How can everyone complain about we are not using Yao properly. If there is a coach who knows how to use a post player don't u think its Rudy. HE only had Olajowon for a decade. I think Rudy knows exactly how he wants run his team. Keep up the good work. PS. You can challenge some of Rudy's strategy but never challenge his heart. He is probably the biggest Rocket fan ever.
Theres no question about Rudy's love for the team and the game. Its his approach to the players thats questionable.
I am so back and forth on Rudy it's driving me nuts...He absolutely bleeds Rockets, and whenever I see him interviewed, my heart swells..I just think he is a genuine, decent man in a profession where that is pretty rare, and I just want him to do well..and I imagine the kind of loyalty he must inspire in his players. And I remember the rings..the Heart of a Champion, and the gleefull grin afterwards, almost as if he was surprised that he said it...And I know that players around the league love him...and I am sure he is a reason why Houston is a place guys want to play... But then I see the way things are going, not the losses, but the way we're playing...I see a clear direction this team should be heading, and I see that it's not happening, and I wonder if he's just not tough enough...do the players, as much as they like him, basically take him for granted after a while, especially the guys like Steve and Cuttino who have never known anyone else, so don't realize how lucky they are...I see that something is wrong...Somewhere between the coach's thinking and the players executing something is crosswired, because our 'leaders', our playmakers, whatever you want to call them, are still making the same mistakes..still looking to do it alone,still relying on their individual athleticism rather than the team's collective abilities...I see Rudy saying that he wants Yao to get 30 touches a game, and sometimes I see that happening, and then I see games where he barely sees the ball, and I see no accountability... I tell you I don't know, but if I had to make a decision, if I had a gun held to my head, and had to make a call, I'd stick with Rudy, and if I had to, change some of the personel... My 2 cents worth...
I think he should force the team to make 4 passes before taking a shot in the halfcourt offense, if they don't go in the post. Maybe then they will lean to pass the ball and trust their teammates
Maybe we can get a drunk Dennis Hopper as an assistant coach...bring back the 'Ol Picket Fence play...
good post, and... WOW, you sound like someone the Rockets should hire as a coach, GM, president or prophet.
You are nut! Rudy is not doing a good job, he's being laughed at by everybody in the league. Have you listened to him talk - he's not the most intelligent guy in the world. Look at the results for god's sake: near last in assists, turnover. First in having his decisions second guessed. 2 all stars, 3 lottery picks and out of the playoffs 3 years in a row. He's not a good coach and if you really think so you're on drugs. And also stop using those 2 championships as his crutch. You don't measure ability from what you did in another era. You measure what you are doing recently.
I agree Rudy is a very good coach. And when this team starts winning everyone that complained will either say i never said that, or they will admit that they were wrong. Which one will you be?
Stick with Rudy. I think it will take more time with the players we have to develop the dicipline to move the ball effectively. With some people it takes longer to teach or dicipline to develop good work habits or patterned thinking. Rudy is patiently teaching, not giving up. He is doing a very good job, it is taking a lot of time to show results.
I consider most of the people on this board fareweather fans or just plain not fans at all. Most never see the positives, and like to turn everything into a negative be it a quote from one of our players, b****iness over a play that did not effect a game or the outcome of it, and the list could go on and on and on. I can understand venting over a tough loss, or inconsistent play, but to truthfully try and dismantle this team with outrageous trade posts, and fire coaching posts, it doesn't show smart thinking. It shows lack of backbone in trust in our guys. While truthfully there are guys I wouldn't mind seeing in another uniform, and there are times in the games that I watch, where I wish I could simply strangle one of our players, in the end of the game, I'm still a patient Rocket fan enjoying the ride. It seems hardly anybody on this board has a good sense of the negatives of this team with a good sense of the positives as well. My .02 cents. Show some patience, and show some love, and in the end you shall be rewarded. ( Not only true for basketball, but for life as well. ) This team is destined for atleast one championship in the near future barring a career ending injury from one of our players (i.e Yao).
I honestly think Rudy's a good coach for mature players like Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming, but maybe not so good for undisciplined players like Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley. But I think we need Steve and Cuttino to get it and become mature than move Rudy. I think one point an ESPN made is quite interesting. We don't want to throw a coaching change at Ming during this season or even this summer do we?
Macbeth, I have the intense internal struggle too. Probably the best thing to provide some comfort is that in 1995, the team did not meet expectations and then it was like a light went on and boom there you have it. I have to give him the benefit of the doubt and see what happens the rest of the way. We do know that he is trying to get Ming going, we do know that there are various other things on the agenda like getting production out of EG, MoT, Rice and Posey, and we do know that any major success this year would be ahead of schedule. We also know that this team has beaten the top teams in both conferences except Dallas, so if the light does go on we have to tools to inflict pain. We need our dominant players to dominate and in the last ten games Yao has been bring it. We are very close to busting this thing open it is just a matter of when. To me the same amount of time spent on getting Ming the ball they should spend on fast breaks and early offense. Hopefully the reason why they have been slow on the offense was to deliberately work on getting Yao the ball and improving the proficiency of that aspect of the offense. Is it too late? Are we running out of time? Maybe not. We still have time to do a "1995" again.
Rudy T has been faced with his most difficult and painfull season! Try to imagine this, Steve Francis (the Franchise) has been in control since Hakeen was told that the Rockets was Steves team. Now we have another fast developing Franchise player in Yao Ming. Both of these players play a game style not very complementary to one another. Rudy T as the Coach has the unenvious task of changing the style of play of players, playing together in that style for four years. Along with this our best player has to deal with the fact that very soon he wont be the teams leader as we move into a Center oriented way of playing. Rudy,known to be of a gentle diplomatic nature ( he is a players coach),has also the task of concluding that Roster mistakes have been made and that Roster improvements must be inevitable, inorder to fine tune the team to one that will be complimentary to the big Mans Game. If Rudy T stands strong and firm about what he wants and make these adjustments, irregardless of personalities, and the Team comes through next season, then Rudy T will be back on the pedestal,doing the job that he has been so dedicated to for so many years! :rolleyes
