Chron post game report: Francis said the Bosh Shot is just lucky

ivanyy2000 · Nov 17, 2003

Sorry if it has been post.

"He was lucky," Francis said. "He just threw it up and hoped it went in."

That was what Francis said after the game. He is incorrigible, why, why he need make comment like that to make himself/ our leader look more stupid?

Raptors finish off Rockets in double overtime
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

TORONTO -- As horrible as the Rockets have been in the closing minutes -- and of all the statistics coach Jeff Van Gundy tosses around, he comes back to their horrid record in close games most of all -- they did not stop with one poor finish Sunday.

The Rockets were horrible in the closing moments of regulation, horrible in the closing moments of one overtime and horrible in the closing moments of another overtime.

If the Rockets could not find a way to lose once, they would keep looking until the Toronto Raptors finally proved Van Gundy's point, taking a 101-97 double-overtime victory with enough help to turn several Rockets' stomachs.

"We won the game three times, and we lost it four," Van Gundy said. "We have not won close games the last four years. We just didn't play the game intelligently enough."

More troubling than losing one game is that it was part of a larger pattern.

In games decided by three or fewer points in the previous four seasons, the Rockets had gone 23-42. They were 3-10 in games that close last season.

When asked about the Rockets' latest last-minute missteps, Van Gundy said: "Teams that don't play smart down the stretch, you have to look at the coach first. From there, it's up to me to get them to play smart. It's got to be better on my part."

But his players said it was they and not their coach who took bad shots, missed open shots, failed to grab key rebounds and committed fouls that cost them the game.

"He's going to take the blame, but we should take the blame, also," Cuttino Mobley said. "We didn't do the little things that win games."

Asked specifically what "things" the Rockets failed to do, Mobley said: "Things in basketball."

That might not narrow it down much. But maybe he is right. Until the final moments of regulation and the first overtime, the Rockets did just enough to win. Then they mishandled pretty much all "things in basketball."

Steve Francis held the ball so long at the end of regulation and the first overtime that all he had time left to do was heave long and off-balance buzzer prayers. Both missed, giving the Rockets more chances to lose.

But those shots were far from Van Gundy's only complaint. He wasn't even sure where they would fit in on the long list.

"That's on me," Van Gundy said. "I have to do a better job to get them to play smarter. That's not just those shots. Fouls. Couldn't get a rebound. We just didn't play smart enough to win."

If there was a play in which Van Gundy could be second-guessed, it came at the end of regulation. Francis had hit a 19-footer over Lamond Murray that gave the Rockets an 83-80 lead with 14.9 seconds remaining. With the three-point lead, Van Gundy could have opted for a foul rather than to allow the Raptors to attempt a trey to tie the game.

With the Rockets trapping the ball out of Vince Carter's hands, the Raptors twice made passes in which the Rockets could have fouled. Opting not to foul seemed to have worked when the Raptors had to go to 19-year-old rookie Chris Bosh in the corner. The 6-foot-10 Bosh had never attempted a NBA trey until he swished his shot with 7.2 seconds left.

"They started the play with (14.9) seconds," Van Gundy said. "I didn't want to foul that early. We committed to Carter with two people. Carter made a good play to trust his teammates, and Bosh made a good shot."

Though his first trey in the NBA, it was not entirely uncharacteristic. Bosh made 22 of 47 attempts from the college 3-point line last season at Georgia Tech. So when a question about a Toronto substitution delayed the game, Raptors coach Kevin O'Neill rewrote his play to have Bosh in the corner.

"We were trying to get Vince coming off three screens," O'Neill said. "We saw the way they lined up. (Kelvin) Cato was holding in (rather than following Bosh to the 3-point line) so we wanted Chris to pop in the corner. I feel very comfortable with him taking an end-of-the-game 3-pointer. I have a lot of faith in that kid."

The Rockets were not as impressed.

"He was lucky," Francis said. "He just threw it up and hoped it went in."

That, however, seemed a better description of Francis' shots to end the fourth quarter and overtime. Determined to not leave any time on the clock, Francis ran the clock down to its final ticks before launching a 26-footer to end regulation.

Francis, however, seemed to have made that miss irrelevant in the first overtime.

Francis made a pair of free throws with 2:03 left to pull the Rockets within two points. Then after he trapped Carter into a turnover, Francis hit a jumper to tie the score 87-87 with 1:25 remaining. Murray missed and Francis passed to Cato on the baseline for a 15-footer that gave the Rockets an 89-87 lead.

But the Rockets fouled Bosh away from the basket, and he hit two free throws. The Rockets did not get another shot until Francis fired from 27 feet with two-tenths of a second remaining.

The Rockets fell into an insurmountable hole when Bosh took over the second overtime. The rookie tipped in a miss to give Toronto a 96-93 lead. Mobley missed a 17-footer and Bosh increased the lead with two free throws. After Scott Padgett scored to pull the Rockets to within three points with 15.4 seconds left, Bosh made two more free throws to ice the win.

The Rockets, however, were more aware of what they had done to lose than what Bosh, who tied Francis for game-high scoring honors with 25 points, and the Raptors did to win.

"That was on us," Rockets forward Jim Jackson said. "We have to accept that we didn't play smart down the stretch, and it cost us."

tigernet · Nov 17, 2003

We would trade him if he was not able to find his own problem and do it again and again.

Originally posted by ivanyy2000
Sorry if it has been post.

"He was lucky," Francis said. "He just threw it up and hoped it went in."

That was what Francis said after the game. He is incorrigible, why, why he need make comment like that to make himself/ our leader look more stupid?

Raptors finish off Rockets in double overtime
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

TORONTO -- As horrible as the Rockets have been in the closing minutes -- and of all the statistics coach Jeff Van Gundy tosses around, he comes back to their horrid record in close games most of all -- they did not stop with one poor finish Sunday.

The Rockets were horrible in the closing moments of regulation, horrible in the closing moments of one overtime and horrible in the closing moments of another overtime.

If the Rockets could not find a way to lose once, they would keep looking until the Toronto Raptors finally proved Van Gundy's point, taking a 101-97 double-overtime victory with enough help to turn several Rockets' stomachs.

"We won the game three times, and we lost it four," Van Gundy said. "We have not won close games the last four years. We just didn't play the game intelligently enough."

More troubling than losing one game is that it was part of a larger pattern.

In games decided by three or fewer points in the previous four seasons, the Rockets had gone 23-42. They were 3-10 in games that close last season.

When asked about the Rockets' latest last-minute missteps, Van Gundy said: "Teams that don't play smart down the stretch, you have to look at the coach first. From there, it's up to me to get them to play smart. It's got to be better on my part."

But his players said it was they and not their coach who took bad shots, missed open shots, failed to grab key rebounds and committed fouls that cost them the game.

"He's going to take the blame, but we should take the blame, also," Cuttino Mobley said. "We didn't do the little things that win games."

Asked specifically what "things" the Rockets failed to do, Mobley said: "Things in basketball."

That might not narrow it down much. But maybe he is right. Until the final moments of regulation and the first overtime, the Rockets did just enough to win. Then they mishandled pretty much all "things in basketball."

Steve Francis held the ball so long at the end of regulation and the first overtime that all he had time left to do was heave long and off-balance buzzer prayers. Both missed, giving the Rockets more chances to lose.

But those shots were far from Van Gundy's only complaint. He wasn't even sure where they would fit in on the long list.

"That's on me," Van Gundy said. "I have to do a better job to get them to play smarter. That's not just those shots. Fouls. Couldn't get a rebound. We just didn't play smart enough to win."

If there was a play in which Van Gundy could be second-guessed, it came at the end of regulation. Francis had hit a 19-footer over Lamond Murray that gave the Rockets an 83-80 lead with 14.9 seconds remaining. With the three-point lead, Van Gundy could have opted for a foul rather than to allow the Raptors to attempt a trey to tie the game.

With the Rockets trapping the ball out of Vince Carter's hands, the Raptors twice made passes in which the Rockets could have fouled. Opting not to foul seemed to have worked when the Raptors had to go to 19-year-old rookie Chris Bosh in the corner. The 6-foot-10 Bosh had never attempted a NBA trey until he swished his shot with 7.2 seconds left.

"They started the play with (14.9) seconds," Van Gundy said. "I didn't want to foul that early. We committed to Carter with two people. Carter made a good play to trust his teammates, and Bosh made a good shot."

Though his first trey in the NBA, it was not entirely uncharacteristic. Bosh made 22 of 47 attempts from the college 3-point line last season at Georgia Tech. So when a question about a Toronto substitution delayed the game, Raptors coach Kevin O'Neill rewrote his play to have Bosh in the corner.

"We were trying to get Vince coming off three screens," O'Neill said. "We saw the way they lined up. (Kelvin) Cato was holding in (rather than following Bosh to the 3-point line) so we wanted Chris to pop in the corner. I feel very comfortable with him taking an end-of-the-game 3-pointer. I have a lot of faith in that kid."

The Rockets were not as impressed.

"He was lucky," Francis said. "He just threw it up and hoped it went in."

That, however, seemed a better description of Francis' shots to end the fourth quarter and overtime. Determined to not leave any time on the clock, Francis ran the clock down to its final ticks before launching a 26-footer to end regulation.

Francis, however, seemed to have made that miss irrelevant in the first overtime.

Francis made a pair of free throws with 2:03 left to pull the Rockets within two points. Then after he trapped Carter into a turnover, Francis hit a jumper to tie the score 87-87 with 1:25 remaining. Murray missed and Francis passed to Cato on the baseline for a 15-footer that gave the Rockets an 89-87 lead.

But the Rockets fouled Bosh away from the basket, and he hit two free throws. The Rockets did not get another shot until Francis fired from 27 feet with two-tenths of a second remaining.

The Rockets fell into an insurmountable hole when Bosh took over the second overtime. The rookie tipped in a miss to give Toronto a 96-93 lead. Mobley missed a 17-footer and Bosh increased the lead with two free throws. After Scott Padgett scored to pull the Rockets to within three points with 15.4 seconds left, Bosh made two more free throws to ice the win.

The Rockets, however, were more aware of what they had done to lose than what Bosh, who tied Francis for game-high scoring honors with 25 points, and the Raptors did to win.

"That was on us," Rockets forward Jim Jackson said. "We have to accept that we didn't play smart down the stretch, and it cost us."
Click to expand...

ivanyy2000 · Nov 17, 2003

By the way, according to what Raptors coach Kevin O'Neill said in the same article, obviously it was a design play.

china-yao · Nov 17, 2003

I don't agree with Francis
Bosh shot is just lucky?Why Francis can't shot lucky?

I saw the match in TV.Francis ,Cat and Yao all do a bad job.
Let's forget the match,futer is immport.

-------- Poor English man

ima_drummer2k · Nov 17, 2003

I'd have to agree. We rotated to the player(s) most likely to hurt us and Bosh shooting (and making) a 3 from the corner probably wasn't something JVG planned on. We gambled and played the percentages. Posh got lucky.

BTW, thanks for quoting that entire article, tigernet. I didn't see it the first time...

Oski2005 · Nov 17, 2003

Why in the freaking hell did you just quote that whole article tigernet? You are wasting up server resources for no reason. On top of that, I noticed you started more than one thread after this game.

Go this link and read what is written here.

http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68400

Stone Cold Hakeem · Nov 17, 2003

Doesn't inspire much confidence in Francis. Its discouraging to see he still doesn't view our losing as his fault. Not saying it is per se but I'd feel a lot better if weighed a little heavier on his shoulders.

DreamWeaver · Nov 17, 2003

WTG. Franchise.

I hope JVG read about this idiotic comment and give Stevie some much needed attitude adjustment. WTF.

nyquil82 · Nov 17, 2003

im losing faith in francis calling himself a superstar if he cant do the things super stars do. we've lose a lot of games when its close in the 4th? well, we should be seeing whos hands the ball is in. i respect his skills and abilities, but even those times he threw up those prayers and made them, i just knew his cockiness was going to be the end of him.

go for the high percentage shot, man, look for your teammates, listen to your coach. These are things even jordan did. I hope this game is a real wake up call for him, but after reading his quote on bosh (where he should have instead, taken some responsibility), i think his attitude needs just as much improvement as yao's aggressivness.

saleem · Nov 17, 2003

Making excuses like these will lead to more defeats. Francis needs to grow up.

tigernet · Nov 17, 2003

Originally posted by Oski2005
Why in the freaking hell did you just quote that whole article tigernet? You are wasting up server resources for no reason. On top of that, I noticed you started more than one thread after this game.

Go this link and read what is written here.

http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68400
Click to expand...

I am sorry I am accidently quote the whole article, which is an accident. Thank you for your reminder.

Hey, I am "happy" today and want to speak up. r u a policeman here?

KeepKenny · Nov 17, 2003

Funny. Bosh's three looked a helluva lot purer than the crap steve was shooting all game. Bosh made tons of clutch shots today, about 4 or 5 more than francis.

Visagial · Nov 17, 2003

I can't effing believe we didn't foul. I told my wife for sure we were going to foul. Jesus, Rudy would have fouled. I think JVG thinks it's cheap to do so, plus the Raptor's coach was his boy. JVG lost this game pure and simple. We should have fouled as soon we got the chance. It would have been a free throw shooting contest and we would have won.

lignny · Nov 17, 2003

Originally posted by Visagial
I can't effing believe we didn't foul. I told my wife for sure we were going to foul. Jesus, Rudy would have fouled. I think JVG thinks it's cheap to do so, plus the Raptor's coach was his boy. JVG lost this game pure and simple. We should have fouled as soon we got the chance. It would have been a free throw shooting contest and we would have won.
Click to expand...

No. As i remembered, Rudy didn't foul that a couple of times either last season.

vcchlw · Nov 17, 2003

I am very sorry to hear that. Bosh's shot is not about luck at all. It's an open shot passed from double-teamed teammate. As long as it's an open shot in a reasonable range (with the exception of leaving Shaq open beyond the arc), it's a good final play!

How dare a frustrated team leader, who end up the final play a WILD three point attempt TWICE, criticised proved successful plays of the opposing team down the stretch? Steve is really pathetic.

BigM · Nov 17, 2003

i never remember rudy calling fouls in those situations, anyways anyone can second-guess now. crap game by steve but up to this point his season has seen tremendous improvement so i'll take this as just a hitch. with jvg constantly pounding him i think days like this afternoon will be few and far between.

the defense did the job in getting the ball out of vince's hands and into a rookie power forward who had never even attempted an nba three. whether or not toronto designed for that to happen, if i'm the rockets i take my chances on allowing it.

all i read into steve's "luck" comment is that he's willing to live with bosh tying it than a bigger threat like vince or mopete. then again i don't hate steve with a passion so it's harder to turn every word that comes out of his mouth into a trade proposal thread.

JunkyardDwg · Nov 17, 2003

Originally posted by ivanyy2000
"He was lucky," Francis said. "He just threw it up and hoped it went in."
Click to expand...

Ummm, no, that's what you, STEVE, did not once, but twice. And both times they failed to go in. So instead of bashing a well executed play, FOR ONCE just please take responsibility for you own actions and stop talking trash.

AroundTheWorld · Nov 17, 2003

Originally posted by ivanyy2000
"He was lucky," Francis said. "He just threw it up and hoped it went in."

Click to expand...

The stupidity continues from the court to the postgame quotes.

Reminds me of when he said last year they were soooo much better than Dallas.

2 assists in 2 games from our starting point guard? 9-27 shooting? Missed the potential game-winning shots in regular time and overtime because of selfishness and forcing up a three (why a three, we just needed a two or a foul)?

And then that quote?

Dave2000 · Nov 17, 2003

Originally posted by lignny
No. As i remembered, Rudy didn't foul that a couple of times either last season.
Click to expand...

That Utah (where Harpering made a game tying 3 pointer) game rings a bell, but then again, some teams didnt foul when Francis did that one obvious 3 point play where he comes off the pick from Yao and sent about 3-4 games to OT last year, so it kinda evens out.

JunkyardDwg · Nov 17, 2003

Originally posted by BigM
i never remember rudy calling fouls in those situations, anyways anyone can second-guess now. crap game by steve but up to this point his season has seen tremendous improvement so i'll take this as just a hitch. with jvg constantly pounding him i think days like this afternoon will be few and far between.
Click to expand...

I think you bring up a good point there. As much as I was angered about this loss, you have to put in perspective. Even though the offense so far this season has failed to truly "click" yet, it has been effective. And this was the first game so far that I have seen such an abysmal effort to pass the ball around and get everybody involved. And you can bet with JVG runnning the ship, things will get straightened out out after this loss. Just read his post-game comments! And it's not like he doesn't have a lot of time to work out the kinks, what with 73 games left in the season.

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