Steve Francis Struggling In Return To Houston RocketsOctober 28 07 The Houston Chronicle reports on Francis’ declining role with Houston:
Francis, 30, said that when he chose to return to the Rockets, where he began his career and made three consecutive All-Star teams, he knew he would be unlikely to play as much as he had early in his career."But not to be in the rotation, to me I don’t think that’s what I’m looking for," he said. "If that’s the case, I’d have to do something." Francis said he did not know what that something would be and had no plans to ask Adelman about where he fits in. "I turned a lot of money down other places," he said. "But hopefully it will work out." My Quick Take: Steve Francis is proving you can’t always head home. This summer, the two-guard picked returning to Houston over signing with other clubs because he wanted to help his hometown Rockets take off in the west.
It’s just training camp, but so far he has been a bust. Francis won’t start and, if the season opened today, he would be out of the playing rotation. What is the problem? Francis needs the rock to be successful; his points typically come off the dribble. But Houston already has superstar wing Tracy McGrady, who also needs the ball. Of course, Yao Ming has to get touches down-low, too.
Francis can’t start because his game directly clashes with McGrady. As a career starter, he’s never had to get points off the bench-but Bonzi Wells and Mike James have. Wells split starts in Portland and Memphis, while James has fought for minutes his entire career. Right now, both are more comfortable as reserves than Francis. However, Houston shouldn’t shut the door on the former All-Star. McGrady is injury-prone, so Francis could potentially fill-in as an emergency replacement. But can The Franchise’s ego accept being nothing more than cheap insurance? Will Steve Francis work-out in Houston? Get at us in the comment box below with your thoughts.
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Posted by
Angel
on 11.14.2009 | Please put Francis back in the Lineup. He is a Strong player and he know the game better than most. He can also be clutch! No one can take it to to the hole like Steve. Vadelman wake up and smell the beans! Put a man in the game! . | Posted by
DONT
on 12.7.2008 | Now Rockets get Artest also.. so now PG Francis SG TMac SF Artest PF Scola C Yao Ming ...what a wonderful team... i’m sure this can make ROCKETS win the champion of this season... Sure win the team that lead by KOBE, LEBRON, GARNETT, Ray ALLEN and PIERCE....Y dun the coach think it carefully...STEVE FRANCIS is a super PG...He’ll stand out whenever the team need him.. PLS LET HIM JOIN BACK, after he join back, Rafer, Head, Brooks, Battier, Landry, Wafer, Hayes be the bench player... This is the strongest bench playyer... Think properly ok ??? RICK ALDERMAN . | Posted by
Robert
on 10.29.2008 | What are the rockets doing they get Francis back to bench him that’s crazy rafer isn’t a true starting point guard he’s better as a back up we need the franchise back on the floor don’t worry Stevie I haven’t given up on you ! . | Posted by
Lil Z
on 11.17.2007 | Starting Lineup: PG - Steve Francis SG - Tracy McGrady SF - Shane Battier PF - Bonzi Wells C - Yao Ming! Have Rafer, Luther, or Mike James come off the bench for either Steve or Tracy. Just play different rotations when one superstar is on the bench put two in the game and then sit one back on the bench and bring the other back in the game. Start and end the game with all superstars in the game for about a nice 8-10 minutes in the beginning and 8-10 minutes at the end (or until foul trouble of course). And put in and out the superstars. If anything, Mike James, Luther Head and Rafer Alston will not be a bad bench. I just think coaching staffs in Houston get stupider day by day. . | Posted by
bjkain
on 11.14.2007 | Oh yeah Please for the love of God play Francis, how much worse could the PG rotation be, Skip is a good dribbler thats it, James is just a spot shooter. Neither can finish in the paint.Please play francis he took a midlevel exception to play here and I doubt if that was to ride the pine watching very avr PG play infront of him missing all type of shots. Sure if he doesnt work out, damn at least we tried. . | Posted by
bjkain
on 11.14.2007 | Shane for g--at the time really looked like a good deal, we needed a shutdown defender more than a rookie scorer. Now in hindsite yeah it looks bad, but still Shane is the Bowen, Prince, type this team needed. . | Posted by
McGrady JR.
on 11.14.2007 | I’M A TRACY MCGRADY #1 FAN LOOK AT MY EMAIL MGRADYJR@HOTMAIL.COM(START FRANCIS PLEASE) . | Posted by
McGrady JR.
on 11.14.2007 | WHY CAN’T HE START AIN’T NO REASON Y HIM N MCGRADY CANT PLAY @THE SAME TIME LOOK AT BOSTON 3 SUPERSTARS Y CAN’T HOUSTON HAVE 3 SUPERSTAR STARTERS NTTN RONG WITH THAT START FRANCIS DNT PLAY HIM.. START HIMI SAY HANG THAT COACH OR CHANGE IT . | Posted by
McGrady JR.
on 11.14.2007 | THIS SHOULD BE THE STARING 5@POINT-STEVE FRANCIS@SHOOTING GUARDT-MAC(#1)@SMALL FORWARD-SHANE BATTIERPF????/CENTER YAO . | Posted by
MG
on 11.14.2007 | Alston sucks. I don’t know what Adelman is thinking playing Alston over Francis. Adelaman needs to have a James-Francis rotation instead of alston. They could start Mike james and when Mcgrady takes a breather put Francis in so he and Bonzi can put some points on the board. Mcgrady and Yao are going to do there thing but they need more bench and a third superstar production. Lets face it, Battier can’t hit a three if his life depended on it. Gay-Battier trade was ridiculous. Mcgrady and g--side by side would of been insane. Adelman please sit Alston and play Francis. . | Posted by
david fletcher
on 11.12.2007 | francis is still a top 5 pointguard with good condition play him . | Posted by
david fletcher
on 11.12.2007 | I like the new coaching staff of the houston rockets but one problem how do you have an dynamic player like francis on the bench if you can francis 30 minutes he can easily get 20pts,5rbs,5ass. excellent pointgaurd numbers i think the rockets coaching staff need to have a nice long meeting about who they are benching rafer alston is a good pointgaurd to but he is a 2nd stream nba pointguard we need to trade mike james our system does not fit him because of his style of play all he does is look to shoot and he does not complement tmac enough francis is not looking to ballhog he looking to make the pa-------because he knows hes getting old and all he wants to do is get a ring please rockets from your number one fan in the world trust me give it chance and see how good it turn out and get battier in the post more p.s. david fletcher houston texas give it a shot . | Posted by
Big T
on 11.5.2007 | Steve Francis is still good enough to compliment T-Mac and Yao. To have him on the floor with Bonzi Wells when the two big stars are sitting. Wake up Alderman. Use your resources. . | Posted by
Bubba
on 11.4.2007 | Steve Francis is done. He has nothing and never had what winning basketball needs. Fundamentals and smarts/IQ. Sure he has a LITTLE talent left, but he still seems to be fighting those dribbling demons from when he first got drafted by Houston. It was exciting when He first came into the league,,,that was when And1 really got popular. But that crap doesnt win games. He is still that type of player without the athleticism to bail him out. Who cares if he is better than Rafter. i dont like Rafter either, but he fits the TEAM better than Francis...and Francis is NOT better than Mike James. Francis is NOT the player he used to be...and I wouldnt even want that player now. he has gotten traded and told to go away (with a payment of 30 mil) for a reason. I hope that Houston releases him soon and that he signs with Dallas because that would help Houston out and make Dallas worse. . | Posted by
on 11.1.2007 | All this stuff about Francis having lost his athleticism is crazy. A clear indication he still has it is this preseason in the few minutes he was able to play ball, he showed how he can still jump out of the gym by impressively dunking over somebody on an offensive rebound. Also, he showed that he can still put 15 pts, 5 bds, and 5 asts per game as he did the one preseason game he played extended mins. Why they don’t play him is beyond me or anybody with basketball sense. I’m disgusted with the Rockets for trying to pull a fast one on the fans, because we know there’s something they are not telling us that is the true reason he’s not playing. PLAY STEVE FRANCIS or we are going to go down the same road as last year and lose 1st rd of the playoffs, again, not to mention lose many loyal fans like myself also!!!! . | Posted by
jony
on 10.31.2007 | i like weed . | Posted by
on 10.31.2007 | wow, why the hell is rafer alson even playing. this disgust me. if the freaking rockets arent going to play francis, then they’re gonna suck this year. stupid stupid stupid. . | Posted by
on 10.31.2007 | Benching him the first game isn’t so bad. He’ll get a chance to prove himself again, hopefully in the Rockets first game at home. If he plays well he’ll take minutes away from Luther Head. Aaron Brooks may have to sit out his 1st season in the NBA. But I hope Francis will be able to contribute, he’ll get his chance. . | Posted by
Emiluv
on 10.29.2007 | The Coach need to rethink his strategies. What is he doing not using Francis as the main man. He is a whole lot better than all the point guards the rockets have combined. What is wrong with the rockets management. You played San Antonio with the points you have without Steve and lost shamelessly. Sorry for the team this year. You are going down again in the wrong direction. . | Posted by
RoxFan1
on 10.29.2007 | How quickly we forget! Last year the Rockets offense was non-existent in the playoffs. Game 7 was a joke. When T-Mac & Yao couldn’t find their shot, NOBODY stepped up their game. No offense from anyone else even this year’s preseason "sensation" Rafer Alston...nothing.So now we have a valuable piece to the puzzle that will get us over the hump but Adelman decides to pull a VanGundy (Bonzi) and keeps Francis out of the rotation. Francis SHOULD be insulted, because he was disrespected. Adelman needs to find a way to make it work. . |
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