I do in the sense I think both are combo guards without much discipline to their game. (and the poster's comments about intensity and effort--if wild at times, I would agree with too) Sura takes a lot of shots he should have figured out he should not take. He is a sub 30% from 3 land the last 4 years and 27% last year, you would think he would have taken the Avery J or Eric Snow school of thought and realized he is not a good shot from there and resigned to find spots where he can be effective. He also is a career 2.0 A/TO, just barely above Francis. I don't care to break down where Francis is undisciplined in his game (we all know those weaknesses). Also, to be fair Sura has athleticsm and talent, but at best is Francis extra light in the athletic department. Not many PGs or combo Gs, if any, have Francis raw athleticism. This may be a product of the fact Terry is a fine shooter and Sura isn't. Of course Sura should do more passing to Terry than vice versa. (side point--I don't subscribe to the theory Terry is an undisicplined a 1 as Francis for instance, I think Terry was just a better shooter than most his teammates and him and S Jack had to shoot. I think Terry will adapt to Dallas and be a solid player from them.) To take a mildly optimistic side, just maybe the lack of discipline and inconsistency in Sura's game I have seen (and most who have watching him beyond his highlight games over the years--see Swoopa's post and the guy who lives in Atlanta) may be on the downward. With Atl his assists did go up, and his a/to slightly over his career average (2.2). His shooting efficiency also went up to 42% from the field, 78% from FT (big improvement here) and 28% from 3 land. I still don't like that 3% one bit, but maybe he has started to turn the corner about playing to his strengths. Maybe he has come to grips witht he fact he should be shooting less from long range, more careful in shot selection when he does shoot, and passing to better shooters more (like JT and SJ for Atl, or with the Rockets just about any other player who is likely to see meaningfull minutes unless we sign Deke). If that carries through for the Rockets--so as a combo guard he plays good defense, has the mindset of pass-first, pushed tempo, and finds effective spots to shoot from, he would be an effective player for us. We will see if Sura has learned to play to his strengths and away from his weaknesses. I am a little skeptical, but I hope so.
It's just sad when people on this BBS argue Sura is better than, or as good as, or close to Steve Francis. This is a guy couldn't be a starter with the stinking Warriors, or the old Pistons. Now people even try to use his playing with the Hawks to justify their position! The Atlanta Hwaks?
Sura doesnot have Francis talent Has most of the same game though. He can take his man one on one and he can drive the lane. Has about the same outside shot. Good rebounding guard. But he can D up much better than Francis, more like Mobley. Plays the same way, emotional all out (most the time) Better passer, but still prone to mistakes Dribbles far less OK- less talent, but probably will produce more for this team.
Sura can't possibly have Francis' raw talent, but he MAY BE more crafty, mature, and disciplined. Everything is PROVEN on the court. No way that Sura is even in the same "talent league" as Francis, what people are suggesting is that as a journeyman player, he MAY BE a better fit. We'll see, I am decidedly underwhelmed at this point. No one expected a superstar player for the PG position did they? If he can run a play, not overdribble, make a timely pass, cut down on turnovers, and run a break, most of us will be happy. Francis represented a wealth of potential, but often played recklessly, IMO.
As long as we dont turn the ballover and have moochie on our team, we'll be ok. ------------------------------------ You notice this is a covert war between the Knicks and the Rockets. We send them crappy players to screw up their team: Moochie Noris Shandon Anderson They hit us back: Weatherspoon Charlie Ward We send them: Don Chaney They send us: Patrick Ewing
BBS Headline needs to be changed from the Overwhelmed story from McGrady's welcome. My recommendation: Underwhelmed.
then they send us jvg, mark jackson, and charles oakley but unfortunately we're out of bullets. lets sign rodrick rhodes and trade him to NYC. that'll teach 'em.
I think the signings make a lot of sense. JVG likes Defense. Sura at the 1 can give length on defense at 6'5. Think about it. McGrady will be handling the ball a lot on the perimeter on ofense. Also sura moves well away from the ball, and is good defender.
82games is overrated. Only weird people such as some strange lawyers would keep citing those stats religiously.
When you're playing on sucky teams its much more likely that you'll force shots. Force anything just to try and get a better result. Coming into a strict system will do wonders for his game I am sure. In addition a comment I found interesting with Sura was when he said that he was 'waiting for the tier 1 free agents to sign so he could see what was left.' He's obviously not coming into this with a bad attitude and he is indicating he is there for D, competitiveness, and to get the ball to TMac and Yao. Its much easier to give the ball up to a star than to give it up to some young punk or someone as bad or worse than you. Sura will be a great signing I think.
Just to provide the counter, if there is any trends (fairly unpredictable over the year I admit) with Sura's production it looks with more minutes and worse squads his efficieny modestly improves (shooting %'s, A/TO). It certainly was the case last year, Sura only played only 13 MPG for Detriot and his efficiency was worse than it was for Atl. I hope so, I hope he has learned to play to his strengths, his comment at least suggests he is comitted to that.
The acquisition of Bob Sura reminds me a lot of the signing of Eric Piatkowski last season. When we signed Pike, I was highly optimistic, as he gave us a perceived outside threat that we sorely needed. Unfortunately, injuries and an off year kept him from being a good pickup for us. Sura is one of those players who is a nice role player that can bring a lot of added energy off the bench. While Pike faltered last year, Jim Jackson stepped up his game to more than make up for the lack of production from Pike. I see Sura as another high-energy player who brings tough, gritty defense, an overlooked part of his game (remember he played on the Hawks and Warriors who played no D). He also has as a reasonable offensive game. He reminds me of a Jim Jackson in a lot of facets, except Sura is more of a slasher, while JJ is more of a spot up shooter. The good news is that we won't really be relying on him to score much, however, he has enough game to step up while other players aren't scoring, something that JJ did a lot of last season. Regardless, I am excited about him as an acquisition and hopefully he can stay healthy and be productive, unlike Pike last season.
anyone who can get back to back (and almost a third) triple doubles in this league has some serious game. given the right attitude on his part, chemistry with teamates, and execution of coach's system Sura can bring alot to this team. Again- What did Francis do that Sura can't do- except jump higher
What did Jordan do that Sura can't do? Nothing, except that Jordan did everything 100 times better than Sura, same with Francis except it's probably around 25 times better than Sura.
