Kind of a bad time to pick on Luther when he scores nine points in 13 minutes. Luther's the ninth man in the rotation. At the most he'll probably get 10-15 minutes per game. That's not near enough time for someone like Francis who needs the ball in their hand to have an impact. Luther on the other hand can come in and play OFF THE BALL andl make the wide open 3 unlike Francis, and he makes better cuts to the basket than Steve. Luther is just as fast if not faster at this point in their career. He's also a better defender, and he's younger and has more of a future with this team. So why should Francis play over Head again? And the point of this thread is silly. Hayes > Scola > Landry Tracy > James > Alston > Head > Francis That's why Steve doesn't play and Scola does.
When I look at this team, I see the same problems as last year. If you can't see it, then look no further than ANOTHER elite team beat down last night. What are we 5-13 now over the last year against them. Two 50 plus win seasons and not one single playoff series win. If YOU cant for one microsecond take off the homer glasses and see that this team still is in no way shape or form going to be able to run the the elite 4 come playoff time, then you and I are in disagreement. What I have seen from this team so far this year is that it is exactly the same as last years team...minus the Defense and add more possesions. Either way we are scoring a tad more, but giving up alot more. The offense is still, give it to TMac or Yao and everyone stand around the three point line. You better not sell me on the fact that Steve in preseason didnt cut or move without the ball, because short of Chuck Hayes...NO ONE is moving without the ball much. Only some minor P n R stuff or flashing from the lane to the three point line. Get this through your thick skulls. If the Rox lose tonight, and they way they look they very well could, they will be 3-2 and lost to another elite team thats going to walk them in the playoffs. My excasberation is that this has to be the year. It has to be. We will lose Bonzi next year, Francis will bolt. James is another year older along with TMac. And Alston will continue to blow. This is THE season to make some noise. I dont want it wasted beacause Adelman has a hard on for making Steve sit. I believe AntiSonic is right. I think Adelman is being a surley about Francis. There were the reports of "hard practices and words being exchanged" That Francis got a practice Technical, and that Adelman was upset about someone claiming that Yao and TMac got the fluff calls in practice. I dunno, kinda makes sense to me. My desire to see steve play IS IN NO way because I just want to see steve play. Its because I firmly believe come playoff time we are desperately going to need his half court offense, his abitlity to get to the middle, his rebounding, and his heart. Not playing in the regular season is going to mean not playing in the playoffs. It is about winning, not about running out a popularity contest because one guy can stand in a corner and defer to the other two main guys. We are handcuffed on Offense with Shane/Chuck/Alston out there. James should be the 1st man off the bench because he is best in that role. Im tired of coaches with agenda's. I WANT THE ROX to WIN. This year.
Wow...do you actually watch the games? Seriously. Are you saying Luthers D is better? And if you do watch the games, how can you compare Luthers D to Francis D? And Even though Head had a good second half making what...3 shots? Coming into this game he had ONE bucket for the season. Are you really arguing the merits of one decent...no...barely one ok half of a game, over 3 games of suckitude? Get real. Luther was torched on D. He had a miserable first half, and hit a few open shots given to him by TMac, and one drive. Incredible!!!
I agree to an extent. If we are investing in players, why not invest in francis? Scola has played ok but i think his offense is improving and he plays good defense. I think the problem now is that we have too many weapons that are not being used right.
steve is being treated the same way jvg treated bonzi. and just like last year, the team suffers. adleman is basically jerkin bonzi off, letting him do whatever he wants. what the HELL is bonzi doing jackin up 3s, and then turning the ball over constanty? last i checked that fool is a slasher that needs to be down on the block or tacking his man off the dribble. adleman is NOT god, he is just like any other coach and sometimes, people have their own agendas and are blinded by them. head is NOT better than francis, even a slightly heavier francis is better. look at the grizzlies game, steve can take over a game, and is slightly better than head defensively. i say you let him have heads 12 min a game. whats to lose? i think its funny so many around here want him NEVER to even step on the court. thats kinda messed up. let the man play.
Who do you think NBA teams fear the most Francis or Head? That's why Francis should be in the rotation.
So I guess we should just play that invisible power forward on our team when Hayes needs a rest. He's good
It's pretty simple. If you want to play Francis, you have to remove Head, James, or Alston from the rotation. Adelman doesn't feel Francis is better than those guys, though his opinion could change at some point (it's still VERY early). And Adelman is not going to play 4 small guards in his rotation, in addition to T-Mac and Bonzi. That's just not happening, and fans need to deal with it. It should be obvious why removing Scola from the rotation (without an adequate replacement player) would be a terrible decision.
I think Luther and Steve could be interchangeable depending on defensive matchups and how the game is going. For example, in one game we might struggle with our outside shots so Luther gets the nods. In another game, we need some buckets so Francis comes in bringing his ability to attack the basket to score, draw the foul or kick it back out. You can also have Luther try to guard the quicker PGs, and have Francis come in the help defend the stronger guards that Luther can't handle.
SF3 needs to do what RA wants out of him before he gets pt. Being in shape is key but there has to be more that RA sees that we don't since we are not at the practices. The whole offense is still not up to speed. The team is going back to too many isos and not flowing like the offense should be.
Dude, we aren't gonna go 82-0 (or 81-1 at this point) Relax. New system, new players. We lost to the best regular season team in the league last year on the road b/c of a bad 5 minute stretch.
From a fans perspective, that sounds great. We get to see both of them. However, I've heard that players like to know that they have a steady spot in the rotation, instead of being in and out from game to game.
understanding this thread has been more about luther/steve, "What Im having a hard time understanding" is the love affair with Bonzi. I guess he doesn't get a ton of minutes, but still, he makes some boneheaded plays out there. Some good plays, too, but a bunch of boneheaded ones.
Good Point, As a big supporter of Steve, I like to see Steve play so badly. But in the fact, Steve might need to meet Coach A's expectation before he can sell himself to play in the current Rockets' playing style. Steve needs to think and to learn the offense, get himself ready, and soon, I believe he will replace Rafer in our rotation. Go Steve, I know you can do it!
