This is on the management. And, yes, their "hands are tied," but why? Would past personnel decisions have anything to do with it?
JVG is very closely tied to management when it comes to acquiring players. JVG had called his brother regarding Rafer and SVG raved about Rafer (SVG must hold a childhood grudge against his brother). Most of the players that have been brought in by Rockets since JVG came onboard have JVG's stamp all over 'em. Started off with Ward and Oakley. Players that do not get JVG's stamp of approval, unfortunately do not see floor time. So, you cant blame it solely on management. JVG has to take blame too when it comes to player management.
. he also worked with patino. BUt jvg is pretty free with the offense really, meaning he gives the players a lot of leeway
He is a hard-working coach without much talent, always. Basketball to him is more like work than sport. He could be better IF he had played NBA basketball, well or not.
THANK YOU! Everyone wants to talk about how D'Antoni is the greatest but its really Nash running the show out there. D'Anotni just gives his blessing to Nash. Grab the ball, run, and let Nash create. Its not just coaching, the talent you have matters also. The Suns have the talent to run, and the Rockets are better suited for a slow-tempo offense. From losses this season, you can see we don't have the type of talent to guard against teams the run-n-gun. The quick teams gives us the biggest problems. Last night, our defense was the biggest problem. Golden State were getting easy buckets all night, pushing the ball on every possession they can. On the other side, T-Mac wasn't even playing and Yao was being guarded by 3 people. And we still almost won! If we played better defense and turn the ball over less, we would have won that game without our two stars producing. Nothing is wrong with our offense. Check our record, we wouldn't have so many wins if our offense was that crappy. Sure T-Mac does a lot of the playmaking but thats what superstars do. They are generals on the court. Look at Nash, Kobe, LeBron or Wade. All those players help out their coaches and a lot of their plays aren't at the result of their coach. LOL, all you listed was generic "plays" (pg drive, 3pt kick out from drive?). Actually, those aren't real plays that coaches call. Everybody from the NBA to the YMCA runs those "plays". C'mon, PG drive, Pick and pass for mid range Jumper? What team doesn't run that? The only difference is that not every team has a Steve Nash. Everyone wants to bring up the Suns whenever they talk down on the Rockets offense. Run-n-gun style has not been proved to win a championship. Sure you get lots of wins, but its been a different story in the playoffs. Also, we don't even have the personnel to run. When you have players like Yao and T-Mac, your offense will excel in the half-court game where they will be most effective. Run-n-gun style is fun to watch, but its not going to solve all our problems. Especially when our talent is not built from a run-n-gun team.
I'll never understand why people always blame the coach when things don't go well. JVG has yet to blow a single layup or miss a single 4th quarter free throw.
especially if you watched last nights game. Sloppy passes...getting beat to loose balls, not getting back on defense. but whatever, people will need a scapegoat b/c they cant understand what they see or b/c they are delusional. And especially if you've played any type of significant basketball. when you are actually out there in a game, players have a lot of room for improv.
Point being, those are plays that they run, and everything else is Nash improvised. I don't disagree with you, but they are plays nonetheless. Starts off with Nash at the top of the key, waiting on the screen from Amare high post. Nash goes around the screen, and if they close the lane on him. If he is open, Nash hits Amare who either has 2 choices. Shoot the midrange if his lane is cut off, or go to the rack if the double went for Nash. If that all fails he has a 3 point shooter on his right corner or right angle behind him for the 3 (usually Marion)and one on the far left corner (usually Raja). That is their staple play. I saw a diagram online once and saved it in my favorites but they gave us all new pc's here at work, so i dont know what the site is. I agree Nash is the catalyst for their offense, and that is the main reason why I don't understand the Nash hate because he won those MVP's.
JVG is a brilliant defensive coach in the paint. Not so brilliant in freeing up the offense to run or exploit matchups. One can only imagine what a truly brilliant offensive mind would do with the Rockets personnel. "One of just two men to be named NBA Coach of the Year three times, Nelson has been able to transform teams, usually with innovative wrinkles. He used Paul Pressey as a point forward in Milwaukee, 7-7 Manute Bol as a 3-point shooter in Golden State and five-guard lineups in Dallas. He also is among the first coaches to deploy the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy." If Nelson were coaching the Rockets, Yao would not be defended front and behind by two defenders. When that kind of crap happened, I would bet anything that Yao would be out at the high post with guards driving the lane and a kickout to Yao to shoot the open two or three pointer. Either that or penetrating player would get an open look for an easy layup or 10-15 foot shot. It is frustrating to know that you have players like Novak, Vspan and Bonzi sitting on the bench growing mold.
I agree but I would emphasize our backcourt's astonishing inability to pass into the post. Where is Robert Horry when you need him????
Do you even follow the Rockets on a regular basis since 2005 ( the beginning of the T-mac era )? During the second half of the 2005 season when we were basically the best team in the league next to the equally as hot Nuggets ( Karl's first half year ), the Rockets burned every single one of their opponents to the ground. This was done with a system, with players who functioned perfectly in that system, with a system that finally clicked. The games were practically over by the third quarter when we already reached 100 points. People were getting Big Macs every night. Fast-forward to this season during the few times this team went on full cylinders playing the way they were designed by JVG. We were also scoring 100 points by the third quarter. So JVG's system works on offense and when it works it is just as sexy as anything Mike D'Antonio and Don Nelson can conjure up. The problem is that it relies a lot on high disciplined and smart players to make it happen. That's why we've seen it more during the 2005 than we did now, because guys like Wesley, Jon Barry, and Sura were smart guys. Who do we have now? Luther, Snyder, and Rafer. That's why we're seeing these 80 point games again. JVG is a good offensive coach, but his system is very limited to certain players. I'm fine with that because we can only fit 12 people on a team anyway. There are plenty of Wesleys and Jon Barrys out there.
By the way, I'll say something radical: Shane Battier is overrated. If he hit more of his open shots, I'd take that label away. He misses way too many easy shots.
You can say that again!! IMO this is why we need to fast break when it is there. Insert guys like... yes I said it Vspan... and lets get this team running. If the opportunity is not there.. then pull the ball back out and wait for Yao to get down the floor. Hell atleast take a shot now and then to keep the other team on their toes. Something different now and then would be nice. I like Snyder's game to the rim but it is not like he is a lock down defender and his outside shot could be worse then Raefer's. Lately Tracy can't hit a three to save his life.... so we basically have Battier who won't shoot and Tracy and Raefer's Lethargic shot in the starting lineup. Other than that we have Head as the only legitimate 3 point threat on the floor at times. I wouldnt ask JVG to totally change if the guy would just be willing to make adjustments. I would love to see the guys running back like they were in training camp, going to the rim, knocking down threes. IMO the difference between Rudy and JVG was atleast Rudy could change things up from time to time. He seemed to always have someone he could use to jump start the offense. Wether it be Bullard (ou Novak) or Cassell (who I would like to think of as Vspan except with an outside shot). My two cents.... but I for one would like to think that our guys are better offensively than what he has shown. I for one would hate see these guys go ala Nachbar only to hear the proverbial "well they just didn't work in our system".
Take Shane out of the equation, I am just troubled by the perception that you can't be a good player if you are not a major scorer. I agree you can't be a great player if you don't score - just like IMHO you can't be a great player if you don't play any defense (please see Charles Barkley) - but you certainly can be a good player. Lots of examples out there such as Bruce Bowen, Ben Wallace, Omeka Okafur, and our very own Deke. I don't think Shane is overrated. I think most people will say he is the ultimate role player, but the word "role" is in that moniker. How can you be overrated if you are known as a role player?
We blame JVG because he is the man who is controlling this team. His job is to tell players how to play in the right way. He has to help players find the best way to beat all kind of teams, no matter small or big, fast or slow. He has to make use of every player's talent and train them mental toughness. He has to keep the team work efficiently for the whole year. He did show something in the past but also expose his weakness a lot. Who else should we blame? The leader is always the first person to blame.
The season is almost over and he still can't teach the guys to play well. So he is not a good teacher.
