I have a question for all you who want to get rid of steve for a less talented TRUE Point Guard. How many of those point guards have WON a CHAMPIONSHIP the last 10 years or so? Let's start with J. Stockton, arguably the greatest assist man ever, the definition of a TRUE PG...how many rings does he have??? That's right, a BIG fat 0. Next, Mark Jackson= 0 titles, Gary Payton=0, Jason Kidd=0, the only two significant PG's that have won titles in the last 10 years are Avery Johnson and Tony Parker. When we were winning titles, the first title was Hakeem surrounded by GREAT role players, no TRUE PG, don't tell me Kenny Smith was one and Cassell came off the bench and was a shoot first guy. The second title it was Hakeem, Clyde and bunch of Great role players. What I am getting at is that the constant is the BIG man in the middle. We have that, Yao is getting better and better but we also need a second star and Francis is that guy. He is improving and getting better and better as the season has progressed (with the exception of last night's game). Asides from all that, where are the Rox going to get this "True PG"...Don't tell me Carlos Arroyo or Damon Jones is going to help lead us to a title just b/c they have a couple decent games during the season. This team is starting to jell, are they perfect, NOT even close, but they are on the right track. I think more than anything we need a more productive (offensively & defensively) PF who will bang the boards and score when needed on offense and an athletic SF who can create more easy transition baskets. I know all the haters are going to come out with their typical "Steve this Steve that" replies, but that's what makes arguments fun right . Peace.
Did you see the crappy ass Press the suns put on us yesterday? As crappy as it was it still worked wonders.. I think this is the wrong timing for this thread becuase if we had a true point the press wouldnt have effected him much.
people who want a true PG on the ROX... see the need to get Francis help with running the offense people who want to trade SF3 to do it... are short-sighted ! Look at the Cavs for a good model (who ever thought we would say that) - LeBron has 10x the court vision as Steve, but they brought in a PG so he would not have to WORRY about running the offense - not to take the ball out of his hands. (btw - Jim Jackson has been doing an excellent job playing some Point Forward... what is it with the Small Forwards running the point these days)
Sam Cassell, Kenny Smith, Avery Johnson, Steve Kerr, John Paxson were all "true" point guards. They just aren't stars. Yes, Sam had a tendency to do a lot of shooting, but he played within the inside-out offense just fine. It's not that we need a "super assist man" at Point, but rather someone who could take care of the ball, and nail the open 3. That's about it. The game should flow inside-out, in which case we really shouldn't have anyone with tons of assists. No one on the Rockets' championship teams were close to the top in assists.
execpt for Ming - who should average on par with the Webbers and Garnett's of the world (i.e good assist numbers for a post player)
been asking the same question all year Everyone wants the super team u know Magic - PG Jordan - SG Bird - SF Barkley - PF Hakeem - C until they get that . . .they will never be satisfied Rocket River
how are those guys any more TRUE than Francis beyond turnovers - which I think will improve. . . Kenny and Cassel got championships one the one star team and in the other the second scorer was Drexler So basically you saying that the SECOND Guy on a team SHOULD NOT be the PG . . EVER? Rocket River
I agree Rivaldo, we don't need a true point guard. I would be perfectly happy trading Steve for Ray Allen or some forward help and just letting Jim Jackson or Mobley bring the ball up. It doesn't take a whole lot of point guard skill to dump the ball into Yao.
Why does this discussion about a pure point guard, not include running a good fastbreak, quickly setting up an offense with good, efficient passing, or cutting down on costly unforced errors? Isn't that what a 'pure' point guard good at? Steve is horrible at all these basic PG skills yet he's 'our man'. Yeah, you're right, Kenny was a shoot first PG that never gave the ball to Hakeem.
exactly. Hey Rivaldo, please tell me the number of pgs that couldn't do the above that helped lead their teams to a championship over the last ten years or so. Big fat zero. Hell, if we are going by recent trends in starting caliber pgs over the past few years, then that in itself is just a case for dealing SF to improve other areas of weakness since clearly less "significant" players can get the job done at pg.
Okay, so apparently, having Mobley with another Shooting Guard wouldn't make a difference. Or maybe you weren't trying to say Mobley is a better option.
The Lakers and Bulls ran the triangle, which, by definition, doesn't need a true PG. That rules out 9 of the last, what, 14 rings? Isaiah Thomas, Tony Parker, Avery Johnson, and Sam Cassell are all better PG's than Francis. Maybe we don't need a pure PG, but we need something better than Francis at the point for 40+ minutes.
I think a taller point forward in the likes of Odom is what the Rockets need. I'm not saying get Odom because I don't know if we really want another potential druggy on our team. I am however saying I agree with the point that we need someone who can control the ball better but it doesn't have to be the man playing the point guard position.
I'm not sure what you mean by "true point guard." There is nothing wrong with having a point guard who scores points -- and even a lot of points. But the Rockets need to have a point guard who can get Yao the ball in the low post. Sometimes, it seems that Steve can't even do that. And then the Rockets need a point guard who understands that you can move the ball by passing a whole lot more quickly than by dribbling the ball from one side of the court to the next. How many times this season have the Rockets had to shoot up last second prayers because Steve wasted 5-10 seconds dribbling around trying to make his move.
