The two things that have REALLY impressed me about Francis this season (aside from the ridiculous numbers) are his patience and his ability to separate from his defender. He really is looking for the GOOD shot and not forcing it nearly as much. Plus, he is looking for his teammates. It would help if they hit the shots, but, hey, you can't ask for everything! He is also setting up assists. I saw several occassions tonight where he assisted the assister with a good pass. The thing that has simply blown my mind during these first five games, however, is his ability to separate from his defender. It is astounding! It's no wonder he's shooting 50+ percent. He is standing 3 feet from the nearest defender on every jump shot just because he has learned the art of faking the drive and pulling up. It's like really good wide receivers who always seem to be standing wide open. They are because they know how to create space between themselves and their defenders and that is what Francis can do on pretty much every play. His game has become so multi-faceted with his ability to go to the hole, shoot the jumper, pass and rebound, it is mind boggling. He's already taking better shots and making smarter plays. If he continues to show this type of consistency throughout the season, he will put himself on the short list of best players playing the game.
Francis is playing awesome.. and him realising that his other teammates aren't shooting the rock as well as him is also not that bad of a thing.. i just hope when he goes through a tough spot this year that he realises this and gives someone else the ball (unlike iverson)
For Francis, being the NBA is as simple as working extensively on his 3-pt shot. He's hitting it consistently now, but I'm guessing it's just early season and that it will slump. But if he works on being the same 3-pt threat Gary Payton is, then he's unstoppable from anywhere. Add to that the fact that we now have 3 excellent shotblockers in Cato, Ming and Griffin, and you'll even get better D from Steve. Because when you have shotblockers, than you can take more risks, and not get burned for most of them. He's really playing incredible, and I'm absolutely ecstatic about the Rockets' future.
Tonight was the first time I have ever seen Stevie in at the Compaq Center. Oh man, Steve is incredible. Several times tonight the Rockets would start slipping and need someone to step up and break the drought. He was money every time they needed him. Must have been inspired by the Dream tonight. I can't believe how different it is to see him play in person rather than TV. He is deffinately the Franchise.
That's true in a general sense, but not in Steve's case. In the past he basically exerted little effort on defense, allowing his man to shoot or drive with ease. He seem to be working harder now, and not taking risks, but staying between his man and the basket. So far his steals average is the lowest of his career. Depending on shot blockers to clean up your mess leaves opportunities for offensive rebounds, which is a problem area for us.
Maybe it's just me, but I never thought of GP as anything except a very average 3pt shooter. Payton's big advantage in my mind is his post-up ability (a little bit like Mark Jackson in his younger days). There isn't a PG in the league that can effectively defend Payton when he posts.
Now that Steve has been praised, I just wanted to thrown in a few more things. Cat's Defense - Any one who watched him these past couple days have noticed a huge improvement. Though the numbers don't show it, without Cat, Richardson would have had a 40+ night. Fast Break - Wow, what a difference from last year. We used to run it up the free-throw line and THEN try to either pass it or go for a lay-up. Now, the Rockets are passing it down the court while they run, and we see some very nice outlet passes from our big men (Thomas to Hawk) to our guards. All in all, I think that everyone is playing very well; even Cato, and I wouldn't be surprised if we make it into the top 5 in the West when the Playoffs come around.
Payton's a very good 3-pt shooter. If defenders back off him, he'll make them all day. But they don't, which is why they show as average. His strength is posting up, but this is a very underrated aspect of his game. Before the days of Radomanovic and a hot-shooting Barry, Payton was hitting the 3-pters. Anyways, what I'm saying is he just needs to be THAT good, not SUPER good at it. A few more games into the season, he's giong to demand so much attention that his teammates are going to get much better looks, and his assists will go up. VERY big congrats on his 1 TO game btw.
I just wish we would have drafted Caron Butler with the #1 pick to go along with Cat,Wink, and Fast Eddie. That lineup would be deadly.
I find it interesting that many have been calling for Francis to be moved to the 2 guard spot, and a true PG to be acquired, etc. Honestly, I dont think Francis would be scoring as EFFICIENTLY as he is now from the 2 guard spot. He would still drop in 30 PPG but not while shooting such a high FG pct. Reason is, Francis gets to go up against much shorter players at his current position and would have to expend a whole lot more energy trying to defend and deal with 6-6 to 6-8 players that post up a whole lot more and play a lot more physical in general. It is very obvious at this stage that Francis has put incredible effort into developing his jump shot, and it is showing on the court. Its been well documented that Francis took a lot of advice from Jordan this summer, and I would guess one of the first things they discussed was a consistent jump shot. In order to become an efficient and consistent offensive weapon from the perimeter, you have to be able to nail a mid range shot consistently off the dribble by creating space. Driving into a bunch of traffic all the time and going for highlight reel plays just is not effective over the long run. The main thing I noticed about Francis yesterday is also when he scored the majority of his points. Steve basically played within the flow of the game for the first 2 1/2 to 3 quarters defering to others, then took the game over in the fourth. At crunch time, the Rockets were running that simple high screen and roll play with regularity, and Francis was creating space as Jeff pointed out and nailing shot after shot. It is absolutely remarkable that Steve is shooting 52% from the field considering he is shooting 21 times a game. If he can keep his percentage up at that rate, he will be considered one of the top 5 players in the game. Just in case anyone is curious, Kobe Bryant has never had a season where he shot over 47%, and until this year, McGrady hasnt either. The player most noted for being able to nail such a high pct of his shots despite being a guard and shooting over 20 times a game is Jordan.
What is cool about the separation thing is that he said Hakeem taught him how to do that, and how important that was in the NBA for him to learn and do. That a superstar young player listened and learned is awesome. This is no Iverson, Steve has blown by that thug, 39% 5-23 punk. Steve is going to be the next big thing, be a part of it... Anyone notice that he and Cat did not have to rebound as much this game. Our frontline is coming back!
yes steve is da man. nobody can hold stevie. he's too quick, and just so talented. MVP!!!MVP!!!MVP!!! that's what we're going to be yelling at the end of the season.
Stevie PLAYED AWESOME! Even if he has 2 assist it doesn't matter, he's looking to pass first and get everyone involved and let the scoring come to him...by far its his best game of the season...LOTS of ball movement last night, I LOVE IT!
