Being a Control Freak, JVG Leads Rockets to Nowhere

You'd all be singing different tunes if the refs would've got the call right when AK-47 passed the ball out of bounds.

 

he is good enough to lose the game....
how could the same thing happen to the same team 2.......

 

I don't think that Van Gundy is the problem. Perhaps the entire roster needs a readjustment. It is simply not the case that the Yao-Mcgrady duo is invincible, or destined for greatness.

 

JVG is an idiot!!!!

 

JVG is an idiot.

 

Thanks for the double post... second with emphasis.

You saved me the troubl... err... anyway. I agree.

 

Here's a reminder for all you guys of what Cuttino Mobley said about the Rockets and Coach Van Gundy.


Cuttino Mobley Interview

By InsideHoops.com / Dec. 4, 2004
Orlando Magic guard Cuttino Mobley went to Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, Maine for high school, had a solid University of Rhode Island college career, and was drafted 42nd overall in 1998 by the Houston Rockets. This summer, Houston traded the 6-4, 215-pound Mobley, along with Steve Francis and Kelvin Cato, to the Orlando Magic for Tracy McGrady and three other players. Mobley's NBA career average is 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Friday night in Madison Square Garden the Magic defeated the Knicks in a close, exciting game. "Cat" was huge with 34 points, six rebounds and four steals. InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner met with Mobley after the game for an exclusive interview.

InsideHoops.com: You guys are winning. And the team is fun to watch. And you look like you're enjoying yourself out there. It's basketball, and it's working, and you look free on the floor.

Cuttino Mobley: I mean, I'm not really going to say... I always have fun playing basketball, but this year is a lot of fun. When Rudy [Tomjanovich] was there [in Houston], it was a lot of fun. Running up and down, that's what people want to see. We're just getting to show our talent a little more. And everybody love each other. We all go out with each other, restaurants. We pull together, just like our boys in Houston, Yao and Mo, Jimmy, we're close, too. We miss those dudes, but we're over here, we've having fun. That's what basketball is about. Not no dictatorship, know what I mean?

InsideHoops.com: Is that what it felt like over there (in Houston under Van Gundy), a dictatorship?

Cuttino Mobley: Yeah, I mean, people try to control you because they think it's to the best, but sometimes it's right, and sometimes it's not, but, whatever the case is.
InsideHoops.com: And like you said, you always have fun, but like tonight, when you saw Marbury waving to the stands to pump the fans up, you started doing it, too.

Cuttino Mobley: Yeah, I like that. I like to hear that sh*t, know what I mean? The people in the Garden, getting all "Woo woo woo!" Yeah, ok. I like that. Hype me up.

InsideHoops.com: You get into that. Cool. Because this place gets electric, and some players feed off of crowd energy more than others.

Cuttino Mobley: I'm from the East coast. I'm from Philly. I love it. So if you're quiet, it's psychological. You think of something else. But if they're loud, to me, I love it. The louder you are, the better it is for me.

InsideHoops.com: Even if you're away, on the road, as long as the crowd has energy, you dig it, right?

Cuttino Mobley: Yeah. I feed off of fans. The more you talk to me, the more I'm going to come at you.

InsideHoops.com: Let's switch back to Houston. What was up? What was right, what was wrong?

Cuttino Mobley: I would love Houston, but I just think we slowed the ball down too much, and we didn't have as much freedom as we should have. No knock on Jeff (Van Gundy), because he's a great defensive coach. But offensively, I think the freedom like that we have here, with the same defense that he had... you know what I mean? I don't know; Jeff's a good dude. He's misunderstood. But offensively, at times, you were bored and frustrated (laughs). That's just what it is.

 

i respect JVG, but i feel like he just needs to go.

 

in 2005 it was the bad call about Finley stepping out of bounds; this year it's Kirilenko... any good coach can beat one bad call. now a dozen bad calls like Kings/Lakers, game 6 in 2002... anyway, i think the Rockets might still have lost (except by 2 points this time) even if the refs called it right. it's on the coach. he has to go. you have to do something differently if you sanely expect different results.

 

I would be suprised if JVG, Yao and TMac all stay here for the next season.

 

Cuttino's comments say a whole lot about JVG's shortcommings as a coach.

DD

 

Gotta love Cuttino.

His love of freedom on the court got him zero playoff appearances. Controlled got him to the playoffs.

And Cuttino certainly isn't free-wheeling in L.A.

Cuttino's opinion on JVG should have zero merit. I put more stock in what Yao, T-Mac, Battier ...guys like that. They have nothing but great things to say about JVG.

 

yep yep yep.... FIRE damn JVG!!!! Worthless coach... his coachin style is from mid 90s!!!!!! no excitement what so ever!!!!!

 

no more words
let's change the coach...

 

And they failed with JVG together.

Again.

 

dont forget tmac had the same problems when he first got to houston. JVG had to 'loosen' his offense a bit cuz tmac was a superstar. If you are expecting tmac or yao to come out and say jvg's offense sucks, you dont know them well

 

Fire this idiot coach!!!

 

Well, Cuttino is not T-mac (i.e. I don't blame for JVG for not opening up the offense for Cat). If you look at Cat's success in L.A., its earily similar to the position he claims JVG tried to put him in.

Most interviews I've heard from Yao and T-Mac weren't CYA answers. The are both obviously fond of JVG and T-Mac reiterated it after the game.

Look, not saying JVG should be back (I've said before that I will understand if he is let go), but saying he sucks and using a Cuttino quote as an example is high comedy IMO given Cuttino's history and current situation.

For every player that says something negative about JVG, you will have 4 or 5 say something positive.

You can not like JVG, you can say he is not right for this team and should be fired, and all that is A-OK. But IMO, it is disrespectful to say he sucks. He did his best while he was here. He tried to win (and did for the most part) but fell short in the end. I respect him for that. I respect him for his hard work and his candor. I respect that his players like him.

Just wish some of you guys would get over the hate and thank him for giving his best, even though it wasn't good enough.

 

Ok I won't use Cuttino's quote exclusively. I'll use this article instead.

Real sleeper

Van Gundy sees 24 seconds as an eternity and when he is coaching, it sure seems that way. Every Rockets ticket should come with a warning: May cause drowsiness.

The game is supposed to be fun. It meant to be played. But here is Van Gundy trying to pitch a shutout.

Van Gundy likes to control the game, and there is nothing sadder than a 5-foot-9, balding, 43-year-old man with control issues -- unless that man is hanging onto another man's ankle.

During his five full seasons coaching the Knicks, Van Gundy's teams finished 19th, 25th, 27th, 27th, and 28th in scoring. In 1999, he led the eighth-seeded Knicks (27-23, 86.4 points a game) all the way to the NBA Finals using this strategy.

Defense wins championships, he believes.

But Van Gundy doesn't just clamp down on the opposition. He defends against his own players, too.

Two seasons ago, Steve Francis averaged a career-low 16.6 points under Van Gundy. Allan Houston never averaged 20 points -- until Van Gundy left New York. Latrell Sprewell averaged 20 points in Golden State. Then he met Van Gundy in New York and averaged 17.9 over five seasons.

Last season Van Gundy experienced a scoring breakthrough of sorts, when the Rockets averaged 95.1 points (20th in the league) on their way to 51 wins. Of course, he did this with former scoring champion Tracy McGrady and 7-foot-5 Yao Ming (.552 field goal percentage).

This season's futility isn't only about McGrady's back spasms. He has played in six games and the Rockets have averaged 92.8 points in those, which would make them 23rd in the league.

This season's offensive offense is Van Gundy Ball. It's about playing scared.

 

Wrong wrong wrong. Cat's words have more merits than Yao, Tracy and Battier combined for a simple reason.

Cat doesn't play for JVG anymore. He has the freedom to be candid.