Wright: They play better when he's (Francis) not out there

Moochie was really the general on the floor Sat night. But there's not way so say 'W looked better without Steve'. Memphis's D was horrible and i sure Steve would score 35+ if he played and led us a win in a different way.

However let's look at the thing Steve does better than Moochie, more generally, those no-star PGs in NBA: Scoring, Rebounding and ..., no, that's it. we got realize he's a natural SG...

When Steve drives to the lane, he tries waaaayyyy toooooo hard to get into the air first, because he knows his strength and leap would usually beat his opponents. That is true. But how many premium PGs do that? Magic, Stockton, Payton and Kidd's feet never leave the ground. Kevin Johnson was a slasher as good as Steve but he used his speed instead of strength. (yeah I'm saying Steve is not a fast 6'3"). Marberry plays like Steve, but that's why he's not as good as Steve. If you get into the air, it's really hard to make good passes, especially when you lack the excellent court vision. The young Jordan had made some unbelieve hang-in-the-air passes but those ones were in fact really bad passes in a Human's point to view. Steve is no Jordan, not a SG right now and he doesn't have to do the Jordan passes.

Stay in the ground, stay with your teamates, be like Moochie.

 

Rudy needs to tell Steve that he should never score without another teammate touching the ball. It is kind of sad that we have come to 6th grade rules, but despite what the Grizz may or may not have done on defense we were movingthe ball out there. I think they should seriously consider moving Francis in the offseason for a power forward (maybe Duncan or Brand+ in a sign and trade). Too many people suggest moving Steve to the two and bringing in a PG. The problem is that Steve would still dominate the ball on offense and nothing would change. You are just replacing Mobley with someone who probably can't shoot as well or defend as well so he can magically create ball movement when he is never going to see the ball. This game is about five people playing together. It is no surprise that we have an excellent record when Francis shoots less than 13 times. That should be his job. If Francis does not want to learn how to be a pass first PG, he needs to be traded to another team.

 

Heck he should not only look at Moochie but also Maddox who was very aggressive. It reminds me of the NFL Eagles where McNabb gets the big contract and is unable to move the team like his lesser priced backups. I have not checked how many possessions Maddox was in for but a high percentage of those he was very aggressive. By aggressive I mean using the pass to get the ball up court putting serious pressure on the defense. Too bad he does not seem to have a jumper but his movement of the ball and reading the defenses were spectacular. In fact they tried to trap him and he calmly provided Cato with one of his more power dunks. I love the 3 assists and no turnovers in an aggressive mood.

With the ball handlers and shooter we have there is no reason to constantly dribble the ball up. I am sorry but that is a major adjustment that Steve needs to make. Instead of hopping and doing the useless fancy dribbling, let's get the ball up. In addition to using the pass he should do a much better job using his speed to bring the ball up.

 

L. Wright is a player that should never get quoted......... Ever.

 

I think it's definitely worth considering, especially if a guy like Brand can be acquired. I was surprised when Detroit moved Stackhouse for to improve the overrall team, and look how great it has worked.

 

One thing for sure with Maddox is is that you're never in danger of rushing due to the 24 sec. clock running down. He gets the play started IMMEDIATELY. He doesn't waste any time with uneccessary dribbling or walking slowly up the court. In fact, I don't think he walked the ball up once last game.

He's also good at seeing what the defense gives him. If defense slips up just the slightest bit or doesn't play transitional D, he'll take advantage almost every time.

Once he works on that jumper, he'll be an absolutely perfect compliment for Steve and Cat in the backcourt. His weakness (scoring) are their strength and his strengths (playmaking,defense) are their weaknesses.

 

While Francis isn't going anywhere without a doubt he could learn something about how to better run the team while observing Mooch's last game. Mooch is only 1/10th the player Franchise is, but that doesn't mean Francis can't learn from him.

Maybe resting Franchise's back and letting him see how things can be run is the best thing for him and the team.

IMO I believe the prospects of Francis continuing to learn how to play the point better when there are other good players in the line-up is far better than hoping that a moving him to the 2 will solve most of our problems.