so what if he does, for a while i hated Tmac because of that very same reason. We have both of them now so it's quite moot.
Hmmmm,pretty intresting.While i hope he comes back to at least contribute,doesnt look that way,at least till early next year.Wow,people are acting like him coming back is impossible.He wont come back like "Franchise",but solid bench production is what I have in mind for him,probably at the 2 cuz when he comes back,he wont be able to run this offense.Brooks,Barry,and maybe even Strawberry(defensive Purposes) will handle the 1 Francis himself doesnt even seem sure.I ready player would have been like "Yeah man,I should be coming back soon,Im feelin good,blah blah blah".He was all"hmmmmm,3-4 weeks till i can even do COURT PRACTICES".He is basically saying dont count on me too much. I say we just chill,let our team do their thing,and then when we least expect it,Francis will be back in the mix,ya digg?And if he aint,who cares,I have confidence in the guys we have right now.
The last thing Steve said is what I wanted to hear. The key is study. He needs to look at tapes of himself, KJ, Baron Davis, Steve Nash...You can even learn from young guys...my favorite little point guard ever might be Chris Paul. He has mastered the game.
Steve is done. Anyone can read between the lines from that interview. Swimming and weights do nada for actual training camp, talk less of a real NBA game. The difference between kobe, tmac... and the average NBA player is not that great. There's no way steve gets up to speed in a matter of 3-6 months. I hope I eat my words.
Remember the ad where Stoudmarre watched the tape of himself playing from the bathtub? I am not sure whether he was studying or just indulged himself in yesterday's "glory". He didn't mention he had been watching other players' tape. If all he thinks about is his athletic abilities, we can safely write him off: you don't get more athletic when you get older, especially after such a big surgery.
A few people have said that I hate Francis. I can understand why one would think that based on my posts but the fact is that I became a Rockets fan in large part because of Francis. I grew up in Silver Spring right down the street from him and we are almost the exact same age. I was also a Terps fan so I watched him play when he transferred to U of M. When I moved to Houston from the D.C. area in 2002, I immediately started following the Rockets because Francis was on the team. As time went by, I came to the painful realization that Francis, for all his athletic ability, isn't a smart basketball player and doesn't really make his teammates better. I was somewhat disappointed when they announced the 7-player deal that brought McGrady here but I also realized it was a good move for the organization. I wouldn't mind seeing him make a comeback but the problem is that, even at 100%, there are still a lot of question marks in my mind about how much he could help a contending team. To me, Francis is best suited to be a go to player on a bad to mediocre team and that is only when he is fully healthy where he can take advantage of his athletic abilities. Again, my impression from the interview is that he still has a long road to recovery and that his skill is probably even further diminished from last season because of not being able to play for 8 months and counting. Even if he is ready in 3-4 weeks, which I doubt, I don't see him breaking into the rotation. In a best case scenario, if he is ready to go early in the season, he may provide a scoring punch off the bench. The Rockets are still lacking in perimeter players that can slash and finish or get to the line. Francis, at his best, is a guy that can do that.
nice interview JCF! seems like SF3 has a good handle on the situation, keep on trucking Stevie, i'm pulling for yah!
I want him to succeed really badly,but I'm realistic. I have very low to almost no expectations from him. Steve has always relied on athletic ability and losing it is a enormous loss. He still could be useful if he was around 75% fit,we need his penetration, shooting and occasional passing despite his turnovers and his mental mistakes. Even if he comes back healthy around the middle of the season,it's too much to expect him to be a real force IMO. I don't think Aaron or Barry can carry the load of a back up PG adequately. Rafer will be overworked and Tracy will have to sacrifice his scoring and pass more.Having Ron to shoulder the scoring will help but this is not an ideal situation and could lead to a lot of problems. It's sad to see DM hoping to see if Damon Stoudamire can help us out.
We get your point, you don't believe Steve Francis can come back. You don't need to post anything else about it. Damn dude.
What I love is that if I came into the forums and went on every single article, every single thread, every single thing about Artest and said he is going to be as big of a bust as Pippen, I'd be deemed a hater. Someone who dogs on SF3, takes his remarks as lies, someone who straightforwardly says "he's done" is just voicing his opinion. Look, I get it, you are a hater. I understand. People don't need to constantly undermine what faith we as fans of SF3 have in him. If you're write, believe me, I'll take my crow medium well and let you do as many I told you so dances as you want. Until then, I don't care. Personally, I think there is as much of a chance of Brooks being a name star as SF3 coming back and making an impact.
He doesn't jump as quickly or as often as he did in his younger days. He is coming back after a surgery that requires a very long rehab time which doesn't sound good for his future.I think he can do things sporadically,consistency will be harder.
doesn't sound like proof of athleticism departing but i can appreciate the concern. who knows? i'll keep hoping for the best!
Yep real serious rehab. He has been lifting "here and there?" Doesn't sound like he is too concerned with getting the most out of his rehab.
It's quite sad that francis is watching old tapes of himself. His delusional fans are doing the same things cause they don't want to face reality. All drinking the francis kool aid, thinking he'll somehow be what he once was when he hasn't been anything close to that in year.
I really don't understand how anyone can realistically think Francis is gonna be a contributor to this team. He's been done for a couple of years now. I don't care if he is 100% healthy, he's just not that good anymore.
Dude, this is BrooksBall we are talking about. If he says Francis is done, that means Francis will end up starting and become an MVP candidate. Francis?!? NO WAY!!
Although I was really high on the chances of Steve coming back and contributing, this interview just makes it seem like he won't be nearly as good as I hoped. By the time Francis returns, we'll already be well-off into the season, I am sure our starting point guard (which is probably Rafer) will have emerged (again) by that time and will have had a good handle on the team. At least Stevie can be there for moral support.
