People that believe that we would have "most likely" made the playoffs had Rudy not gone down are out of their minds. Any questionable decisions that Mean made were no more glaring than those made by Rudy on a game by game basis. Allowing Moochie to dribble the shot clock out for several posessions in a row without yanking him for years now jumps to mind. That should happen ONE time. If it happens again a guy should be banished to the end of the bench. Anyways, we didn't make the playoffs becaue we make the same dumb mistakes over and over. We have no clock managemnt at the ned of games. We have no idea how to run a fast break. We constantly repeat the falacy that we are the "2nd youngest" team in the league, yet we never run...et al. Our guys wore red headbands in honor of Rudy and than played with all of the determination of an Iraqi soldier defending Bagdhad. that is why we didn't make the playoffs. After a year of watching the Rockets it is refreshing to watch the playoffs and see teams run an actual offense. If Rudy could have handled the Cavs and Clippers of the league we might be able to kick back and watch Mo Taylor try to shoot his one go-to move five or six plays in a row game in and game out for a few playoff games. If you notice you don't see that happening in the playoffs. Ever.
Rubbish! Everyone observed that he had no idea! He tried to get as many players into double points, he did this to the detriment of our starters. Yao Ming in particular seemed to be punished by Coach Smith because he didnt play in the manner which Smith thaught he should play. He liked the way Cato played, so Cato played serious minutes, Smith showed little concern for Yao Mings plight! In fact Yao Ming lost the ROY because of this fact and we failed to make the playoffs. Most fans believe that Rudy T would have shown better judgement and we would have made the playoffs IMHO
Don't go blaming losses to the weakest teams in the league on Rudy...They'res only so much a can coach to do prepare his team for every game. But if the players don't bring their "A" game, all that preparation flies out the window. What the hell could he have done...FORCE them to play hard?! I'd like to see how you go about accomplishing that.
We were up I think two games with an easier schedule and 10 games left I believe when Rudy went out, we were down 2 games with 3 games left after Mean took over, I think that says enough about Mean and Rudy's diffrence in coaching abilities.
IMO, the worse thing that Mr. Mean did was: He changed the players rotation pattern and play minutes. That's what Rudy used nearly a season to etablish. At least, if Rudy is still in charge, he would not start to rebuild his own system when Rox is in a close race for playoff. BTW, does Mr. Mean have the respect from players like Rudy has? KH
He did pretty much what Rudy would have done. What happened in Utah and Portlan? Had the Rockets won 1 of those games, they would be playing the spurs. What about the lifeless games against Cleveland,NY,Miami and the other games in which Rudy was at the helm?What really pissed me off this yr was when it was on the line those last 5 games, Phoe stepped up and Houston didn't.
Your logic is a little hazy to me. If a coach can't be blamed for losses when players don't bring their "A" game, should he be given credit for wins with a team of vets playing an "A" game? IMHO, most coaches accomplish getting effort from their teams by putting 2nd teamers into the game because they are real hungry for PT. In the loss to the Cavs, the Rockets had a higher FG%, the same # 3pters made, 8 more FB points, 1 more made FT, 20 more points in the paint, and 3 more boards. However, one player was 5-13 with 6 assists and 6 TO's and played poor D but was in the game for a team high 42 minutes. My conclusion would be one of two things: The player with the marginal stats should have gotten less PT (a coaching decision)... or That player was awarded minutes that his performance didn't warrant due to an inadequate backup (a coaching/managerial personnel decision)...
Do you think that maybe they were trying to showcase CATO some in case they want to use him for trade bait in the off season? (Not that I want to trade him)
Everyone knew how tough the Rockets' schedule was closing out the year, yet when Rudy was coaching, they blew games to Cleveland, Miami, New York, Chicago, the Clippers more than once. Anyone who blames not making the playoffs on Larry Smith is shortsighted. The Rockets missed their playoffs ship early in the year.
I still have yet to see anybody provide evidence that shooting 30% and scoring 136 points combined in the two most important games of the year is the coach's fault...
If you think losing someone you care about to illness doesn't affect your play, you're out of your mind. If you think a young team losing their veteran leader doesn't affect their play, you're out of your mind. If you think the longest winning streak of the year followed by a bad finish is a coincidence, you're out of your mind.
Was losing to Cleveland, Miami, Chicago, and Washington a coincidence? Maybe they knew Rudy had cancer in those games, and forgot in other games.
I read this statement to mean that the Rockets players cratered after RT left and Smith's coaching was of no consequence. Is that your intention?
Also, please quit bragging about the winning streak. Toronto on the road New Jersey at home the Clippers at home Chicago at home Phoenix at home is not the most dynamic winning streak. There were some quality wins, but its nothing to hang Rudy's hat on.
That's cold. pgabriel Also, please quit bragging about the winning streak. Toronto on the road New Jersey at home the Clippers at home Chicago at home Phoenix at home is not the most dynamic winning streak. There were some quality wins, but its nothing to hang Rudy's hat on. They 'took care of business' then, not a 'usual' for this team.
Was wins agains LA, New Jersey, San Antonion, Indiana, Sacremento, going 3 -1 against Phoenix a coincidence or ingenious coaching? Come on, the Rox are a young team. A young team are typically inconsistent, it happens.
Even I thought I believe Rudy did a terrible job as head coach this season and feel he should be replaced, there's definitely no doubt that Larry Smith did far worse as his replacement. Giving more minutes to guys like Moochie and Cato when you've got a playoff spot on the line is mind-boggling to me. Sitting Yao on the bench for entire quarters made absolutely no sense. Playing small lineups against weak teams with no frontcourts(New Jersey and Milwaukee) led to many games down the stretch in which the Rockets were outrebounded badly. The bottom line is the players quit on Mr. Mean. You could tell by the looks on their faces and their play out on the court. That's not to say the results Rudy got were much better. The players had tuned him out as well. But at least they never flat out quit on him. All this being said though, I still don't think the Rockets would've made the playoffs had Rudy been around. Their 1-game deficit behind Phoenix is an illusion. The Suns tanked the last 2 games of the season once they clinched the 8th seed, whereas the Rockets were calm and relaxed once they were eliminated from postseason contention. The truth is a lot of guys on this team didn't look like they wanted to be in the playoffs. At least not enough to actually go out there and fight for it. That's not meant to be an indictment on Rudy or Larry, although certainly neither one is free of guilt in this regard. This is why I keep harping on this franchise needing to make serious personnel changes. Tito Maddox ain't the only cancer on this team and until they surround Steve and Yao with guys who wanna win, the playoffs(not to mention postseason success) will remain a pipe dream.
Look, sorry for dimishing the winning streak, but really, my main point is the subject of this thread. The Rockets lost the playoff race when they lost numerous game they should have won earlier in the season. Again, if they beat Chicago, Miami, and the Wizards, they're in. Rudy was coaching. Nuff said.
