---

By M.J. Darnell

The Mailbag

(Got a question for the mailbag? Hit me up...)

Francis, I agree did have access to the Super Bowl but he didn't go, he was 15 minutes late for the plane, and since he was he decided to stay back because before that Van Gundy suspended him. So he got the message from his cell at the airport. And decided to stay back in Houston, but had he went to the SuperBowl, which was smart not to go, there would've been a bigger feud. Your information is completely wrong. Sure people think Francis is not a PG, that's their opinion. I was frustrated with Francis till about mid-December for only averaging 4.7 assists. But since then he's improved it to 5.9/6. That is a huge improvement. He is a great PG, in fact I bet you never knew this. What is the reason JVG came to Houston Rockets? Steve Francis. He can play PG and get 11 pts and 6 assists, and still be happy since we got the win. And to be a Franchise player you have to do things for the Franchise. And basically all teammates have had arguments with JVG. The night where Francis had 24 pts, 9 rebs and 4 assists vs. Atlanta and Yao shot like 2-12, why doesn't he get the blame for making us lose early. Oh wait no, the media like you jerks exaggerate so you can always bring out the old news. It is sick how many ways people can write the same article. Why don't you talk about how Kobe & Shaq, sure it is old. But this is too. Get a clue before you talk! - Tim

Well, thanks for clueing me in. I am sure that Jeff Van Gundy and the Associated Press are wrong, and I'm sure that you have it right. And when Francis's agent says one day that Francis was dealing with an urgent family matter, and the next day Francis himself says he just missed a plane, I'm sure that isn't an indication that anyone is lying. And Francis then saying that he made up the story about going to the Super Bowl is also very believable. Lying to your coach about going to the Super Bowl is completely logical. I'm also sure that you know the exact reasons that Jeff Van Gundy decided to coach the Houston Rockets, because he probably called you and told you.

The game vs. Atlanta that you're talking about when Yao went 2 of 12, and Francis had 24/9/4? Actually, Yao was 2 of 11, and Francis had only 2 boards, not 9, but still, we'll talk about it if you want. Here's my theory about why no one would blame Yao for "making us lose early." The Rockets won. But even if they had lost, Yao had an off shooting night... So? No one has criticized anyone for having a poor shooting night. Yao shoots 52.5% from the floor, third among centers in the league. He's allowed to have an off-night shooting the ball, and so is Francis (39.8%, 18th among point guards). In fact, The Franchise does it quite often.

Everything you need to know about Steve Francis as part of the Houston Rockets, you've seen in the past two games. Against the Spurs, with about :14 on the clock, the Rockets are down three. They need a good three point shot, or a quick two. Here's what happens. They put the ball in The Franchise's hands, and he dribbles aimlessly for 13 and a half seconds, and then launches an off-balance desperation three. Francis ended the night taking 18 shots (hitting only 6 of them), while Yao took just 16 (hitting 11 of them). Next night against the Lakers, The Franchise notches it back a little bit, and takes only 11 shots. Yao takes 21, and has the best game of his career. And they beat the Lakers (who, for the first time in a while, had 3/4 of their hall of famers on the floor together), by 15.

The bottom line is that the pieces in Houston just do not fit. Their offense is maddening to watch. They have as much flow as Vanilla Ice. It starts with the point guard, and he's too prone to just dribble and dribble and dribble and end up being satisfied taking a 20-foot fadeaway. Who would you rather build your team around, a 7'5" team-oriented, hard-working center with a sweet shooting touch, or a 6'3" combo guard that would rather attend the Super Bowl (or at least tell his coach he would) than play with his team?

Thanks for writing, though. Keep us updated on all the late-breaking news from Houston.

Lakers are up and down right now. I was wondering is it time to give Devean George a new home before the trade deadline comes in a few weeks. Bulls, Pistons keep talking about trades. Wish the Lakers could change things up a little, get something on the bench that might help. Fizer for George or something. George is a good 6'8 and athletic and might not be in the right system. - Duane, Los Angeles

It's an interesting question about George. Ultimately, I think they should hang on to him because at this point in the season, bringing in someone else that has to learn the system and learn how to play with Kobe, Shaq, etc., is just going to be counterproductive. He's also one of the few young assets they have, not to mention their best bench player, and while he would have some trade value, it's hard to imagine the Lakers being able to move him for someone that would help them more this year than George.

I really don't see the Lakers making any big moves. The non-essential players they have with any trade value (George, Rush, Walton, Medvedenko) are they guys they need to hang no to for the future. It doesn't make sense to move any of them, unless some other NBA GM decides to pound a couple of Colt 45s before the trade deadline and give them a ridiculous deal. The biggest splash the Lakers will make is to bring in someone like Dennis Rodman or Charles Oakley.

Hey man. What's that rippin of the Lakers' bench?? Fisher, Rush, George, Medvedenko, Grant - don't tell me that's a bad 2nd unit. Don't forget Walton, he's getting better & better. Isn't it fun to have another team like Dallas now - the Knicks tradin' up up and & away? Peace. - Marcin Kolago, Poland

MOTHER POLAND, BABY! Yeeee-ah. Always good to hear from the motherland. Alright, the Lakers bench. Perhaps I was a little hard on them. It isn't bad when compared to, say, the bench in Atlanta. Or Washington. Or Phoenix. But those aren't the teams the Lakers need to be worried about. Their bench, compared to that of the Kings or the Mavericks, is a little lacking, and I was comparing the benches of title contenders.

But you're right, there are some guys on their bench that I like. We talked about George earlier, it looks like Kareem Rush is going to be a good NBA scorer, and Derek Fisher can come in and run the offense, hit some threes, and play pretty solid defense. You can't ask for much more from a back-up point guard, in fact, without Fisher, they probably lose that game against Orlando on Sunday. Medvekenko and Ho Grant are pretty big question marks, though. Medvedenko can score a little bit, but neither him nor Grant provide much of a physical presence down low. I think they need to add someone that can mix it up inside, put a body on someone, and grab tough rebounds. When Shaq and/or Karl aren't on the floor, the Lakers can be taken advantage of down low.

And now's as good a time as any to mention that I think Luke Walton is going to be a great player. His defense and his jumper will improve in time, and then he's going to be the type of player that the Lakers can't afford to not have on the floor. He's an excellent passer and plays a very smart game on both ends of the floor. A lot of times, he seems unsure of himself, and that's natural for a rookie. I wouldn't expect the Lakers to give him a lot of burn in the playoffs, but I don't understand why they aren't giving him more playing time right now.

As much as I love insidehoops.com, I ABSOLUTELY HATE THIS COMMENT, "Of course, it's less amazing when you consider that the wins came over the Heat, Hornets, ROCKETS, Magic, and 76ers. I know the Rockets have their idiotic losses (I'm only 15 and growing gray hairs cuz of them), but they don't deserve that. Lets not for get the November 4, 2003 meeting, we beat them 86-75. GIVE THE ROCKETS RESPECT, YOU PIECE OF CRAP WRITER, I HATE YOU I HATE YOU, NEVER MAKE A COMMENT LIKE THAT.. RAWRRRRRRR ( just in the heat of the moment, I really love reading your articles)... Thank you, and remember Save The Pigs :D - Isacc, Houston

Well, I'm glad you're only 15. That means there's time to get treatment for your bipolar disorder before it becomes a problem in your adult life. My prayers are with you.

Anyway. I didn't mean to lump Houston in there as a bad team, in fact, it wasn't long ago that I went out of my way to make sure everyone knew I thought they were a decent team. I just wanted to convey that four of the five Nets wins were against pretty weak teams (New Orleans was without Baron Davis at the time) and at that point, I was not yet sold on their resurgence.

But thanks for reading, and thanks for the compliment.

Will the Wolves ever be able to get rid of Wally and if so, what type of return do you think they could get? What about a Ratliff or some other 4 that would put Garnett back at three and allow the wolves to run that wicked 1-2-2 with Garnett at the top. - Ryan Casey, Fullerton, CA

Wally's massive contract makes him hard to deal, but it's not out of the question. He makes almost $8 million per (which isn't good, but isn't as ridiculous as, say, Keith Van Horn getting max dollars), but he's locked in through 2008-09. It would take a pretty desperate team to take on that kind of long-term financial commitment. Fortunately, there is no shortage of desperate teams in the NBA.

At this point, I think the Wolves see Wally as sort of an ace in the hole. He's someone they've been winning without, but who will make them stronger when he returns, and that's probably the right approach. Maybe Wally and a draft pick could've landed Ratliff, but of course, the Ratliff ship has sailed. At this point, it's going to be hard to find a big man out there that 1) is available, 2) is worth trading for, or 3) could be had by offering Wally as the trade bait.

Juwan Howard makes the most sense, and he is definitely on the block. In fact, the Orlando Sentinel has reported that the Magic might be interested in sending Juwan to Minnesota in exchange for Michael Olowokandi. It's a deal that makes sense for both teams. The Wolves could use his veteran presence, smart play, and another useful body down low that gives them some versatility as to where Garnett plays. The Magic's Drew Gooden/Juwan Howard experiment has not worked, and Olowokandi is younger and plays center. We'll see what happens as the trade deadline approaches.

The Nets are by far the most talented team in the West. I feel sorry for Byron, but the team had stopped playing for him. The Nets have been to the finals the past 2 years and now that B. Scott is gone they will play well through the regular and not just the post. Indy will bog down similar to the Pistons in the postseason last year and if you watch the Pistons closely... they suck! The Nets are the only true ball playing squad in the East! - Youngin', The D

I'm sorry, I just can't agree that the Nets are the most talented team in the West. Because I own a map.

But I know you just had a little mental slip there, so I'll let it go. Most talented team in the East? Maybe. They certainly have two of the most talented players in the East in Kidd and Martin, and not many other teams in the East can say they have two guys with All-Star talent. But the Pacers are one of them. Man-for-man through the entire roster, I give the Pacers a slight edge.

The Pistons clearly have deficiencies that will hurt them in the postseason (lack of a post scorer, and a three-point marksman), but I don't see the Pacers "bogging down" as the Pistons did last year. Jermaine O'Neal is a legit MVP candidate and a go-to scorer. They can also go to Ron Artest or Al Harrington if they need a bucket. And of course, Reggie is always there. That's the difference between the Pacers and the Pistons. Chauncey Billups can create his own shot, and he is clutch, but by himself, he's not enough.

Why would anyone compare Darko Milic to Sam Bowie? The ignorance in that comment is horrible. Sam Bowie was great, got injured, and that's life. Darko is still developing and has a very good chance of being great. Do people have absolutely no patience? - Rob, Vancouver

Apparently not. I feel you. It's easy to look at Carmelo and say the Pistons made a huge mistake by not drafting him, and that could very well turn out to be the case. Two things to consider, though. 1) As I've said before, sitting on the bench has been the plan for Darko since day one, and I've seen no indication that the Pistons are unhappy with him... and 2) If Carmelo was in Detroit, he probably would not have the numbers he has right now. It's not a knock on Carmelo, but I don't think Joe Dumars or Larry Brown are big fans of giving a rookie major minutes and having him shoulder the load of being the team's main offensive threat. Thanks for writing.

Detroit's clearly the second best team in the East? How do you figure? Do you realize that NJ is only 1 game back of Detroit in the loss column? Do you realize Detroit's played 3 more home games? How are they clearly better than the Nets? The Nets swept that same Detroit team in the playoffs last year, remember? NJ has already beaten Detroit on the road this year and they have yet to play in Jersey. I guarantee NJ beats Detroit by double digits on Tuesday. Detroit will head into the all-star break with more losses than NJ, guaranteed. - Marc Smith, Short Hills, NJ

Fair enough. The Nets did win by double digits and are a better basketball team than Detroit at the moment. I wouldn't take back having Detroit ranked ahead of them last week; at the time that was written, I still wasn't sold on the Nets resurgence. 4 of their 5 straight had come against very weak teams, including a couple against bad teams without their best players. But that's all changed. The streak is now at ten and the Nets have become a focused, disciplined team that looks like they're going to be peaking at the right time. It's impressive to watch Lawrence Frank coach. He coaches hard, he never lets up, and he has the respect of his players. The Nets are ready to make a run in the East. Two more finals appearances, and they can call themselves the Buffalo Bills.

By the way, four e-mails from you is enough. Stop e-mailing me. I know Kenyon Martin is an All-Star. You are annoying.

I feel that Ronald Murray of the Seattle Supersonics needs to either start or be traded somewhere where he is able to showcase his talent. He is undoubtedly talented in all aspects of the game... I would like to see him in NY in the backcourt with Starbury with Houston moving to the 3 spot. Let's just remember that he was the player of the year in Division II basketball. Also if his grades were right he would have been at St. Josephs without a doubt. Pound for pound he will give it to anybody in the league. That jab step that he has is unstoppable. Yeah FLIPPER do your thing son. - RT AKA 'POPS', Boogie Down Bronx, NY

Flip's a pure scorer. I love his game. And you're right, he could probably start on a lot of teams. But for right now, there's not room for him to start in the Seattle backcourt. Who would you bench, Brent Barry or Ray Allen? Bones has been mentioned in trade rumors and his contract is up at the end of the year. Ray Allen's gone on record as saying that he wants the Sonics to keep Bones, and if they don't, it sends a bad message to the rest of the players. It'll be interesting to see how that shakes out, but even if Barry is moved, that still leaves Ray Allen and it looks like Luke Ridnour is the point guard of the future in Seattle.

So where does that leave Flip? Hey, there's no shame in coming off the bench. Everybody looks at it as a sign of disrespect, but people underestimate the importance of being able to bring a guy in off the bench for an offensive spark. A good sixth-man is so valuable. Look at San Antonio. Gregg Popovich has moved Manu Ginobili to the bench in favor of Hedo Turkoglu, even though Manu is a better player right now. But Pop knows that Manu can come in and change the entire momentum of a game, and that's an incredibly valuable asset for a team to have. I think Flip would be great in that role, and he should embrace it. If the Sonics are able to trade Brent Barry for a big man or acquire a post scorer some other way, they're looking good for the future. And Flipper's a big part of that, if he's in the starting line-up or not.

Question, comment, problem, tirade, hate mail, love note? Send it along here.

M.J. Darnell runs www.themightymjd.com.