First of all, I am a Van Gundy guy. I didn't know much about him when he first came here, but I knew he was a Pat Riley disciple and that was cool with me. I loved the way he got the most out of the teams he coached. There were plenty of times his teams were out matched, but they WERE NEVER out worked. He got the most out of his teams because he held them accountable for every little thing they did. It didn't matter if it was T-Mac, Yao or who ever, he would sit you and call you out for lack of energy and effort. I miss that. Now, many believed that he went a little over board at times and saw him as a small militant midget that needed his ego stroked. He hardly ever complimented them for a good hard win and that pissed some people off. He never gave them credit for a lot of things because he would say all the time...."'(insert name) is only doing what he's suppose to do" I now see why he did the things he did. The current Rocket personnel needs structure, they need someone to hold them accountable. A team lead by Tracy and Yao needs a coach like Van Gundy, Pat Riley, Larry Brown, etc....the kind of coaches that don't let up. This team doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt. That's what Rick Adelman does and in essence, that's what you're suppose to do for grown men. BUT....Tracy needs someone to ride him and hold him accountable. Yao, although he's talented and the hardest worker on the team...needs someone who's stern and gives him a reason to be better, a reason to stay great. That's what Van Gundy did. Good Coach, Wrong Personnel. Rick is a good coach, his track record speaks for itself. He's not coaching his type of team. This current Rocket team needs baby sitting and it's sad, but true as all hell. If you don't ride the ones that need it and hold them accountable, you'll never get MAX effort out of them. Tracy will coast and pick spots to turn it on while others tend to follow his lead. You can't pick and choose when to give max effort, you have to work hard and believe in whatever system you're in. Rick needs players that are self motivated and doesn't need babysitting. Guys that will work hard because personal pride kicks in and takes it course. Guys that will put out max effort on both ends because they are suppose to and not because they are made to. The Rockets problem will not go away over night. Morey made some great moves this year, I must admit. He brought in some good players.....the only problem is, it's for the wrong coach.
good topic and i completely agree. adelman is a good coach. if any coach could organize a bunch of misfits to win then it's him, but this team just doesnt work.
well put. when your best players are passive, a laissez faire coach is not a good fit. Somethings got to give.
You're right...something HAS to give. I hate the fact that more major personel moves might have to happen
i think Adelman is a lot like Rudy T in terms of coaching. they prefer a hands off method and let the players play. thats why they're such good veteran coaches. unfortunately we don't have veteran players. francis and mike james are NOT veterans.
it's a little of both. Adelman will have to adjust and realize that he letting the players figure it out just may not work and there will probably need to be some moves made...even though I think this team has good personnel they are just not playing up to their abilities for whatever reason. whatever it all is, it's frustrating as hell and with tmac's knee problem, things could get real ugly real fast
They just need to make their shots. Like I said before. Shooting is a learned skill. They just need to tee it up and shoot like 500 shots a day. Running shots, layups, turnarounds, and jumpers. How do you think Tiger Woods got so good at golf?
its good when you have smart players and a leader on the court. But Rudy did show much more energy on the sidelines
that's why Yao is stepping up and trying to fill that leader role. last year he didnt need to do that because JVG was our leader.
yup, and it's a problem when your teams leader is the coach...which points to a greater problem of last years team (besides lack of depth).
that's why Yao is stepping up and trying to fill that leader role. last year he didnt need to do that because JVG was our leader.
From what we read and judging by the stats Coach A was a good coach. However he is not at present a good coach with our Rockets he only expects mediocrety from his players and he would be happy if all of them had ten point, three rbs a game, all of them being great passers and great athletes. In the real world we have players of many levels and egos on our team . we need a coach who can develop and encourage all of our players, including Rookies.
First of all, I am NOT a JVG guy. But the problem IS the new coach and your last sentence says what the problem is. Since when do you dump a team for the coach? I thought it was the other way around. Please understand I'm not saying we don't have any roster problems. Hate to be repetitive, but name the last laissez faire coach that won an NBA championship? . . . . . Still waiting. I'll name some very non-hands off coaches who have won it all: Pop, Riles, LB, PJ. That takes you all the way back to 1991. The pipe dream that NBA coaches need to back off and let the players play is nonsense. NBA players need a firm hand to achieve at the highest levels. Laissez faire doesn't work. Adelman must go.
It's hard to argue. He certainly needs to get more out his players by any means and I'm not talking about sitting Steve and Mike James every now and then. It's when Tracy refuses to run the offense (move and set screens and picks without the ball) and request the ball to stay in his hands so he can create something and then he hoist up an off balanced 19fter. He needs to hold him accountable. Call Chuck Hayes out for missing wide open layups, Tell Shane that it's not ok to disapear for 38mins. Tell Yao it's bush league to let the ball get stripped over and over again, let Rafer know that he need to practice that floater until his eyes bleed and I could go and on.
Your words about JVG make sense, but how could RA be a good coach? He can not put those players under control.
ooh no, I agree with everything you said. I don't believe we should dump our team to mesh with a coach. I do believe that if they want to stick with the investment they have in Adelman, then the Rockets need to get him a few players that will work for him...ESPECIALLY if HE doesn't adjust to the current personel. That's the key. He's an off-hands coach and that works for self motivated veterans. The Rockets only have one maybe two of those. So if he's not willing to adjust and the Rockets want to stay with their investment...get him some players that will work for him. NOW, I think that's a cop out because this same team won 52 games in the west without their allstar center for most the season. I never thought they should have fired Jeff in the first place. What did he do wrong? He preached defense, accountability and hard work.....wow. Yes, we lost to Dallas and Utah in two game 7. Yes, that's a problem, but there were solutions to that problem. The same solutions that they gave Rick this year, was what Van Gundy needed to get to the next level. There is no doubt in my mind that if Van Gundy was the current coach, we would be 8 to 9 games over 500. No question
Rudy T? Adelman almost won a championship. He just ran into a guy named Jordan. And later on, he ran into a guy, actually a couple of guys, named Shaq and Kobe, together with some referees.
How is Jackson more firm and hands on than Adelman? He seems to be very much a "let them figure it out" kind of coach.
I'm not going to even read a post in this thread (shoot me), simply respond to the title. Because IMO its not a possible phrase. A good coach sees his personnel, maximizes the talent, puts players in roles, and motivates. He does what he can with what he is given. That is his job. Pat Riley has been to the finals with 3 distinctly different styles of play. Thats a good coach. If you need a special type of team catered to your philosophy then go coach college sports.
I think this is a good summary point of view that I agree with. Also, last night was telling for me. When Dwight Howard threw Yao down and the foul was called on Yao, WTF was Adelman's reaction? It looked like he was saying "Golly Jeepers". Oh no, Rick, don't drop a GJ-bomb! JVG would have gotten t'd-up for sure...
