Can Steve Francis Accept Reserve Role On Contending Houston Rockets?

November 07 07

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports on Steve Francis accepting his new role with the Rockets:

Rockets guard Steve Francis said he appreciated fans in Toyota Center on Saturday calling for him to get playing time, but that it would not and should not influence coach Rick Adelman’s
"It was unbelievable," Francis said. "The fans always embraced me, even when I wasn’t a member of the Houston Rockets. It meant a lot to me. The thing that is scary is what if I come in and miss my first two shots?
"I definitely love the support, but that should not make a difference to the coach’s decisions. I not going to say that it should, but do I want to play? Hell, yes."
"It’s not my decision," he said. "We’re 3-0 right now. Nothing is going to change. I’m just going to be patient and stay mentally strong. It’s hard."

My Quick Take: Fair or not, Francis has been tagged as selfish. Years ago, he pouted when drafted by the Vancouver Grizzlies. In Orlando, he complained when best friend Cat Mobley got traded to the L.A. Clippers. And New York was a disaster.

Give Francis credit. Five games into the season and he hasn’t seen the court. But the former Franchise has kept his mouth shut and handled his lack of minutes like a true professional.

Houston hasn’t given Francis much of a choice. The Rockets are 4-1. Last night, they beat the world champion San Antonio Spurs. And the team’s perimeter players are performing.

Right now, no minutes are available. However, Houston superstar Tracy McGrady is injury-prone and Francis could fill-in as a short-term, emergency replacement.

Will Francis, a former All-Star, accept his role as cheap insurance and wait for an opportunity to play? Time will tell.

Does Francis deserve minutes with Houston? Get at us in the comment box below with your thoughts.

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17 Comments: Can Steve Francis Accept Reserve Role On Contending Houston (...)

Posted by
ANONYMOUS
on 11.16.2007

LET FRANCIS PLAY LET FRANCIS PLAY...same crap different season. as much as i like for houston to get far in the nba, the fact of the matter is, its the same team as last year. if yao or mcgrady goes down, the team will suffer. FRANCIS had always had good numbers throughout his career and will pull through if SOMEONE gives him a chance. LET FRANCIS PLAY LET FRANCIS PLAY!!! .

Posted by
KSolo
on 11.15.2007

i have no clue why we don’t play Francis more, not to mention Novak and Landry. Our young guys are just chillin on the bench. U don’t think Kobe’s lookin at Steve Francis and saying, "wooow, this guy could’ve been on my team..." .

Posted by
mgl24
on 11.15.2007

come on now rafer had the lowest shooting%of anyone who averged over 20 minutes a game last year and this year hes shooting 28%from the flooor mike james is nice but he comes in the game jacking up jumpers luther head is a d league player give stevie 28-35 minutes a game and guarenteed its 17 5 and 5 u will never ever win a title with rafer alston at the point and by the way mike james was voted the biggest free agent bust last year by espn.com .

Posted by
yoyoyo
on 11.11.2007

Starting line up : Yao, T-Mac, Battier, Scola, JamesWith FRANCIS coming off the bench...that’s solid. Alston is trash. .

Posted by

on 11.10.2007

GO REDSKINS .

Posted by

on 11.10.2007

STEVE FRANCIS "SUCKS" .

Posted by

on 11.9.2007

Adelman is making a huge mistake not having Francis in the rotation.Why not get Francis acclimated to the offense by giving him Head’s minutes for now? When we really need him this season, he will need more time to adjust since he isn’t getting any PT. WE WANT STEVE! .

Posted by
thedivinemasteroftheunknown
on 11.9.2007

Move T-Mac to SF in place of Battier and put Francis at SG? Are you serious? You must know absolutely nothing about basketball. Did you watch the Spurs game? The Rockets won that game simply because of their stellar defense. You would sacrifice that just to make Steve happy? Francis may be talented but he lacks the ability to run a disciplined offense and is a bit of a defensive liability (at least in comparison to a Shane Battier). Forget loyalty, all debts will be repaid when he receives his championship ring. .

Posted by
Realistic
on 11.8.2007

No, as of now he should not get playing time. One can not expect to recieve PT when they come to camp out of shape. This will take Francis a while to get used to but oh well. Right now Alston is handling the new offense well and I love Mike James off the bench, he can create offense. Francis dribbles too much anyways. With T Mac and Yao on the team he will recieve playing time if he knows his role. And the PT he recieves should be limited. I want the Rockets to win, not to be involved in a soap opera over "loyalty". I mean, I allready have that with the Astros. .

Posted by
rupert
on 11.8.2007

He’s getting $30M from the Blazers NOT to play for them this season or next. The fact that he took less money to play for Houston entitles him to NOTHING. Don’t ever compare Steve to Houston’s greatest sports hero and suggest we reward him for his "loyalty". Francis saw an opportunity with great appeal: a very competitive team with a good shot at a championship playing in the city in which he resides - can Miami or LA offer those? He could ride the pine a la Pete Chillcut and Scotty Brooks and still get that ring he’s after. None of this has anything to do with loyalty - and why would he have loyalty to a franchise that shipped him off much to his dismay? He likes the city, the situation, and he’s financial capable of paying Shawn Kemp’s child support until the end of time. HE IS NOT OWED ANYTHING.Houston is not taking Battier off the 3 and sacrificing his defense. He covers the opposing team’s best player - and he does it very well. Stupid idea.Rafer does a good job setting up the offense and running it in transition. He has a good assist/turnover ratio and he’s decreased the number of times he does that annoying thing when he shoots the ball. There are other options now. Point guards don’t need to score to be effective. And not scoring a lot against San Antonio’s defense isn’t shocking. He was busy getting the ball to Yao who dominated. That’s Rafer’s job and he does it without screwing up.Steve has always been a turnover machine. And not so good at creating shots for others. How does someone so "passionate" show up to camp out of shape. That statement is rediculous. And after T-Mac, Yao is the most talented. There are some moron fans in Houston that would rather see a team with Steve playing, than a team with the best shot of winning. And no, they are not the same teams. I investigated the truth personally: the Rockets bra-------realized they had a better team without him, but at the time he was too cheap that they couldn’t pa-------on him. Even though they wish they had. .

Posted by
Dr.pooh1
on 11.7.2007

Mobley was traded to Sacramento for Doug Christie not the clippers. He signed with the clippers the following summer. .

Posted by

on 11.7.2007

I believe he should be in the rotation and get some minutes. I know for sure that there’s a little something left in his tank. But like he says, it up to the coach and the coaching staff. .

Posted by

on 11.7.2007

I definently think that he should i would put mcgrady back to small forward andput francis and sg. battier is good but not as good as francis. the rockets are doing good and with steve francis in the court they would be better. .

Posted by

on 11.7.2007

Got love for Francis .

Posted by
BBP
on 11.7.2007

Let’s look at some of the circumstances - - - Francis passed up MORE MONEY and playing with Mobley and Cassell to come home to Houston. He made a real sacrifice and gesture to the team and the city. How many professional athlete’s in any sport (except Biggio) show that kind of character and true desire to work for the home team rather than chase the highest bidder (Beltran, Clemens, etc.)? Not many at all. Loyalty is a thing of the past. How can the Rockets claim he didn’t perform as well as Alston when he saw very few minutes in the preseason and none thereafter? Francis hasn’t been given any kind of chance and I think the conditioning issue is an excuse. Alston had 2 points against the Spurs last night - has he really earned the starting spot over a two time all-star ???? I believe - and it’s interesting to look at the press conference after signing him - that Francis was led to believe he would almost certainly be the starter. With professional years numbered, he’s been handcuffed to a bench when he could be making more money AND playing with his buddies elsewhere! There’s more to the story - and the media and fans should remember the facts, show support for loyalty, and actually investigate the truth. .

Posted by
Uses The Shift Key
on 11.7.2007

DSR, I’ve been reading this blog for a while now and have noticed that you seem to have forgotten the Caps Lock button exists on your key board. There’s nothing like reading a comment where you feel like you’re being screamed at through type. You have valid points from time to time though. .

Posted by
DSR
on 11.7.2007

FRANCIS DOES DESERVE MINUTES...HE CAME INTO CAMP OUT OF SHAPE BUT I DONT THINK HE SHOULD RIDE THE PINE...GIVE HIM THE 8-12 MINUTES LUTHER HEAD IS PLAYING TO GIVE HIM SOME B-BALL CONDITIONING BECAUSE BEHIND T-MAC HE IS THE MOST "TALENTED" PLAYER ON THE TEAM AND WILL BE KEY IN THEIR SUCCESS..IF HE ISNT, HOUSTON WILL BE "ONE-AND-DONE" AGAIN BEACUASE NO ONE ON THAT TEAM PLAYS WITH MORE PASSION AND HEART( MAYBE SCOLA)...TAKE THE GOOD AND THE BAD WHEN IT COMES TO FRANCIS BUT THE +’s DO OUTWAY THE -’s IF I SAY SO MYSELF .

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Can Steve Francis Accept Reserve Role On Contending Houston Rockets?

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