone steve tried to make a pass to was being fronted or couldnt even get position; which lead to the dribbling penetration and dish. Steves effort was still there, he was blocking shots, making steals, and gave hard fouls...execept that one foul on akebuki(sp?). I wanted him to be a little more aggresive on the offensive end though...seems like he was passing up open shots. Maybe RA could setup some more plays for him with yao. but by the looks of it...RA justs wants him to feed the ball to yao or tracy and get out of the way...
Steve Francis got hurt when he fell from the layup his play was dumb down he couln't move around as much I notice everytime he kept going up the court he seem to have a problem walking hopefully he can shake it off
I think he was the only one who actually showed up for this game. How ironic, all those people questioned his heart, and yet, I think he's the player with the biggest heart of them all.
Bill Worrell said that Steve told him his groin was tight or sore and he would try to "ease" into the game. However when he first got in there, he was on a fast break and fell hard to the floor. He bricked those two freee throws and two shortly thereafter. He was limping a bit and looked hurt. His perfomance last night while obviously hurting was still pretty good. The kid's got heart.
I think the Rockets can survive with Francis and James at the point. IMO they need more size and shooting at the two. If they do trade Rafer maybe bring in a two-guard with playmaking skills. Roy and JJ would be perfect but they're unattainable. The only others I can think of are Dunleavy and Thabo.
