RRU, I have no problem with you being critical. Everyone has that right. I just question your loyalty when you keep slamming the guy who has given his entire life to this franchise. There is not one person in the world who cares more about this team than Rudy. I'll guarantee that. Any other coach would be a huge downgrade. Read this article on ESPN and maybe you'll get a better idea where I'm coming from: http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/bucher_ric/1511004.html Oh, and regarding your suspicions about my length of loyalty? I've lived in Houston my whole life, am 30 years old, and can remember when I was 8 and watched the Rockets lose to the Celtics THE FIRST TIME. So don't try to play that angle anymore...
At last count RRU had 28 signatures. So I guess, to paraphrase Shakespeare, this petition is kind of like that tale told by an idiot: full of sound and fury signifying nothing." [Read below, for further elucidation.] "......all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's [---err....this petition is----] but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more; it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing." -Macbeth (Act V, Scene 5) Or if you prefer Willie Nelson to Willie Shakespeare: "Turn out the lights, the party's over. They say that all good things must end. Lets call it a night, the party's over. And tomorrow starts the same old thing again." Goodnight, Houston!
uhhh... well... i believe you guys/gals know my position... hence the screen name. it's growing tiresome watching the rockets games now. i'd glady break a 40 oz on the curb and cut up rudy's playbook if he wouldn't snatch the bottle out of my hand and drink it. seriously... are there any set plays that the rockets run? hmmm... there's the alley-oop play and there's the high pick at the top of the key were stevie comes around and hits a three pointer. whoop-dee-friggin-doo. i have to admit that i've been watching more michael jackson documentaries (poor guy) and reality tv shows while switching to and from the rockets games. i find myself wandering off into a deep stupor wondering what moochie norris would look like with his hair straightened out like jackson. by the time i come back to my senses, the game is over... another friggin loss to a subpar team. the young team thing is sounding like a BROKEN record. the "exciting team to watch" thing is sounding like a BROKEN record. i'm tired of the BROKEN plays. i think rudy's "2nd active coaching tenure with one team behind jerry sloan" should be BROKEN. when does the second season of joe millionaire start?
Wednesday, February 19 Give Rockets some time to adjust to Yao -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ric Bucher ESPN The Magazine LOS ANGELES -- Although Shaquille O'Neal's cranky left knee and problematic right big toe made Yao-Shaq II into the roundball version of Al Capone's vault, at least it means the murmuring in certain corners about coach Rudy Tomjanovich's competence or Steve Francis' selfishness won't get any louder. Then again, it says a lot about the power of Yao that such noise is being raised at all. At least the Rockets can't be second-guessed about their use of Yao in Tuesday's double-overtime loss to the Lakers. Assistant coach Jim Boylen had him with 35 touches before fouling out in the first overtime period, touches being far more indicative of a player's involvement than any other statistic. The pressure is increasing on the Rockets to give Yao Ming the damn ball. Losing with The Big Ache in the locker room also underscored exactly why far too much meaning was credited to the fluky overtime victory over the three-time defending champions back in January. Before that eventful night, the Rockets were a surprisingly fun little team defying projections right along with their No. 1 pick from China by flirting with a playoff berth. Now, of course, to hear the rabblerousers tell it, they're the Team of Destiny that the ever-reckless Rudy T. has decided to let his handpicked pilot, Stevie Franchise, auger into the land of lotteryville again. "It sort of surprises me," says Tomjanovich. Me, too, unless this is someone other than the Rudy T. who coached the Rockets to two titles, an NBA star-laden Olympic squad to a gold medal and, perhaps most impressively, a rag-tag group of non-NBAers to a bronze medal in the '98 World Championships. Or this Francis is someone other than the one who has earned mention in the same breath with Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd as a rebounding point guard, one of the more selfless, blue-collar contributions a player can make. This isn't a case of what-have-you-done-for-me-lately. This is what-are-you-doing-for-me-today-that-assures-me-a-bright-tomorrow. This, in short, is a bit nutty. I can guess the genesis. Boxscore watchers saw those string of near-perfect shooting nights in December that propelled the Rockets to a season-high eight games over .500 They then see miserable losses to Cleveland and Miami in which Yao took eight and four shots, respectively, and wonder who ordered the freeze-out. The stat mongerers see that Yao is second only to back-up center Kelvin Cato (whose shot attempts are measured in inches) in field-goal shooting percentage (52.6 to 52.8) and wonder why the Rockets' braintrust isn't checking the same numbers. Numbers, of course, never tell the whole story. Miami, for one, both fronted Yao and got extremely physical with him. Against the Lakers, he responded in kind, fouling out Samaki Walker and helping Mark Madsen collect five. For the most part, he forced the action until he had a shot or could create an open one for someone else. He sometimes burns a good chunk of the shot clock trying to establish position without creating anything worthwhile. "I've told him there are two parts to a move," Tomjanovich says. "There's the explosiveness getting your position with or without the ball and then another explosive move to get your shot or create one for someone else. He's getting better at it." Is Yao already the best decision-maker on the team? Yes. Does his unselfishness and advanced all-around skills make him extraordinarily efficient, especially by NBA standards? Absolutely. Does this mean that anytime he doesn't lead the Rockets in attempted shots or points or both someone is screwing up? Uh, no. Tomjanovich, like it or not, believes coaching a team is a collaborative effort with his players, particularly his stars. It's why he has the second-longest longevity among current NBA coaches after the Jazz's Jerry Sloan, who for all his gruff demeanor puts a lot of trust in his top players as well. He also understands that players who are allowed to learn through trial-and-error not only buy into playing a particular system but can execute it under duress because they know firsthand what does and doesn't contribute to winning. There's nothing like losing to drive that home. This team also doesn't have the ideal components to complement Yao's game. Watching how the Lakers had to respect Glen Rice's shooting range and the space it created for Yao was electrifying; Rice's health hasn't allowed much of that. A few first-rate spot-up shooters and Houston can go back to the sets that worked so well with Hakeem in the post. As is, though, the Rockets, collectively, need to strike a balance between the helter-skelter attack of Stevie's drive-and-kicks and Yao's more deliberate back-to-the-basket attack. In light of having the second-youngest team in the league, Tomjanovich also has adopted a less histrionic style on the sideline, both in and out of huddles. "I feel like if I'm not acting in a calm manner, my team is less likely to act that way," he says. Francis, in turn, is like every young star who believes when winning or losing is in the balance, his back is best suited to carrying a team where it needs to go. “ We try to get the ball to him. We're all looking inside. But if I look in and think he's not holding his position strong enough, I have to go someplace else. But I don't think anyone's not trying to get him the ball. ” — Steve Francis "We try to get the ball to him," Francis says. "We're all looking inside. But if I look in and think he's not holding his position strong enough, I have to go someplace else. But I don't think anyone's not trying to get him the ball." For those who believe Francis should trust Yao more often, keep in mind they've played 52 games together. Then consider how long it took Kobe to trust Shaq. Or Hakeem to share the ball with Kenny Smith and Vernon Maxwell. Or MJ to find Scottie Pippen and the rest of his supporting cast. "Steve gets so competitive, sometimes he doesn't always make good decisions," Tomjanovich says. "But I've had conversations with him in the middle of the night about how guys are feeling, how he's doing as a leader. The kid has a good heart." Yao, of course, does, too, which is why the number of touches he gets in a game far outnumber his attempted shots. He is both unselfish and patient, a combination that isn't always effective with a 24-second clock and a team that doesn't always space well. "The good thing about it is, it hasn't been a struggle for the other players," Tomjanovich says. "I've had teams where you could feel the tension and that hasn't been the case." Hasn't and probably won't. But it will take time. The best things always do. give it time before you cut off the head of rudy
Genesis 71 - I enjoyed the literary reference / comparison. And, I will readily admit that I have moments of idiocy, and it's certainly possible that this petition thing is one of them... However, just as a point of information: There have been approximately 7 more names addes since that post, and I believe that with each incremental step the Rockets take toward a post-season "sans playoffs", the more names I will collect. It's possible that the slow trickle of names could turn into a virtual torrent. What would it mean? Probably jack-squat!! But, just to reemphasize my reasoning: In the game against Dallas tonight Rudy again failed to recognize the offensive adjustment by Dallas in time to stop that 13-5 run that Dallas had to start the second half. I think that Rudy has a serious handicap in the strategy / game decisions area of coaching. Unfortunately, it's probably cost us LOTS of games over the course of his tenure.
No offense, but I really can't believe you're still wasting your time with this. A fan petition is worthless, in that no one in the organization is really going to take it seriously. The only thing it would possibly do would be to turn more of the fans in the city against Rudy, and if it spread enough then it might drive him out a little sooner. Tell me, if Rudy is such a horrible 'strategy' coach, then why didn't that seem to be a problem in the championship days? I know people think youth is just a lame excuse, but I think with how young the core of the team is, it will take a while. Personally, I think Rudy has at least this season and into next season to get it together. If I were in charge, he'd probably be gone if we didn't make the playoffs this year, but of course I'm not in charge. I'm going to wait for this season to end before I seriously consider it though.
I really don't agree with many of Rudy's strategies. In particular, I would change our personnel to provide better shooters for Francis and Yao. I would also retool the offense completely. I believe our current offense was made to exploit the talents of Francis, Cat and Kenny Thomas. I understand that Rudy added some new plays specifically for Yao, but Yao still has to run some of the old plays. For example, we get really uncomfortable looking plays with Yao in the high post. This would work great if Yao were more mobile, but he's not. He seems to have trouble accepting passes as he is rolling to the basket after he sets the pick. In any case, I agree to give Rudy until the end of the year. Regardless of whether the Rockets make the playoffs, I want to hear how Rudy expects to improve the club with respect to player personnel and our playbook.
SoSoDef76 - I agree. One of the many frustrating things about Rudy is his seeming inability to articulate a plan for this team other than "being patient." Why can't/won't he just come out and say (now as he did before the season) "I expect this team to make the playoffs and nothing else is acceptable!!!" I mean at least TELL the Frickin players what is expected of them!! I mean, WHY can we not expect to see ball movement EVERY game. When if EVER will see consistent movement without the ball on the offensive end. Why can't the Rockets say publicly what everybody knows: That we need a 1/2/3: Either a true PG so S.F. can move to the 2, or a 2 that can fill it up at more than a 40% clip "ala Cat", or at the very least a 3 who can make approximately the same number of shots EVERY GAME!! I seriously don't think many of these things have to do with our "youth ". Rather they have to do with Rudy and to a lesser extent, C.D.
All of you blamming Rudy need to cut it out- does he force Mobley to hoist up errant shots? Does he not encourage Yao touching the ball 30 times a night? Is the average age of this team not the youngest in the league (minus Rice)? Is there only one starter with 5 years of expierence? And oh yeah, wasnt it Rudy that led us to 2 titles and 3 Western Conference Finals? This is a young team- with the win over Memphis, were at 29 wins, thats one more win than last year with 27 games to play. Rudy is doing a fine job and I hope hes around when this team starts winning alot of games.
Chris01 - First, welcome to the Board. Second, I hope you read the entire thread before posting. Your sentiments have been echoed by many. However, just as many have sided with me on this. From a purely statistical perspective, Rudy doesn't have much of a leg to stand on. If ANYONE in the private sector had a performance record like his over the past year (or hell even this year...) they would be fired in a New York second!! Also, from a fan perspective, and as stated in the "let 'em grow" thread, the fans should expect the Rox to make the playoffs and nothing more. My frustrations (and the multitude of others whose posts you can also consider) is that the Rox/Rudy have put themselves in jeapordy of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year!! I FERVENTLY BELIEVE that Rudy has cost this team several victories due to poor preparation, and game time decisions! I also believe that this team has seriously underachieved over the past four years (with the possible exception of last year). If they could secure a playoff spot then I would back off my call for Rudy's move upstairs. But until that happens I will continue to advocate for a change. Thanks for your input!
I believe Rudy T has been one of the best things for the Rockets. He has been with the organization for a long time and helped the Rockets win two chapionships. I believe in Rudy. I think what we need to do more of is supporting our team. What the Rockets lack sometimes is our support. C'mon everyone!!!
and Rockets-R-Us, 3 years ago, charles went down after one month and hakeem missed a lot of games and wasn't himself even when playing. at one point, so many frontcourt players were injured that our starting PF/C in one game were matt bullard and pig friggin miller. if that doesn't make you laugh hysterically or wanna cry yourself to sleep, i don't know what does. we basically handed the reins to a rookie PG in steve and 2nd year SG in cuttino and said go for it. they ended the season 14-9, showing tremendous growth. the next season, we went 45-37 with about 6 weeks of contributions from hakeem. not sure how much you like him but bill simmons (aka the sports guy), a guy who everyone seems to like on here, in his season awards column said he would give coach of the year to Rudy T. for completely changing his system and leading us to 45 wins in the brutal west. last year, injuries, injuries, injuries. so how did we underachieve the last 3 years again?
he may not be directly the one hoisting up errant shots or dribbling too much, or making not everyone involved. but that is one of the coaches duties. to tell his players what they are doing wrong. his main responsibility is TO COACH. i do not know if you coach a team before. if you did, it is SO OBVIOUS that he is a player's coach which mean that he just let his players play. isn't it obvious that he only have one play designed? the isolation. that is why when it does not work, they lose. people always look back at the 2 championships. that was before!! and we thanked him for that. this is a totally different team and the way he is handling it is apparently not working. HE DOES NOT HAVE CONTROL OF HIS PLAYERS. if he cannot tell these guys especially francis and mobley to follow the game plan, distribute the ball first before looking for your own shot, stop dribbling too much and pass the ball, then he should step down and let another guy coach this team. what they need is someone who can be screaming at these STUBBORN, BALLHOG, DRIBBLE-HAPPY, SHOT-HAPPY, me first before others, show-offs player's face and tell them to follow the game plan. some one from the "old-school" who can maximize each players ability by making everyone involved (TEAM PLAY) instead of running one-on-one play (ISOLATION). do not tell me that it is not rudy's fault. they have been running that play for like forever. they have been running that play since 4 years ago. he does not have any clue that it will not work all the time. he is mis using yao and griffin. griffin who is suppose to be their PF is hoisting up 3 pt shot all the time instead of playing inside game. do not tell me that it is not rudy's fault. the way he design their play is to spread-out so that his main guys can go one-one-one. even for yao, did you not notice that he looks for his own shot. they may pass the ball to him lately but STILL, he goes one-one-one. CAN'T RUDY DESIGN A PLAY OR TWO THAT WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR YAO OR ANY PLAYER FOR THAT MATTER TO MAKE SHOTS??? WHY NOT SET PICK AND ROLL? WHY NOT SET SCREENS? rudy's coaching worked for smart, experienced players like hakeem, barkley, drexler, etc. their team now are young, inexperienced players. if he is telling them not to dribble too much or get everyone involve, do not take errant shots, OBVIOUSLY THEY ARE NOT LISTENING TO HIM. so better get rid of him and get a new coach. NEW COACH, NEW UNIFORM, NEW ARENA for next year.
francis is not a point guard. he is first in assist to turnover ratio. too erratic. too out of control. they need a TRUE point guard and make francis as the 2 guard. make mobley as the backup 2 guard if not ship him out. get a TRUE power forward. griffin is still inexperienced. make him as the backup PF. trade taylor and collier for a starting PF. get a new coach. maybe van gundy or fratello. better yet bobby knight so that he can kick these player's you know what.
So what were your expectations over the past four years? Playoffs every season? Maybe you didn't know this, but after losing the franchise's all-time best player, Barklely, Drexler, and Pippen in a span of 3 seasons, the Rockets entered what we like to call a "rebuilding process." If you didn't realize there were tough times ahead then you're pretty naive. I commend Rudy fot not jumping ship when that happened like many succesful coaches would (take Phil Jackson for instance). I think a coaching change right now would just put the team back to square one, and I fear we could end up like one of those teams who have to switch coaches every season, because they never seem to improve. This is the first season in the past four years that I feel we should make the playoffs and we are right on the cusp of it. I mean, are you seriously talking about a coaching change mid-season, when the team is 1/2 game out of the eighth seed? Get real.
Not the same Fratello who said he would have drafted Jay Williams if he was the Rockets? And Bobby Knight coaching in the NBA? I hope you were joking. That wouldn't last 3 seconds. Oh, and as for your other post, the Rockets rarely run isolations anymore, so I don't know where you get that from. They still don't move the ball around enough, but you're confusing that with running ISOs.
Underachieved for at least 3 of the last 4? That speaks volumes. I think you're one of those fans who will never be able to handle the rebuilding process.
A few more signatures are bound to trickle in over time, provided the pathetic attempts to resurrect this lame-ass thread continue. What an embarrassment. I guess it's at least a little funny to see such shameless self-promotion fail so miserably.
