Francis' Reputation

Francis played SG in College. People didnt think he could be a Nba pg because of that. They thought of him more of a iverson type player that loves to shoot. Francis is nothing like that. He gets the players involved very well, his assists are very good. Tell your friends to go look at how many shots he avgs per game then they wont say anything. I wish Francis would shoot more, people here complain about him not shooting enough.

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The only thing that drives me crazy about Steve is that he hardly ever shoots in the first quarter. He probably averages 1 or 2 FG attempts in the first quarter.

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the only reason steve scores so much is because he is so efficient. He averaged less than 15 shots per game last season and still managed to score 20 points a game. The reason his assists are mediocre is because the number 2 option on the team (cuttino mobley) gets most of his points off of iso plays and same with Mo.

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That's because Mo Taylor must score all of his points in the first quarter.



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why are you worried about his reputation? Do you want him to be Stockton or Nash? I'll take a shooting fiend, Calvin Murphy with hops any day.

Mobley shoots the same. There is a 40 shots difference or .5 per game. Stockton is efficient. Saying Francis is efficient is somewhat homey in my opinion.

I disagree. The reason his assists are mediocre is because he waves off the pick n roll a lot and didn't push the fastbreak for a long time last year. He prefers to run the wing on the fastbreak. Besides, you are assuming he could play the high assist type PG thing better than what he does now.

Plus I disagree that Rudy and Francis consider Mobley a 2nd Option. Francis is on record calling him his goto man, and Mobley is the highest scorer in the 4th quarter on the team.

I don't view Francis as a SG like the posters "NBA expert" friends say. Nor do I feel like there is a different reputation based on what I say. I don't think there is really a reputation that he has a shoot first mentality. In fact, I have no problems with how much he shoots, at all.

But I do not agree with the reverse homey reputation that he is Isiah with hops. Nor do I agree with explaining Francis's assist numbers by blaiming Cat and Mo' playmaking when most everyone in the league knows Francis runs a lot of ISOs for himself. More than Stockton or other efficient PGs, that's for sure.

Rockets Fact: Steve Francis has the worst assist/turnover ratio for point guards in the league.

Surely, that is where the reputation comes from. He is not mister efficient. However, I love his shot. The guy is only going to shoot better and better. I'm not worried about that.

[This message has been edited by crispee (edited July 26, 2001).]

 

Hey guys. I agree that Francis' reputation is unfairly negative. You think that the people in Dallas and other metro areas have it wrong, here's something shocking: Steve Francis was NOT selected to be in the Goodwill Games (comprised of players that have been in the league 3 years or less). Other players selected: Jason Terry, Baron Davis (both inferior to Francis), and even more shocking, MARK MADSEN!?!?! Why did this happen you ask? Becuase the selection committee thought that Francis would continue the "ugly American" reputation and emberass the country on the international stage. This guy is a role model. He helps out the community (Houston and in Maryland), takes care of his Grandma, and is even going back to college to finish his degree in CRIMINOLOGY!! Talking about has made me fume in anger so I'll go now...

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For what it's worth, I think Steve's rep is a combination of factors, as follows;

I think that the comparisons with Iverson ( coming out) sort of established his reputation, just because his physical tools are somewhat similar. The assumption was : Really quick, smaller SG trying to convert to PG...And the thinking didn't really change as Francis hasn't been seen by most people since..

Another factor was, and I know this from talking to non-Rocket fans at the time, with all the injuries to the stars during his rookie season, there was a perception out there that Francis was a one man show, as Mobley's rep was sort of non-existent at the time. So, SG playing PG, one-man show, scoring a lot...The perception continued..

A third factor, and i think this is huge, is his perceived attitude. This started with the one-year college career, and really took hold big time on draft day when, let's face it, he looked like a pouting teenager. This has really followed him...and sometimes, during games, he does things that make you cringe a bit..Sort of a little "look at me!"...But, aside from those things, I have not seen or heard of one thing he's done which has done anything to support his rep as a selfish, cocky, prototypical 'modern player'.I tell people this all the time, that the Rockets are trying to get him to shoot more, that he has been totally professional and a team-first player, that he hasn't had anyblow-ups, etc...but it has little effect..THis is connected with the perception that he's not a true PG, as it's another link between him and guys like Iverson, Marbury, etc...Personally, and I haven't heard anyone say this, but the guy who reminds me most of Iverson, game wise, is Jason Terry...not as good, but very similar types of games...

So that's how I see it, and i don't think non-Rocket fans will ever change their perception until he gets a lot of televised PT, especially on a consistent basis like in the playoffs, where he can dispell this bad reputation...Until then, I guess he's our secret...


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The whole Vancouver thing brought on all sorts of negatives to the Francis name. The real NBA experts know the true Steve Francis. Buecher praises him.

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Avg. Ignorant Joe American sitting on his couch sees Francis w/ headbands, towels wrapped around his head on the sidelines, and all tatted up and instinctively concludes: aww, another one of them sucka street punks from those blacktop courts - he'll probably get kicked out the league in a couple yrs. anyways for doing drugs or chokin his coach. I need make my kids watch Jacque Vaugh instead.

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One of my points was that his rep as a person is related to his rep as a "ballhog"...


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Stevie's rep essentially comes from one thing:
The way he acted like a spoiled brat on draft night

That's what alot of people know about him to this point. He has not been on TV very often (except for the dunk contest 2 years ago), Houston has not made the plyoffs to showcase his skills yet, and he makes alot of ESPN hi-liters with his dunks.
His draft night fiasco is something he'll have to live with. The way he acted was childish and for his entire career some fans will never let that go.
Winning- Iverson had an attitude of a loser until he played like a warrior in the playoffs 2 years ago. Stevie needs the same thing. A showcase to show what he can do in front of an audience.
Hi-lites- Many people see his awesome dunks as a selfish player. Big time dunkers often get the reputations as selfish players (think of VC).

Stevuie still has some growing up to do. He has to become a better PG. He has great b-ball skills but not great PG skills yet. I still argue that his assist numbers are not higher because he needs to get the ball to his teammates where they want it and not just a pass to them when he feels like passing it. He idd get much better with his TO's last year but he still has alot of improvement to do with his AST to TO ratio.