[CHRON] Van Gundy's feisty stand puts city in his corner

Good job DJ, way to get JVG's back.

 

It's time for the true fans to take over the TC and make ourselves heard tonight.I expect the frenzy that Stern wanted,will be at full force.Tonight will be a fun night for all Rockets fans,but esp. the ones at TC.

 

This is really unbelievable. This guy's team is about to pull one of the worst choke jobs in history, a reverse clutchcity, instead of taking responsabilty for it he b****es about the refs worst than any coach has ever whined, and everyone thinks he's the Houston version of Rocky. Cuttino Mobley needs to hire JVG as his pubilicist. I feel like I'm in bizzaro Houston.

 

You're outside the Harris County line. You buy a car. Harris County makes you pay taxes. You say: "No way, I was outside the line!" you're pissed. You call Federal Government to let them know that you shouldn't pay. They tell you: "shut up, you have to pay. End of story."

Is that OK?

 

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Yao is the X Factor for this series. When he's in foul trouble, he plays timid. A timid Yao means McGrady has 0 support.

Kevin Garnett cannot win a championship by himself, neither could Shaq without Wade, Duncan without Ginobili and Parker, Kobe without Shaq, Amare without Nash or Marion.

We need Yao. No one on this team other than Yao or McGrady can put 30 on the Mavericks.

Van Gundy had to take a stand, especially when you have a series this close and the deciding factor could be whether Yao gets called for an offensive foul against Allan Henderson.

That is standing up for your player and your team.

If you want to call it whining, Phil Jackson whined for Michael Jordan, Pat Riley whined for Ewing, Magic Johnson and Kareem, KC Jones whined for Parrish, McHale, and Bird.

Call it what you want but keeping Yao in the game, letting him play aggressive is the key to our success.

 

Well let me explain.

Choke Job:
The Rockets will be one of the only teams to blow a 2-0 series lead in NBA history if they don’t win tonight and then game 7.

Whining:
All the guys you mentioned have complained about the way their they are their teams were treated by the officials but none ever cited a specific agenda by those officials.

Reverse Clutch City:
The Rockets in 1994 came back from losing the first two games of a 7 game series in which they had home court advantage only to come back to win the series 4-3. Now they are about to do the opposite

Not taking Responsibility:
Since this controversy with the refs, I don’t think JVG has mentioned anything about actual play on the court. Instead of talking about the one foul a game Yao gets on a moving screen, he should coach him not to get the other three trying take charges and blocking shots that already are in the air.

Cuttino Mobley:
Cuttino Mobley has a publicist. A publicist is supposed to improve your public image. In the midst of leading his team in a historic choke, JVG has actually improved his image with fans, nothing Mobley’s publicist could ever do.

Bizarro Houston:
In the Superman comic books, there is a bizzaro world where everything is opposite of what Superman knows complete with a bizzaro superman. I feel like I am in bizzaro version of Houston where a coach is gaining popularity in the midst of reverse clutch city(refer to earlier in the post)

 

Yeah, I too never liked how fans were so quick to berate and judge JVG at the beginning of this season...now, they love him...I've been behind him since he was hired because I admire his honesty and his loyalty towards the organization and players...not to mention, he's one awesome coach...he's giving the 4th seed Dallas (who had 58 wins to our 51) a great series even without our starting PF...thats great coaching...I love the man and what he stands for and I'm proud that he's representing our Rockets...

 

How is Van Gundy not taking responsibility? He has stated over and over, both before and after RefGate, that he and the team had put themselves in this position with poor coaching and playing.

Lighten up pgabriel. All Van Gundy did was tell the truth, and to nip this kind of stuff in the bud, Stern cracked down big time, more as a warning to anyone else with similar thoughts than anything else. The fans of this town just appreciate someone who is willing to call out bull****, stand up for his boys and FIGHT THE POWER.

Not to mention they're going to win this series anyway, and then you're really going to feel like a fool. Get on board now, Mr. "reverse clutch city."

 

It is a choke job to an extent that we had the opportunity to put Dallas in a deep hole and didn't, but certainly not a historic one.

We're the underdogs with a team of one superstar, one all star, and a bunch of journeymen and spare parts that was essentially dead in the water in December. We weren't supposed to beat Dallas.

We had a momentary 2 game advantage in the playoffs in a 7 game series, but we've been a lousy home team all season so it's not unexpected.

This isn't like the Sonics/Nuggets or the Oilers v. Buffalo.

For the record though I will say that Van Gundy's calling out of the officials in the short run appeared to backfire if Game 5 is any indication, and was a mistake. (although stern's heavy handed response is an even bigger mistake).

 

He means one of the only teams to blow a 2-0 series lead AFTER winning the first two on road.

I'd like to think that JVG is doing the team a HUGE favor in that everyone is focusing on his fine and his "relationship" with David Stern, in a way, shielding the players from criticism. You don't hear anyone mentioning that they can be only the second or third team in league history to blow that kind of 2-0 series lead.

For the record, the Rockets won't be that next team, they will win tonight and then beat the Mavs in Dallas.

 

Richard Justice? I heard him on Dan Patrick show yesterday. didn't sound like a JVG supporter at all ...

 

The thing about this is that Van Gundy obviously didn’t expect his statements to get the reaction they have gotten. I’m sure if he had a chance he would take back the part about him being given information from his friend. People in the town are acting like he’s a martyr when all he did was put his foot in his mouth. And he is in the wrong. He has been complaining about the treatment of Yao all season and I agree with him, Yao is poorly officiated. So is Shaq. Its hard to officiate players who are extremely larger than everyone else on the court. But the level he took his complaint to is what fans resort to. Fans claim that the refs are out to get them, not coaches. Its alright to take up for your player but don’t call your league into question in the process. And in the midst of losing it sounds desperate, not noble.

 

So what. The perception from the players is that the Coach is standing up for him. Yao offered to pay half his fine.

You think Yao will be leaving for LA, NY or some other location after an incident like this (I made this point yesterday and Ric Bucher of ESPN also wrote about this today).

Yao played inspired in game 5. I believe he responded because of what van Gundy had done for him. How often have you seen Yao play with so much energy, grabbing rebounds, going strong to the hole, blocking shots, complaining furiously after his 4th foul. He scored 15 points in the 4th quarter and was completely dominant.

If TMac had his usual game or if any of our role players stepped up and done anything, we wouldve won.

The players are fired up. The fans are fired up and if Van Gundy has to play the martyr, so what.

Just because you think he's whiny doesn't mean his strategy to inspire his players won't work or that he's "choking the series" away. And what exactly should Van Gundy take responsibility for? The fact nobody on this ancient team can guard Jason Terry or box out Josh Howard is his fault?

At the end of the season, Dallas was as good as any team in the NBA.

Other than McGrady, they have it way over us in talent and yet we've fought hard in every game.

I am still completely puzzled by your stance on the whole issue.

Who cares if you think he's whiny or David Stern hates him or Steven A Smith.

This team has completely rallied around the coach , especially the somewhat enigmatic big giant - that's always a good thing.

 

Your worst nightmare.

Is there really no low that you will scratch on these pages for partisan polemic purposes?! Please save that ignorant pablum for another message board

I still have mad love for you.

 

Hello? Are you still there, pgabriel?

 

Do you goto robbery victims and tell them to stop complaining about being mugged because had they run faster, they wouldn't have been mugged?

 

Mark this moment down ....

I am officially starting the .... JV G-Unit.



J J J J J JV G-Unit!!!!


The faction for the younger JVG fans.