Excellent point here. First off, I completely agree that with Steve running things the offense will continue to stagnate. Also, with the type of defense this team plays, they do not need to be the Sacramento Kings on offense. The Spurs last season were an average offensive team, nothing special but they combined that with being at the top of the league in defense to win themselves a championship. I firmly believe that if JVG's offense was run properly it would be adequate enough like the Spurs offense was last season and not be in the doldrums. Though I doubt Steve gets dealt, I'd love to see it. Aside from all the possibilities have been discussed, I was thinking of another one which may be right up JVG's alley. Allan Houston/Kurt Thomas/Charlie Ward for Steve Francis/Mo Taylor. Kurt Thomas would be the ideal PF next to Yao and would essentially provide Cato's defensive prowess except with the ability to drop in 10-15 PPG each night. Cato could then move back to a role of backing up both C and PF. Allan Houston and Cuttino Mobley would be very similar to Sprewell/Houston in NY and would finally provide the perimeter weapons needed around Yao. Charlie Ward would provide a very solid and steady PG that understands how to get his team in the flow and play a complementary role. In addition, Ward is a very good outside shooter and plays solid defense.
You are not alone. It is the players who determine the pace of the transition not the coach as some of the frustrated posters would have us believe. It's difficult for me to believe that the Van Gundy brothers spent that much time around Pat Riley and never learned a lick of Lakers Showtime. IMHO, Jeff Van Gundy is too dedicated and too intelligent to totally overlook the tempo aspect of the game. As you stated, the offense is not a thing of beauty and it is being run by players that were picked by a previous coach. I can't remember who (possibly aelliott or MManal) but someone in another thread pointed out that Van Gundy's whole offense won't take effect until he has the players he wants as opposed to the players he basically inherited.
I didn't admit crap like that, Sparky.... I said pass, and run without the ball. Comprehension... get hooked on some phonics before you say what I said.... Whoever gets downcourt first would make sense... Since when can't CAT pass downcourt - prove it with examples. Nets: Kidd & Jefferson. Mavs: Nash and Finley. Rox: Cat and SF I don't see a huge speed difference? I see offensive run minded coaches: Nellie. Scott. What do I see here? A dinosaur running NY's 1004 offense.
First, hooked on phonics has nothing to do with reading comprehension, it has to do with spelling. Secondly, Kidd and Nash RUN down the court WITH the ball. You admitted Steve and Moochie can't do this. And that is why our fast break sucks, and always will suck despite what our head coach said or does. Only somtimes do Kidd and Nash throw a touchdown pass. You also omit the fact that Steve and Moochie suck at touchdown passes too.
Passing is a skill that this group of player does not have. I don't think anyone can just learn passing in a few games or even a few seasons. I think it takes time in high school and college to become an effective passer.
We all know JVG had GREAT offensive teams in New York. This guy has shown an ability to put together a decent offense. He's a disciple of Pat Riley's ugly ball.
EXACTLY! Geesh! Why do you think that RT got replaced in the first place. Steve and Cat had four years together, FOUR YEARS, and could not learn to play within a NBA offensive system, even as basic as the one RT asked them to run, much less play D. So far, at least, VG has the team playing good team D. He is also winning while letting the team grow together offensively. As long as SF is going to shoot 17-22 shots per night with a 30% success rate, turn the ball over and generally reek havoc on the team offensive scheme, how can you possibly ask to go back to the street ball of the last four years. Steve cannot even get the ball to Yao, he cannot execute a pick and roll. So far all SF can do is drive, out of control, to the basket and miss a layup or make a bailout pass to some unsuspecting team mate or play streetball for a low percentage jumper. Steve is not Hakeem or MJ or Shaq or Malone. He is not a superstar and is in fact so far a star only in his own mind. He has already buried one coach and unless VG gets through to him soon, he will probably go through another very quickly. Once SF's contract proves to be untradable or Les steps in to undermine VG, Van Gundy will be "late for the door". He'll walk and who can blame him. SF is so far uncoachable and in denial about the fact.
This is ridiculous, The system was Steve and Cat till last year, Who were they supposed to pass to, Cato???
So back to the starting point of this post. Don't dump it in to Yao all of the time. What happened to "Get the dang ball to Yao!"? Shirley you aren't saying that what was a consensus opinion of this board was wrong. Shirley, Shirley not. I mean, is that even legal?
Read the statement. I didn't admit anything. I said the key was with the ball. I didn't say they can't dribble and run a break. The key to a break is downcourt passing, on any team with any players. You made a unilateral agreement with yourself that "I admitted it" CRAP!
You can't look at PPG alone and judge how well a team does. If we score 100 PPG and give up 120 PPG, we are in trouble. You have to look at the PPG differential, Points per possesion diff, FG% diff .... The Rockets is at a low point this season and they are still better than last year in a lot of categories. You seem to agree that the defense is a lot better. If the offense only got a little worse with the learning curve we all have then we are not in that bad a shape.
I think you are just trying to disagree with me on purpose. Okay, since you don't want to make your statement clear (for good reason, since you are wrong) then I'll just ask: Are you saying that Steve and Moochie CAN run the fast break WITH the ball, or that they CAN'T??? I say they can't.
I can't tell right now, they apparently have been directed not to. Admitedly, this may be in part to speedy power forwards like Cato and Braggs. Now that we have Pike and MoT and soon AG, maybe we'll see more. Highly unlikely with this east style dinosaur coach though...
Okay. Well I still don't understand why you think it's the coach, since we now have the same problem under 2 different coaches.
I disagree with that. Posey, Steve and Cat had a good fast break thing going. Yao's presence made that not a focus but they did run with that trio on the floor.
Again, how it is the same problem, when Francis and Mobley was the offense till about the middle of last year?
It's cool. I agree with what you are saying, and I DO NOT think SF is a good PG. I do think he can be a talented scorer, as is Mobely and MoT. One of the reasons we did not make the playoffs 3 years ago was we had NOTHING resembling an inside game, and now we have Yao. Just on putbacks and points off rebounds we should be better. Last year we probably would have made the playoff if not for Rudy's illness. I hate to make excuses for them but this is a valid one. I will say however that they are professionals that are paid ALOT fo money for what they do and that I was disappointed how poorly they performed when Rudy went out. I do think that with Yao's help SF and Mobely can be the center point of an offense that can take a team to the playoffs. I think that SF and Mobley alone cannot. I also think that Yao (as good as he is and as much talent as he clearly has) is not ready to be the man. He makes just as many silly mistakes as SF and Mobes - getting blocked by guys 6'9", bringing the ball down where the little guys are etc... I just want to find a way for us to score points. BTW, I hate to say it, but I really do think that SF's days are numbered with us. He may not be traded this year but I do think he will be dealt. I think that he can be an excellent player if he played an AI type role in an offense. I would look for him to be dealt to an eastern conference team.
We are talking about fast breaks. We have never had a good fast breaking team with Steve, Cuttino, and Moochie. And ricerocket is trying to blame JVG for this.
