Francis again tries to shift blame away from his own cruddy point guard play after loss at Golden State: "Our coach is intense and nobody really wants to do wrong and that's where you get a lot of mistake," Rockets guard Steve Francis said. Funny, I thought where you get a lot of mistakes is when you have a sucky point guard who doesn't know when to pass and how to direct an offense.
Well hopefully someone in the front office will realize that Francis isnt a point guard this offseason. And either bring in a point guard to play alongside him. Or trade him to get a natural PG. Francis doesnt suck as a player. He just doesnt have the natural mind set of a pg. Right now his team is struggling(especially down the strech of ball games) an as a point guard its your job to bring them thru the struggles. But he honestly doesnt know how too. He just doesnt have the instincts of a floor general. So he rather pass the blame instead of admmitting that he just cant do it imo. I guess if he admitts he cant run a team as a pg people will think he is less talented. But in reality being a floor general has nothing to do with talent. Avery Johnson was never consider to be one of the more talented pg's during his prime playing days. But he was aways considered to be one of the best Floor generals in basketball. He was like a conductor of a symphony. He new how to get everyone in the perfect positon to be effective. Steve Francis just doesnt have that. And probably never will.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Henacy:</div><div class="quote_post"> Avery Johnson was never consider to be one of the more talented pg's during his prime playing days. But he was aways considered to be one of the best Floor generals in basketball. He was like a conductor of a symphony. He new how to get everyone in the perfect positon to be effective. Steve Francis just doesnt have that. And probably never will.</div> Very good point, Henacy. I think the Rockets should seriously look towards acquiring Nick Van Exel in the offseason. He's a free agent, and he lives in the area. He has one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios amongst point guards, also (in contrast to Francis, who has one of the worst).
^ That's a great point...NVE would be great for Houston......but i'm not sure how Van Gundy is going to feel about NVE's three's in transition...nonetheless, he would be an upgrade at the point for houston...and i'm almost certain that NVE would take little money to play there....then maybe they could use francis to fill in a void at another position or perhaps move him to the 2.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting notMuchgame:</div><div class="quote_post">^ That's a great point...NVE would be great for Houston......but i'm not sure how Van Gundy is going to feel about NVE's three's in transition...nonetheless, he would be an upgrade at the point for houston...and i'm almost certain that NVE would take little money to play there....then maybe they could use francis to fill in a void at another position or perhaps move him to the 2.</div> Again I agree, he'd provide much more reliable offense in comparison to the other crazy shooters, DC, KVH and Walker. With the way that Francis hogs the ball even having the likes of Iverson and Carter outpass and outturnover him, he's gotta learn to take the blame. He is seen as the team's leader afterall, that ought to be Yao now. As much as Starbury loves holding the ball, he knows when he needs help and how to keep others involved. Francis never seems to have learned that, still trying to live out his college days.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting notMuchgame:</div><div class="quote_post">^ That's a great point...NVE would be great for Houston......but i'm not sure how Van Gundy is going to feel about NVE's three's in transition...nonetheless, he would be an upgrade at the point for houston...and i'm almost certain that NVE would take little money to play there....then maybe they could use francis to fill in a void at another position or perhaps move him to the 2.</div> Francis's stock has really gone down this year. I'm not sure we could get quality player(s) in return for him. The Rockets are overloaded at the 4 in my opinion (Cato, Taylor, and Spoon). It may not be a bad idea to trade Mobley and one of them and get a quality small forward in return. Who, I don't know. Then slide Francis over to the two.
What should we do? Francis's value has really dropped this season. He is no longer playing like an All-Star. His attitude has even made fans hate him. What should we do?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">What should we do? Francis's value has really dropped this season. He is no longer playing like an All-Star. His attitude has even made fans hate him. What should we do?</div> Francis is a proud man. It's difficult for a guy like that, who obviously has tremendous physical talent, to go through a season like this. I'm willing to give him another chance -- but not at point guard. I'd like to see him shifted to the two guard position. I'd like Van Gundy to free up the offense a bit (more running), and take more chances on defense (look for steals). I'd like to see a solid, veteran PG take the starting point guard spot. If those things happen next year, I think we can see some strong improvmenets. If it still doesn't work and Francis still struggles, then dump him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">Francis is a proud man. It's difficult for a guy like that, who obviously has tremendous physical talent, to go through a season like this. I'm willing to give him another chance -- but not at point guard. I'd like to see him shifted to the two guard position. I'd like Van Gundy to free up the offense a bit (more running), and take more chances on defense (look for steals). I'd like to see a solid, veteran PG take the starting point guard spot. If those things happen next year, I think we can see some strong improvmenets. If it still doesn't work and Francis still struggles, then dump him.</div> Pride, what a word. Sure, Francis may be suffering from pride issues, but how can you expect people to respect him when he puts the blame on others and basically just not play up to the standard that is required to garner respect from fans. Even a former Franchise die-hard like me has come to my senses. For the sake of the team and fans, the Rockets administration should trade Francis away. Trade him for a pick, I really don't care about him anymore, even though I like him as a dunker, but I'd rather pick Yao over him as our point guard.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post"> "Our coach is intense and nobody really wants to do wrong and that's where you get a lot of mistake," Rockets guard Steve Francis said.</div>What is he in high school? Afraid of the coach?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">Francis again tries to shift blame away from his own cruddy point guard play after loss at Golden State: "Our coach is intense and nobody really wants to do wrong and that's where you get a lot of mistake," Rockets guard Steve Francis said. Funny, I thought where you get a lot of mistakes is when you have a sucky point guard who doesn't know when to pass and how to direct an offense.</div> Where's the proof?!?! you firestarter!! People like you make the rockets in more turmoil~~!
stevie's a top notch player! i can't thank him enough for all that he's done for the houston team....i get hooked to the tv screen everytime i see him play...well most of the time newaz. everybody has a time in their life where life just seems exceptionally hard and everything's a mess. maybe because i'm a hardcore stevie fan i'm inclined to think that we should support him even more (though there are times when i feel like squeezing his neck sooo hard, especially this season), and not resort to the conclusion of TRADING him....who knows.....he might be able to re-set his mentality towards the game and get his drive back during off-season time. at least that's what i'm willing to gamble......personally i think he looks the best in the rockets uniform and i can't imagine him wearing any other jersey... my proposition would be to FIRE VAN GUNDY!!!! I HATE HIM FROM HIS STUPID HAIR + DROOPY EYES + EXASPERATED LOOKS TO HIS ANTAGONIZING PLAYS. THE ROCKETS ARE GOING TO DO SO MUCH BETTER WITHout THIS LIABLITY!!!!!
trip! your siggy is really trippin!!!! your siggy making skills have improved sooo much! but hey! don't give up on stevie.....u and i are the few remaining stevie fans
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Steve Francis is in the playoffs for the first time in his NBA career, but at what price? And at what price to the future of the Rockets? Francis is averaging career lows in scoring, shooting and three-pointers as Houston's new coach, the unyielding Jeff Van Gundy, pushes everything through Yao Ming. Is Yao good enough for that? And is it necessary to minimize Francis' game to force the offense through a player perhaps not quite capable of being that dominant center? That is the underlying issue facing the Rockets, who collapsed in the last month and staggered into the playoffs. Francis has been the good soldier and hasn't complained, but it is clear he's not the same player. Many believe Van Gundy's battle for control of the team is tied to limiting Francis. It could even lead to a trade, because Francis' talent is wasted as a setup guard. "Of course, our coach is very intense," Francis said. "Everybody [has been] pretty much on edge and anxious, playing not to make a mistake. [But] if I ever look at my season individually, that would be selfish because the years when I did do a lot of scoring and a lot of things individually I was looked at as a person who looks for numbers. Now that my points are down, and my team is in [playoff] position, I'm definitely happy with that."</div> Bulls not inclined to reach for stars I dunno, Francis is trying.
I do like the suggestion said earlier in this thread about bringing in Van Exel via free agency, but he has said many times that he won't be opting out at the end of this season. He has said that he can't throw away any more money than he has because he has basically already given up the final year on his contract, which would have paid him the most money. Maybe trade Mobley for him? Like I said I do like this idea of bringing in a veteran leader like him, but just because of the contract issues it's not very likely. Too bad, because they need a veteran leader who can hit clutch shots, which Nick is an expert at.
Everyone is talking about moving Francis to the 2 spot but does any realize that is what the Grizzlies tried to do when they drafted him? They already had Mike Bibby but they drafted Stevie to play the 2 with him. We all know what happens next. If the Rockets bring another starting point guard into Houston, you can kiss Steve Francis bye bye.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting CourtVision:</div><div class="quote_post">Everyone is talking about moving Francis to the 2 spot but does any realize that is what the Grizzlies tried to do when they drafted him? They already had Mike Bibby but they drafted Stevie to play the 2 with him. We all know what happens next. If the Rockets bring another starting point guard into Houston, you can kiss Steve Francis bye bye.</div> From what I've heard about the Steve Francis story with the Grizzlies is that he said he didn't want to play for a losing team. Was there more to this? because that's all I've ever really heard about.
Well they interviewed him and asked him why he didn't want to play there. His reason was because there was already a point guard there in Bibby. My question is this: What does he expect? To be drafted by a winning team with the 2nd pick?
I think Francis wants to play shooting guard. He is not a real point guard, and that is evident through his style of play. I think the reason for that is his mindset is still adjusted to the style that he used to possess in college when he played the 2, so it might not be so definite to say he wants to play point.
