Consider the other guys are so much better in most other facets of the game (save AI and SM's defensive rebouding) SF better shoot equal or better than those guys. Steve should not worry so much abotu showing up the media and let his leadership and teams W's due the talking. If the Rockets play up to their potential nobody will care if Francis is shooting poorly just as when Kidd or AI lead their teams to good seasons despite less than stellar individual FG%.
I would have to agree completely with DS, plus the difference between 43 and even 38 in one game is tiny.
40% is a fine shooting % if Steve could pass as well as Kidd or Marbury, or didn't turnover so much. He's a point guard, that means he should be a passer, which he's not, obviously. On another hand, I'm kinda annoyed by his cavalier attitude, great players that are underperfoming get angry with themselves, not with their coach or the media.
Assists per bad pass: Kidd 3.9 Francis 3.6 Marbury 3.5 S.Blake 2.9 - seriously Charvo, what are you seeing? Steve's total turnovers come from 'other things' (dribbles off knee/ foot/ opposition etc) - his TO's off passes are about par for a PG (Good would be high 4's). Looking at the stat sheet and saying that he can't pass because he turns the ball over so much compared to his assists numbers is silly.
Francis is too conscience of what the media and the fans say. When Andy Pettite signed with the astros, francis said something like "He better win 20 games because if he dosen't he will get bashed just like if a don't score 20 points a night." He needs to learn to take criticism.
So, because Steve can't control the ball well, we should disregard those turnovers? Steve is the type of guy that sets up everything off his dribble...if he can't even setup up a pass or a shot because of bad ball control, doesn't it have the same effect as if he passed it poorly? Why should the fact that he "didn't turn the ball over on a pass" not count as something that hinders his ability to have an assist? Or even allow his team a chance to setup the offense?
just a thought......... Francis is here at least till the end of the season like it or not. We know what he is playing like with the media an the fans on his back all the time. I'm sure is contributes to all his woes. Maybe things might changed if everyone stopped b!tching about his shortcomings and started to show the man some love.
IMHO, it's a person who is either ill-educated or simply apathetic regarding his appearance and social standing. For someone in a high-profile position as Steve I would hope that he would learn to speak more eloquently in response to critics.
I'm not sure where you got those numbers from, but from the 2 games Blake has played against the Rockets, his big men have been getting passes that they have not finished at the basket for easy layups. You could say that Steve Francis has the same problem, but the Wizards' big men aren't even NBA-caliber. Say want you want about Cato, Yao, and Mo, but they are much better than Etan Thomas, Brendan Haywood, and Kwame Brown. It's a big reason why they are near the cellar of the NBA. Even Wizards' fans are starting to think Blake is a better starting point guard than Arenas is. I might be making a snap judgement from seeing his play for only 2 games, but he has the kind of game that suits how Van Gundy runs the offense. Also, his salary is around $500,000. Steve Francis' is going to average $14,000,000 for his career. If Van Gundy likes Kirk Hinrich, I see no reason why he would not have his eye on Steve Blake since they have similar styles. Just because a point guard can't dunk doesn't mean he can't be a good point guard.
why do you always reffer to that? Are you assuming that all steve can do is dunk. Let hinrick and blake average 20+ pts and 6+ assists, and then discuss trades.
9th out of 12th in PPS? Damn. I've been looking less at stats this year than usual, since I've seen a lot more of the games. I didn't realize his shooting had been that poor this year.
francis was playin around, but you guys will use anything to jump on steve. by the way, according to yetti, i think street person = black guy.
82games.com FG% from 'inside' (ie within 6' of the hoop) Etan Thomas 57.6% (61% assisted) Kwame Brown 65.9% (55% assisted) B Haywood 67.2% (53% assisted) By contrast Ming is about our best with 66.4% FG in close (60% assisted) - Cato and MoT are lower than Thomas. I think that puts the cleaners through your theory that the big men don't finish... (although, to be fair, in the 2 games you've seen that may well be the case!!) I think so... Just because a point guard can dunk doesn't mean he can't be a good point guard.
I'm surprised they are that good from inside this season. Etan Thomas, Brendan Haywood, and Kwame Brown as a group is arguably the worst group of big men in the NBA. I'm going with what I see from two games against the Rockets in which the Wizards' big men have been very incompetent. I'm not going to bring up Blake that much more since he's not a Rocket yet, but he averages more assists per 48 minutes than Arenas does. That goes to show this guy Blake has some pretty good court vision for a rookie making close to minimum. Using that 82games.com website, I found a page that shows the best 5 man units on the floor for the Wizards. http://www.82games.com/03WAS4B.HTM The top 10 all have Steve Blake on the floor. Let me say that I wouldn't be surprised to see the Rockets make a discrete offer for Blake in the offseason. The only problem is that he is a 2nd rounder.
