Why do soooooooooo many of you dislike him so much. I personally love Stevie, but all I hear is "...we need another point guard and move Stevie to the 2(and trade Cat for anyone!!"??? If he can barely guard J.R. Bremer or any other point guard in the league besides Derek Fisher, what makes you think he can hold T-Mac or Kobe??????On numerous occations he got lit up by the opposing team's 1, so I know for sure he can't handle any 2's even if he is quicker!!! I hope JVG teaches him how to play better defense, cause that is what Stevie is severely missing. And Mobley...??? He is our best one on one defender...Posey is our best at getting in those passing lanes. Jeff Van Gundy's test isn't if he can take us to the playoff's it is if he can mold our backcourt into something special: Make Stevie play better D and control Mobley on offense, and to instruct them that we have a highly skilled 7'5 Center in the middle... And Moochie...he is the most overpaid player in the league. I agree with all of you on that one(besides C-Webb...note: Money and the Maloofs can get you out of alot of trouble and kill certain key witnesses) Cato was that player until he showed how to be a good, hard working back-up center for us last year WHAT YALL THINK?
Some people hate everyone on the team if the team's not winning. It's just something you have to get used to. Some people will hate everyone on the team even if they are winning.
Steve is one of the top PGs in the league, he is the one of the build blocks of this team. But you are right, he needs to improve his defense.
you have to remember dude, alot of people on this forum or in the city of Houston just flat out hate a player if they didnt make the playoffs or live up to the "level" that the fan wanted them to.. Steve has been and still is in the top 3 guards in the WEST... Mobley I love to death, but his play right now isnt what it was his rookie year, I believe he is just a very selfish player right now, and is more worried about his self image than basketball...dude hired a publicist before the start of last season.. they both dont do alot on the defensive end...but we knew that when they got drafted... but Francis more than makes up for it in other areas...
This gets discussed all the time. I swear there was a thread about this started last week. In any case, I don't hate him at all. He's one of my favorite players in the league, but with his talent I know he could be even better. also, i think you might have answered your own question as to why people might hate him... If you're as talented as Steve is and he's barely guarding J.R. Bremer then you're going to get hated on by people.
yea! especially considering mobley's role is the exact same as his rookie year, right? yea! huh? what...
Considering what makes up a 'prototypical' PG, Francis is just a cut below the top PGs in the league. However, he can potentially be a top SG, and probably already is, if he should move to that position next season.
At Maryland Gary Williams played Terrell Stokes at point guard during Steve Francis' one year under Gary Williams. Terrell Stokes averaged about 2-3 points while being no threat to penetrate. If Gary Williams had put Steve Francis at point instead of the shooting guard, future All-American Juan Dixon would have come off the bench to start at the shooting guard where he belonged. At the time Maryland lacked fire power in the NCAA playoffs and lost to a much lesser team in St. John's. It made the St Johns strategy easy in that crucial NCAA tournamenmt game since Terrell Stokes was not a threat to penetrate or score. It was to be Gary William's big mistake that particular year. Maryland had the horses to reach the Final Four that year with Terence Morris and Steve Francis leading the way. The following year Gary told Steve Francis he could play point, but Francis said thanks, but no thanks and opted to go pro. What could have been. It was obvious to the average fan that Steve Francis was a player that flourished with the ball in his hands, a triple threat that Stokes was not. That was the needed point experience that Steve needed before coming to the Rockets, but never got. FREDTERP
How can you say Stevie is overrated? He gets no love form anyone in the media or sports experts. No Olympic invite or mention as possible MVP. Please do explain.
Actually, Bremer may be a no-name player, but he tested out as the most athletic guy in last year's draft.
i want you to think about what you just said. jr bremer is more athletic than amare stoudemire. . . . jr bremer is more athletic than caron butler. . . . jr bremer is more athletic than nene hilario . . . "draft tests" are absolute bullsh*t. . . .
i always love the bremer story. dude scores 22 points (6 of them on moochie at the end of the 1st half) mostly on open shots when steve was supposed to be helping out on others (like walker and pierce) and all of a sudden he had a game that practically is gonna get him into the hall of fame and he schooled francis like no other. and then there's the second game against boston (that no one mentions) when bremer was 2-9 and had 6 points. so was steve all-nba defense that day just like he was barely college level defense the other game? or maybe did we just let jr bremer have his open shots and he hit them one game and he didn't the other? and of course we wouldn't mention that even in the 22 point game steve still handily outplayed bremer and we won the game. and no i don't think steve is a good defender, i just always love that story.
What does he do to deserve love from the media or sports experts? He doesn't deserve an invite to the Olympics, and damn sure does not deserve MVP mention. Starting PG in the All-Star game. Niether year was he the best PG in the West. You answered your own question. YOU overrate him by suggesting he is worthy of such consideration.
Steve is far from a superstar. He needs to correct the major flaws in his game: - He needs to learn how to run a fast break. He's not just average, he's horrible in this area. - Defense needs major improvement. - Decision making at the end of games was getting very poor. I am hoping Van Gundy and his crew really teach him what to do. - Making other teammates better. He needs to learn how to play with guys like Yao Ming. It seems like the only guy he really knows is Cat. If he was just average in this areas, I would feel better, but they are huge holes in his game.
the reason that people hate on steve is b/c many here believe that ming should get every shot. i'll be the first to admit that steve isnt the greatest pg, but the guy doesnt deserve the treatment he gets on these boards. i dont buy the "oh he could be so much better argument" b/c nobody said anything like this before we got ming. once yao came aboard, clutchcity turned into yaocity.net.
its so funny, just about any team that doesn't have a player named payton, kidd, or starrbury would sh*t themselves if they were to get francis. he is not the quintessential pg, but he does soo much more. but just because we havent been to the playoffs for a while he is less than. whatever, you get used to the same stuff from the same people.
Olajumus Prime, the point is that mobley's role HAS changed since his rookie season...multiple times, at that. and, if you've been paying attention, he has succeeded at every role asked of him. so, before bashing him, maybe you should wait for him to actually fail at a stated goal first. he has gone from starting point guard (asked to distribute and defend) to sixth man (asked to be spark off the bench) to starting 2 guard (asked to be the offensive impetus via isos) to starting 2 gaurd (asked to be the distributor when steve's bullsh*tting) to backup small forward to backup point guard (since moochie was sucking major ass) to top notch defender (asked to contain big time scorers) all this (last year) while playing on TWO BAD ANKLES! i hope you know how difficult it is to perform on ONE bad ankle. try projecting that onto two ankles against nba caliber 2 guards that light up everyone in the league....oh, and dropping in 20ppg of your own. where, exactly, has cuttino mobley failed at any of his roles? the answer is none. while you may have a problem with the way he plays, you must first consider what he has been asked to do. now, if JVG comes in and asks cuttino to do something and he fails...start b****ing. until then, you have basis for the statement that cat has not improved from his rookie year.
good call, however, as bad as he was last season at the end of games, i still think he has improved in that area. i don't remember him hitting ANY big shots UNTIL last season.
