I think as far as the research/homework went, they probably asked around to see if he was going to be disruptive and start publicly feuding with the coach like he did with Sam Mitchell in Toronto.
He did take blame. "And coaches, we have a lot to prove that we can bounce back and try to build some things so we have a head start on next year." You can relax now.
Well, he also uses that as a tactic to pacify critics on/off his team. A lot of it is a front. He never does suggest what he needs to do better. He never does seem to adjust his coaching, either. I don't think he does a bad job, but he blissfully ignores his bad spots and tells the media what they want to hear. Evan
then do something about then. make changes in the offense, try different stuff. if the old way isn't working, try a new one. that's what i'm trying to say. i know he has taken SOME of the blame in the past, but i don't see him doing anything about it. he'll continue to rip on his players and demand them to be better (and there is nothing wrong with that) but you actually have to make changes yourself. just try something different, that's all i want. i know you don't have a lot to work with, but there are definitely teams out there with less.
That scares me. JVG does not have a good building record. Once again he will order CD to get so and so players based on his Knicks style coaching and they will go spalt on his face. Time to adjust Mr. JVG. Either JVG evolves or he gets taken out by process of natural selection. Perosnally, I think he has already had plenty of time to adjust but he has shown that he is incapable of doing that. And I am not even talking about winning/losing record here.
JVG, If you want us to have a winning culture here, the first step is for you to turn in your resignation .
JVG, whether he realizes it or not, is on the cusp of his career. He has to evolve if he is to reamain an NBA coach. Whether he is willing to look inside himself, overcome his personal inadequacies become more open, learn how to motivate pro athletes and learn about modern NBA offense will determine if he will have to return to broadcasting, where he can sure talk a good game.
Mario would make an awesome coach, if that little rascal Avery Johnson can lead a team, so can Super Mario.
OK, listen to what JVG says. Who is responsible for the changeover again? From this quote, he seems to say that the changeover messed up the culture. At other times, he was saying that they have to make changes to get the culture. He is using individual players' future to motivate them to play for meaningless games. He is still in denial of the real problem. According to JVG, the real problem is intensity, discipline, and knowledge. The poor shooting just exaggerates it.
I wish we have a "blame meter" that record every time JVG takes a blame and blaming someone else. I wonder what the ratio would be? Wasn't JVG the one blames himself for not putting hustle players like Ryan into the game earlier this season? Now he doesn't think Ryan can stay in the league? Everytime JVG takes a blame, it always seems to be something minor. You never hear him say "I lost the game because I couldn't draw up an efficient offense", or "I made the mistake of concentrate too much on defend the paint, and ignore the outside shooting of the other team". I think JVG is a good coach, but he is far away from flawless. I would give him half a season, and if he can't turn this team around, I would go after someone that can actually win games.
And just think, Van Gundy hand pick these scrubs right off the scrap heap! I can even recall when he said that he wished he had 11 Ryan Bowens. Well, he might not have 11, but it sure as hell looks like he has 9!
Every coach, in every single sport, is overrated. You can't take a donkey to the Kentucky Derby and expect to win the race. You've got to have the horses. And right now the Rockets just don't have the "horses".
IMO, he still think the problem is not the offense, it is the defense. Because defense takes intensity and discipline. That was what he means. Obviously JVG is not happy about our defense, he still thinks if we play good enough D, we can win games by scoring 70pts. Dumb*ss still lives in 1990s.
