We have some in one corner making jokes about Rudy being the worst coach in Rockets history and we have other who are honestly calling for his head. What gives? Well, certainly Rudy is not the worst coach in the NBA. Clearly, if he were fired outright there would be a dozen GMs calling him day and night to get him to replace their coach. That being said, is he the right coach for this team. Rudy has acknowledged all season that changes needed to be made. Over the course of the season, we have seen some change in the offense. Rudy has well established himself as a system coach (post offense). Many other successful coaches in the NBA are system coaches (Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, George Karl.. ect). Rudy is also a coach who is used to winning. The Rockets have spent more than one season in a row the lottery since 1982 and 1983. In fact, if you take away the Robert Horry pick, they Rockets haven't been in the lottery at all. A coach who gets used to this gets used to a certain way of thinking. Rudy is used to taking a bad situation and getting a win out of it. He will jumble the lineup or pick up spare parts from the CBA to make it work. He has said that he sees this club in a rebuilding mode. Do his actions reflect that? First of all, consider that the post based offense is dead until Hakeem returns. However, you can still see this team throw it into Hamilton, Cato, or Rogers and you can still see Francis and Mobley running isolation. What does this tell me? It tells me that Rudy isn't capable of running a completely different system. His mind is limited to the post based offense. He will throw a wrinkle in it every once in awhile, but he won't leave it even if the talent on the team warrants that he do so. Also, a team that is rebuilding will sacrifice wins and losses to gain continuity and momentum for the future. Take a look at the roster. Who are the guys who should be in the starting lineup beyond this season? Does anyone honestly envision Thomas Hamilton and Matt Bullard as starters on a contending team? If not, then why is Rudy starting them? The reason? He wants to win. He thinks that Hamilton might produce more than the struggling Cato. He thinks Bullard is shooting better than Walt Williams. These are all decent decisions for someone who is trying to salvage a playoff spot, but shortsighted for someone who is rebuilding. In the end, Rudy is a grea coach for a team that is trying to elevate themselves from a perennial playoff team to a championship team. I'm just not sold that he is the right guy for a rebuilding team. ------------------ Rockets When? Rockets When?
He is the right guy, but like all coaches he wants to win. You can WIN and learn too you know. DaDakota
cato going to the bench was a good thing for two reasons. a) he contemplates that old pine again. maybe if he remembers what his stint in portland was like we can see some more drool from this guy. so hopefully this was done for our future. b) THOMAS HAMILTON RULES!!! I just hope that if this guy truly develops, and does it on the rockets time, that he appreciates the chance that they've given him. he's got good hands, now somebody just needs to teach him how to be aggressive. i'd like small ball w/ mobley at the 2, and anderson at the 3, so i'm not sure what to say about bullard, other than his shots are a' fallin, and if rudy's concern is size, then so be it. i'd rather not get mobes or anderson ever annoyed.
excellent, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT points! you can still see this team throw it into Hamilton, Cato, or Rogers and you can still see Francis and Mobley running isolation. What does this tell me? It tells me that Rudy isn't capable of running a completely different system. His mind is limited to the post based offense. He will throw a wrinkle in it every once in awhile, but he won't leave it even if the talent on the team warrants that he do so. exactly why i don't see how people can say that rudy has changed the offense. he hasn't. he has altered the offense. but with the talent we have, the offensive focal point - the hub of EVERY offensive set - needs to be steve francis. put it this way....if rudy had been michael jordan's coach, i GUARANTEE mj would not have ended up as the greatest of all time. as for his playing time decisions, my man, you hit the nail on the head. why the hell is cato not playing significant minutes? to develop a young center you have to give him time! i mean, he gave walt "the blizzard" williams all that damn time at sf! why the hell can't he give cato that same commitment. especially after les committed all that cash to the guy! give him some damn games rudy! i mean, i don't mean to ramble, but when walt was jacking brick after brick, rudy kept on starting him for 20+ games. now i know that cato's rebounding has been atrocious, but he has consistently been a defensive force and has consistently ran the floor. maybe rudy isn't used to seeing a big man run the floor. hakeem hasn't done it for....hmmm....oh how about 4 or 5 years? so, no, i don't think he's the man for the job. simply put, a rebuilding team requires a coach which can adapt and adjust his offensive and defensive schemes to his players. it's like i said when we had pippen... rudy is a terrible X/O coach who refuses or cannot adapt his system to his players. instead he demands the players - regardless of their strengths - to adapt to his system the system doesn't need a new wrinkle, rudy. it needs a face lift.
Back when we were winning and everybody thought he was a good coach, I'd occasionally look forward to the time after Dream was gone because I knew Rudy would still be there. I was looking forward to see what Rudy would do with a rebuilding team. I think he's going to do a fantastic job with it. I don't think he is married to the post offense. He didn't rely on it when he got the scrubs a bronze in the World Championships. He's not really relying on it now. Our high scorers are Francis and Mobley now. He does put the ball in the big men's hands for low post plays on occassion. They aren't shooting 20 times a game though. I think he wants to establish some interior threat so that defenders won't cheat off their man too much to help stop our scorers in the back-court.
Thomas Hamilton can be a good player if he sticks to his work ethic and shapes up and develops some more moves. Cato has been playing like crap as of late(except against SA), so Rudy wants to inspire him. I've barely even seen them give the ball to carlos in the post. Every team has to have a post up game. That doens't mean that Rudy is married to the post up offense. You simply cannot have an offense without posting up occasionally.
OK, all you nay sayers name me one coach who is good at rebuilding? I can't think of one. Maybe Bill Fitch, but the job he did on the Clippers was not awe inspiring. I really find this dump Rudy BS amazing. The Rocks in their last game almost stole a win from one of the league's best team on the road. The Spurs were also in the middle of a six game winning streak. Rudy does not get credit for the Rocks being in the game until the very end, but he gets the blame for blowing the easy win. As much as it hurts me to say this (and I am a season ticket holder to boot), the Rocks flat out suck. Its just how it is. None of our current 8-9 man rotation have serious NBA starting experience. Francis, Thomas, and Hambone have none. Drew and Mobes have less than a year. Cato and Rogers were on teams but did not play. Anderson and Bullard were in the rotation, but not as starters. Also, Francis our starting point guard does not even have division one college experience at the point. If saw these players on another team, you would flat out be amazed that they did not lose every game by 20. Its time to reduce expectations and enjoy the ride with Rudy and Co.
Barzilla For a rebuilding team, Rudy is THE BEST and lemme stress that again the BEST coach. Why? Well becuase he's a truly a scout in a coaches position. That's why he always gets the gems althought the offense has hard time clicking. If you want to rebuild thus u have to draft and evaluate players quite a lot, and obviously Rudy's your man.
Rocketsfan, Obviously, I never said we should fire Rudy. As you stated, Rudy is far too valuable as an evaluator of talent to simply cut loose. I do believe that he is a scout in a coach's position. However, it's one thing to say that someone has an eye for talent and its something else to say they know how to utilize it to its potential. I honestly believe Rudy is the best in the league at evaluating and dealing with players. I also believe his system is still a pretty good one. It just doesn't fit the talent that the Rockets have right now. As far as rebuilding coaches out there, I can't name one in particular who would fall in that category. However, there are coaches who don't have a system in particular, but adapt their system to the players. There are also coaches who have systems that revolve more around high tempo basketball with defensive pressure and guard play. ------------------ Rockets When? Rockets When?
barzilla, i agree w/ you on the note that you should coach the team in front of you, i also think that rudy's doing that. the occasionnal post up shouldn't be thought of as "rudy's system" though, but merely as a fundamental bball tactic. this conference is a big man conference, you have to be able to sit those big men down from time to time. one way of doing that, is taking the war to them (other than being lucky enough to dunk on them all day long). besides, a strength is a strength. this staff was bred to produce effective post up players. plus, if hamilton gets himself into shape, he'll compliment this team's inherent nature (running) rather than detract from it. post up your opponent, get the foul on your opponent, sit your opponent, now dunk on your opponent.
Achebe, I think what is bothering me in particular is the isolation run by Mobley and Francis. It just doesn't create enough movement. This team has had success when running pick and rolls, but they seem to go away from it in the fourth quarter. As far as the occasional post up, that seems okay, but we need people to cut to the basket because those posts will not draw double teams. However, the thing I'd like to see is some half court and full court pressure. We need to create some easy baskets. But more than anything else, I was hoping Rudy would use this opportunity to bring something radically different. ------------------ Rockets When? Rockets When?
