Just saw the sports segment now with Berman, and he showed the interview in which JVG said that it's "on me and McGrady not to tolerate what has been tolerated, which is...you know...unprintable." Sounds like a LOT more is going on in the lockerroom than we're hearing, I only wish someone who knows what JVG is referring to would take the initiative and let us in on who's been troubling JVG, and why did he pointedly make the remark that not it will take him and T-Mac to reign in these players/make changes? Very interesting twist, although I can say that I am surprised since losing breeds contempt and is always bad for team chemistry. Still something tells me those individuals include Alston and may be Wesley.
I just hope he is not refering to that he and T-Mac are no longer seeing eye to eye and it has created a divide in the locker room.
Exactly, I just think that more trouble than good will come from it; most players don't react well to criticism or finger-pointing.
That's the biggest difference between Jordan and McGrady -- MJ would not put up with lackadaisical play on the part of a teammate. He'd be in someone's face demanding more effort. As great a player as he is, T-Mac is too easy-going a person for that.
I know I know. Yao is getting rebellous and assertive (isn't it what all of us want??). He has gone to the management to demand a new coach, with most of his teammates on his side. Now JVG knows his job is in danger so he is trying to pull Tmac to his side. It's gonna be very interesting to see how this episode unfolds (may be even more exciting than watching the Rockets games these days ). Stay tune!
Intense pressure will make people say some strange things ~ obviously he's needling Tracy to help him regain control of the team. In other words -- "step up the locker room leadership T-Mac."
This is not about Yao. He is talking about perimeter shooting, and it just so happens that Tracy is the only decent perimeter shooter this team has that can create his own shot. On top of that Tracy is the best overall player on this team. Ultimately i think JVG is calling Yao and Tracy out basicly saying this is what we got, them boys wont step up - so the franchise must!
I remember Van Gundy taking Francis to the media for missing the team plane to the West coast so that Steve could attend the Super bowl with JAYZ and celebrities. Van Gundy would not let it go. This brought more attention to the rift between Francis and VG than probably was there to begin with. JVG came across as a "backbitin'" little man. Van Gundy caused Steve Francis to lose face over what I thought was a "micky mouse " incident that they could have resolved themselves.... For the record- I never was on the Fire JVG bandwagon, and I still hope he does not resign.
not surprising at all. Tmac is the man. He's arguably more important of a leader for the team than JVG.
Here is my take: TMac wasn't happy about the efforts from some of the players, for instance Swift. Well, who would be? Yao is the quiet himself as usual, but TMac as the No. 1 guy on the team, must have been vocal about it. There might be some argument in the locker room, or there might be some resistence on the court or bench. So the dispute sort of reached JVG, and something said were things shouldn't have been said. JVG had it enough and decided to step in. He's on TMac's side, but he also demands TMac to be more determined in his position - make those guys play harder. Therefore, the interesting comment about him and TMac. Anyways, I don't see anything major. There will be and shoul be finger-pointing and self-critic going around, when you play so poorly with two all-star starters. Nobody should be comfortable about it, if they are, they shouldn't be playing the game.
"Unprintable" means something inappropriate was said in the lockerroom. It's interesting. Last season, the team was a big happy family. Now this. What has changed? I doubt it's JVG's hair. There are 4 newcomers: Swift, Anderson, Alston, and Head. Head doesn't look like the type that would act up, at least not as a rookie who's still trying to earn PT. Swift is probably too slow-minded to be a lockerroom distraction. That leaves Anderson and Alston. Both of them could be malcontent if they don't like the way things go. There is also the possibility of old players acting up because of all the losing. It can't be TMac because he is mentioned as the one who should not tolerate it. Bowen, Moochie, and Baxter don't have enough clout to be anything. That leaves Wesley, Barry, Mutombo, Yao, and Howard. Barry, Mubombo, and Yao aren't likely trouble makers. Wesley and Howard are both struggling and could become negative. (Note JVG's "sap the will" comment.) But both of them have the reputation of being very professional. Besides, Wesley is shooting better now. And JVG played him big time minutes even when Wesley couldn't hit a lick. So, my guess would be Anderson, Alston, or Howard.
Actually I am more suspicious about Barry. He's getting older, he contributed well last year, and he was great in game one. Moreover, he's very direct. I think he might complain about the minutes he thinks he earned, and got on some players faces, which wasn't received well.
I have been thinking about that too. I suspect both Alston and him are in the doghouse. Also, in the latest article from Chron. (posted in another thread), Barry mentioned sitting on the bench watching the game made him understand what coach wanted, that to me meant there was dispute between him and JVG. Just suspiction.
T-Mac also had some quotes in response but I haven't checked the paper to see if they are printed. On 610 they played a couple of them, T-Mac basically saying that its up to him to get them to play better and he called them out a little and said they weren't playing, something about all 12 need to look at themselves
