Knowing only what I have been reading in the Cronk recently, but the scent of what's being said about Larry Smith's temporary tenure is that it is permanently temporary or to put it another way, who will be coaching against Jax' Lakers, Smith or Rudy? This is not a pro or a con or anything other than -- has anyone else gotten this feeling?
call me naive, but i believe mr mean will only be coaching on the road trip. The docs told RT to rest a little after the "exploratory procedure", and rushing back to rejoin the team on a 5 game road trip ain't the most "peaceful" thing to do. Your body needs some time to recover from a general anaesthetic. From my limited knowledge, the longer they keep you under the longer you should be resting. I can't imagine being cut open so they can get to the outside of your bladder being a quick procedure.
I was surprised to hear that Mean has been an assistant for 10 years. Also, he (at least in his own mind) was a candidate for the Warriors head job, but was beat out by Musselman.
I actually like the way Mr. Mean is running the team better then Rudy. He is more strict, and gets on the players more. Exactly what the team needs. DD
I also like Smith, even though we went 2-3 on our road trip. I think we are a more dangerous team with Smith, I mean we have just scored 3 in a row games with 100 or more points.
At first I hated Smith as a head coach, but he's doing all right now. I feel comfortable with him leading the Rockets to the playoffs and in the playoffs if Rudy doesn't come back this year, but I hope the best for Rudy.
I was initially unimpressed but he has changed me big time by the end fo the road trip. So much for us not having good assistants! The team has reached 100 3 games in a row part of which can be attributed to SF setting a hectic pace, instead on walking up the ball. I have been calling for that kind approach for some time and it seems that the dogs have been released. This is going to help the team be even more dangerous. This is not about Mr Smith vs Rudy T; however it is clear that the team seem more hungry and focused and Mr. Mean is not taking any shhit. He is no foul and he knows that he is on parade and will not condone fellas making him look like he does not know what he is doing. I trust he will have an even louder voice once Rudy T returns since that edge may make a hell of a difference with a young team in the position that it is in. This team could end up anywhere from #6 to #8. As far as I am concerned the biggest challenge for the team in the first round will be the mental aspect. If that angle is straight, the top 3 team we play make have their hands full.
I am impressed with Mr. Mean also. I fully expected the Rockets to lose last night but for one of the rare occassions this year, the Rockets blew away a team that they should have beaten. For those of you who watch the games (I live out of town), what are the major noticable differences between the Rockets play under Rudy and under Mr. Mean?
I haven't seen the last 3 Rockets games so I don't know in what ways Mr.Mean has changed this team. Has it to do with the way we play(not guard oriented) or is it the approche of the game(more aggresive) that has changed from the way Rudy coaches? Please enlighten me as I'm getting really pumped up here! ALA
I notice that we don't gain a huge lead in the first half and then blow it away in the second half and lose the game. Maybe Coach Smith said the right motivational words to them at halftime.
While it is relatively early I would say the changes are subtle and it is hard to know if they were not already underway with Rudy. While subtle I think the effects are fundamental. The aggressive defense is back for sure. Everybody is active but I would say that the backcourt and EG have stepped up defensively. When we struggled in the past, these were some of the culprits. EG is getting his hand on a number of loose balls and knocking quite a few. Cato has been a consistent monster on the boards and defensively. The offense is quicker giving the defense less time to set up and that has helped SF decide real early what he wants to do. It seems like the defense struggle to recover as SF or Mobley ends up with multiple options when the ball starts swinging. The team is getting better at exploiting the attention given to Ming. It just seems to be the continued development of the team and the coming together of many things. The low post game is there; the backcourt is lethal; MoT, Cato and Rice are bringing it; SF is leading, no doubt about that; and then there is Posey and EG also bring it. By April 16, there will be alot more conversation about not wanting to face this team.
My thoughts exactly and even the Clips playbyplay guys mentioned it... I actually saw him get off the bench and argue some calls, very nice thing to see...
The swing of opionion is expected. Rockets completed laid eggs in the first two games of the road trip, while they are on fire in the last 3 games. Mr Mean must did/said something. The mental altitude is clearly the opposite. Street ball has turned into team ball. I am impressed by Mr Mean also. And it only took him two games to turn this team around!
I think the highs and lows of our play on the road trip has little or nothing to do with the ability or lack thereof of Mr. Mean. I think the team morale was down at the beginning of the roadtrip because of the news about Rudy cancer. They took a little while to recover, got their feet under them and benefited from a Remember-the-Alamo kind of syndrome. The same sort of thing when one of your best players are out but you still have games you need to win. Everyone concentrated a bit harder and played with more effort because they felt beseiged. It isn't an effect that will last longterm as complacency returns, but it did give us a short-term boost. Plus, the Clippers played terribly.
I like the fact the Larry is giving more guys a chance to play. Moochie has gotten a lot more consistent minutes. Posey has had a couple of big- minute games. Steve, Cuttino, and Yao have each had much shorter stints recently. The offense is more spread out, but I think this started to happen under Rudy.
