**DISCLAIMER** I did not bring up Rudy T in this instance, but am merely responding to another person's take. Even though this is a Houston Rockets forum, and Rudy T is pretty much MR. ROCKET, therefore seemingly fair game for discussion, I realize others may not necessarily feel the same way. Thank you everyone for your understanding. If you really believe all this, I'm not sure I should continue to respond ... wake up Sane. Are you being serious? JVG didn't 'get' the Rockets the 7th seed. The Rockets made little to no improvement, and THE ROCKETS got the 7th seed as a result of other teams falling off. JVG didn't force Stockton to retire and Malone to sign with LA. JVG didn't cause Phoenix to implode and Portland to clean house. So better intangibles + more fundamentals + best defense in the league + finally having a good big man = 2 more wins? I still don't see how that's worth firing a legend. Yes, Yao Ming's improvement should = more wins, no doubt about it. Having him attend a full pre-season, not to mention a training camp, should = more wins. Having him already know the language should = more wins. Having him already used to the country should = more wins. Yao Ming being stronger and already knowing what it takes to survive a season in the NBA should = more wins. Having a new best player, while still keeping the previous best player (Francis) should = more wins. How could it not? It doesn't matter how good your roster is, it matters how good your BEST player(s) is. This is all independent of coaching. No, I would NOT expect ANY drop in wins after I just fired a legend. Absolutely not. If I was going to fire a legend, I would make damn sure there was a VERY GOOD reason to do so, and expect SIGNIFICANT improvement after replacing him. SIGNIFICANT. Did the Rockets show significant improvement this past year? Can any reasonable person say that winning 2 more than last year is SIGNIFICANT improvement? If you fired a legend EXPECTING to get worse, there is something seriously wrong with you and you don't deserve to own a team. Also, Rudy only coached Yao for 65 game s, less training camp (what would have been the most important training camp of his career) and pre-season. I wouldn't call that a full season. I don't know what you mean by 'better conference'. You shouldn't have to 'deal' with a new coach. If you're having to deal with a coach, that's a problem. A coach should be dealing and adjusting to his players. New players? Everyone gets new players. 'Tested' the Lakers? I must have missed that. Nope, this was the year to compare what Rudy did to his successor. It's already been established that the team didn't make any improvements that wouldn't have already happened as a result of experience and improved chemistry. Anything after this past year is so far removed from Rudy that it wouldn't even be relevant to compare. I said long ago, before Rudy got the axe, that the team would make the playoffs this year regardless of who the coach was. He was fired and the team didn't improve - end of story. A travesty, no doubt. I never got the whole "Rudy can only coach veterans" thing. Did Rudy need Don Chaney to instill fundamentals before he could take over? Vernon Maxwell and Kenny Smith were both 26 when Rudy started coaching them. Sam Cassell and Robert Horry were rookies. Hakeem wasn't 30 yet. Hakeem was the only one on the team that had ever won a playoff series. The team as a whole basically didn't know how to win in the NBA. Rudy's whole thing was wanting those guys to know what it felt like to be winners. You know the rest.
Not to nitpick, but two things: 1) It was '99 2) The Knicks lost to the Spurs in five, not six, games. Game 5 was close, but they still went down 4-1.
