It takes smarts to play the Van Gundy way By JOHN P. LOPEZ http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2236683 THERE were moments when it was sheer brilliance. This wasn't Jeff Van Defense's team on display at Toyota Center -- pushing, shoving, making the Golden State Warriors see red and white and black-and-blue all over. It was Jeff Van Showtime and his high-flying charges putting forth a ballet-like performance, improving dormant season shooting percentages on virtually every beautiful trip up court. That was real basketball out there for much of the second half. It was the kind of basketball that belied the brutal early-season statistics that cast something of a foreboding shadow over the Rockets' fast start. Statistics like only four teams in the league passing out fewer assists than the Rockets. Statistics like only two teams committing more turnovers. "If you combine hard play with smart play," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said, "there is no ceiling for you. ... You have to be efficient in what you do. The running game feeds into open shots ... you have to take what you can." But here, against a nice-looking Warriors team that features the likes of Jason Richardson, Cliff Robinson, the much-improved Erick Dampier and Speedy Claxton, the Rockets made NBA basketball pretty again through much of the first and third quarters. Yao Ming was spinning off sharp elbows in the back and floating in soft shots. He was exactly what Yao should be for this team -- finesse wrapped in grit. Steve Francis was pumping, faking, passing, turning, fading away for treys. He was exactly what Van Gundy wants him to be, capable of taking over a game, but not hellbent on it. Bostjan Nachbar looked like the latest Manu Ginobili to hit the league -- a soft shot from the outside, a hard closer on the inside and hustle everywhere. Jim Jackson was practically playing a game of horse from the arc. It was sheer brilliance. But then the brilliance became so sheer you could see right through it. Only Van Gundy could see red after this one, because he knows what became so clear down the stretch. "We're running on bloody stumps because we're shooting ourselves in the foot repeatedly," Van Gundy said. "I give them so much credit -- they work so hard; they pay attention; they want to win. But they've got to want to change this part of themselves." The bloody-stump finishes, as Wednesday's nearly became. These Rockets are capable of playing complete basketball. This team is armed and capable of displaying a beautiful offense that complements crushing defense. It's just not quite always smart enough to get the job done. Despite this 85-83 win, Van Gundy was refreshingly candid in exploring the reasons the Rockets let slip a third-quarter lead and turned away from all the things that got them in control in the first place. Beginning with a poorly executed off-balance 3-point attempt by Cuttino Mobley with 2:35 remaining and the Warriors holding a two-point lead, all the things that were pretty got ugly. Yao had just scored six consecutive points, blocked a shot and come away with an offensive rebound. Van Gundy, naturally, called a play for his star center, and Yao posted up. But no one got him the ball. Later, Mobley missed another leaner, and the Rockets proceeded to miss all but two of their final nine shots along with three of their last four free throws, narrowly escaping a disastrous end. "You have to play freely, but you also have to play intelligently," Van Gundy said. "If Yao (posts up) after scoring four or five times in a row and you pass him up, that's not smart play." Although Van Gundy might have stopped short of jumping off a cliff over old habits dying hard -- it was, after all, a win -- his toes definitely were hanging over the edge. The free and easy golden touch of a pretty third-quarter offensive performance wound up looking only like fool's gold, because the Rockets couldn't sustain it. Most frustrating: The near disaster wasn't because of any terrific defensive adjustment the Warriors made but because of the Rockets' own mistakes. These are the things that can be impossible to stomach and the reasons why if much of the league's downward trend in scoring is because of better defense, that's not necessarily the case with the Rockets. "If your team consistently doesn't play intelligent basketball," Van Gundy said, "you're destined for mediocre ... maybe a little above, a little bit below, whatever. We've got to get smart."
Yao comes up big in victory Center saves Rockets with fourth-quarter play By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ?Boxscore -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESOURCES COMING UP Friday: at Portland, 9:30 p.m. MIDWEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS Team W L PCT GB Houston 8 3 .727 --- Dallas 7 4 .636 1 San Antonio 7 5 .583 1.5 Denver 6 5 .545 2 Minnesota 6 5 .545 2 Utah 6 6 .500 2.5 Memphis 5 5 .500 2.5 As of Nov 19 2003 11:33 p.m. CT Schedules: • Rockets schedule • NBA preseason schedule -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ?ROCKETS: Complete coverage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPORTS POLL How will the Rockets do this season? Deep into playoffs First round of playoffs A losing season His head swimming with the advice of so many voices filling his ears with what he could be and how he could get there, Yao Ming was for one brief, crucial stretch everything those voices had described. With an ugly loss fast approaching Wednesday night, he was for those eight minutes as strong as he is smooth, as determined as he is deft until he was simply whatever the Rockets needed. Yao carried the Rockets past a sluggish second half and a horrid finish to a needlessly tense 85-83 victory over the Golden State Warriors before 10,888 at Toyota Center. The Rockets would work so hard to blow the game that coach Jeff Van Gundy said they were "running on bloody stumps because we are shooting ourselves in the foot repeatedly." But as inartistic as the game was most of the night, especially at its finish, there was at least that saving grace and the promise that comes with it. "That's what we need from him; we need him to be the big man," Rockets forward Kelvin Cato said of Yao. "Pat Ewing, Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon), the kind of big man you go to in crunch time and count on to get that basket or get that rebound. He's getting there. A lot of people have their opinion about him. Just let him play his game. He'll get there." With the Rockets approaching complete collapse against an injury-depleted Golden State team playing its second game in as many nights, Yao scored 15 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, enough to overcome his team's apparent determination to find a way to lose. Perhaps the most encouraging sign, however, was Yao's answer when asked why he suddenly took over: because he had to. "I felt that in the fourth quarter," he said, "if we didn't get it going, we would have lost the game." Until then, Yao seemed much like the Rockets as a whole. His numbers were good, but the details were troubling. He had been fading away on shots and relying heavily on his jumper. He had been making good decisions, but he seemed capable of much more. "Too many people are trying to coach him on his offense," Van Gundy said. "Every great player I've had has always figured it out offensively. They don't need coaching on their individual games. You can make some suggestions every now and then, but great players figure it out." It took Yao most of the night, but he finally figured out Erick Dampier. In one of the rare games in which a team has defended Yao with little double-team help, Dampier seemed to frustrate Yao. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Rockets had gone from an 11-point lead to a four-point deficit. They had missed six consecutive shots when they finally rediscovered Yao, or more precisely, Yao found himself. With the Warriors leading 75-71 with 5:48 left, Yao hit a jumper over Dampier and then immediately went over him for another. Yao blocked a Cliff Robinson shot inside, then beat the Warriors downcourt on a break to tie the game at 77 with 3:54 left. Suddenly, the Rockets were relying on Yao instead of just running plays that involved him. He sensed the difference and said it "increased my desire." "There's definitely a disposition to greatness," Van Gundy said. "Every great player that I've ever coached had this disposition." Robinson immediately put in a jumper. And after Cuttino Mobley missed a trey, he fouled Jason Richardson to let the Warriors take their lead to four with 2 1/2 minutes left. But Yao made two free throws. Mobley, after making just two of his previous 10 shots and missing all three of his 3-pointers, nailed a trey that gave the Rockets an 82-81 lead. After spinning past Dampier, Yao was fouled again, making two more free throws for an 84-81 lead with 59.2 seconds left. The Rockets needed every point. Mobley missed another unnecessarily tough shot and fouled another rebounder, giving the Warriors two points. Yao missed two free throws. Cato also missed one before making his second attempt with 2.4 seconds left. "The last two minutes ... was totally unacceptable," Van Gundy said. "Totally. We turn it over, foul foolishly and recklessly, miss free throws; I mean anything that goes into finishing out games. We had the same problem at the end of the Philadelphia game the last eight possessions ... six turnovers, two misses (in) Toronto, fouling recklessly. "If we expect to be a .500 team, then this type of closing out the games is fine. If we want to be on the fence between lottery and playoffs, if that's what we're striving for, this is fine. If they have my vision and my goals, to make strides toward winning a championship, it's not just me that will see this as totally unacceptable. It will be everybody in that room."
JVG gives such quality, honest feedback and analysis. It's like we have the collective smarts of all Rockets fans coaching the team. I just hope we (the Rox) are learning while we win.
The schizophrenic like performances continue to occur in every game. They stop trusting each other and make dumb mistakes. I don't think it's going to go away. I would rather have ball in JJ's hands down the stretch so he can try to make the right play so we can get the right shots at the end. If anyone misses after that I can live with it although defeat is always bitter. Mobley was horrible and on other nights it can be any other player but I would rather let a team oriented player like JJ call the shots at the end even though he is not a point guard. This has gone too far and something has to change. Cutting somebody or trading will not solve the problem. The guys have to learn from their repeated mistakes or else they will be sitting and watching other teams in the playoffs again.
"You have to play freely, but you also have to play intelligently," Van Gundy said. "If Yao (posts up) after scoring four or five times in a row and you pass him up, that's not smart play." Wow. JVG is both candid and direct.
Wow, I did not see that the first time I read the article. I really like that he does not sugar-coat things.
Great quotes from JVG. I like how direct he is. Very refreshing how things aren't sugar coated. The after game articles with his quotes really tell the story. Good stuff!
We have to feel good that the Rockets are in such good hands.JVG wont let anything go by without him correcting it.
I disagree with this statement by Lopez. True, we did make several mistakes, but it seemed like our offense was executing well in the first half. There were, however, several times in the second half that I saw the Rox set up plays but didn't get the shot they wanted because the Warriors had adjusted their defense well. The Warriors did a good job of learning how to defend against our offense, and they contained us for quite a while leading to them actually taking the lead. -- droxford
JVG is very smart. I appreciate the fact that he knows everyone makes mistakes. The only way to improve is to recognize and correct them. I hope the players heed his advice.
No politics, no B.S., straight up, hardcore, the real deal. I love it! JVG has made me enjoy being a Rocket's fan again. Everything the man says has been said on this board for years. Some of you, for whatever reason, just couldn't see it. I think you are getting the picture. Now if some members of the team can get it. Keep your head, don't get overly excited, THINK, THINK, lOOK, THINK!
2002-03 season: 43-39 record 2000-01 season: 54-37 record 2001-02 season: 28-54 record 2003-04 season (so far): 8-3 record
Easy said than done. Although JVG knows the problems quite well. It's not easy to figure them out. We Chinese always say " it's easy to change the country's sovereignty, while it's hard to change one's personality" Take my word, we will still suffer the same problems for at least this season.
I love it when Francis is nonchalantly bringing the ball up the floor and JVG basically runs onto the floor waving his hands in the air, trying to get Francis to hurry the hell up and run a play. His animation on the sideline is fun to watch. Francis was cutting it pretty close to some 8 second violations the last few games simply because he's in no hurry to cross halfcourt. I'm glad JVG is trying to bring an end to this habit.
This is a great quote and it should apply to everyone. When Mobley was hot a few games ago, JVG repeatedly called his number. Mobley should have recognized on that play the method to JVG's madness to give it to Yao again. After this game, I can guarantee Mobley's going to pass the rock when JVG tells him to. The media bashing Cat's taking on this has got to be unbearable.
Oh, gee. What a shock. Van Gundy doesn't think that every time Yao's ignored in the post it's because of fantastic defense by the opposition. And it even happens on called-plays that are supposed to go to Yao! Actually, that's worse than I'd imagined. I'd always thought Yao just wasn't getting enough chances because the guards were making too many discretionary choices not to pump it in there. If the guards are failing to get Yao the ball on plays when Van Gundy thinks Yao is open and he specifically directed it to happen... that's not only a teamwork problem, but a respect problem.
if not for so many injuries i would have benched cat and francis so they could watch players execute the offense as planned. problem is that even iw we had pike and griffin it is just not fathomable to turn the team over to moochie or wilks. i bet we use the trade exception to improve the guard rotation so van gundy can give mobley or francis (THAT IS IF THEY ARE NOT PART OF A TRADE) some much-needed pine time.
