http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_mannix/08/12/nba.mailbag/1.html With the additions of Steve Francis, Mike James, Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola, the Rockets have finally found a deep rotation and much needed athleticism. How do you see the team adjusting to Rick Adelman's much quicker offensive set? Sanjeet, Kingston TX I like the Adelman hiring. Jeff Van Gundy is a terrific defensive coach but he could never quite figure out how to effectively blend the superior talents of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming on the offensive end. Adelman has long been one of the most underrated coaches in the league -- just look at how the Kings went into the tank after he was dismissed. He has won 61 percent of his regular season games. More importantly, Adelman has won 70 playoff games and taken one team (Portland) to the NBA Finals and another (Sacramento) to the brink of it. So he knows how to get it done in May and June. I spoke to Rockets GM Daryl Morey earlier this month and he was enthusiastic about how McGrady and Yao could adapt to Adelman's passing and cutting system. Adelman was very much on board with the Francis signing and with a wealth of talent at Adelman's disposal, the Rockets should be successful. Fair warning though: expect an adjustment period early on. Adelman's offense can be complex and it may take some time for the returning Rockets to adapt. ------------- I hope Adelman can finally successfully blend the talents of our two superstars on the offensive end!
I for one am desparate for any sports entertainment. The astros suck and I have a feeling the Texans will suck again this season, so any Rockets news is welcome news.
Actually I disagree, he is one of the first, if not THE first national reporter to actually go into detail on why he thought it was a good signing. A lot of others guys are lazy and use the "Francis is past his prime" or "McGrady will never win anything" opinion instead of actually breaking down teams and giving us a fair and objective analysis. If think a team sucks then that's fine. But when your response is "The Rockets will never win anything with McGrady as the leader" then that is just lazy reporting.
National reporters have no more credibility on the NBA than any other fan, they just happen to write about it. Heck, I enjoy Clutch's articles more than any of the Chronicle writers. DD
Agreed. I also agree with Mannix that it's going to take some time before we gel. With our opening schedule I expect a rough start.
John Hollinger wrote an article compiling a list of the top ten coaches in the NBA. Rick Adelman was number 2 behind Phil Jackson. Encouraging, if not definitive.
We'll have to be lucky not to, with such a different coach and system. (thank god) Maybe we'll get lucky. I thought it was a nice read. Enjoyed reading that, as well. Don't know if it's true, but suspect we'll find out.
I disagree with the JVG assessment. Yao and Tracy had their best overall offensive seasons under him when healthy. Both were playing like MVPs. It's the supporting cast that he didn't have. But yeah, I expect nothing less than a championship under Adelman. I'm still kind of worried about defense though. That's what ultimately wins it all.
I beg to differ. Tracy did not have his best offensive seasons under JVG. He had his best offensive seasons when he was with Orlando and was the NBA scoring champion. In fact last year was one of his worst statically. His greatest season was the 00-01 season where he averaged 33.8 ppg.
With respect to Yao, we have nothing to compare how Yao would play in the NBA because his first season under Rudy T he didn't get full playing time and he was a raw rookie. He has really had only one coach he could fully develop with and who knows how he will do under a new coach. However, that being said. Every other player who has played for JVG and other coaches has seen their scoring total drop. It's a well known fact.
Sorry I couldn't resist http://spbroadcast.blogspot.com/2004_10_31_archive.html Speaking of McGrady, the curse of Jeff Van Gundy appears to be settling in on him. No player has ever averaged 20 points or more on a Jeff Van Gundy-coached team: not Patrick Ewing, not Allan Houston, not Steve Francis, not Cuttino Mobley, not Yao Ming. McGrady might do it, but if he does, it won't be by much. In his first game as a Rocket he had 18 points, a far cry from the 28-30 he would often average in Orlando, but most people attributed that to the Detroit Pistons' championship-caliber defense. However, last night he managed just 21 points against a mediocre Toronto Raptors team. It's not like it was a blowout and he was taking it easy as Houston lost to fall to 0-2 for the year. Stay tuned to see how this plays out once the Rockets start playing Western Conference teams.
LOL Look, I didn't write the article. T-Mac and Yao both scored more than 20 ppg too. However the trend is there.
JVG resigned just two month into the 2001/02 season; so thats why the author mentioned no player avg. 20 pts per game.
I agree that JVG didnt quite do the best job @ blending Yao and McGradys talents on the offensive end. I cant quite cite specific examples, but I do remember watching games throughout JVGs tenure and feeling that McGrady seemed to play better when Yao was not on the floor and vice versa. Granted the Rox were more successful when both were in the lineup, but it just seemed at times like they enjoyed more offensive freedom when they were the undisputed #1 option under JVGs offense. Anyone else feel this way?
