Steve is my 2nd favorite rocket player, 2nd only to Yao in this team. I'm was so excited to see him play tonight. The six game losing streak hurts. Steve sure remedied that tonight. He didn't score the most points or grabbed the most rebounds tonight, but he was the heart and soul of the team tonight. I hope he can consistently play like he did tonight and bring us closer to the promise land. GO ROCKETS!
As others have mentioned, the box score doesn't do justice to the way he played tonight and what he brought to the team. The three main things he brings to the table that the Rockets really need are toughness, energy, and heart.
Steve played a great game tonight, no doubts there. Showed a lot of hustle and desire that doesnt show up in the box score. That being said, Francis wasnt the reason the Rockets won this game. The whole team played with a fire that wasnt there in previous losses. By the time Francis got into the game the Rockets were already cruising up by double digits. It does look like Francis has moved up the depth chart. He was the 2nd guy off the bench tonight, I believe after Mike James. Bringing in James, Francis, and Scola gives that 2nd team some nice punch.
Watching the latest post-game interview from Ch. 2, you can tell Francis is feeling frustrations about limited playing time. But he's remained professional and is doing a great job making the most out of whatever's been given to him. If he keeps this up, he'll be an important part of the rotation in the future.
Francis came in during the 1st quarter. Played hard on D(even if he did give up some points to that Iverson dude...), hustled, made some buckets, got some assists and boards, and only had 1 turnover. Played the whole 4th I think also.
Do you guys think Francis will be our new Bob Sura, the one that brings passion and heart to the team? We been lacking that for awhile now.
He looked lost at times on offense. Especially without the ball. And he picked up his dribble early for no good reason. Resulted in some sketchy passes. Had me biting my nails... With that said. Who the hell cares at this point. He definitely brought something we needed. He can play basketball. He has a smooth confidence, a presence. He better keep playing. Especially at home. Francis is a must play at Toyota Center, the crowd will thrive off that.
Someone complaining about Steve picking up his dribble too early ?!? He must have done good if folks actually want him to dribble more.
That's pretty funny! He looked good out there to me. He isn't the reason why we won the game, but he sure helped. Do any of you guys remember him diving on the floor like that in his previous stint with the Rockets? He might have, I'm just getting old and don't remember. That heart he showed last night should get him more time, right?
Steve looked really good out there. those two blocks on JR Smith were team lifting stuff. what i liked was seeing James and stevie together. they looked pretty good. with stevie there, james can play he's natural position. the 2 guard spot. he setup james a couple of times. he did the same for tracy. those 3 look like there is genuine chemistry there.
SF3 sucks!!! He can't make open shots nor can he make a tear drop to go in like rafer. RAFER FOR PRESIDENT.
I would say he still probably dribbles a bit too much. The problem with him not dribbling was he picked up his dribble at least 2 times that I saw before he knew what he was going to do. He stopped dribbling before he had anyone to pass to. Once resulting in a TO. He also jumped in the air to shoot and then realized it was ill advised and made a lucky pass to James.
Steve may not be the "man" these days, but he's good enough to get some playing time. On any given day, he can contribute more than Luther, Wafer, James, and Bonzi. That warrants some serious playing right there. And how about Mr. Dunk-on-My-First-NBA-Outing Landry. Give the rookie some props even if it was garbage time. I think Landry shouldn't be buried on the bench. Give him some playing time as well. Like Worrell said last night, he could be our Millsap.
Steve really looked good to me out there tonight. He didn't pound the rock, he didn't turn the ball over (1 TO in 20 minutes), he found his teammates, he gave effort on the defensive end, went to the boards and wasn't sucking wind until the last minute. He didn't seem to be looking for his own shot and kept the team organized while he was out on the point. He also looked like he was rounding into shape and proved on a couple of drives to the basket that he can still get there. I like the idea having him out there as a third scorer with TMac, Yao, Battier and Hayes to close games better than James or Wells if he continues to play within the game.
