"There are little pockets of resistance." JVG Comments

Nope...the team did a better job by themselves than any of us previously thought. It appears that Rudy did even less of a job than we thought before, and I, at least, didn't thinking he was doing barely anything.

JVG is an extreme coach, but not that extreme. Is it really that surprising that part of the reason this team never makes it is beacuse they're all talk and no play...because they don't try hard enough...? Not really.

It is surprising that they lean soo much that way that JVG has to make public comments about it before the preseason starts, once training camp is under way, during media day, after preseason game one, after preseason game two, after preseason game three, after preseason game four...we'll see tomorrow night.

It's not just surprising it's pathetic. This team has a few accountable players and a bunch of lady's dressing up in men's clothes and playing catch. And they get paid millions on top of it all. PATHETIC!

 

Bye Bye Stephanie Franchise ! ! !

 

I agree that Rudy was probably a much better coach than I thought, especially in light of recent comments by JVG and the way Steve is playing in a NEW system.

I always mistook the isolations, the shot clock running down, the lack of ball movement for Rudy's system. But in fact it was Steve blowing assignments and going for the homerun (as JVG said). We are seeing the EXACT same type of chemistry and ball movement under JVG as under Rudy. People are just standing around watching Steve.

Rudy just never bothered to say it to the media.

 

MacBeth,

I don't think that JVG is extreme in his system philosophy. He seems to want balance on defense and offense. Rudy was mostly defense oriented. So, for that reason alone. I'm glad we have JVG.

But you are SPOT ON in the personality department.

Rudy, nice guy, pushover, gollygee wiz...coach.

JVG, A mutherf*ckers, mother*uckers coach"

I hope not. That would mean that some of the players actully have a case of apathy.

Apathy and a desire to win don't mix.

 

trading steve francis this year will be a mistake.his legs are stronger then I ever seen them before.just give it alittle time then we will see

 

Update: The tension is rumored to be between Francis and JJ.

 

Did they say that on 610?

 

Lets wait until the end of the season for that verdict.

By the way, last night loss was not Francis fault.

Too much bad team play; out of sync.

 

Even if this is true...and I suspect that it's VERY premature to suggest it is...I see no reason for glee. If we have concluded that Steve, one of our two best players, is, in fact, incompatible with a team concept, that is a sad admission, not a reason for joy. It means that we will be lucky to get half of his value back in trade, and that means that our talent level and therefore chances to be a contender anytime soon, will decrease significantly.


We will NOT get back another star level player for Steve. Stars are the basis for contenders; the role players are fit in around them. This will leave us with one star, a center. At best we can thus expect a long stretch like we had for all the years between Sampson's departure and the 1st championship ring.

If this is true, it's a damned sad day for the franchise, if not the Franchise.

But as I said, I don't think we're anywhere near that yet.

 

JVG talks offense and defense...what coach doesn't? But his history of actual coaching shows a strong tendancy to emphaisize defense. Of course he never had Yao Ming and Steve Francis before, so we'll see...but based on what we know, as opposed to what he,like every coach, says, he leans strongly towards defense.

 

I have to disagree with you.

I believe Rudy and JVG are two of the better coaches in the NBA, period. And the Rockets as a team or just not as good as we fans would like to believe. Sure we have a lot of potential. And we even have a lot of atletic ability on our team but we don't have great players on our team. (Although Yao could change that soon). Last year we played about as good as we could and we almost made the playoffs and I think that was because of the coaching and not in spite of it.

If you let Cat and Francis have their way they would have never passed the ball except for an ocassional high flying alley oop (which they seem to enjoy) and we would have had the first pick in the lottery again. Yao was just a rookie with loads of talent. And everyone else we had was just too young, role players or scrubs.(with possibly the exception of MoT who was coming off an injury).

So my point this team may have even over achieved last year. And this year the new additions on the team haven't improved us that much. We acquired Pike, Jackson, Amaechi, and Griffin. But we lost Posey, Rice. Tmo, Collier. You can argue that Pike and Jackson or an improvement over Posey and Rice but it isn't a hands down argument. So why should we be so much better this year.

Well one reason is because Yao looks so much better. He is clearly now the best option on the team and that is without one ounce of coaching from JVG. The other point is that the players that we brought in while maybe not better than the players that we let go fit our team better. And we will improve for that. MoT looks better physically than he ever has and I expect him to play better than he ever has as a Rocket.

And with Rice Posey and TMO gone it opens the way for Boki to get a lot more playing which I think he will use to become a great role player for this team ( yes I know most people think he sucks but I see so much potential in this kid and I believe he will eventually prove his detractors wrong especially if the guards learn to move the ball around. And finally it is so clear that Moochie Cat and Steve kill this team on offense that something will have to give or someone will have to go. Personally I think Wilks is already a better option than Mooch.

Oh and all these things I think can happen under JVG because he seems to more than adequate to make them happen... But it won't be easy and it won't happen fast enough for all of you impatient fans

Oh and I don't see JVG being this Ruthless disciplinarian just as I didn't see Rudy being this do whatever you want guys cause I love you coach. Possibly the extreme is in your thinking that we have an all star team and not in thier coaching the slightly better than mediocre team we have.

 

Well, they said they weren't "sure" what exactly is going on either. When I tuned in, they said that with five more years on his contract, him and JJ better get their **** together. Only player with five more years is Francis. This was all from 610.

 

I didn't see the game, but wouldn't a point guard empasizing one on one play necessarily lead directly to poor team play and the offense being out of sync?

 

MacBeth, if we don't make the playoffs,would you do...


Francis and EG
for
A. Miller and C. Anthony?

Not that it would happen...but still. Would you do it?

 

You got me there.... I didn't see the game either. Grrrrrrrrrr!!! But I was looking at the limited mintues for Yao and Francis.

 

This seems to be a trend...that is Francis' tension with established vets. First Olajuwon, then Rice and now JJ. I can imagine how the conversation goes.

Vet: "C'mon Franchise, you're the leader and PG of this team. You need to run this team the right way and check your ego."

Francis: "Forget that, I've been playing the same way for five years. I'm an all-star. Who are you but an old man trying to hang on to your glory days?"

That said, I say hold off on considering trading Stevie until mid-season at the earliest. Give him the benefit of the doubt that he can adjust under JVG.

 

This is great!
His legs will take us to the promised land.
I feel better already!!

 

I gues what I'm getting at is that JVG "leaning towards" defense is not at the expense of the offense (like Rudy did).



Rudy's idea of "designing" an "offense" was to let your best player go iso most of the time. Sigh...so he was a defenseive coach, at the expense of the offense. He just didn't know.

Hakeem and Drexler could have solved his problem. They could create on their own without Rudy having to raise his magic marker on the clip board.

 

When is the trading deadline?

 

A) The Rockets are now, and have been for some time, commonly percieved to be underachievers throughout the league. I don't think that this percpetion would be the result of Rockets' fans overrating theor players, which I agree with you is common.

B) I disagree with your rather extreme portrayal of how Steve and Cuttino would have played without Rudy...Without anyone coaching, possibly...but any coach in the NBA wouldn't have let them get away with never passing, and very few would even have allowed them the unfettered control they seemed to have.

C) The team last year lacked identity. Do you agree with that? We could argue all day whether or not they under or over achieved, and I would not even be convinced which side is right...but I will suggest that the problems evident in last year's team were not the kind to corrct themsleves, as we now see, and short of them being corrected we would have always been hobbled short of being a legitimate contender.

D) Where, exactly, are you getting that I am an impatient fan? Take a look at almost any of my posts, in this thread or others, and I am almost always advising patience.

E) Rudy's reputation as among the most player friendly coaches in the league is well documented, backed up not only by observers, but also tons of players' quotes about him, and his own comments on how he sees coaching in the NBA today, and his style in particular.

F) JVG's reputation as among the strictest and least permissive coaches in the NBA is well documented, backed up not only by observers, but also by tons of players' quotes about him, and his own comments on how he sees coachin in the NBA today, and his style in particular.

G) Where on earht did I suggest we were anything like an All Star team? There are miles of difference, and several levels between being an All Star team and missing the playoffs for four consecutive years, tied for the most in the NBA, if I'm not mistaken.