Chron: Francis, T-Mac, Van Gundy, Rebounders

A bunch of articles so I just grouped them all together.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3445694

Nov. 7, 2005, 11:54PM

For 0-3 Magic, Francis is the most unpredictable element
By FRAN BLINEBURY
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

In the week before another NBA opener, Steve Francis took a turn of a different sort in front of the TV cameras, delivering the weather report on an Orlando channel.

The question is whether he forecasted the storm clouds that are already hanging over the Magic in an 0-3 start to the season.

Grant Hill is back on the shelf, this time recovering from surgery for a sports hernia that is expected to keep him out of action until mid-December. Keyon Dooling (bruised right heel) has yet to take the court, and Pat Garrity (sprained right knee) was hurt in the opener, meaning roughly 32 points per game are missing from the roster.

All of which puts much of the burden on the shoulders of second-year forward Dwight Howard and a great deal of the focus on the mercurial talents of Francis.

Not much, really, has changed since the Magic closed out last season with eight losses in their final nine games to finish far out of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Not much, either, has changed with Francis, who is no longer the bundle of promise and potential that heralded his arrival in Houston.

In weatherman's terms, Francis can still be as devastating as a twister bouncing across the landscape when he brings the ball down, locks a defender's knees with a crossover move, weaves through traffic in the lane and explodes to the hoop. However, he can also still be just as dreary as a cold day in January when he controls the ball too
much with his dribble and leaves his teammates feeling like they're standing out in the rain.

At 28, these should be the prime years of Francis' career, and yet his seventh pro season begins with his team still trying to figure out the best way to make use of his raw skills and even more undercooked comprehension of how to run a team. He has been to the playoffs just once and is approaching the point where he'll be defined by either statistics or accomplishments.

On one hand, the Magic and second-time-around head coach Brian Hill would like Francis to handle the ball less, make decisions and passes quicker and include his teammates more in the action. But on the other hand, they know that the same do-it-all-or-kill-myself-trying style is what makes Francis a star of the highlight clips and one of the NBA's best rebounding guards.

In the Magic's first three games, Francis' scoring average (17.7) is down nearly four points from last season just when Orlando is missing several offensive weapons. In the season-opening loss to Indiana, he took just 14 shots and scored only 15 points.

"We can win," Francis told Florida Today. "We've won games with me scoring just six. It's not just about me.

"I don't even think about (style of play). If I do that, then I'll be playing like a robot out there. I haven't played like a robot since I left Houston."

It still bothers Francis deeply that the Rockets traded him, and he rarely misses a chance to take a shot at Jeff Van Gundy. Never mind that Francis probably had his best all-around effort in his only year with Van Gundy and made his only postseason appearance.

Meanwhile Hill, who has installed the Princeton passing scheme in an attempt to create more movement in the Orlando offense, says Francis has followed the program, though he has passed up some scoring opportunities.

"We'll keep doing things to try to get him — especially with more people out — more looks at the basket," Hill said. "The big thing, as I told him, is that the first option is always for him to put pressure on the defense and see what he can create."

Other than the continuing debate about whether Francis should be a point guard or a shooting guard.

"Any time your career average is seven assists and you finish in the top 10, you're excited about that and excited about getting your teammates involved," he said. "I'm still getting the assists, so what else is there? If the opportunity presents itself, I'll break a guy down. If it doesn't, I'm just going to continue doing what we've been doing."

For Steve Francis, guard/weatherman, the long-range outlook remains cloudy.





http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3445708

T-Mac's back shows improvement
Rockets star hopes to join team on five-game trip
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

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COMING UP
Tuesday:
vs. Orlando, 7:30 p.m.
After spending the majority of the previous three days "hunched over," Rockets forward Tracy McGrady gingerly took jumpers following practice on Monday.

McGrady injured his back attempting a layup during Friday's practice. After bumping into Yao Ming, McGrady landed awkwardly and immediately began to experience back spasms.

McGrady initially attempted to stretch his back, but when the debilitating pain persisted, he sought treatment. He was later diagnosed with a strained back and bruising around his spine.

"It was feeling pretty good," McGrady said of his back on Monday. "That's because I did a lot of work before I came up. I did a lot of stretching, and I was loose as I was shooting.

"When I take breaks, when I'm not moving, it stiffens up on me. This was the first day that I've shot and was able to stand straight up. So it's definitely improvement."

McGrady was initially slated to be sidelined for three weeks. But after taking a positive first step on Monday, he said he hopes to get in some jogging today. McGrady said he knows he needs rest and rehabilitation to get his back ready for action, yet he hopes he will at least be able to make the Rockets' five-game road swing starting on Thursday in Miami.

If he is able to travel, McGrady hopes he can return to the starting lineup sooner than expected.

"You really can't put a timetable on it," McGrady said. "You can say three weeks, it can be longer, it can be less — you just never know. You've just got to stay on top of it ... and hopefully it can come sooner. ...

"The most important thing is to let it heal and not try to rush back, because it can go out at any time. I don't think it will linger for those three weeks because of the improvement that I've seen over the last couple of days. Hopefully, on this road trip, I'll be able to go (travel)."





http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3445693

Van Gundy brings Stern a message
By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle


Bill Parcells suggested Jeff Van Gundy go see David Stern. Not to apologize or plead his case, but simply to sit down and chat.

"To clear the air," Van Gundy said Monday.

A few days before the start of training camp, Van Gundy asked for an appointment with the guy who fined him $100,000 and threatened to throw him out of the NBA last spring.

Stern invited him to New York. They had breakfast at a diner in Connecticut.

"I don't want to be seen as someone unappreciative of all the NBA has done for me," Van Gundy said. "I'm an employee of the NBA. He's the commissioner. I've benefited from the NBA probably more than anyone."

He declines to reveal details of the conversation. He apparently wanted nothing more than a dialogue and some bit of understanding.

They'd barely known one another before that morning. They'd sparred back and forth in the media over the years.

Stern once suspended Patrick Ewing during the playoffs. Van Gundy fired back.

Then last spring, Van Gundy accused NBA officials of targeting Yao Ming during a playoff series with Dallas. Although he never said it, his comments hinted at some darker conspiracy against his Rockets.


Big mistake
Stern, already tired of coaches whining about officiating, called the comments "a new low."

He slapped Van Gundy with a record fine and said that might not be the end of it. "If he's going to say things like that, he's not going to continue in this league," Stern said.

Parcells telephoned Van Gundy a couple of days later. He told him he'd once had a similar issue with NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

Instead of hoping the thing went away, Parcells had gone to see Tagliabue. He didn't offer and apology, and Tagliabue didn't seek one. They simply talked. Parcells suggested Van Gundy do the same thing with Stern.


NBA lover, not a fighter
That morning, Stern and Van Gundy talked about everything from the NBA's dress code to the upcoming season to, finally, their dispute last spring.

"I wanted him to know I wasn't some guy always fighting," Van Gundy said.

In the early days of a new season, last spring's battles seem like they're 1,000 years away. Van Gundy says now he handled the matter badly. Yet it made himself something of a folk hero in Houston.

Fans who saw him as the outsider who replaced Rudy Tomjanovich suddenly grew to like him. They suddenly viewed him as someone willing to stand up to authority. They appreciated that.

"I was overwhelmed by the reaction," he said.

Fans wanted to take up money to pay the fine. The Rockets received hundreds of notes and telephone calls. They got a few dozen 100 Grand candy bars.

If he had it to do all over again ...

"If I'd just said, 'Yao's getting screwed, and I'm tired of it,' " he said, "I would have gotten a $10,000 fine. That would have been the end of it.

"I could have said it differently. I should have said it differently. I did the wrong thing. You can talk off the cuff on occasion. You should never talk off the cuff when you're emotional.

"You've just lost two games at home you should have finished. So you're mad about that. Then you're ticked off about Yao sitting out for what you think are dubious calls. Now you're being told they've overlooked some other dubious calls.

"Were you being screwed? No. Could they have made a mistake? Yeah. I think I'm right in what I said. I'm totally wrong in how I said it."

Now he's shaping and cajoling a new team. His mood is somewhere between angry and disappointed after two sloppy games. He questioned his players' effort on Monday.

He said he couldn't even begin to address technical things until his players showed more energy. He wondered if the older guys still had the same drive they once had.

"Everyone reaches a point where it's not quite as important to them," he said. "Most athletes lose it mentally before they lose it physically."

If his players think he's obsessive and tough to live with, they should have known him five years ago. Two of Van Gundy's assistant coaches, Ewing and Charlie Ward, joke that he has gone soft.

The truth is that he loves this team. He loves its attitude and approach. He loves the players.

He also loves the NBA. And that, more than anything else, is what he wanted David Stern to know.



http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3445707

Magic have no glass ceiling
Rockets face rebounders with plenty of upside
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

For all the yo-yoing Steve Francis did with the basketball during his five seasons with the Rockets, and for all the inconsistent play that yielded endless discussion of whether the team would be better if he shifted from the point to the 2, there was no questioning Francis' status as one of the top rebounding guards in the NBA.

His years with the Rockets were marked by statistical anomalies that reflected his penchant for going into the paint and attacking the glass — assets that have been overlooked in the debate over whether Francis — now with the Orlando Magic — could run an offense with poise and precision.

"And he's going to dunk the ball," Rockets swingman Derek Anderson said of Francis' pursuit of offensive rebounds. "He's not just going in there to grab it."


Company of Big O
In his final season with the Rockets, Francis joined Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Grant Hill as the only players in NBA history to average 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in each of their first five seasons.

The previous season, he and Kevin Garnett were the only players in the league to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. In his second season, Francis became the first Rocket and 18th player ever to lead his team in total points, rebounds and assists, doing so in a kinetic 6-3 package.

Now in his second season with Orlando, Francis remains a rebounding machine, averaging 6.7 boards for a team with a lot of length and staggering rebounding potential.

Starting center Tony Battie, though a wiry 6-11, averages 6.7 rebounds. His 6-11 backup, former Rocket Kelvin Cato, is averaging just 2.7 boards per game but 8.8 per 48 minutes. Even forward Hedo Turkoglu is grabbing four boards a game.

And the most formidable member of the Magic front line is second-year forward Dwight Howard, a 6-11, 265-pound springbok who, on occasion, has shown a complete disdain for gravity. As a 19-year-old rookie, Howard averaged 10.0 rebounds, which ranked eighth in the league. He is snagging 7.3 rebounds this season, but Howard operates in the paint in a way that shows his potential for averaging twice as many.

The Magic rank ninth in rebound differential and second in rebound percentage, with the combo of Francis and the front line making for a daunting matchup on the glass.

"That's their strength," Anderson said. "(But) I don't see why we can't compete."

Compete, at least for 48 minutes, is something the Rockets haven't done. And for a team that has surrendered 27 offensive rebounds to the opposition through two games, the odds of outworking the Magic on the glass seem long at best.


Eyes on the glass
It will take more than a breakout performance from the Rockets' backcourt to keep the Magic off the glass. If Francis and Co. are to be deterred, a collective effort is required.

"We know they have guys that want to compete on the boards on the offensive and defensive end, so we've got to bring our fight and go to work," Rockets forward Juwan Howard said. "We know for a fact that we need to improve on the rebounding area, and that's one of the areas that I've been concentrating on."


mk.bower@chron.com


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ROCKETS SUMMARY
New guys leading
With forward Tracy McGrady out of action, it came as little surprise the Rockets struggled offensively against the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets on Saturday. Two games into this season, the Rockets are shooting just 39.5 percent (62-for-157) and are averaging only 91.0 points per game, which ranks 22nd among 30 teams.

With McGrady out of the rotation, the two primary ballhandlers and facilitators of the offense, point guard Rafer Alston and swingman Derek Anderson, happen to be new to the roster. Anderson leads the Rockets in assists with seven, while Alston is tied for second (with center Yao Ming), having six assists in 70 minutes.

"Were just not hitting shots that we normally make," Alston said. "I guess when we start hitting those, and we continue to move the ball and not struggle down the stretch, I think our scoring will go up."


Worker bees needed
While Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy has been quick to point out that after two games he hasn't jumped to any conclusions, he has expressed disappointment with the way the Rockets have gone about their business. He describes their play as low-energy, laconic and sleepy. As for an example of what type of passion Van Gundy is looking for, one need look no further than the middle of the Rockets' bench.

"You couldn't possibly not be inspired watching Ryan play," Van Gundy said of reserve forward Ryan Bowen.

"Ryan can't be the worker bee on our team," Van Gundy said. "We need a team of workers."

MOISEKAPENDA BOWER