I've watched the past 3 games (Boston, Washington, Boston), and there was a disturing trend I noticed. Many people on the board bash Steve Francis's lack of defense or defensive intensity. I was still on the fence about this until these 3 games pointed something out to me. When his man has the ball and it's one on one defense, Steve does a competent job of keeping his man in check. He's not a lockdown defender by any stretch of the imagination, but it is definitely not as bad as many make it out to be. He will frustrate his man to some degree, and can even play the passing lanes pretty well to get the steal. The disturbing part I noticed was the fact that when his man does not have the ball, he pays absolutely no attention to him. His eyes go from the opposing player with the ball (not his man), to the lane (to make sure it's not a defensive 3 seconds), and occasionally over to his man (who he is supposed to be on like glue). Now, either he's trying too hard to play help defense, or he just doesn't realize that people can and will hit an open shot in the NBA. This is another reason why I think some sort of zone could be more effective, particularly for Steve. He tends to just float in an area and not look at his man in man to man defense. At any rate, just thought I'd throw that out there. Steve's not a horrible defender on the ball, but his defensive awareness needs some work.
This is how Steve plays defense for yrs ... he is better this yr than previous though. He used to play matador and just swiped at the ball as his man went by. He has cut out most of that. He tries hard to stay in front of his man most of the time now. He still does not have the discipline to keep his eye on his man when he doesn't have the ball. His man might move off from the last spot and Steve would have no idea where he went. A zone defense would help cover Steve's mistake but he probably won't be good at it himself. Playing the zone requires paying attention to the ball and still look for opponents moving in and out of your areas, some from behind you, and shift accordingly. Whatever we play, Steve just has to try harder, keeps improving and corrects his mistakes and bad tendencies he's built up over the yrs . It is not something that can be done over night.
You can't get any rebound if you just stick to your man all the time in defense. Francis wants to rebound more than he wants to stick to his man.
he looking to help out someone else. All the rockets play like that but Steve just wonders off too far.
You make a fair point. Steve's defense has really never been one of my concerns. The way I see it becoming a concern is if/when the Rockets decide to acquire a starting point guard and move Steve Francis to the two, Steve will be defending much taller offensive talents than he is currently dealing with at the guard spot and then he will be a defensive liability. So what's more important? Moving Francis to the two to allow him to flourish in his natural position offensively or creating better defensive match-ups? Anybody watching this Jeff Van Gundy coached Rockets team should know the answer to that.
Steve is still horrible, no matter what people say. Yeah, he is better one on one. But like u said, when his man does not have the ball, Steve has no idea where his man is And its not like Steve is a hell of a help defender either. If he were even in the top 20 in steals, it might suggest something, but he only averages like 1.5 steals in 40 minutes a game! He seems better cause his mistakes are being erased by Cato and Yao. Just watch, if Mo starts, Steve getting schooled will cost a LOT more!
Yeah, Steve still wanders out there. I don't know if it's because he prides himself more on rebounds than on playing defense (which he does only grudgingly). You'll notice how the opposing guard will bring the ball up and Steve will try to stay in front of him. If the guard passes off and the opposing team is working the ball around, Steve will rove, and will more often than not seem to forget the guy he's supposed to guard....especially if that opposing guard is anyone less than Kidd, Payton, or Starbury. He is better. But defense doesn't really interest him. It can be frustrating to be sure.
Steve's D sux...It's better than in years past, but I'm sure JVG wants him to be a hell of a lot better...
You guys don't really get JVG's defensive scheme. The WHOLE thing is predicated on helping defense. Guys are supposed to cheat over an help. He NEVER wants guys going straight-up one-on-one with offensive players. This isn't double teaming, per se, it is using the weak side to support defensive rotations. It's why you see the team switch so often and run at shooters. It has nothing to do with Steve "floating" or lancet's typically ridiculous statement that Francis just wants to rebound. This is the way JVG wants his players to play on defense and why they are the best defensive team in the league.
Francis is active off the court as well, as he recently started his own music company, Isoh Entertainment. - interesting isnt it? i guess he really likes that word.. hehe J
I don't have the play book but I imagine every outside player is supposed to play defense the same way. We do sag off our man and prepare to provide help but we are supposed to keep one eye on our man to get back if help is not needed and the ball is swung the other way. I don't see other players wandering away from their men as often as Steve does. He loses his man more than anyone else. How do you figure the opposing team's PG almost always plays better agaisnt Steve then against other team? I seriously doubt Steve cheats off his man more than everyone else because he provides more help defense than the rest. We maybe the best defensive team in the league, but IMO, Steve contributes only a minor part to that, if not hinders.
I don't see that as much as they tend to switch if they aren't in a big mismatch. They also double the ball quite a bit as well.
Things don't change when we switch. The new man becomes your responsibility and you play him like you play your own man. When we double team, it does change things, but Steve is weak there too. If he is one of the doubler and the ball comes off, he has a harder time getting back to his man. If he is one of the 3 men off the ball who are supposed to cover 4, he is good at making the 1st rotation but he rarely makes the second.
If all you did was read posts on this board you would be surprised that the Rox could win games at all considering how bad of a liability (take your pick) Francis, Yao, Mobley, Cato, Taylor, Moochie or JVG is.
Could it be it's harder to get back to someone who is usually the fastest guy on the other team and you are running through moving trees?
I think this is just a lack of really paying attention. Every player for the Rockets sags and rotates. It is the scheme that is being played. Why in Boston did Francis end up on Pierce so often, especially in the first half? It was because Pierce was often on the same side as the ball and Mobley would sag to help meaning Francis had to rotate to support. Actually, the guy that sags more than anyone in this scheme is the power forward. Early in the season, Cato had a tough time helping and getting back on defense. As a result, JVG shifted the rotations slightly to improve that lag time. Also, Cato just learned and improved. I know that a lot of people would like to lay this one off on Francis because he is the lighting rod for criticism, but it is an innacurate assessment. Just check the stats... In the past 10 games, the opposing point guards, which have included Andre Miller, Brent Barry, Stephon Marpury and Nick Van Exel among others, have combined to average 10.5 points while shooting 36 percent against the Rockets. Their combined SEASON averages are 12.8 points per game and 44 percent field goal shooting. That is a reduction of over 2 points and 8 percentage points per game against Houston. During that same span, Francis has averaged 15 points while shooting 39 percent while taking an average of 2 shots more than his opponent per game. Francis is a convenient scape goat because there are a lot of people here who don't like him, but the stats to not bear out the theory that he has been outplayed by opponents.
I did not say the opposing PG outplayed Steve. That is a different assertion and may or may not hold true. I do think they play a better game when guarded by Steve as compared to being guarded by the rest of the league. Let me check the stats and get back on this.
He's also really bad at fighting through picks. I think he tries to conserve too much energy on defense.
