definitely a valid point I just don't see Seattle being that stupid to essentially trade their PG who has helped to lead them to an 8-1 record, to the rockets. so.... I guess we make do with the current setup lue and ward will have to get better...... that or sura might be able to provide a spark and kick one of them out of the lineup pg wise.
We should get better, but Jesus, losing to Atlanta, how can people not vent? I mean, if people don't vent here, that means more crazy drivers on our highways, people angry at work, angry at home. I think for the sake of our city, people just need to vent after that ridiculous loss. We can talk about this team gelling and what not, but what excuse is there for last night? The way I see it, the excuse that this team hasn't gelled was used up in explaining where we were at before the Atlanta game.
I agreed with what you said. I also understand why people are frustrated, there's no excuse lose the way we did to Atlanta.
Let me add something... I told lots of people that I really did not like the Van Gundy hire. I did not post on here very much about it, but I was vocal to a lot of my friends. I have never liked the man, personally. He seems like a jackass and, coming off of a long run with Rudy, it makes him look evern worse because Rudy was just the best guy ever. I cannot stand the way he runs his offense. I get it and I know why he does it, but I hate it. I think he took everything Pat Riley taught in New York to heart but forgot that Riley also ran one of the most prolific and exciting teams in history in the 80's-era Lakers. I think he is a brilliant defensive coach and, for that reason alone, this is going to be a dangerous team when they begin to gel. AND, in watching them just over the first 9 games, they are already a better passing team and already a better decision-making team. The whole point of my post was to suggest that it may be a tad early to make the prediction that the team is going to suck and we should make a coaching change.
I don't doubt that we are going to get better. I'm not panicing at all at this point. It's a long season and we aren't even at 100% yet. It will get better. My only complaint is JVG's offensive philosophy. I'm just not sure if it fits T-Mac's style or not. I'd like to see us look to run a lot more than we do. Seems like when we get a rebound, we get a quick outlet pass but the guards just pull it up and walk it across half-court even if there's a 2 on 1 or 3 on 2 advantage. We're not even trying to run. That's what bothers me. We don't get ANY easy buckets. None. I've been watching Rocket games fanatically for 18 years and will continue to do so, but MAN...the games are just boring to watch. Last night we had a whopping 2 fast break points. Have we had more than 10 for any game this year? I always have to laugh when Bill Worrell mentions that Brake Check promotion involving fast break points. You can just hear the sarcasm in his voice when he does the spot and we only have 4 points in the 4th quarter.
The frustration comes from playing the ugliest brand of basketball on the planet. If we're going to play ugly, at least win. There nothing worse that watching Gumby ball and losing. It's like watching the old Villanova teams of the 80's except with no championship.
Don't forget that when the Rockets won their first championship, people were saying it was the worst finals of all time. The Rockets weren't "pretty" back then either. I've never thought that good basketball was: -high scoring basketball -fast break basketball -no half-court basketball I like teams that force a half court style of play. Having a fast break is necessary to being a good team, but to run for the sake of running doesn't benefit any team. International basketball bores me a little because of the abundance of early offense. I think one of the biggest problems with baseball is Minutemaid Park and Coors Field. I hate the fact that average batters can knock it out of the park in those stadiums... it screws up the balance of the game. But for some reason, high scores equal "fun" games to most people.
I agree with everything you said here. I would add that I am scared to death that Van Gundy is unbendable and not open to change on the offensive side of the ball. If that is the case, we may have to suffer through several underachieving seasons before a change is made and the team can thrive, because Les and CD are slow to move, giving plenty of opportunity for the ship to be righted before they make a change. Yes, I believe we are at least 2 pieces short, most likely 3. We need a better PG, we need a better defensive PF who will rebound, and we need a shooter big time. Still, all of it is pointless if Van Gundy doesnt change his approach on the offensive end. I have to place the blame for a couple of these losses squarely on his shoulders because of his inflexibility and unwillingness to change things in the offense to win a game at that given moment. I think he is a tremendous defensive coach, but I question if being tremendous on one side of the floor is enough to get the Rockets some rings and bring more championships to Houston.
If the guards on this team have no clue as to how to get the ball to Yao during these 9 games, I don't know what it will take. It'd be nice if JVG actually did something about this and take the time to design a play for certain situations.
The finals were ugly because of the Knicks. The rockets were averaging around 100 per game in the playoffs until the finals. Guess who was the assistant coach of the knicks.
Yeah Detroits offense wasn't a real pleasure to watch last year but their defensive boring style served them well.
Ughh... now Jeff is depressing me. This is really bad. Actually, benching Nachbar for Bowen is beyond ridiculous. How could anyone do that?
Actually, the Rockets ranked 14th in the league in scoring. They did score 101 per game, but the Knicks scored 99. They were very evenly matched and both stressed defense.
yea...thats one of the reasons Im not real happy with VG...as I said earlier, I dont think it is time to be calling for his head, but some of his personnel decisions leave me scratching my head. Bowen is nice in certain matchups..but we sure could use some scoring, and that just isnt his forte. Meanwhile, Boki is banished to the bench for a subpar game? Not hardly playing Padgett much when he had such a good game previously? If I tried, Im sure I could think of more times he has made some questionable decisons....but it aint worth my time. People need to learn some patience...it aint the end of the world that we lost to a team that we should have whipped....sh*t happens...Ill be more concerned if it happens repeatedly.
I'll admit that I get emotional after losing games, but I live and die with the Rockets. I don't like JVG and I most likely never will. I can't stand watching his style of basketball. Can't run an offense, can't run a fast break, can't run a good rotation either. But I will give this team time, and I sure hope JVG proves everything I said about him wrong. But I personally don't feel will be able to. I just want to see this team to be among the elite teams in the league, it won't happen overnight. But if there is something I believe will improve this team, then that is just my opinion.
Reasons to be concerned : - (1) Loss to the hawks. No excuses, the lakers team with 4 new starters can beat the hawks, the excuse of us not having enuff time to gel is lame. If we missed the playoffs by one game, this is the game that weill haunt us. (2) Rebounds. We will outrebounded 7 out of 9 games. Motay get outrebounded by opponents 7 out of 9 games, badly. This is one area i dont think we can improve as the season progress.(no trade bait to make any trades). To improve this, maybe JVG should consider starting Spoon instead of Mot. Spoon is a better rebounder plus a consistant mid range jumper as well. What do u guys think of this??? (3) Defense. We are no longer a good defensive team after we trade away Cato. Dont let the stats fool u, the opponents scored less this is because of our low posssion basketabll not becuase of our defense. (3) JVG. A stubborn coach refuse to chnage or admit his faults!
