I think we have the best owner/general manager/coach combo in the entire league, and I consider them the true core of the team.
Responding to a few points in this thread: A) Adelman's two biggest accomplishments are 1) Developing young players like Brooks, Landry, Wafer, and Lowry and 2) Building a cohesive team. B) Phil Jackson is vastly overrated. I also remember Auerbach doesn't think highly of him. I think he's been really fortunate to coach 1) the greatest player of all time (MJ), 2) the most dominant big man of all time (Shaq), and 3) a stacked team with Kobe as the centerpiece. He got worked by Adelman this series. C) Rick Adelman > Phil Jackson > Rudy T. I like Rudy T, but he's not a very good strategic thinker. Next year I worry a bit about keeping cohesion w/o Deke in the lockerroom.
Adelman took us into the postseason without our highest paid player. Adelman took us out of the first round. Adelman guided this team (without Yao for the last 4 games) into a 7-game series against the Lakers. That's a big A in my book.
I think he did a great job but I'm starting to wonder more and more if he isn't just like JVG in that he can get average players to overachieve but is he a coach who can take a talented team all the way? I know he has seen the Finals twice and nearly got there a third time but I wonder when he can't get Yao the ball consistently or integrate Ron and McGrady into the offense but once the team is left with nothing but role players he suddenly has them beating up the reigning Western Conference Champs. Having said that, he did a hell of a job and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do next year.
Well, regarding Jackson vs Adelman, Rick's been royally screwed a number of times by blatantly rigged refereeing. It's hard enough to try to coach with inferior talent, but it gets infinitely harder coaching against rigged reffing as well.
People me, believe here in Sacramento wish they still had Rick. Everyday, as of now, there are articles about who to hire and interview -- none that are on par with Rick's resume. Warriors and Laker fans laugh at Kings fans for their team's mistake in letting go of Rick. A coach with a name also attract players, I believe. Rick is doing well in Houston and he deserves it.
That's an unfair attack. In general NBA fans are not as knowledgeable about coaches compared to they are about players. In addition, coaching talent can come from almost anywhere, from current coaches to currently unemployed past coaches, assistant coaches, retired coaches, college... etc. Hence people having trouble thinking of a good replacement for Adleman--has nothing to do with Adelman's faults or lack thereof.
not going crazy. lol. just cant copy and paste on iphone. the iphone drives me crazy sometimes. i think red would argue that adelman is a better coach than jackson. he basically said that jackson just had good teams. and what decent coach couldnt win with those teams? if red saw what adelman did to jackson this series i think it wouldve put a smile on his face. just my opinion not a fact.
First season with us. Had a few problems and injuries, but pulled a 22 game win streak with 50+ wins and best second half of the season record. Second season with us. Had to deal with even more injuries and chemistry problems. Made great adjustments and development to rookies and sophomores, and we pulled through to second round and got every non-Laker fan rooting for us.
In comparing Adelman to his peers, I found today's "wired" segment (at halftime) very revealing. I'm not sure how many of you noticed the comments from each coach as the game was about to start up the 2nd half but they were very interesting. When Adelman was speaking to the Rockets, he kept saying things like "You need to stop penetration...", "You need to get better shots...", "You need to do this, you need to do that, etc." When they showed Phil Jackson having the same "pep talk" with his team, he was saying "We need to continue pressing...", "We need to stay focused...", "We need to do this, that, etc." Not for nothing guys, but it seems Adelman (in his own mind) isn't taking ownership of anything going on around him. He doesn't even communicate with his team as if he's part of it. Jackson on the other hand used "We statements". On a subconscious level, I think this speaks volumes about some of the issues facing the Rockets that would seemingly be easy to control (team preparation, motivation, attitude, consistency, etc.) When the coach doesn't take ownership, why should the players? Thus we have the 2nd round exit as a lovely parting gift. Adelman only looks good on paper. If the game were played on paper, he'd be more of a success. Unfortonately, in my opinion, the man cannot manage the dynamics of a game. He is too detached from it. I really don't like the fact the Rockets had a built-in excuse for a playoff exit this year (i.e. injuries to key players). Despite the injuries, this series with the Lakers WAS very winnable and to me that's saying a lot given the "odds on paper". The mental approach simply was not that of a champion. Go back, examine his words at halftime. You'll see what I mean. He spoke to the team as if it was its own individual entity apart from him. That's wrong and explains the disconnect in focus the team often demonstrates. Bah, take it for what it's worth, but I don't see Adelman ever winning a championship. It feels like he's simply doing a job rather than being a leader. Sometimes during a game it feels like he barely has any control at all over his team (Wafer incident, etc.). You guys go ahead and continue speaking about paper accomplishments. I'm afraid that's all this team can hope for. /disappointed with the season
Adelman is a smart coach, no doubt about it, but he is very stubborn as well... If Adelman didn't have this manlove with Brooks as a starter (I love Brooks being a 6th man if Yao is back, just not as a starter), I would give Adelman an A for taking the handicaped team this far into the playoff. However, taking all into considerations, I am giving him a B+...
To be honest, At the begining of the season i thought he was underrated, now? He is overrated. People seem to forget we brought him here to improve to offense, which you can see what happen when we play game 7. I am not try to take away his credit to put this team together desipte so many injuries. However, defense was never a issue for Rocket since JVG was here. It's offense we need to improve, to me, at least for 2 seasons, RA hasn't changed that much better than JVG, who don't have that many talents than RA.
If you ask me, this series raises a lot of questions about Rick Adelman that might not have been so obvious if not for Yao Ming going down. For example, how well they played with Chuck Hayes as the starting Center versus with an All-Star like Yao Ming. The season series was 3-1 Lakers and Chuck averaged 10 minutes in the 3 losses. In the playoffs, his minutes go up over 20 and The Rockets force a game 7. You look at the results in this series and then you look at the regular season where he wouldn't even put Chuck into the game. They also didn't really dominate The Blazers with Yao. I think it speaks volumes about his Offense over Defense philosophy. Playing Luis Scola so many minutes is proof positive of this. Many times I have seen Scola play 14-16 minutes straight while getting beat on defense. He rarely runs the pick & roll game which could be so effective for his players. When you have 2 quick point guards like Brooks and Lowry, your entire offense should be Pick & Roll based when Yao is out of the game. Even when they do run pick's, their guards are going away from the screen, so I question Rick Adelman's ability to teach his players this kind of offense. I mean, Adelman has been around long enough to where you have to lay the blame on him when Ron Artest is dribbling around the 3 point arc for most of the shot clock. He is either unwilling to bench him or he is comfortable with terrible offense like that. Either way, it's his fault.
adelman is an excellent coach; always has been. he's like a first-class cook, proven to be able to provide gourmet dishes if given right ingredients no matter the variety.
I give him a 10 /10 so far. His adjustments throughout the playoffs this year were just incredible. He kept both the Blazers and Lakers guessing, even when we were the ones short handed.
Why do you guys like JVG so much? He was a crappy coach...we never blew out anyone and he could not manage a team without TMac....let him hang out with his laker nut huggin friend Mark Jackson
