"I don't see them as dramatically better, maybe incrementally better ... They replaced an outstanding coach in Rudy Tomjanovich with another outstanding coach in Jeff Van Gundy, so I don't know if it will make a huge difference ... What will be the biggest factor is the growth of Yao Ming ... If he becomes what he can be, he could become the second-best center in the game ... The other thing they'll need to address is style of play ... They'll probably run things through Yao more ... Rudy started that whole running the offense through the post with Hakeem Olajuwon, where he would touch the ball 50 times a game ... They need to get back to that, but it doesn't fit with what Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley like to do ... So, it'll be about the same; they'll be knocking on the door of the playoffs." -- NBA general manager http://www.nba.com/preview2003/hou.html Ok, two things right off the bat that whoever wrote this article doesn't seem to understand. First, while the Rockets did replace one outstanding coach with another, this guy fails to realize that JVG and Rudy have two completely different styles. This team needs a hard kick in the butt, a no-nonsense coach, and they got exactly that in JVG. Whether that'll translate to more wins is uncertain, but clearly the outlook is looking a lot better. And second, newsflash: Yao already is the second best center in the game!!
Your right JYD, it's time for JVG to lite that fire. Let's just hope he's able to contain it. Go Rockets!!
whoever wrote that preview is totally asinine. "it'll be about the same"...puleeeeze! the rox are going to suprise the sh*t out of some people. new coach, new arena and new uniforms, new attitude, new players, old players better, etc......"about the same" my a$$.
First of all, nobody wrote that article. It plainly says it's a quote from an NBA GM. Secondly, who cares what it says? We can't prove any of it definitively wrong until the season has run its course so why sweat it?
