Something I've noticed, Steve plays alot like Kobe

I agree totally. Though younger, Kobe's mental game is more mature than Francis. Francis has a long way to go.

 

I'll probably get flamed for this-

But Kobe (as much as I dislike him) plays with heart and has better court vision.

Whereas Steve tries to play streetball out there sometimes. In his heart Steve wants to win, he just doesn't know how to yet. But luckily he'll learn, he has a great big man and will learn that if wants to win he has to involve other players.

 

Marco Jaric...for Mobley...

We would have a 6'6" PG and Steve can be the shorter 2 guard.

Done deal...

DD

 

Well of course the Clippers would accept. Cuz Mobley is way better than Jaric...

But MOOCHIE CANNOT START. I have lost my faith in him. He just can't play against Gary Payton or Stephon Marbury or Tony Parker. Well.....neither can Francis but at least Francis does a slightly better job.

 

Some of you people are idiots.

One, you sit here and say Stevie doesn't have the desire to win. Yall dont even know the guy. He is a a great young star and I bet he would rather win a nba championship than an MVP trophy.

Two, You criticize Stevie's point guard play but we all know there is no better option for the Rockets at the position. He is one of the better all round players in the league and when he makes mistakes (and yes I admit he makes mistakes) you wnat to switch him to 2 guard or trade him.

Three, Kobe is of course a better player, but when you say he is always in control, isn't selfish, isnt a ballhog, and doesnt force stuff you are wrong. Look at the streak of 35 plus games. He was playing when the Lakers were up 15 and 20 points, going down and forcing jumpers just to get to forty. Kobe sometimes shoot good, sometimes shoots bad, like STeve. He had 40 shots one night recently.

Some of this Steve-hating is just stupid. We all know he has some faults but he doesn't deserve the amount of crap yall are giving him. He has a young team around him and honestly we don't have people who step up if Steve is shooting bad. Id rather see STeve try to create something tehn Mobley shoot his patented out of control shot or Eddie shoot a line drive three or Posey shoot an Air ball or Cato shoot anything. No I too would like to get Yao the ball more but he is still raw and teams have really been denying him the ball lately. Steve isn't the only reason this team is struggling. But he has been a big reason we have won at all.

 

Steve is a great two-guard. When Rudy played Moochie at the point and Steve at the two in the 2000-2001 season, we were playing great. Rudy, however, didn't keep that up. It did work, though.

 

1st Kobe may be the official SG for the Lakers, but he is also the facilitator/ playmaker. In some ways, D. Fish is like a smaller version of Cat, only not as good on D. If you say Stevie is like Kobe, than you probably want to keep him at PG, because Kobe is one of the top play-makers in the L.

Also 1/3 of the teams in the L would do about the same or better with Mooch as the starting PG. But no one should state that Moochie is better at setting up his teammates than Steve. Then add the fact that Francis can score in bushels and Norris starts to sound like a bad choice as a starter. A Mooch/Stevie backcourt may work for some matchups, & Mooch can elevate his game when called upon, but he should remain a backup. PG's are a premium. PG's who can shoot and play PG (like Stevie) are nearly priceless. With today's defenses (zone or semi-zone), a team needs at least 4 shooters on the floor. 5 shooters is even better (think Mavs & Kings ). Stretching the D has never been more important & the Rox have the tools in the backcourt to do so.

Many people suggest trading Mobley for a "true" PG, but really for who? J. Terry is more of an off-guard than Francis is. And if Andre Miller is so great, why are the Clips at the bottom of the Pacific? Snow is considered a pure PG only because he has very little offensive skills. He has no choice. Snow is not a better playmaker than Francis, and IMO would not be a better complement to Steve than Cat. T. Parker or even M. Bibby could be a good fit on offense, but on D? Nobody could guard the 2's. Unless J. Kidd REALLY wants to be a Rocket, I'd say stick with Steve at PG.

Against the Raptors ,the Rockets out scored them 66-34 in the paint & 31-16 in transition. Francis had a solid defender guarding him yet lead the team to a victory & got Yao the ball down the stretch. ...doesn't seem the Rockets REALLY need another PG to me.

 

During the all star game, did anyone else watch on a few West possessions and find themselves wondering, man, look at dumb Stevie, he's got a cutting man wide open (or he's got a guy with good position in the post, etc.), but instead of getting him the ball he keeps dribbling, takes it to the whole and tries to take on the whole defense by himself. But then you look closer and you're like, wait a minute, that's not Stevie, that's Kobe! That happened to me like on three possessions.

So yeah I guess they kind of play alike.

 

Yeah Kobe is also a "ballhog" by your definition. Actually MJ's also a ballhog. But the point is that they have the ability to be a ballhog and their team manage to win with them playing like that. See Kobe's game against us the other day. He forced shots but more often than not they went in. He shot over 50% during his 40+ pts scoring spree.

But on the other hand, Steve doesn't have the same ability of being a "ballhog". When he forced shots, more often than not he hurt us.

Plus, ask Lakers fans, when Kobe's "out of control" especially early in his career, Phil Jackson would yell at him or even bench him. What did Rudy do with Steve? Labling him as "could be the greatest player at his position".

 

I think this season has clearly shown that when Steve Francis is scoring proficiently, the Rockets have a better chance of winning. So why is it that everyone seems to have a problem with his scoring?

 

We won't get him, but the perfect complement to Steve would be Alvin Williams of the Raptors...6'5", plays great defense on either 1 or 2, is clutch, tough as nails, solid, dependable, never wants the attention, total team guy, has a wicked cross over, and is a leader on the floor and in the locker room. Teammates love him, so do coaches...

 

IMO, Williams isn't a consistent enough spot up shooter. His shooting percentages aren't that bad, but he isn't any better than Cat at hitting the open shot. Any team that has Francis drawing the D needs a consistent spot-up shooter who can play well without the ball. I think, Cat is better at that than Williams is. Add the fact that Cat is a better scorer & it would seem to me that Williams isn't a great improvement. ...just defensively.

Williams could be a great replacement for Mooch, but I think probably not as the starting PG next to Stevie. Maybe Alvin would learn to fit in, but we'll never know.

 

1) Alvin's % is lowered by the fact that he's the guy who takes most of the last second desperation shots, and the ones where the team hasn't gotten anything, clocks running out, etc. He also takes way fewer shots than Cuttino.


2) But even if you grant Cuttino as a better scorer, which he is, Alvin does everything else better. Handles, plays defense, smart, team player,hits huge clutch shots like clockwork, distributes, etc...He's bigger, has 0 attitude problem...he's an intangibles guy, but the tangibles are pretty impressive. He is the only player in the NBA to be in the top 10 in Asst/To ratio, and Steals/TO ratio...in other words, he's very efficient on offense...and defense is probably his stronger suit. And that's what we need next to Steve, isn't it? We don't need a big time scorer, we have enough scorers, we just don't use them right...and having a guy who does everything else would be amazing. I honestly believe he'd be perfect...Areneas would be great too...

 

Cat tends to be a more confident shooter than Alvin from what I've seen. That is very important for proper spacing in the half-court attack. In the playoffs, spacing is vital. Also Cat can get in the passing lanes almost as well as Williams, & has shown improved man-to-man D. Williams is about the same height as Cat and wouldn't be that much of an improvement on D, IMO. So that leaves ball-handling & some vague intangibles as the main areas where he'd improve things. But as I said before, I think Stevie has those areas covered well enough. Not that I don't think Williams could turn into a great fit if he were a Rocket, but I don't see him as a no-brainer improvement over Mobley.

It would definitely be a mistake for the Raptors to trade Alvin, so this is all just speculation anyway.