Stevie's options: Lead, follow or get out of town By FRAN BLINEBURY It's not about the Super Bowl anymore, even though Janet Jackson and the streaker seem to have provided more of the bare truth. It's not about the breakfast club either, despite the fact that honesty probably was scrambled more than the eggs. Now it's about only one thing. Can Steve Francis lead the Rockets? The answer is an unequivocal yes. More difficult is determining which direction. There is a scene at the end of Animal House in which the brass band of Faber College takes a left turn down a dead-end alley and keeps right on marching into a brick wall. Consider Stevie Franchise the drum major. You are, as coach Jeff Van Gundy likes to say, what you are. And what is Francis except a raw talent galloping up and down the courts of the NBA like a young colt who has never worn a saddle? In his 4 1/2 seasons in Houston, we have seen wonderful moments, awesome highlights that make the boys on SportsCenter shout "boo-yah" and the fans stuff the All-Star ballot box, but not a single playoff game with his own sneakers on the floor. In all of that time, we have been teased with potential, had our heads filled with more promises than the Bachelorette, and seen him turn the corner so many times that he's right back where he started. Unproven as much in attitude as in aptitude. One of Francis' pet lines to trot out is: "I'm a man." On one hand, if we accept that, it wipes out the excuse that he's just a kid still learning to play in the NBA. On the other hand, if he were all grown up and responsible, he wouldn't have to tell us. We'd see it. Francis, the leader, is most definitely liked inside the Rockets' locker room. For that matter, he's liked outside it and everywhere he goes. He's approachable, fun-loving, engaging. But is he respected? It isn't Van Gundy who has the credibility problem with his team after the events of the weekend. It is Francis who has the believability gap with the very people he is supposed to be leading. No matter where Francis spent Sunday evening, it was not with his teammates, and the fact he continues to insist it's not a problem is just more proof of how big the problem is. They know where he wasn't and, more important, who he is. He is the Rockets' best player, and that means he is their leader, good or bad, up or down, hard-working or not, all attributes that could be accurately used to describe him at different points in his career, even on different days of the same week. Hitting a driving layup, falling to the floor and mugging for the crowd in the final minute of a 103-89 win over the Bucks on Wednesday night is bravado. Making a foul shot that put the Rockets at the century mark and awarded all of the patrons a free burger and then pointing to the crowd is nice theater. But where's the beef? This is still a team that had surrendered meekly in its three previous games and had Van Gundy questioning its heart. That a chart of the Rockets' development looks like the EKG printout of a cardiac patient is a reflection on Francis. That the Rockets haven't won more than five games in a row since January 2000 is evidence of mind-numbing mediocrity and Francis' inability -- or unwillingness -- to do anything to change that. Now the NBA trading deadline looms just two weeks from today, and for the first time since Francis' heralded arrival as the chosen one to take the torch from Hakeem Olajuwon and carry the franchise forward, that must be a consideration. Yao Ming is not there yet but will eventually become the complete package, the kind of player who can carry a team on his back. It would be much easier with Francis as a sidekick. The other possibility is to stop asking Francis to do so much and instead try to surround him with a cast of role players who are unshakable in their core beliefs, their commitment to doing what's right. That's the approach the 76ers took several years ago with Allen Iverson, unburdening him from the task of running the offense. Do you trade for a true starting point guard, shift Francis to the "2" spot and eventually get more by asking him to think and do less? Only if you believe in where Stevie Franchise has led the Rockets. Five years is five years. And that's a lot of smashed trombones.
