Chron: Franchise Lets Teammates Down

Dear Les,

Please give us Rockets fans the best opportunity to watch some Rockets playoffs games THIS year. I realize there is so much competition for top billing in the Houston sports landscape lately, but you of all people realize how the Houston sports scene will rally behind players with the true "heart of a champion" like Rudy T said so brilliantly. The Rockets pretty much brought the Houston sports scene back to life in 1994 & 1995 and the city was overflowing with excitement in our beloved Rockets. I have no clue what business decisions can be made mid-season to help us take the right path of this fork in the road, but I trust you will live up to the "BE BIG" marketing campaign that the Rockets are currently using.

Thank you very much Sir, good day!

Ron
Ticket Holder (Section 101)

 

oops, I was gonna crack a joke about Stevie Franchise this username but then decided to just write a letter. sue me buddies!

 

HOLY ****!
I didn't think many posters on this forum listened to that show.
I loved that show, more so than anything except Rome.
He said a lot of things that people called in on to argue, but a lot of his comments were correct.....Tmac>Carter, Odom is a chump, Stevie and Mobley won't get you anywhere...etc.

Whatever happened to him?
Much better than whatever the hell they're playing now.

 

This situation simply shows that Steve still needs to mature. I predict, based on how I felt in a similar situation when I was younger, that he will face his teammates ashamed (inside) and wanting to excel for them and his coach in the future. Yes, I really think it could be a BIG step forward in Steve's developement as a player and in his relationship with his coach. I believe he has already realized Jeff knows basketball and bought into that; but he still has not bought into the disipline required. When you have been used to getting your way (with his former coach maybe?), you begin to feel you can do anything you want; but once you do it and you look into your teammates and Coaches eyes you KNOW WHAT YOU DID IS WRONG! All of us in his situation would WANT to stay for the game and would try to think of ANY way to do so; and would finally CONVINCE ourselves that we really could do it and it really is not that big a deal. This will be a fork in the road alright -one for the better - a better STeve and a closer team. Watch and see if I am not right!

 

mr. chan,
i think its sweet to read such an optimistic and positive post. you should be commended for taking such a position in these turbulent times. however: YOU ARE DEAD WRONG. sorry charlie

 

I think there have been plenty of excuses made for Steve doing his own thing because other guys like MJ have done such things. However, guys like MJ have far superior talent. When you can kick ass playing with the flu, it gives you leverage. Steve has proven zilch in this league except currying votes from fans who like seeing point guards dunk. Guys like Mike Bibby and Steve Nash who have less talent work relentlessly in practice with their teammates making sure they look like an actual team on the court. Would Tim Duncan do the same stuff Steve does? Rocket fans expect this team led by Steve to beat a team led by Tim Duncan? I might as well become a Spurs fan then. I have a hard time every season that passes watching the Spurs and Mavs play and continually improve their teams while the Rockets look they are running in mud. It starts with the big money guys. Money commands respect, and Steve makes the most on this team. Of the 3 Texas teams, I see the Rockets as being the dysfunctional team devoid of leadership on and off the court.

 

Yeah, but his team record was about the same as the Rockets' team record ( aside from when Francis was out with headaches) in the last 4 or so...the Bulls got into the playoffs ( and were swept each time) with some sub .500 teams, and some other mediocre records. This didn't change till they got Pippen, Grant, et al.

 

Still in the race for a playoffs berth still with a chance of making some surprises.

Anyway, if Les had to tell someone to walk it wouldn't be to the 85 million dollar guy.

 

not that steve is jordan (duh), but in their first 4 years steve's rockets won 150 games, jordan's bulls won 158. a whopping 2 games extra per year.

the difference is jordan made the playoffs with a 36-46 record and an astounding 30-52 record. that has to be a record by an enormous margin or something.

think about 2 years ago. 15 game losing streak, steve in and out with migraines, mo t out the whole year, rice missing the last 60 games, an amazingly tough conference, and yet, if we had won our last 2 games, we have the record of a playoff team. that's how bad 30-52 is.


and Manny, i know you don't get over to the GARM very often, but since when has the no playoffs in 4 years not been addressed? it's brought up all the freakin' time. i had a big long post on it in this thread and HillBoy quoted it, so you had 2 chances to see it brought up. if you've got a reasonable argument that the rockets should have made the playoffs in any of his first 3 years, or that he somehow didn't perform in those 3 years at a very high level, then I'd love to hear it.

HillBoy, lesser minds was directed to anyone who uses "no playoffs in 4 years" as a reason steve sucks even though they know they have nothing against the first 3 years. it's like a little campaign slogan to slander the other guy or something. technically, you can say it, but you know it has nothing to do with your opponent and isn't really true. that's why i said it's for lesser minds, b/c it takes no analytical thinking of what actually happened to say it, you can just parrot it and not have to make a real argument.

and if you can show me where i ever said steve is good enough to lead us to a title, please show it to me, b/c I've never said it.

 

Okay, okay, Jordan and I have been beat down by the handy fact men. I withdraw the point about Jordan's early playoff appearances.

 

Well, you are right about me not being in this forum much (although it seems that I have posted more in the GARM today than I have had in a month), but a big reason why is that when I do read the GARM, I see these posters that I never see anywhere else except in the GARM making constant excuses for Francis. These are the "Francis lovers" I am talking about, f4p - not people like you who do have a clue.

And as for the last part of your post, we'll have to agree to disagree because even though he had some decent stats - I never have felt that he was doing the job he could do - but a big reason why that was the case is his basketball IQ. And then you have the whole leadership thing - in about any other example in the real world you can think of, if someone is a leader and after 4 years still haven't achieved the majority of the organization's goals (reaching the playoffs and performing well there would be the #1 goal), 99.9% of the time, they would no longer be a leader for that organization - hell, they wouldn't even BE with that organization anymore.

 

JVG probably isn't the egoist you're making him out to be. Fro whats been said of JVG he seems to be a guy who likes to make a point using props or examples.

I'm beginning to believe Moochie was traded on the whim of making a point.

Steve got the same deal as Eddie Griffin, no biggie.

 

Well said. If Francis were only human, then it's understandable that he made some childish decisions like most of us did when we were young. But he's not human. Who says pro athletes are human? Humans don't make millions of dollars putting a ball through a hoop. Pro athletes are superheros like Spiderman and Batman. Why would we pay them so much money if they were only human?