Sorry, SRF, I'm not going to get into a silly battle over Steve Francis with you, he's gone, it's over, put your hatred aside and move on with your life.
You have a lot more posts about Steve Francis than I do, I don't hate the dude, I just think his ability to help a team is overrated...my life is fine, thank you. Plus, I had no intentions of battling over Francis, you just said "i think" like you didn't know some of the facts that might have lead the coaches to pick pierce over steve. If I have another comment about steve, I'll make sure not to direct it at you so you don't get all pissy again.
I think that not playing with Yao is a big factor in not getting those Chinese votes, and then Magic are not getting enough national TV exposure so fans outside of central Florida do not get a chance to see him play. And of course eastern conference teams are heavily guard-oriented so SF definitely have more competition at the guard spot.
I suppose it could be worse. Very little is being said of Kidd, Redd, and Marbury (and Rip, Billups) not getting voted in. Evan
Now Francis is comparing himself to Jay-Z. http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050210/COLUMNISTS0604/502100479/1113/SPORTS Steve Francis was snubbed! In sports, to be "snubbed" has come to mean not making the All-Star team. First the fans snub you by voting for someone else to start the game. Then the coaches snub you again by filling in the roster without you. It isn't personal. But it sure feels like it to the snubees, and it sure sounds personal when we use the S-word. Steve Francis, an All-Star with the Houston Rockets in each of the last three seasons, figures he has played well enough to make the Eastern Conference team in his first season in Orlando. He may be right. But whether he is right or whether he is wrong, he isn't on the team. "I'll give you an analogy," Francis said Tuesday night. "It's like Jay-Z going to the Grammys, knowing he's a Grammy winner and not getting it. "He doesn't stop making hits. So I'm not going to stop playing ball; I'm not going to stop making hits like Jay-Z." We'll take his word about the Jay-Z thing. What he was trying to say (I think) is that he will take a constructive attitude about his snub. He thinks he was wronged, but he's not going to go on a hunger strike. Francis can certainly make a case for being one of the 12 best players in the Eastern Conference. His 21.7 scoring average ranks 16th in the NBA. He is also eighth in the league in assists, ranks among the top 40 in steals and free-throw shooting, and if there is a better 6-foot-3 rebounder, I have yet to see him. Francis has his critics, but it would be hard for any of them to make the case that the Magic (25-23) wouldn't be way below .500 without him. In his snubbing, Francis was victimized by four factors -- Vince Carter, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Grant Hill and turnovers. Carter, who was elected a starting forward, is neither an All-Star nor a forward, really. The 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas, a good center but hardly of All-Star caliber, was put on the team to compensate for the East's lack of size against a huge Western All-Star team. Hill is also a starter, which works against Francis since the coaches do not believe the Magic are good enough to merit double All-Star representation. Finally, Francis is third in the NBA in turnovers. By itself, that is not grounds for a snub. The players who average more turnovers (Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade) are both All-Stars. But they weren't on the All-Star bubble, so the turnovers weren't enough to get them snubbed. Five of the 15 NBA players with better scoring averages than Francis happen to be Eastern Conference guards, so snubbing him was not a major problem for the snubbers. Steve-O will get over it. Besides, his snub wasn't even the worst one. If there is a snubee with a gripe, it is Detroit's Rip Hamilton, the leading scorer of the defending NBA champions. Sacramento has three players on the All-Snub team in Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller. The Kings are 32-16 and will go without All-Star representation in Denver on Feb. 20. How would Jay-Z handle that at the Grammys?
This is the kind of thing that will drive Francis nuts. He can get over making the playoffs only once in his career. He can get over not being on a championship contender. He can get over lots of things. But he can't get over a personal slight like this...he can't get over not being acclaimed for his individual play. That's Steve Francis.
like all of you guys would not be bichin' if Yao were not on the allstar team (thank god for the billion chinese voters). i think it would be very interesting to see how often we would make the playoffs if yao did not have steve or mcgrady. does this look like a playoff team to any of you? this team is comparable to what steve had to work with (mind you at that time the lakers, portland, sacramento, san antonio, dallas, minnesota, and utah were all locks for the postseason). Sura Cuttino Walt Williams EG Yao i dont write this to hate on yao, but it is really iritating to me when people state that it was steve's fault that we were not a playoff caliber team.
i'm assuming that's directed towards me. so i'll respond. i didn't say it was his fault. not at all. certainly it's partially his fault. you want the title, Franchise?? well then you take a heap of the blame when the franchise comes up short. but that wasn't the point of my post. the point of my post was that any knock individually on francis drives him wild. he whines and gripes. i don't hear that same sort of emotion from him when he comes up short on the court.
So you got all of that out of one statement. That's ridiculous. As far as not getting over it he said he's going to keep playing. And as far as not making the playoffs he seemed fairly proud to make the playoffs last season. The guy was asked about not making the all-star team and he gave an honest answer. Seems like you need to get over ripping him for any little thing he says.
See the point is I don't have to polish up the statement. I don't have to make some far reaching conclusion that Steve cares more about the All-Star team than the playoffs because he said he felt he should have made it. One thing has nothing to do with the other.
Sorry, SRF, I'm not going to get into a silly battle over Steve Francis with you, he's gone, it's over, put your hatred aside and move on with your life.
Forget it guys, the Steve Francis haters on this board will interpret any statement he makes into an indicator that he's a bad player, a bad teammate, a bad guy. Any statement you make to the contrary will fall on deaf ears.
I am probably considered a SF hater, but I have no problem with what he said. He probably does deserve to be at the game. Steve speaks his mind, no doubt, sometimes for the good sometimes for the bad, the man clearly cares.... Personally, I am glad he is in Orlando, but I do not doubt his talent, nor his heart, just his ability to consistently make good decisions on the Basketball court. DD
Ok - something is going wrong here, I find myself agreeing with DaD There is little doubt in my mind that Francis deserves to be an all-star (Zydrunas Ilgauskus..... pah) There is little doubt in my mind that Francis is a winner, and he goes out to play hard and win games (reflected by the winning records of the teams he has been on) There is little doubt that he is a top player in the league - top 15-20! And it is his decision making which holds him back from being a top 5 player! Sometimes he makes a bunch of good decisions in a row, sometimes a bunch of bad decisions - overall he makes more good decisions, but at times the bad decision cost wins. Hence he will always be a winner, but never a "dominator" But, there is no doubt at all in my mind that he deserves to be an all-star!!
