Kudos to Stevie...Granted his assist to turnover ratio was shotty (though typical), but his production was efficient, he was aggressive and really played with the ole Stevie Franchise attitude we saw over the past 4 years. If we can get this type of production out of him more consistently, there is not reason that we could not get in the second round..... As a team their turnovers were held down and they played efficient defense in the second half. Overall, one of their better performances as a team IMHO... Welcome back to Taylor too, this was a huge difference and can JVG not give anymore DNPs to Spoon. He was the X factor. Teams give him no respect and that is fine with me. Just come in and hit that open J, clean up the boards and get some garbage points to a tune of 10 points per game and he is exactly what we need....
I'm not on the Steve Francis bandwagon, but that was a great hussle game for him last night. 5 turnovers is still way, way too many, but when Francis is stealing jump balls from Michael Olowokandi, you at least know his entire heart is in the game. And once again, Yao steps up while playing against one of the league's top big men in Kevin Garnett. I've noticed that Yao plays his best games against Shaq, Duncan, and Garnett and while I would love to see more conistency out of Yao, Yao stepping up his game in the presence of the best is a good sign.
I'll take his game last night, most nights. Unfortunately, such games have been raw this season; they have only come against LA and the Wolves.
Steve's heart has never been in question, its his brain and shooting touch that have been. He always gives his all, its just a question of getting good production from his all, and last night he had the goods for real.
The teams turnovers are down, but Steves are still too high. He had 5 last night which is 2 or 3 too many. However, if he hits his shots we can overlook it. DD
It's also worth noting that a lot of Francis' shots last night were low percentage and they were just going in last night. That is not always going to be the case since Francis is not a good jump shooter.
Exactly. If Francis is CONSISTANT then I dont think anyone would have that much of a problem with him. But his total crap play and inconsistant play has killed the team. I am amazed that we FINALLY get to see a game in which BOTH Yao AND Francis had good games. FINALLY! I have been in favor of trading Francis for Ray Allen because I feel he is a more mature, poised, consistant player. If Francis can become that type of player than great. That is what I most want. But if not, we have to move him. I want Francis to succeed. I really hope he does.
I watched the game on the Twin Cities broadcast and the T-Puppies announcers were giving a lot of props to Taylor. Jim Peterson (former Rocket) even said the same thing that Taylor is the X factor for the Rox. Taylor has for years been T-Puppies killer and played some outstanding games against them.
I'm actually somewhat off the "Steve can't coexist with Yao" bandwagon. He has stepped up his play of late in regards to shooting. He has been in such a slump that I've forgotten what's a "high % shot" for Steve is. But I've seen more penetration and better outside shooting. As well as knowing when to defer... for the most part anyway. But the guy does have a way of going through bad stretches just when I think he had turned a corner. Actually, Yao has plenty of great games against crappy centers. But no one actually remembers them because we just think Yao is suppose to abuse those people. Yao's bad games either come from zones, where we can't feed him the ball, or from thugs who play dirty on Yao. That's why the guy needs to learn how to dish it back. Other superstars have learned to do this, Yao must do so too. It's funny, but the teams with great big men are the ones who are more or less playing Yao fairly. Which might be why Yao does so well against them. The guy has so much skills that no team, not even the Lakers, can match up with him on defense.
If Francis plays in this manner for the rest of the season then the Rockets might keep Steve and still get us a Plymaking Point Guard.
I agree wholeheartedly, so many on this board misunderstand those of us who have been on Francis' case. It is nothing personal, never has been. It is all about the Rockets. If you blend with the team and make a significant contribution, great. But if you highjack the team for your personal success, we want you gone. If you only show up for four games, like this season, we really want you gone. If you play well consistently, welcome home!
Exactly. The comment from Juugie the other day in which he/she basically said racism explains people's dislike of Steve Francis' game really got me hot the other day. These are the hardest core Rockets fans in the world on this board. Hell, I'd root for the Grand Inquisitor if someone told me he could get the Rockets more wins. If people on this message board have a problem with Steve Francis, it is most likely that they have a problem with him because his game restricts the Rockets whether you agree with them or not.
Oh it has been VERY personal With Steve and Cuttino They have been called stupid . .. retarted . . . etc Rocket River
I liked the way Francis played today. Lots of heart, lots of hustle, and pretty heady as well. A few bad passes - but I don't think it was bad thinking, as much as bad execution. Francis will have other games where he plays "better." If he keeps playing with that intensity and smarts... he'll do well. He provided really, really good help-defense at times today. That block had to fire up anybody with the pulse. In fact, I'd say the only bad decisions he made today came on the fastbreak. That's another issue, though. Still don't understand why our team fastbreaks so poorly.
