Yes it might have been a mistake, but it might also be the best thing for this team. Just going to have to wait and see, what is done is done. DD
He should have made adjustments to score more than 67 points in game 3 and adjustments for them to win in game 6. Jeff did not call any offensive plays at the end of game 7 to get his players in the best position to score. He made his Superstars do all of the offensive creating and frankly on the defensive end he did not make any adjustments to stop Okur and AK47 seven when they were becoming the scorers down the stretch. He calls timeouts at terrible times for terrible reasons and I think quietly this was one of Jeffs biggest weaknesses. Out of timeouts the offense never seems any sharper, kept Yao in the box all of game seven. Allowed us to be a juimp shooting team with no real jump shooters Adelman is to be honest one of the three best proven coaches for this team the other two are Phil Jasckson and Greg Pop reason being he is one of the best offensive coach for unathletic players, which is the type of team we have right now.
But we do have a team that runs motion offense actually bot the Spurs and Utah have cutters and good ball/player movement. Houston is not a very athletic team and really neither is Utah and San Antoinio, but the difference is overall talent and depth.
The problem is that outside of Yao and TMac, Utah and San Antonio DO have better players at every postion including the bench. Then consider that Boozer outplayed Yao, and TMac shot below his regular season average from 3. I'd say Tmac played good, but not great over all. He made a mistake not taking the ball to the rack every play and settled for jumpers down the stretch, when we got back in game 7 due to his drives. Neither of our stars was able to take over the most important games down the stretch and none of our bench played well enough to win. I doubt that would have changed much if Sloan was coaching the Rockets and JVG was coaching the Jazz. Likewise I don't expect our defense to "fall apart" with Adelman, but roster improvments will have alot more to do with any improvements than what offense we run. Wide open shots that were missed by Head, Howard and Rafer in JVG's offense aren't going to go in just because of the coach. A wide open shot is a wide open shot in any system. In the end you still have to make them.
You develop talent for the future. How did JVG develop talent for this team? Alienating free agents? Trading away Mike James and Boki Nachbar? Sitting rookies in doghouse? Giving all the minutes to a long list of old scrubs from the Knicks instead of young prospects? JVG dug his own grave and made the Rockets thin in both system and talent.
There's no doubt that JVG did an amazing job considering our roster. Tmac and Yao + a pile of 3rd stringers = 52 wins... Amazing. And with the injuries it was a miracle. He was a common coach of the year candidate at the end of the season. Blows me away the attitude some people have about him here.
Yes it was an amazing job. But he traded James for Rafer, he turned down the trade to bring back James, he traded Boki, and he threw Bonzi in the doghouse and ate the key.
If not for the suspensions to Stoudemire and Diaw, Phoenix would've had a very good chance of beating Spurs in 7, and then going all the way, IMO.
Mr. Clutch your thought process is so sound. Alson fg .375, 3p .363, rb 3.4, a 5.4, st 1.57, M 37.1 James fg .422, 3p.372, rb 2.0, a 3.6, st .67, M 25.2 I smell difference maker. Please... Wells was a nut case from hades. c'mon now. Be serious.
Mike James on that 2005 team was absolutely a difference maker. He shot near 40% from 3 point land for the Rockets that year. The point is, you can't blame the roster when JVG continually undermined the roster. It's almost like he prefers guys who have no offensive game just because they play the game right way. Remember the signings of Oakley, Strickland, and Mark Jackson?
I think most won't miss him until he's long gone. That Utah series still smarts a little; and once the honeymoon is over with whoever we bring in, I think there will be some nights where we miss the things that Van Gundy did bring to the table. My eyes are wide open on this franchise this offseason though. Reading through these threads the past few weeks has brought to mind a lot to consider regarding how this club has been run for the past decade. Can't say I'm confident going forward just yet, and for the known coaching options available, no name makes me feel any better. And serious talk about possible roster upgrading leaves me uninspired. Maybe I share Van Gundy's cynicism to a certain degree, but it looks like dark clouds on the horizon for this club. Hopefully I'm wrong. I love the game, and I'll undoubtedly see some great games next season, I just hope that some of those are Rockets games. Congrats, Morey. You've been brought into an "interesting" situation and everyone involved, rabid fans included, needs to see some magic happen and fast. Now make with some silk scarves out of the sleeves...
Luffy1, I love the way you disappeared while the Rockets were winning, you laid low while the playoffs were going on and them BAM!...appear just to kick a man while he is down. You are great fan.
if the biggest 'mistakes' you point to about a coach are trading boki, james and bonzi quitting on his team....then thats a very weak argument.
no way this was a mistake guy had 4 years with two superstars to bring us the title, he couldn't even pass the first round with Adelman we will at least win the conference title next year
A. You develope talent for the furture primarily in a rebuilding mode. We were in win with our stars mode. B. I'll agree with you on the next point. Bonzi definately was an "alienating free agent"! Anyone who takes much less money so he can showcase his talents to get a mega contract, then shows up so fat he can't play ball is "alienating"! C. The trade of Mike James was to get a traditional point instead of a shooting point in hopes we would get out of the 1st round. Did it work? No, but we were closer. As far as getting him back, he played himself out of the TWolves lineup. What improvement would that play bring to the Rockets? D. Boki was drafted for his shooting. He would shoot 100%(80% in practice & 20% in games). This continued his 3 years with us. We traded him for David Wesley who was a big part of our playoff drive in 05. He will always be remembered for his block on a Carla layup! 3 years & 2 teams later, he is with a point guard that can get him the ball and he is having success. How long do you wait. E. Novak didn't play much because he's lost on the court. VSpan played too out of control & then complained about not being treated like the TMac of the Euros. F. Boki was really the only young talent we had & neither Rudy or JVG could get him to shoot well in a game. The former Knicks primarily came in the trade of Taylor to the Knicks, so yes they got the pt that Taylor would of had. JVG got us to the playoffs 3 out of 4 years after a long drought. He didn't get us out of the 1st round though and that plus the rift between him & Les got him fired. He did a good job with what he had here. Time to see what changes comes with a new coach.
imo, superstars make plays and win the game when they have a lead with 5 minutes left and its game 7...at home. i think this is something that people need to start at least consider. Yao and tmac are very talented and very popular...that doesnt mean they are clutch or that they can will a team to victory when it matters most.
What are you talking about? I've always been here. Boy, you must be talking about yourself in your sig.
