Van Gundy stands by Francis
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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2533151
Van Gundy stands by Francis
Rockets' coach says he's happy with guard's play
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
The Rockets just think they are in the NBA playoffs. They are not, of course.
This whole series with the Lakers -- as anyone in Houston who listens to
sports call-in shows, frequents a barbershop, surfs the Internet or rides in
a carpool can tell you -- is really just a referendum on Steve Francis
dressed up as a first-round series. This is his final exam, worth enough of
his grade to tip it either way.
Or so it would seem.
So coach Jeff Van Gundy fields the Steve Francis question each day and answers
it pretty much the same way. Through four playoff games, Francis has played
exceedingly well, Van Gundy insists.
The numbers that often betrayed Francis in the regular season seem to bear out
his coach's opinion. But the Steve Francis question always returns.
(真像是我們火箭版的寫照啊～ *苦笑*)
"I think people are more interested in relationships than they are in the
game," Van Gundy said of the never-ending probes into his true feelings about
his point guard. "For the most part. I'm talking about the media more than
fans. I don't pay it any attention."
For whatever it is worth, Van Gundy says his relationship with Francis is so
solid that it is a non-issue. There has been little evidence in games to
suggest otherwise.
Contrary to the platform of the Francis opposition, Van Gundy said Francis is
an obedient point guard. The one-game suspension Van Gundy levied on Francis
the day after the Super Bowl, after Francis skipped a flight to Phoenix, has
made the issue of their relationship seem relevant, particularly as it relates
to Francis' future with the team. But they consider it proof that they really
do work well together because they said they would move past it and have.
Van Gundy does not roll his eyes when the subject sticks like gum on his heel,
but he increasingly sounds as if he would like to.
Francis has averaged 20 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists in the
postseason. His shooting percentages are up from the regular season, but so
are his turnovers. And none of that really is the point to Van Gundy.
As much as he studies and can quote even the most esoteric data, Van Gundy
instead evaluates Francis' ability to help the Rockets as a whole.
"I'm not really a big statistic guy with him," Van Gundy said. "I think he's
done a good job involving his teammates. When Steve shoots, he gets
criticized. When Steve passes, he gets criticized. People talk about his
scoring numbers going down. At the same time, the same people talk about that
he should pass more. Well, if you pass more, you're going to shoot less.
"He has played well this year. It wasn't really about his number of shot
attempts ever. He's cut down on the number of dribbles he takes to create
shots -- or shots for others. He really should get a lot of credit for making
a lot of plays that lead to guys getting a lot of shots."
Van Gundy and Rockets teammates more often point to Francis' contribution to
the team's outstanding 3-point shooting. His 3-point percentage dipped
to .292 this season (he has made half his 3-pointers in the playoffs), but
the Rockets were third in the NBA in 3-point shooting because Cuttino Mobley
and Jim Jackson had career years from the arc, making shots they said Francis
reliably created.
"I think one of the misnomers was that he was not an unselfish player, and he
is," Van Gundy said. "He's a very unselfish player. We've been happy with how
he's played and how hard he's played. This being his first playoff series,
hopefully this will make him hungrier and hungrier to continue to do the
things it takes to get back here and win big."
Van Gundy also considers the argument that Francis and Yao Ming don't mix a
misconception. Coaches love having big men who can catch with guards who
penetrate, because it can help make opposing defenders hesitant to help on
drives. If the big man can also shoot from the perimeter, as can Yao, the mix
can work even better.
"They have mutual respect, and when there's mutual respect, their games do comp
lement each other," Van Gundy said.
But if there remains a need to read between the lines to determine how Van
Gundy truly feels, he even took on the issue of Francis' most measurable
shortcoming: his propensity to turn the ball over. Van Gundy was no fan of
the overtime turnover that took away the Rockets' last real chance to win
Game 4. But Van Gundy said he does not blame Francis for the Rockets'
turnover problem, as much as he detests it.
"I don't think it was the number of turnovers," Van Gundy said. "If you're
asking him to create a lot of plays and create offense, really, it's not his
turnovers that have made a lot of turnovers for us. Really, it's that we have
everybody chipping into that cause. Guys who play 10, 11, 12, 15 minutes have
a couple, then they start adding up.
"Any coach would say you'd like to have a higher assist (total) with no or
fewer turnovers. But his turnovers aren't the ones that send us into the area
where our turnovers are hard to overcome. That to me is a big difference
between us and the elite in the West -- how we take care of the ball."
All of this has seemed clear in the playoffs. Like Kobe Bryant, Francis has
made acrobatic shots to close out a win (Bryant in Game 4, Francis in Game 3).
Francis forced overtime in Game 4 with a jumper. But like Bryant, he has had
airballs in crucial moments (Bryant in Games 1 and 4, Francis in Game 4).
Overall, there is no comparison. Bryant, who remains the NBA's current
backcourt standard, has had spectacular, game-winning moments in each of his
three championship runs. Francis has won one postseason game.
But in comparing Francis and Francis' reputation, Van Gundy seemed certain
Francis is winning.
"When you can shoot it and take it to the glass or take it to the rim and
shoot the pull-up and make free throws, then you have a game that's hard to
guard," Van Gundy said. "If you don't have to close (defensively) to
somebody, then you can keep anybody out of the lane. If all you have is the
spot-up, you can take that away as well. He has the ability to shoot long
range, shoot the pull-up -- which is the most indefensible shot in basketball,
which is why Bryant is so hard to guard -- and to get to the rim and get
fouled. He needs to make his free throws at a higher percentage. But he's
getting there."
Perhaps the entire debate proves Francis is every bit the quarterback of the
Rockets, this season more than ever. In his case, however, that doesn't mean
he is a conventional playmaker or compelling leader. Instead, Francis has
taken the traditional role of the starting quarterback as the lightning rod
of opinion and debate.
For whatever it is worth, Van Gundy has made his position clear -- not that he
won't be asked to give it again in a few hours.
"You can't get caught up in how people perceive you other than if your team
wins, you're going to be perceived well, (and) if you don't win, you're not
going to be perceived as well," Van Gundy said. "Steve's done a good job all
year making sure we have five guys in double figures. I think Steve's done a
good job. I think he still has growth for a lot more improvement."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rockets summary
No further review
Rockets owner Leslie Alexander filled NBA senior vice president of basketball
operations Stu Jackson with his opinions about the play of Lakers forward
Karl Malone. Jackson, however, said Alexander's complaints prompted no
additional look into plays involving Malone.
"Certainly, we evaluate every play and scrutinize every play in the regular
season and playoffs," Jackson said. "Certainly I am receptive and
appreciative of an owner's input. But the reality is we're going to
scrutinize each play anyway."
Jackson said the plays that upset Alexander -- a defensive forearm to
Yao Ming's back and a collision with Bostjan Nachbar -- were reviewed.
"They were called appropriately and accurately," Jackson said.
Call for backup
With officials Joe Crawford and Eddie Rush each missing time in Games 3 and 4
of the Rockets-Lakers series, the idea of having an official available to
fill in might merit some consideration.
"Why wouldn't you?" Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "To have it happen
twice in a row points to it's problematic."
Stu Jackson, the NBA's senior vice president of basketball operations, said
the topic has not come up in competition committee meetings. But mistakes in
the 2002 playoffs led to the use of instant replay and the addition of lights
around the backboard.
"At one time, I believe there were alternate officials under the two-man
system," Jackson said. "We're not seriously considering using alternates in
the three-man system because we always have the two-man mechanics system when
one gets injured. From my vantage point, the official in (Sunday's) game did
an excellent job with the two-man mechanics."
The Rockets described the officiating differently.
"It was a lot of things up in the air that could have gone our way or could
have gone their way, and 99.9 percent of the time, it went their way," Steve
Francis said.
--
“ Do we have enough talent? We have enough talent. But every team in the
league has enough talent. Attitude, chemistry, spirit -- now in those
things there's a wide difference. The question is, do we have enough team?
And that's what we're going to find out. ”
— Jeff Van Gundy
--
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