I don't think that is something to be proud of, but it is something to show that the hate Francis has from the fans..... he outplayed Parker and yet he still get flamed and want to move him and get Parker to play his position...... that's the thing we should be ashame of actually..... be fair to all our players pls....
Parker got his team going with 10 points in the first quarter, all while being guarded by the swinging gate Francis. The whole rest of the game he pushed the ball up the court and got some early offense going, all of this on the tail end of back to back games. Parker got his team going by passing the ball to Duncan, or Rose, and they in turn passed it to others.....However, PARKER did his job by passing the ball. Steve, well he lost. DD
Steve didn't lose, THE ROCKETS LOST, INCLUDING YAO, for you Yao only fans. It sure would be nice if Steve had Duncan to pass the ball to also. These Steve hating posts are ridiculous. Oh yea, what about David Robinson outplaying Yao? Yao only fans, please respond. Yao, outplayed by an old David Robinson, Steve outplays his counterpart, yet the loss is Steve's. You people have gone mad.
Really, Parker was blowing by Francis at will. Yao spent much of the night stepping out to help EG with TD or to stop the penetration, that left the goal (and the Admiral) undefended much of the game. But, we can't deny Francis is a straight up warrior. Dude is playing with tendinitis in his leg and a bad back yet still almost pulled out a triple double. Hey, maybe his D left somethingto be desired, but Parker is a good player in his own right. Besides, Francis wasn't the one bricking wide open shots (*cough* EG, Posey *cough*), not rotating quickly enough (*cough* EG, Posey, Cat, Yao *cough*), and not taking his defensive responsibility seriously enough (*cough* Cat *cough*). Francis is the leader and sure he gets the blame because of it, but he can't shoot for and defend for every other guy on the court (even though he is rebounding for them).
Great post JeffB, sure Steve isn't the greatest or even a really good defensive point guard. But he played a good game, this was a team loss, that's my only point. For people to put the blame on Steve, when he actually played better than his teamates is ridiculous. Everyone deserves blame including Steve and Yao, and you know what else, the Spurs are just better right now.
your not gonna win without an offensive system. The Rockets dont have one and that is why we are struggling.
Pgabrial, Outscoring your opponent is not relevant when talking about the PG position. It is all about setting up your team in an advantageous manner. Steve is a warrior, no one is saying he isn't. What I am saying is that he is not committed to playing defense, and he makes VERY poor decisions on offense. Steve has major problems playing guards that are of equal quickness, he simply loses his man all the time, and Yao has to step out to stop the penetration, leaving his man open for a dunk. If Steve would learn to pass the ball to Yao in these situations, it could only help the team...don't you think? There is a reason that ESPN and the NBA Tonight are showing Steve and Cat not passing to a wide open Yao on the roll, it is because they understand the RIGHT way to play winning basketball. It is clear by your posts that you don't. DD
He outscored, out boarded him, out stole him, and out assisted him. IS THAT ENOUGH. Also, like I asked, please respond to Yao being out played by a retiring 37 year old center. Check the numbers.
Stats are not everything. It was not David Robinsons 14 points that killed the team. It was Parkers ability to blow by Francis, break down the defense, and get the Rocket defense out of position that killed the Rockets. How many wide open shots did Malik Rose, Manu, and Stephen Jackson get due to players having to help Francis on D?
Yeah stats aren't everything to Yao only fans when he is outplayed by Robinson and Francis clearly outplays his man. Steve's man 16 are soooooooooooooooo much more effective Yao's man 14 especially when Steve out scored his man, held him to his average 15.6, and Yao's man scored almost 5 above his. But the stats don't matter, because Yao can do no wrong, everyone's lack of D was Steve's fault, but when Steve drives to the whole and dishes to a wide open Posey who can't hit the side of of a barn, its still Steve's fault.
Why do you think crticizing Francis means people are complimenting Yao? Did you see the game? Did you see Parker repeatedly blow by Francis, forcing the defense to collapse? When the defense collapsed, Parker quickly got rid of the ball and the Spurs team found the open guy who, unlike nay Rocket, hit the open shot. Robinson scored because Yao was too busy helping out Francis and EG. But I guess since there isn't a "Times had to leave his man unguarded to provide help defense" stat listed at ESPN.com you just won't concede that point.
I saw the game, I saw Parker drive by Steve in the first half, I also saw Steve force Parker into a couple of TO's. Yes most Steve haters on this board think Yao can do no wrong, and the reason I take up for him is because even when he plays well and out plays his man, and is close to a triple double, and shoots over 50%, he is still blamed for the loss. This is just a little note to all you people who think Parker was responsible for Duncan and Robinson killing the Rockets on the inside, these guys were bad asses before Parker came into the league and won a ring without him. So to claim the Robinson and Duncan had good games because of Parker driving by Steve is ridiculous, like these guys all of sudden turned into All Stars because of Parker. Duncan and Robinson make it easier on Parker, not the other way around.
I think our perimeter defenders need to learn that they don't have to shut a guy down on an island. Yao, EG and/or Cato are back there. Instead of trying to lock down on quick, NBA guards and getting blown by, the Rockets need to trust the shot blockers and funnel their guys the way the championship teams funnelled to Hakeem. In turn, Yao needs to trust the defense will rotate to the spot he vacates and quickly get himself in a defensive position to change the shot while making a pass difficult. Right now, Yao rotates too slowly, the rotation is poor and the guards aren't playing team D instead of individual D.
Staying that Steve plays horrible D isn't saying anything about his offense. So he almost got a triple double, does that mean he played good defense? No. The fact that our big guys have to stay on Duncan and Robinson says nothing to the fact that Parker blew by Steve whenever he wanted to. The lane may open up a bit, but Steve should still be there to guard HIS man. He doesn't really have the excuse that he has to help out on the other guys.
Parker, had four assists, his average is FIVE. He scored his average. If he blew by Steve so much, would he either score above his average, or have more assists than his average, he had neither. These are just facts, you guys are just giving opions.
His stats don't have to change because once the defense collapses on him, he would be stupid to try to shoot over 2-3 defenders. instead, he passes the ball to another player and when the defense rotates to that guy, that player passes to an even more open player who hits the open shot or keeps the ball moving. It's not about scoring points or getting the assists. It is about getting the assist that leads to the assist--just one of the stats that coaches (but not ESPN) actually keep. BTW, the Spurs had 24 team assists while the Rockets had 14. That is an indication of ball movement, which this discussion is about. Much of that ball movement began with Parker's penetration.
early on, the spurs applied some light pressure on steve, who refused to pass out of it, and instead leisurely tried to dribble the ball across halfcourt himself. He was too slow, and an 8 second violation was called. even college teams can easily beat the press, but oh no, not the rockets
The Rocks had an 8 second violation after a timeout. It should never happen to an NBA team. Pgabrial, Francis gets the majority of the blame because he is the team leader. He is supposed to set the table on offense and play smart defense. He does neither, therefore he gets criticism. Yao gets criticized too...the 2 turnovers against the Knicks cost the Rockets the game...no doubt. However, Yao is a rookie, it is Steve's 4th year and he is making more turnovers this year then any prior year....is that progress? Steve is more athletically gifted then any other player to play the PG position, however, relying on those talents only lasts so long, then you have to have the smarts to stay in the league. Do you see Steve still playing at 40 like Stockton? Not a chance, when his wheels go if he has not learned how to beat his man cerebally, then he will be washed up. Right now if Steve does not beat his man off the dribble, he loses it, and goes Juco...... How many times do you see Steve jump in the air with no idea of what he is going to do with the ball.....the Wizards game where he passed to Mobley is the most recent example. Steve should make his decision BEFORE he jumps......until he learns how to do that, the team will struggle. DD
Did the team struggle two years ago when they won 45 games? Maybe the adjustments have to do with this being an almost totally new team. Steve and Elgin Baylor are the only players in NBA history to whose scoring avg has gone up his first 4 years so to say he isn't improving doesn't hold water either. steve and Elgin Baylor, that's pretty good company. And as far as your same old spill about Steve being the leader, in one thread you say he's the leader so he gets blame, in another you say Yao should be the leader, all you are doing is saying I know my criticism is irrational, but he's the leader so he deserves irrationnal criticism
