I'm surprised this article hasn't been posted already; figured those who have nits to pick with our guard-play would jump on this. By JOHN P. LOPEZ Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle This made-for-sound-bite Brothers Van Gundy angle Tuesday night might have diverted attention from a much more enlightening story happening out on the Rockets' floor lately. Among all the questions about Jeff and Stan's pingpong battles in the old garage, their dinner arrangements from the night before, and everything short of who had the top bunk, it was easy to miss. Jeff's team is different from previous Rockets squads. And it is better. But in so many ways -- ways that came to life in a brutal-to-watch 90-70 interpretive dance over the Miami Heat -- this Rockets team is much the same as last year, the year before that and the year before that. This sloppy start and sluggish show by the Rockets clearly could have been the handiwork of some other kind of long-lost Brother Van Gundy. We'll call him Rudy T, the Van Gundy with a knack for isolations and pick-and-rolls who wouldn't so much as blink at impossible 22-foot fadeaway jumpers with 10 seconds remaining on the shot clock. That's exactly the style we saw in Brother Jeff's victory over Brother Stan on Tuesday night. But don't think we're totally bashing the style that carried Rudy Tomjanovich to a pair of championships before he held on to the interminable offense too long. It can work -- it just didn't when there was no Hakeem Olajuwon or second-year-seasoned Yao Ming in the middle. The new guy legitimately admires Tomjanovich's former approach and uses many similar things on the offensive side of the floor, only with fancier names. That much was clear Tuesday night and has been clear throughout this hot 5-1 start. There is a new arena. There are new colors and new uniforms. There is, of course, the new head coach. And heaven forbid we forget the plentiful and delectable concessions. But we've seen this style of Rocketball before. If the rather disappointing crowd of 11,135 at Toyota Center showed up Tuesday night hoping to see new and improved Rockets, they had to settle for improved. But isn't that why Brother Jeff arrived? You have to like what Van Gundy has done with this team, if only because all the little lulls and bad decisions that cost Tomjanovich so dearly in recent years have been overcome. Once again Tuesday, there were horrendous shooting slumps -- the Rockets shot 12.5 percent through much of the first quarter. There was a dramatically inferior opponent taking a lead, slipping and then threatening to get back in the game. There was Cuttino Mobley forcing shots -- the only difference being that in his early-season tear, he is making most of them and making you pray for more. There was Steve Francis making amazing athletic plays but not making anyone forget the great ball distributors in NBA history. There was lots of isolation and not enough pitching the ball to Yao, although he came up with several late buckets for 16 points. More than anything, there was a bad opponent stepping into the Rockets' house and outrebounding and outhustling them. Outside of the glittery new surroundings, nothing seems dramatically different or appreciably better with this team from anything we've seen before. Except that 5-1 start. A year ago, the Rockets led the NBA in losing to tomato cans. Even Randall "Tex" Cobb probably could have gone off for 20 and 10. But today, as much as has been made of the Rockets' having yet to play a team of substance, a step up in class such as Thursday night's game at Dallas hardly seems daunting. The Rockets are running much of the same stuff but not running in circles. The edge Van Gundy has brought -- the no-excuses mantra and constant pursuit of perfect focus -- has turned the usual potential flops upside down. A year ago, the Rockets lost at home to a similarly overmatched version of this Heat team. They lost to the lowly Bulls on the road. They lost to the Clippers at home, the Knicks at home, the Warriors at home. Winning just two of those games would have spelled the difference between making the playoffs and not. Today, they are winning those games. "Steps on the road to making the playoffs," Yao said. "For us to make the playoffs, we have to try to lay the foundation for our future's journey." The future looks much like the past. Only better.
I was starting to think I was crazy while chatting in the chat room and also posting on this board. After Van Gundy's quote and this, I know that I wasn't going crazy. Mobes was hot, but the offense in the first half was not the offense we're suppose to run. The fronting of Yao is tough, but we still could've/should've gone to him.
It's a bit of a crappy article. Everyone could see that the first quarter was horrendous and we had no flow on offense. It improved a bit in the 2nd quarter, and was OK by the 2nd half. There was passing, nowhere near the number iso plays we consistently ran last year, and we were more agressive. So, despite playing an overall mediocre game we still destroyed the Heat. We're smarter, more focused, playing better defense, winning, and we'll be in the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Other then that, the future looks much like the past...good call Mr. Lopez...
I'm not quite sure what you mean. For credit to be, there has to be a pre-existing aspect that carries into Jeff's game. Are there similarities in the way they coach? Are you referring to the existing chemistry in Cato, Francis, Mobley, Norris, Yao? Some players shouldn't be factored in, because either they didn't play enough last year (Boki), or didn't play enough this year(MoeT, EG). Did I miss the point? Please explain.
Rudy didn't lay much ground work with our core players, he didnt make the effort for years! As much as I like Rudy T one must face the facts. He was only with Yao ming for One Season.Refused to develop Boki. 9 New players:- A. Griffin, Piatowski, JJ, Padgett, Ford, Amaechi, Braggs, Davis and Wilkes. Given time JVG will undo the Rudy/Francis Rockets of the last four years and build the JVG Francis/Yao Rockets of to-day and the future.
Lopez - the same guy that said there is absolutely ZERO chance a new arena will ever be built and that the Rockets would leave Houston. He said he personally guaranteed it after they lost the 1999 referendum. Yeah. Nice work there, Johnny.
