Trade MJ instead of Rafer?

judging from the last two games, I think we will need both MJ and alston and SF haring some minuates. AB certainly can't hold their jocks for now.

Alston/MJ/SF (some PT at the 2)

 

F3 should be kept, if only if he can do his own work well. He is a little "Ball-Sticky". This is a team of two all-star, he is not all-starany more. His ability is better than RF and MJ, just be himself should be, then I think he should stay.

 

Geez, your hate for Steve Francis is ridiculous. Rafer and James can do no wrong and Francis just can't do right. Nothing special? Except for the fact that Steve is playing well within the system, something the haters said he couldn't do. They said he was going to be dribble dribble dribble and we have yet to see that from Steve. He has played hard on defense, moved the ball around, set screens and made some great passes. Which are all important aspects of this new offense. Again, something the Francis haters said he could not do.

Hell, Mike James has gone into dribble mode more than Francis.
Aside from a couple jumpers here and there, what is so special about what Mike James' has done? There were times where the offense stalled while James was in there. I'm not saying Mike is a bad player but to say you have seen nothing special in Francis and think Mike is just playing so great, well, it just speaks of pure hate. You have reached a point of hate where you actually want Francis to do bad so you can prove your point. It has gotten so bad that you refuse to see anything positive in Francis, even if you see it with your own two eyes.

Stop the ridiculous hate.. Make an effort and actually try to be unbiased for once. You are not even trying to give Stevie a chance.

 

I agree with that. Steve and MJ aren't true point guards. They are scoring guards in point guard bodies. Rafer has done a decent job running the offense. He's a good passer and doesn't turn it over a lot. Coming off the bench or playing alongside any of the other guards, he won't have the ball in his hands so much. In this offense, there is more passing and running and Rafer does a good job of that. He gives us lots of depth at point guard.

 

The preseason is an EXCELLENT barometer to gauge NBA talent.

Sincerely,

Spoiler

 

Worth nothing? Really? I guess the strides that Yao made under JVG were worth nothing. I guess the PG played no role in the JVG offense

If you want a player that reverts in crunch time to missing layups and taking ill advised shots while being torched by the opposing team's PG, then by all means keep Rafer in the starting lineup

 

I have to see more from Francis. He does look lost out there at times. No, he doesn't dribble-dribble like before, but he holds the ball too long before making a decision, which is just as bad; both allow the defense to recover.

I have yet to see him this preseason get by his man and create a play. I have seen him do his crossover-recross while standing in place going nowhere a couple of times.

James has looked more decisive and has looked better at getting past his man in the flow of the offense, creating opportunities for himself or open spot up shooters (usually rafer up to now). While Steve looks tentaive, James is always attacking, putting pressure on the defense, not trying to juke his man out two or three times like Steve. With James, once he sees the seam he attacks it.

So far, Steve at his best this preseason has been when he has the ball high, uses a pick, and pulls up for a three. That suits him best because it requires the least amount of decision making and court awareness. Just score, that's what he should be out there to do, because asking him to read the floor is too much at this point.

But it is early, I need to see more from him.

 

It's going to be a long season in the GARM.

 

Very good point.

Not sying that Francis hasn't tried to change his game, but him overdribbling is the least of the worries about the man. There are some things that you just can't change about a player, and decision-making is one of them. You can kill his penchant for overdribbling by imploring to him that the new offense doesn't require guys to dribble the ball much and try to break down the defence, but it takes alot more work to get a guy who's never been known for his basketball IQ to react faster.

That said, he'll probably play more of the 2-guard as a scorer off the bench, where you can at least attempt to hide his deficiency.

 

Actually I'm wondering what Morey did this offseason at all?

Yesterday they inteviewe CD and it was He not Morey who setup the Scola trades.
Steve Francis wanted to come to Houston so any GM of Houston would of gotten him back.

So that leaves:

Jho for MJ which is not bad ( but if we signed Steve in the first place we would not have drafted for Jho

and the draft AB / Landry

 

What's up with all these r****ded threads? Trade Mike James, trade T-Mac, blah blah blah.

GIVE IT A REST! We got a damn good team, and it's been only 2 pre-season games.

Some people on this board really need to stop playing GM. Espically the dumb ones. It's just getting irritating now.

 

lol, dudes are breaking down Francis' game after basically ONE real preseason game. He's no longer dribbling but now guys are ripping into him about holding the ball? You do know you have to wait for your teammates to move/get open before passing the ball. You can't just pass the ball right away, there has to be an opening. Scola and Yao do the same thing on the high post waiting for players to cut. I also don't see how he looks lost. Steve made some great plays when he was out there. The majority of his assist set up his teammate for an easy basket.

I find it funny though. If Steve was breaking down his man and trying to penetrate like James has done, folks would scream how Steve still doesn't pass and is ruining the offense. But Steve is trying to change his game and fit within the offense and he gets hate for that. Steve is a much better penetrator and finisher than James, so it's not like he lost his touch. Even the coaches raved about his ability to get to the hoop during training camp. He's just trying to play how everyone wanted him to play. But looks like Stevie can't do right. Let's just wait and see what happens with these next few weeks.

 

I can't believe there are people here who are so surprised by threads like this. This happens after every game every season.

Better get used to it.

 

Both have looked good in two preseason games. the way mike drives in and finishes at the basket.......it's like i forgot people can do that

 

It's worth NOTHING?

 

We need them both.

That was the problem last year, not Rafer or Van Gundy. Rafer for 37 minutes a game with no viable backup at the pg spot was the issue with orders to shoot 3 after 3 in a stagnent offense. This year is different for several reasons - not the least of which is the fact we have four players on the court with Rafer who can score now instead of just three.

MJ is a much better ball handler than SF. I like MJ, but his tendencies to try and take over the game kill me and reinforces why he will be better off of the bench. Those who say the offense was more fluid and smoother when he was on the court are obviously watching a different game than I am.

That was what was pissing me off so much last year is all the undo negative attitude towards Skip. It only takes one time of Francis trying to bring the ball up through a full court press to remind me why I like Skip. Or one time of Yao standing under the basket while Mike James plays one on five for me to realize who should be starting for the team.

What I'm saying is, I'm fairly sure that by the end of this season Rafer is the one who will be owed an apology. ;~)

Cheers,
Brock

 

excellent breakdown. james is simply quicker with his decisions. he ALWAYS has the defense pressured while francis is too tentative and slow decisively. MJ has performed much better than Francis and anyone who can't see that is a Francis hugger whos jealous that Mike James is excelling.

 

no.....

 

I ditto that. Rafer looked like a billion dollars last preseason as well.