The funny things is that those who said Francis could not play are not showing up when the rox win the game by the great plays form SF3.
You have to feel good when you can win at PHX, especially when you basically get squat from T-MAC in the fourth quarter. I'd love to see Bonzi get his low post game going, because he's getting a lot of opportunities, which is a sign that the offense is coming together. Meanwhile, say anything you want about Steve, but when he brings that kind of energy off the bench... it's on.
I just saw that after you mentioned it. That is hilarious but also significant. It is visual evidence that Steve's enthusiasm can spread to others, including the other superstars on this team.
Steve has played a lot better in this system then I expected, but I think the biggest surprise for me thus far is his defense. No, not a cool block on Marion, but his overall perimeter d, his bulk that allows him to defend on some switches, etc. He's still no all-league defender or anything, but it really exposes how bad Rafer/James/Head have been playing d.
I know right. I have yet to see the Francis haters show up. They can't really say much. Francis played a near perfect game and the game sealers late in the game put him over the top. It's kind of hard to hate when you play like that. I especially feel bad for roffelsarus. All that "I told you steve wouldn't play", "it feels good to be right" comments are making him look very very unintelligent right now.
Not really. Francis has always been a terribly underrated defender. He always brought so much undue criticism just because of his rep, and because he fit into a certain "genre" of players that happened to usually not play D (like Iverson, etc).
^^^ With that said, I should have added that I know Francis wasn't a good defender in his first 2-3 years or so in the NBA.
I know right. I have yet to see the Francis haters show up. They can't really say much. Francis played a near perfect game and the game sealers late in the game put him over the top. It's kind of hard to hate when you play like that. I especially feel bad for roffelsarus. All that "I told you steve wouldn't play", "it feels good to be right" comments are making him look very very unintelligent right now.
The photo, to be fair, was taken a tad late (look at Marion's face!), but the refs allowed it. I was happy that they didn't call a couple of travels on him.
I agree with you on Francis, but man...I have been trying to observe things for a while. Rafer plays d just as well as anyone else on this team. PnR D, he does his best to stay with his man. He WILL get picked, it happens to everyone. That's why the pick is there. I watch many, MANY times Shane (the all great defender) is chosing to go over a screen and ends up losing his guy badly. Where are the cries of his poor D? Head plays it the same way. everyone plays it the same way. If you get screened, and can't close on your defender over or under it, you need help, period. For example, last night. What I obversed happen was Rafer would get a screen put on him, nash runs around it, Yao looks at Nash, Rafer is hustling to get back in front of Nash, before he can get back, yao plays backs off nash, nash hits open midrange shot. Now, they changed this at halftime I saw. If you find yourself in a situation to switch, just switch and commit until you can switch back. Man up defense, rafer can stay with most people given the handcheck rules. Steve can kind of. Rafer makes more steals. Steve has a larger body to prevent posting up of him. He also has the hops to contest shots better.
I'm not sure how many "haters" there are for Francis. I've been critical of the signing, and I've defended Adelman's decisions. I'm *ecstatic* to see this kind of game from Steve, and I think it's the best use of him -- off the bench energy, under 30 minutes, against a team like Phoenix. What I honestly don't get is people saying this reflects poorly on Adelman. Really? Doesn't it just as easily make him look smart? Getting Stee-Fran in shape, using him properly, keeping his spirits up, etc. Anyway, it's great news. Adelman, IMHO, continues to show he knows how to use personnel as well as any coach in the league.
There are alot more Rafer "haters" than Francis "haters" by far. Most of us who doubted Francis had pretty good reason. He was beaten out by Rafer, James and Head to fall out of the rotation completely after coming in as the favorite to start. That after riding the bench on 2 eastern conference lottery teams who didn't want to keep him, and getting bought out by Portland who didn't want him. There was plenty of reason to doubt. That certainly doesn't mean I wanted Francis to do poorly. To the contrary I am extremely excited with his play and can't wait to see what he does tonight. The pesimistic part of me still says it was only one game though, and even Rafer can look like an all star for one game. At any rate I am happy to be wrong, and hope that Steve can continue to prove me wrong. If Steve continues to play well and increases his stamina then he can play 40+ minutes and you will never hear me complain. I just want to see him do it consistently at 20-30 minutes a game first. At the same time I still disagree with those who think that Rafer is worthless or not contributing positively in his own ways. Both Francis and Rafer have been great since Francis broke into the rotation. My hope is that both can continue to help the Rockets win.
I agree with all you said here except that I have been a Francis hopeful since he came here. Disappointed when he didn't earn the job, but I knew that was on him.
Word son, no doubt our boy now deserves the starting role and Rafer nees the bench. What's up with Bonzi and MJ. Bonzi is getting lazy by the day.
In these few games, Rafer shoots OK. When Rafer shoots OK, he can contribute but even that he does not perform well during crunch time. Francis on the other hand, if under control would be a good crunch time player as he can "finish" in crunch time and made clutch shots. Both will be good for the team.
Heck of a game by Stevie.. I'm so happy for him and our team... hopefully we can keep it going tonight agains GSW (Phoenix Jr.)
Completely agree with Clutch's assessment; more than anything, Francis brought a set set of brass n#$% and swagger to the team in the final minutes. How many times have we been ahead late in games against Dallas or Pheonix (or the Lakers for that matter) and still cough it up with soft play in the fourth quarter. You could tell his aggressiveness was contagious in the way they played defense in the final minutes (which is actually what won the game). They didn't try to protect the lead, they kept attacking offensively and defensively. So many times this team looks lost when they have the lead, they are completely unable to put their foot on the opponents throat. Francis, with all his faults, always plays with his heart on his sleeve and at the end of the day that is the benefit of having him on this team. Great win.
I always knew that Steve had the brass, but the smart decisions... no, very very smart decisions late in the game were shocking.
I dont know if i would call myself a francis hater but i did doubt him... i'm glad he's proven me wrong though
