[Chron]Rockets' lack of intensity angers Van Gundy

Tell Alston, Wesley has tried it the last 2 times and failed miserably. Alston should shut up and try to be consistent instead.

TMAC and YAO are the leaders of this team. Just play your friggin roles!!!! Juwan the leader of the team?!?! They must have really given up on life.

JVG is wearing off on these guys. He is not the only one pointing fingers at others on the team now.. Take responsibilty for your own actions!! Sheesh.

All talk and same old stinking crap on the court all season long.

 

No, just give Tmac the ball in the 4th, that is all.

 

Maybe the team is tired of playing for you. Ever thought of that, Jeff?

 

Maybe he does vomit during the course of a day after watching game tape.

Anyone have that post someone on here made about JVG suring a typical day?, it was hilarious

 

"I've never been around a team that would put so little into a game coming off a loss," Van Gundy said of the Rockets. "We were watching (Nuggets forward) Ruben Patterson play last night. They came off a very poor home performance to Milwaukee. They came out and they put their hardest competitors on the floor, and he's making unbelievable effort plays.

"We all know on our team that the only guys who do that are Ryan Bowen and Juwan ( Howard), and that's it. We get no inspirational play otherwise. It may be sound play, it may be good play, but it's nothing inspiring as far as hard play. It seems as if some of our guys are uninspirable."

See, I have a little trouble with this.

1. Ruben Patterson has been on the trading block the whole season. We all knew he was a low down gutsy player that brought it on the floor. He could have been on this team, but instead Van Gundy is pumping him up AFTER he is traded to another team. WHY DIDN'T WE GO AFTER HIM THEN?!??!?!!?!?!?

2. The only players that play inspirational are Bowen and Howard???!!?!?!!?!!!!

Are you out of your freaking mind?!?!?!?!?! Yao is dragging his body up and down the court after he sprains an ankle and we are down by 20. And you want to say that Juwan and RyBo are the ones playing inspirational??!!!?!?!?! Juwan is getting his .... handed to him by Marion and Webber and he's playing inspirational??!!!?!!!?!! Rybo is chucking up shots that bend the rim into the shape of a trapezoid and he's playing inspirational??!!!!!!!?!?!!!!?!!!! Chuck Hayes is bulldogging it in the paint against players that are 6 inches taller than him and he's getting the board and the putback, and Juwan and RyBo are playing inspirational???!!!!?!!?!!??!!?!!?!

One of our most inspirational, uptempo, exciting players has just been cut and you're complaining about everybody not playing with inspiration??!!?!?!?!!!

Bogans is taking the ball to the rack and drawing loads of contact, and he's bodying up on the defense and hustling for all he's worth.........and Juwan and Rybo are.......??!?!?!!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!?!!?!?!!!?!!?!??!!!!

Wesley is playing his tail off every game and Juwan and Rybo>>>!!!!L!!!!>!!?!?!?!?!??!!?!!!

McGrady played through pain game after game early in this season, he's playing through pain now, physically (forget the emotional stufff, just leave it out, he's still playing through significant physical pain). And he gave this team night after night of 25+ point efforts, taking the ball to the rack and getting hammered, game after game. And you want to say that Juwan and Rybo!?!?!?!??!??!?!!?!?!!!?!?!?!???!!!!


Get real coach. Somebody hit you in the back of the head while you were staring at your nose or something. And it was before the first Phoenix game, because you did not make one single adjustment during that game and not many significant adjustments in the 2nd game, including letting Marion go ape crazy all over Juwan "Mr. Inspiration" Howard.

I can just see it. Rafer dribbles one off his foot tonight, Van Gundy pops him out and brings in Brunson Burnt Out Burner. Burner does a slide tackle on Mighty Mite and Van Gundy smiles because he's got himself another inspirational player.

Come on man. The least inspiring thing about this team right now is watching Van Gundy's droopy eyes staring at the floor as the timeout is called and the players are drudging back to the bench to listen to the "effort" line.

You're better than that coach. Do your job.

 

Actualy, he is not. He is what you see right now, stuck in the 90's outdated coaching mode.

I agree with the rest of your stuff though. Carry on.

 

Im sorry but, it wasnt inspiring, or effort when Tmac risked his career to play for this team when they lost in double digit margins because he was out with a spine injury?

If anything he probably saved JVG job this year.

Yao... even after toe surgery and his play of late, you praise Ryan Bowen?

Its a huge slap in the face to flog these guys out in the media.

Why cant the coach take any responsibility for anything at all.

I happen to think he isnt getting the best he could out of the players he has, yet you dont see CD in the media putting his name on broadway.

And Im sure some of these players he asked for yet he cant inspire them?

Puh-lease

 

I believe he has back spasms, never said he had a spinal injury or else he would not be able to play.
Back spasms are bad, but you can play through them, a spinal injury is career ending and if you have structural damage you cannot play the game of basketball.

but i agree with you, JVG has started to wear thin on me too, and i am a big supporter of his.

 

lol, the post of the year.

 

I've had it with Mr. Negative. His time has passed. Let him proclaim himself a genius on TV or go to a small college where he can be praised for doing well with inferior talent or whatever.

Time for Les to suck it up.

Time for Yao and or Tracy to talk to Les.

I don't give a crap if JVG is supposedly a good x's and o coach or watches a lot of film or whatever or talks a great game like he does.

If you either cannot motivate your players or after three years of getting your guys and turning over virtually the whole team, you still are sick of them all it is time to go.

Virtually any other NBA coach could do as well with Yao and Tracy., with less pissy drama. No loss to let JVG go.

 

Yeah, it will. And I expect them to come with a serious mad on, like they should.

I've always been a JVG fan, going back to his unlikely, unpredicted success in NY and my appreciation of him grows every day.

He wasn't saying Yao sucked when he singled out Bowen and Howard -- he was saying those are the guys that have played with intensity, regardless of their talent or ability. His insistence on players playing with intensity is what makes him my favorite Rockets coach ever. And I was a huge Rudy booster.

Go, Jeff. Say what needs saying. Haters be damned.

 

exactly. some of you act like this is the first time you've read a van gundy quote.

do you ever wonder why his players consistently love him and respect him even though your sensitive ears can't handle what he says? his players love him because despite the criticism they know it's only to improve their game and in the end they know he will go to war for them.

i think it's hilarious to think this team has quit on him or that t-mac or yao would ever call for his head. you think he's slighting those guys in his quotes? please. there's never been a bigger yao ming or mcgrady fan then van gundy and he's shown it time and again.

unlike some of their fans i don't think tracy or yao needs jvg to tell the chronicle, "hey tracy's amazing' or" yao's unstoppable", every single day to keep those two happy.

 

jopatmc - BULLSEYE. AGREE.

Did Van Gundy minor in psychology at Nazareth? What is he trying to accomplish other than to prove there is a reason really talented players are avoiding coming to Houston?


Van Gundy comes out of his office at 2am. He walks down the dark hallway and looks in Thibodeau's office. Tom is slumped on his desk sleeping with keyboard impressions indented in the side of his face. Gundy smiles.

He continues down the hallway to Ewing's office where a small light is on but the door is closed. He hears noise inside and knocks. "Uh hold on, I'll be right there!" and he hears the giggles of a female. "Patrick!"

He shakes his head and continues walking, he looks in the team film room. Juwan has heard Gundy's footsteps and has quickly changed the movie from Brokeback Mountain to the latest Rockets disaster. "Hey coach, just going over my one on one moves one more time." "Great Juwan, appreciate your putting it all out for the team!"

Gundy hears a basketball in the distance and walks over to the practice court. There is Ryan Bowen still shooting, his clothes drenched in sweat, his arms trembling from exhaustion. "Hey coach, I almost hit 30% on the last 100." "Great Ryan, keep up the inspirational work, you're my man! But where is everyone else?"

"I guess Sura called and they all left about 8 hours ago for a party at Bobbie's house."

"Slackers!" Gundy shuffles off in his wrinkled and rumpled suit to his '95 Ford Escort and drives home on the empty roads, while deep in his mind he asks "where is everyone else on the highways? are all those slackers home sleeping? why isn't anyone out here like me working? why wasn't CD still at work when I left? I'll bet Les likes him better than he likes me."


Now who is going to get on Gundy for starting his very own Fire Gundy III thread?

 

I've got to admit that JVG is losing perspective here.

Yao is playing hard.

J. Howard and R. Bowan are just two players who scrap for the ball but are very limited producers because Bowan can't score and Howard is not physical enough and has no hops.

Howard gives a good effort, Bowan pours his guts out but has little to offer, he is not a good defender, just a very pesky defender, but he is easily out quicked and beaten one-one.

Maybe Howard and Bowan show passion. But showing passion doesn't win games as much as solid execution on defense and offense. Hitting open shots and rebounding- yes, defenses is 90% effort and intensity IF YOU have the talent.

What is killing the team is outside shooting. When TMac does not carry the load on the perimeter we stink. It is that simple. Whether TMac is injured or shooting 6-20 it has the same effect on the team.

The team is built around TMac. He has to be playing at Kobe/Lebron level or we are not going to win.

I think JVG is missing it or at least not saying....

TMac might be injured some, or having some ongoing personal struggles or something else... But the problem I see is-

TMac is not explosive and he is not shooting well. Even his defense is sporatic and last season he was the defensive stopper.

Unless TMac returns to superstar form we are really going to struggle.

I am very concerned about this one issue- forget all the other role player stuff. Yao is doing fine, and progressing.

But without TMac playing at the highest level we are a lower tier team.

 

JVG isn't calling out Yao or Tracy. In naming Rybo & JHo as guys trying hard he's calling out two specific guys in the backcourt. JVG is miffed about shot selection, in an earlier Chron article T-Mac was miffed about shot selection.

He's already called out Wesley earlier in the season and Wesley eventually responded with good performances. The Philly game should have been a win. 3-16 3pt shooting was killer.

 

richirich, lmao.

seriously, i think the only explanations is that jvg is losing it. he's run out of ideas. how on earth can you blame the lack of effort one day, the slowness the next...

 

Tmac....paging Mr. Tmac...

It is not enough to be a good player, you have to LEAD too.

DD

 

As much as many here dislike Van Gundy, he's been spot on with regards to our guys' lack of passion. During the Sixers game it really seemed like they didn't care who won or lost. Honestly, ALL the rockets that day just seemed like they were working off a hangover or whatever. We know what our guys look like when they care about a game. Unfortunately, against the Sixers, they just didn't care enough.

On the other hand, the team could have been smarting from the loss of Jon Barry.