I wonder which idiot is going to start a Phony Parker for Steve Francis thread in the Rockets forum? Give Steve Francis a Tim Duncan like player and then we can compare the two guards. I saw some of the game and he was not lighting up Gary Payton. Gary obviously can't take Tony seriously even if he wanted to. He has to worry about help defense rather then to seriously concentrate on shutting down Jesus.
Francis lit up Parker in their first meeting, yes. But after that, Parker flat out DOMINATED Francis in the last 2 matchups. Parker was abusing him with crossovers and exposing Francis' matador defense and on the other end Francis shot a combined 10 of 36 from the field or something godawful like that. I'm sorry but Parker embarassed Francis pretty badly. Parker is already miles ahead of Francis defensively (if people don't acknowledge that francis is clearly one of the worst defensive PG's in the NBA, they are thinking with their hearts). I would honestly rather have Tony Parker in a rockets uni than "franchise." Just looking at their stats is not a fair barometer. I'm sure there's a bunch of forwards with much better stats than Eddie Griffin who Rockets fans would not trade for Eddie. Parker has really come on in the 2nd half of the year and playoffs. Of course Francis has more TALENT than Parker, but Parker is smarter, runs his team's offense better, and actually tries on defense. Francis' bball IQ is pretty low.
I think we'd be better. I know i'm in the minority, but oh well. As for SA, their entire MO is Defense. Having one of the worst defensive PG's in the NBA would hurt them. Remember, Parker is just 19. He's going to only get better. Francis just doesn't seem like he's going to take that next step to superstardom. Parker also does a good job running the fast break. Ever seen Francis try to run a break? It's pretty brutal.
Parker at age 19 playing this well in a playoff series? Yeah, he's nothing. Some of you guys are rather poor evaluators of talent if you really think he's nothing. I don't think he's a better player than Francis now. Parker's assist average is relatively low because so much of the offense was run through Duncan this season. I don't think AJ broke 7 assists a game in a season when he was playing with Duncan and Robinson.
AJ had 7.9 in '97 and 7.4 in '98. Hmmmm....what's that old cliche about Sophomore jinx....? Let's not yet put Parker into the HOF until a few more seasons have elapsed.
Parker is really good. The Spurs got a major steal in the draft. But I dont think Parker is anywhere near as good as Steve Francis. If you put Steve Francis on the Spurs with Duncan , he'd probably be considered the best point guard in the NBA right now. Parker is good, but will never be as good as Francis.
You guys are ridiculous! The kid is 19 fricking years old!!! He's doing a hell of a job and is showing a level of maturity that transcends his age. No he's not on the Francis level, yet but he very well could be when he is Francis' age(or better!). None of you(nor do I) know how good Parker will be in a few years, but he's playing his position very well and has helped his team win games in the playoffs, something our beloved Francis has yet to do. Give him his props. He deserves them.
Our Beloved Francis does not have Tim Duncan next to him It is the same reason I give McGrady more credit than Kobe kobe has Shaq . . .McGrady doesn't I like tony. . . I think he had a legitimate beef about maybe being ROY . . .[but his stats do not show everything he does] but let's not crown him PG Supreme yet. Let Timmy and Robinson be out for several weeks then call me on how well he is doing Rocket River
Through three playoff games: 19 points per game 60.5% Field Goal Percentage 57% Three Point Percentage and he's only playing 29 minutes per game. If that's not impressive for a 19 year old rookie then I don't know what is. By the way, I don't think Speedy's ball handling skills even come close to Parker's. I don't think he's near as talented either. That fake he put on Desmond Mason was absolutely ridiculous and is definitely not anything I could ever see Speedy Claxton doing.
lol Parker is a good rookie point guard...but better than Steve Francis? Puuhlease. The minority think that Nash, Miller, and Davis are better than Francis...You are in the minority of the minority.
Funny how Bryant is supposedly great regardless of Shaq, but anything Parker does good is due solely to the fact that he's got Duncan on his team. Hmmmm.
Tony *is* Good ... but not great Kobe gain his status over the years his 1st year in the league. . .he was not all world then Rocket River
TP for my bunghole. Nowhere near Francis level YET. I would rank him somewhere around the 15th best pg in the league right now, which ain't too bad considering it's his rookie year. If he has a strong sophmore year he could move up dramatically.
Thanks. That was after AJ had been in the league for some time and established as SA's point guard for several seasons. I see Parker as a 15 point, 7 assist, 3 or 4 boards a game player after a couple of seasons.
I can't believe that anyone could say Tony Parker is better than Steve Francis. Steve Francis is the superstar on the Rockets, while Tony Parker has the benefit of having Tim Duncan.
