Steve Francis Returns to the Rockets

[kevC]

Who the hell are JL3 and TE??

John Lucas III and a trade exception.

[BZ]

T-Mac's Reaction to the Francis signing

T-Mac looks legitimately surprised here.

[shayan]

I would start Francis over James and Alston because Francis has more experience and now being back with the rockets he will be happy and want to win.

[1CenT]

Hmm i say start Rafer Alston..
He is a pass first PG.. seriously.. i've watched enough.. he pushes the pace alright.. he isn't a terrible defender. ..
Mike James will be their 6th man/shooter.. and help bring the ball up.. Stevie shares time with Rafer.. and plays SG occasionally when Tracy is out

Rafer / Francais / James
Mcgrady / James / Francais / Head
Battier / Wells / Mcgrady
Scola / Hayes
Yao / Butler/ Mutombo

So the guards they have
Rafer, Francais, James, Head and Tmac
SF - They have Battier, Wells, Tmac
PF/C they have Yao, Butler, Scola, Hayes, Mutombo


Stacked.. but common.. Francais over dribbles.. he is great when he has to create and slashes to the basket or plays uptempo...

James is a ball hog.. but he can really shoot.. But can he really make as good as percentage as Yao's postup?

The team is great.. the chemistry.. is going to be hard...

However.. Rick Adelman is the key here.. if the offence is so fluid that Francais can score like 9-12 points in like 20 mins a game.. and James doing about the same.. They will be happy..

They can't get rid of Scola/Hayes.. Bangers like that are really the key cuz Yao isn't a great rebounder..

Houston can be the champs.. only if Yao goes nuts and Tmac plays more aggressive like younger days..

I think the supporting cast is fine.. it really depends on the big 2...

Teams like Suns are more talented... but Houston's got Tmac and Yao..
Suns is good cuz Nash is clutch, and Amare is a beast...

Overall, i like the pickup...

But thinking bout
Mike James, Steve Francais, Rafer Alston, Bonzi Wells on the same team.. scares me..

[Lamrock]

Jesus Christ, 1cent... Steve Francis is not spelled like the language.

I fully expect a trade now. They have 4 adequate shoot-first PG's now. They really should trade 2 or 3 of them for a pass-first and a PF. Francis + Alston for Luke Ridnour + Nick Collison?

[-Young Buck-]

Jesus Christ, 1cent... Steve Francis is not spelled like the language.

I fully expect a trade now. They have 4 adequate shoot-first PG's now. They really should trade 2 or 3 of them for a pass-first and a PF. Francis + Alston for Luke Ridnour + Nick Collison?

i doubt they will trade francis right after he signed to play with them.

[Lamrock]

Yeah, your probably right. I just tried to think up some feasible trade scenario. :

I just wish the Sixers still had Joe Smith.

[Nel]

The new GM Daryl Morey really works quick. He addressed the holes on this team as early as july. Its exciting especially they have a new coach. I don't expect them having any chemistry problems on the court regarding "there isn't enough ball to go around" as we all know yao and mcgrady are willing passers. It relieves so much pressure on these two to score especially mcgrady. If anything with this roster, they have an insurance in case one of the big two goes down. I just hope the tmac jinx is over as howard is already gone..

[Sacke12]

I don't really know what to think of the addition of Francis. It can turn out great, or it could go the other way. It will be interesting to watch, though.

[Burner]

I don´t know.. how mike james will react to that francis trade-- in my mind he is more of a selfish scorer.. and i don´t know.. if another guard.. will help getting a good chemistry.

Please help me out with the PF Position.. Are Scola and Hayes really reliable PFs.. or do the rockets need one big guy more who will rebound..?

[NovU]

last year in playoffs, every single play went thru t-mac and in result offence seemed too monotonous. this year, adding playmakers like james & francis is a real cool thing for rocket fans. now the offence will be more dynamic and hard to predict for other team. and i wouldn't mind rafer gone since he was way too inconsistent last year. he wasn't even a good passer either. he looked like a pass first minded pg cuz he suxed majorly in scoring and had no choice but to pass. on the other hand, jame is a good passer. he does penetrate & kick out really smoothly. but most of time he ends up taking lay ups cuz he's such a good scorer. in minnesota, it wasn't his fault he couldn't put up more numbers in stats. i thought it was more of ricky davis(real selfish player)'s fault in declined role for james. ricky always has to put the ball on the floor first and that is a job for pg. no wonder cavs got rid of him for bron's good. wherever ricky davis go, he'll be one good team chemistry killer. as for francis, his numbers declined due to sharing same space with marbury & crawford. in result, he sorta backed out from the challenge and turned into a francheese from franchise. i am sure this is a chance to redeem himself although his prime days sure r behind him. so he has more than enuf reasons to be motivated & ready this upcoming season. dont u agree this will be another super exciting season for rockets, i just can't wait.

one small wish though...
if ricky martin or william hung is available in FA pool, rockets should pick em up...
they could use more fine bangers...

[maceo24]

Steve Francis has been death to every team he has played on since coming into the league. I believe he still thinks himself to be head honcho and this will clash horribly with the selfless style exhinited by the other role players on that team. He needs to be a third option, at best. Same with James, hes a gunner with no conscience. Proven in minnesota, proven again in toronto, hes about his numbers. Now if thats what you call hella excitement, then fine, invite them over to your house to watch the finals, cause they wont be there themselves...

[Air Zoom Kobe I]

When is the press conference????

[benji]

Not even close. Countless teams are better than them. With this lineup, and them not being selfish and being injury free, i'd say the best they can possibily do is conference finals.

Countless? Really? You cannot count the number of teams that are better on paper than the Rockets? (Although your best case scenario has only one team being superior...)

Too bad Yao, McGrady and the Rockets are losers. (How many rings do they have? Zero. Therefore they are proven LOSERS.) No matter how many points more than their opponents they will score, they will not be winners. Especially after signing the ultimate loser to be their coach. Hope they make that Yao and Alston for Dalembert deal an "NBA expert" recommended.

[maceo24]

Not even close. Countless teams are better than them. With this lineup, and them not being selfish and being injury free, i'd say the best they can possibily do is conference finals.

Countless? Really? You cannot count the number of teams that are better on paper than the Rockets? (Although your best case scenario has only one team being superior...)

Being a paper champion never got anyone anywhere did it? Just ask the Knicks... They'll be an awesome Live team, OMFG FSS SUPASTAR!!1!1!

Remember when the colts had so many wideouts? OMG theyre the greatest theyll crush everyone! Until they ran into the brick wall that was the Patriots during the playoffs. So much flash they blinded themselves. Same applies here, you'll see.

[benji]

I never remember the Knicks ever being the best on paper...

[maceo24]

Im talking about talent wise. Looking at their roster, Crawford, Richardson, Marbury, Jalen Rose... they stockpiled these supposedly OOH-AHH names and look where it got them. Thats what I was implying, not necessarily that they were the best, BY ANY means. And just so you know where I'm coming from, I'm a Knicks fan. I see the same kinda thing happening in Houston. And funny, Francis was here too....

[Anthony15]

When is the press conference????

Thats when those annoying journalists ask you questions that nobody really cares about, but they have to put it in their paper

[NovU]

Steve Francis has been death to every team he has played on since coming into the league. I believe he still thinks himself to be head honcho and this will clash horribly with the selfless style exhinited by the other role players on that team. He needs to be a third option, at best. Same with James, hes a gunner with no conscience. Proven in minnesota, proven again in toronto, hes about his numbers. Now if thats what you call hella excitement, then fine, invite them over to your house to watch the finals, cause they wont be there themselves...

francis was more than ok PG with houston in the old days. in orlando, he was good stat wise. he just suxed in ny cuz of crawford & marbury. but then almost any pg would suck with those 2 on the floor at the same time. sure his prime days seems to be gone with injuries and age. but then now at least he's not overrated or overpaid which makes him rather underrated now. most importantly, he is still above average PG who will be a starter on almost all teams in nba. if u don't call addition of such high profiler isn't an excitement, i don't know what is...

Too bad Yao, McGrady and the Rockets are losers. (How many rings do they have? Zero. Therefore they are proven LOSERS.) No matter how many points more than their opponents they will score, they will not be winners. Especially after signing the ultimate loser to be their coach. Hope they make that Yao and Alston for Dalembert deal an "NBA expert" recommended.

let me get this. anyone without rings r losers.

[benji]

Im talking about talent wise. Looking at their roster, Crawford, Richardson, Marbury, Jalen Rose... they stockpiled these supposedly OOH-AHH names and look where it got them. Thats what I was implying, not necessarily that they were the best, BY ANY means. And just so you know where I'm coming from, I'm a Knicks fan. I see the same kinda thing happening in Houston. And funny, Francis was here too....

Yeah, but those guys were just "names" not guys who were actually stars (aside from Marbury) especially Jalen Rose. And some people who aren't looking at just "names" realized it and weren't caught in the hype.

The Knicks have been stocked with "names" for years (Spree! Houston! Larry Johnson!...Curry! Marbury! Nate Robinson!) but they've never really had great players. It's not just the depth of the roster, the Rockets have two guys who are better than anything the Knicks have had since the 70s.

The Rockets have the best center in the league, and one of the top players at another position. Last time that happened, the Lakers won three titles in a row. The Rockets also have superior depth to those Lakers teams. The difference however, is that the league today has three legitimately great teams other than the Rockets. They aren't facing the world's greatest fantasy league team and a powerhouse rebuilding on the fly. (The Lakers only faced four teams in the Western playoffs over their three titles. The Blazers, Spurs, Kings and Suns. They never ran into the fading Jazz and rising Mavericks, and only once were the Kings the superior team, 2002.)

[maceo24]

zan - not saying he is a BAD player, i said he has been bad FOR teams.not one team he played for got better while he was there. even with the addition of new talent. I always saw him as a 2 in a point guards body. Sans Gilbert Arenas, but without the jumpshot. Hes a bit too selfish with the ball to be productive with houston at least in the way they need him to be. But hes also too dependant on having the ball in his hands to be useful without it. That left him out of the loop in NY, since he cant shoot consistently enough to run a play for him, and there were already to 2 guards there that better fit the system.

[Sauru]

Im talking about talent wise. Looking at their roster, Crawford, Richardson, Marbury, Jalen Rose... they stockpiled these supposedly OOH-AHH names and look where it got them. Thats what I was implying, not necessarily that they were the best, BY ANY means. And just so you know where I'm coming from, I'm a Knicks fan. I see the same kinda thing happening in Houston. And funny, Francis was here too....

Yeah, but those guys were just "names" not guys who were actually stars (aside from Marbury) especially Jalen Rose. And some people who aren't looking at just "names" realized it and weren't caught in the hype.

The Knicks have been stocked with "names" for years (Spree! Houston! Larry Johnson!...Curry! Marbury! Nate Robinson!) but they've never really had great players. It's not just the depth of the roster, the Rockets have two guys who are better than anything the Knicks have had since the 70s.

The Rockets have the best center in the league, and one of the top players at another position. Last time that happened, the Lakers won three titles in a row. The Rockets also have superior depth to those Lakers teams. The difference however, is that the league today has three legitimately great teams other than the Rockets. They aren't facing the world's greatest fantasy league team and a powerhouse rebuilding on the fly. (The Lakers only faced four teams in the Western playoffs over their three titles. The Blazers, Spurs, Kings and Suns. They never ran into the fading Jazz and rising Mavericks, and only once were the Kings the superior team, 2002.)

i just wanna give a big thumbs up to this entire post

[maes]

His primary motivation was that he already has a house in Houston...sounds like a guy ready to bust his ass working out for a playoff run.

When the guy's main reason for playing for a team is that it's closest to home, that indicates someone wanting a paid retirement.

Houston should be a great, top tier team next year but i don't think Francis will have much to do with it.

[maceo24]

im not questioning the greatnees of yao or mcgrady. I'm questioning the bringing in of 2 PG that in my opinion will do them more harm than good. Think about that lakers team, and there point guard, Derek Fisher. An unselfish, unassuming, pass first point guard who made shots only when asked, and played lockdown D. not flashy, not flamboyant, just efficient and stable. None of these attributes can be attributed to James or Francis.

I know I'm making it sound cookie cutter, but just think of all the teams that are winning titles, and think of the point guard that played for them. The spurs are a bit of an anomaly with parker, but with the over-dominance of timmy, and Popovich keeping that team on a firm leash, it works for them. James could do that for them, but his selfishness is document both in his interviews and his game footage. I dont see him getting rid of that. as far as Francis, he is a player that needs the ball to be effective. McGrady and Ming are options 1 and 2, so stevie wont be able to do the things that he does best. I just dont see either one of them as a solution to the rockets problem. I actually think rafer is better suited to the task, he can shoot and he isnt as selfish as james is.

[benji]

im not questioning the greatnees of yao or mcgrady. I'm questioning the bringing in of 2 PG that in my opinion will do them more harm than good. Think about that lakers team, and there point guard, Derek Fisher. An unselfish, unassuming, pass first point guard who made shots only when asked, and played lockdown D. not flashy, not flamboyant, just efficient and stable. None of these attributes can be attributed to James or Francis.

Mike James, when on teams where he can't run wild (Rockets and Pistons runs), was a lockdown defender, who fit himself into the team...so...and Fisher only started in 2001-02, it was Ron Harper before that.

I know I'm making it sound cookie cutter, but just think of all the teams that are winning titles, and think of the point guard that played for them. The spurs are a bit of an anomaly with parker, but with the over-dominance of timmy, and Popovich keeping that team on a firm leash, it works for them.

I posted something on this a few years ago..."pass-first" point guards just haven't been winning titles like people assume.

Assist Ratios (% of the players possessions they got an assist on...not perfect for passing, but I don't want to waste my time adding in all the bad passes...and it works too, Nash, Knight and company up top in the league, etc.)...the three Rockets contenders I'm using last year and including career numbers.
Mike James: 24.6 (career: 24.3)
Rafer Alston: 25.9 (career: 29.4)
Steve Francis: 24.1 (career: 22.7)
2007: Tony Parker, 22.6
2006: Jason Williams, 27.7
2005: Tony Parker, 25.0
2004: Chauncey Billups, 24.3
2003: Tony Parker, 24.0
2002: Derek Fisher, 18.9
2001: Derek Fisher, 26.3/Ron Harper, 24.2
2000: Ron Harper, 27.1
1999: Avery Johnson, 37.6
1998: Ron Harper, 22.1/Michael Jordan, 10.6
1997: Ron Harper, 28.0/Michael Jordan, 13.2
1996: Ron Harper, 24.7/Michael Jordan, 13.1
1995: Kenny Smith, 29.3
1994: Kenny Smith, 26.5
1993: B.J. Armstrong, 25.4
1992: John Paxson, 30.6
1991: John Paxson, 30.9
1990: Isiah Thomas, 29.7
1989: Isiah Thomas, 28.3
1988: Magic Johnson, 36.7

Avery Johnson in 1999 had 1.35 shots for each assist, Magic Johnson in 1988 had 1.41 shots for each assist.

Top assist ratio last season and shots per assist:
Eric Snow, 40.5 and 1.13
Sergio Rodriguez, 40.0 and 1.15
Steve Nash, 39.3 and 1.22
Steve Blake, 38.0 (39.3 in Denver) and 1.32 (1.23)
Jason Kidd, 37.6 and 1.37

Those guys are pass-first point guards...Chris Paul and Deron Williams, young point guards who score 20 points rather often, have had assist ratios of 32-34. Look at how many title point guards over the last twenty years have surpassed 30. Three, and I don't really consider John Paxson to count, considering how much Pippen and Jordan did standard "point guard" duties.

I've considered a "pass-first" point guard to assist on at least a third of his possessions, only Magic and Avery did that in the last twenty years.