Steve Francis. We should appreciate every moment he is on the court. It's a shame the bandwagoners aren't showing up to witness the skills this guy possesses. The more I see him play in person the more I realize how special he is, and, barring injury, how great he will be. Old School ------------------ I voted YES!
Agree completely. Not only does he have the talent to take it to the next level, he has more than enough heart & hustle. Let's all pray he never gets a serious injury. ------------------ da ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence - alaskanSnowman
Old School, you are a man of truth. I've never seen a player with as much stamina as Steve Francis. He can consistently go 45 minutes every night. He's the best pound for pound rebounder in the game. He's becoming the most versatile player in the league. And he's a millonaire who still likes to slap backboards. I love this kid! ------------------
Yep I agree. Call me crazy but I wouldn't trade Francis for anyone in the league. ------------------ President of the Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford,Larry Hughes, and Charles Woodson fan club.
And he's even shooting the ball now. The sky is the limit for him. I feel great about the season now that Francis is stepping up. ------------------ "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning how to put food on their family while being put to death."
The guys jumper has amazed me from the beginning. I had only seen the college highlights of his amazing slams and I had no idea of his shooting skills. I would like to see him pick up his "d" just a little more and maybe get a few more steals a game...leading to a breakaway slam, of course. Old School ------------------ I voted YES! [This message has been edited by Old School (edited January 05, 2001).]
I love Stevie. But, he can't run a fastbreak (neither can Mobley). What is the deal with that? It is like he wants to be the recipient of the pass instead of the passer. His mind is all screwed up on the fastbreak. We lose many games for lack of fastbreaking skills. We suck? Much has been said about why we lose. To me, this is it, TRANSITION. Francis cannot run a fastbreak. dammit, I really hate to admit to that, too!!
heypartner, do you mean that Francis gives the ball up way to early, and then runs to the wing to recieve an alleyoop, instead of taking the ball down the middle of the court himself where he can have the option of passing to two teamates on each wing? ------------------
seems to me like he only looks for cat on the break and vice versa. also seems like the rest of the nba has a vcr. ------------------
Actually Steve has been running the fast break very well lately. Yesterday he made a great cross court pass to Shandon on the break who went to the basket for the layup and of late he has been stopping at the free throw line on the fast break and making the easy pass to the player filling the lane on the wing. I dont know where you've been seeing him screw up our fast break. ------------------
I look forward to Steve becoming a SUPER star, he is something to watch, and when he learns how to be a consistant leader, he will be unstoppable. The Rockets of the future will go as far as Steve can take them. DaDakota ------------------ If Mankind evolved from Monkeys and Apes, then why are there still Monkeys and apes?
Allow me to play devil's advocate... Gary Payton in his early years and Michael Finley Tracy McGrady, Lamar Odom, Shawn Marion, Dikembe Mutombo, Shaq, etc, etc... are all better. He's an excellent rebounder for his size, but he's far from the best "pound-for-pound" rebounder in the game. I don't get to watch Rockets games, but in what respect? Amen! ------------------ "Christ, it's not as if Steve pissed on a guy!!!!!" -- cson makes a return to my quotable sig as he comments on how Steve Francis should not be T'd up for slapping the backboard on a dunk...speak loudly cson, you rock! [This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited January 05, 2001).]
DOD: Gary Payton and Michael Finley I never had a chance to watch enough of Gary Payton or Micheal Finley during their early years, but these guys may of certainly had as much stamina as Steve Francis in their past, but I seriously doubt it, they certainly played a ton of minutes, but I doubt if either of them hustled from one end of the floor through 45minutes as steadily and unrelentingly as Francis does. I dont get to watch games, but in what respect? Francis is the only player in the league to lead his team in points, rebounds, and assists. ------------------
The rockets are a very lucky organization. Greatness is nothing new to them. It's been here with Elvin, Moses, Sampson (before the injuries), Hakeem, Clyde, Barkley, and we paid Pippen like he was a great player ------------------
He can't play D at all guys. On Defense, especially for point guards, you really can't improve much in the league as you get older...either you have the knack for it or don't...that's one of the reasons why I think he won't be as great as you guys are thinking he'll be. [This message has been edited by ChenZhen (edited January 06, 2001).]
yeah guys, there is no way he will get better defensively. Most point guards are as good at defense in their 2nd year as they are going to get. It seems he has reached the defensive pinnacle of his career......Gimmie a break. ------------------ Hakeem, Hasaw, Haconquered.
Just in the last few games I have noticed defensive improvement. He has started defending the pick and roll much better lately. If he keeps that up tomorrow, the Jazz have no chance whatsoever. ------------------ "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning how to put food on their family while being put to death."
What proof do you have that point guards are best defensively in their 2nd year? A large part of defense comes from experience (learning how to defend pick & roll, etc). Stevie doesnt have that experience yet. I mean, Stevie is a fierce competitor & hustles down the court all the time... what makes you think that he simply can't apply this hustle to defense once he learns? ------------------ da ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence - alaskanSnowman
No, I mean he does not demand the ball by doing v-cuts and whatever else it takes to get open for the outlet, so he can lead by dribbling. What he does instead is just runs the wings and let's someone else take the outlet, which really means, no one takes the outlet. I say our transition first sucks, because we don't successfully get open for outlets enough, and secondly the dribbler is often attacking from the wing, instead of the middle.
First, he shouldn't be making cross court passes on the fastbreak. Secondly, he shouldn't be stopping his dribble at the free throw line. He (and Mobley) are often on the wing dribbling, and they're often having timing/hesitation problems when going down the middle. But my main point is they DON'T RUN TRANSITION ENOUGH. It is not what they do when in transition; it is Francis's lack of running transition enough. There is no denying we don't get open for outlet passes properly, and hence our transition sucks, because it can never even start properly. The ending of the transition is not the problem; it is the start of it that is the problem. And that really is due to the guards not properly getting open for the outlet pass. [This message has been edited by heypartner (edited January 06, 2001).]
