Being a Control Freak, JVG Leads Rockets to Nowhere

man why all the jvg hate on here. They hated him in NY wanted to fire him, but they didn't and what do you know the knicks were in the finals that year. I think jvg is a good coach. As long as we win i dont give a damn i''ve he benches the rookies. I dont worry about novak and vspan they will be ready to play a couple of minutes when the playoffs begin. Let them learn in practice first and after that around mid season we will see them on the court

 

How many games he sacrificed when he bring in these old old Knicks?

L Head, cause he has no option. That's why L head can play like this right now.

 

He developed Hayes. I don't remember much from his rookie season. I think he did a good job with Hayes, even better than L Head.

 

So superstars are beyond reproach?

Thats the silliest thing I have heard.

 

Don't try to put words in my mouth. I never said that.

 

Well, you basically said, based on Imadrummer's question, that if the team wins, its because of its superstars, and even it loses, its because of its coach.

An honest interpretation of that is, superstars share no responsibility in loses.

 

Avery and Riley Suck worse so far this year.

 

I don't understand.

 

Nice post. Perfect timing.

 

I think gundy is not starting the rookies because he wants the starters to become more cohesive together as well as get the team off to a very good start. If these things happen, hopefully he will allow the rookies to contribute more.

 

Something like JVG's offense and his career?

 

Last season, he has to play L head that's why L head developed to what he is now.

 

The main reason JVG does not play rookies is they are mistake-prone. Understandable to a point. However I see two problems with this.

1) Double standard. While veterans like Juwan Howard and Rafer Alston botch up plays on a consistent basis (more Rafer than Juwan, Juwan is just too slow to keep up on offense or defense), they keep getting major chunk of minutes. What is the difference between rookies and veterans making mistakes and costing games? Atleast the rookies have the potential to learn from their mistakes and improve. Nothing beats the real game experience.

Examples:

Robert Horry would not have helped the Rockets uptil a 7 game series in 93-94 playoff series (2nd round) if he was rotting on the bench all season. Neither would he be helped them win the whole thing in the next 2 years.

Sam Cassell would not have made clutch shots in the playoffs as a rookie and 2nd year player, had he been riding the pine all season.

Last year, a number of people on this board, including myself were wondering why Chuck Hayes wasnt getting major minutes over Juwan Howard. Chuck's play this year shows why we were wondering that. Even last year he was clearly better than Juwan. Instead he sat on the bench. Hayes was played one year too late! He would have been even better this year with playing time last year.

2) Short Sightedness and selfishness at expense of team's future. JVG's primary goal at this point is to save his own @ss and he is willing to mortgage teams's future for present gain. Not playing Novak and VSpan right now will give him perhaps more wins for now, but it will slow down the team's growth.

If Gundy develops these young players early on, they will reduce the workload for the veterans and keep them fresh for the playoffs. These young players, with some game experience might actually be able to contribute in playoffs. Also, come next year, they will be much better.

Luther Head is helping the Rockets win some games because he got valuable game time last year. But he got it because Gundy was forced to play him with all the injuries. Let's hope, the recent Chuck Hayes injury will mean more playing time for Novak. If Padgett and Juwan get all the playing time while Novak sits on the bench during this time, JVG is really not looking at the big picture. Or he rather not, as long as he keeps his job.

 

Oh, now I understand...kind of...well, actually I don't.

I don't know, I think it's kind of silly (when you've won 4 out of the last 5 games including blowouts of the 2 teams that played for the championship last year) to be whining about the rookies not getting any PT. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Call me crazy....

 

How did Hayes, an undrafted rookie, develop into the player that he is now? hmmm....

Van Gundy doesn't develop rookies.

 

I'm with you. Where are these guys going to fit into the rotation? We've got our 8.5 man rotation right now. We're winning. Unless it's a blowout(last nights blowout came late in the 4th and Miami left in their big players too), then Novak and Spanoulis are just going to have to wait. If they are truly that good, they'll earn their way onto the court.

When things aren't working and we need a lot of points fast, sure, give the rookies a shot, but you have to try your rotation combinations first. I thought that when we were down late against the Jazz and Hornets, that we should've put both rookies in. Why? To shake things up. If Novak gets hot and Spanoulis gets a couple of steals by playing tough D, then we're in the game again.

Overall, JVG is doing a good job during wins, but needs to teach desperation basketball when you're down late. You have to go for the steal, the quick "3" and play to win when you're down. That is one place that I see JVG lacking, down late in games style play.

 

Sam played 66 games at 17 minutes per game. JVG still has time to incorporate either rookie, but he doesn't have to if they aren't ready. Sam was a weapon in the playoffs his rookie year, but he was no phenom. I hope that JVG treats either rookie like Sam was treated, bring him in when his strengths are useful tools. (i.e. getting burned by Nash? Why not try out Vassilis? Down by 20? Let Novak try to shoot you back into the game.)

Using rookies to 'learn the game' is stupid. You'll bring them out and they'll lose confidence in their ability. When you play rookies, is more important than how many minutes they get. You have to send rookies out when they're going to be successful. For Vassilis, this is probably when the team needs defense against a PG. For Steve Novak, it's probably when teams are sagging consistently on the PF or SF.

Unless JVG sees the rook's skills as usefull for the situation, expect to see them on the bench. If they work their way into the rotation, know that they've made strides in practice.

Think about it, the minutes the Novak played in our losses, Novak looked like a rookie. He hit one three against the Jazz, they made a small adjustment and Novak became ineffective on offense. On defense he was abused.

JVG is doing a solid job thus far. If killing rookies is what it takes to win, then by all means, keep "killing rookies" Jeff.

 

Define "win." How many, how far?

 

I wish we would kill this thread...

 

Playoffs and Championship. It worked for the Pistons and Heat.