Yay! I'm happy for the Rockets organization. Sure it's lost one of its lifeblood but the light has finally come on. Rudy was the wrong guy for this day and age of the NBA. His schemes just have not adjusted to the zone'd NBA defenses. He's too conservative and traditional. Just because it worked with Hakeem doesn't mean it's the correct one to keep using. Don Nelson would be a great fit with the Rockets but we all know Cuban will never let him go. The Rockets need someone who is flat out bright and is super creative. They also need a disciplinarian. I've never seen Franchise taken out for stupid boneheaded plays. He needs to be reigned in, and hard. Cutino can stay but he has to be content to come off the bench as a sixth man. He's an instant offense type of guy and he'd be Sixth man of the Year guaranteed if he agreed to this. It's just impossible for Yao to get the ball with those two in the lineup. Oh and Franchise needs to move over to SG. His game is suited for this a-la Iverson. Oh and I hope the new coaching staff will assign Hakeem and/or Moses to tutor Yao full-time. Yao needs to get more aggressive, esp. with rebounding and blocking shots. Thanks for the memories Rudy. You've been great but at the same time, loyalty can only go so far. Hopefully Rudy can stay on in some form or other. Just not as GM nor head coach.
What did Payton say exactly? Did he have anegative image of the Rockets? Did it seem like he'd be completely opposed to joining the Rockets now that Rudy is upstairs?
Let me add my comment for the record. I was a big defender of Rudy T, but find myself sort of relieved. Don't know what to thinkabout whether Rudy wanted it. Heard it on the car radio. It did sound like Rudy wanted to resign. If the poster is right about the 50% recurrence of this cancer. It could be that Rudy really is content with this, even if it wasn't totally his idea. I could also easily see Rudy T riding to the rescue of this team when the new coach runs into a difficult period and the team seems to be falling apart, sometime in the next few years.
In fairness to the Astros-Dierker situation, I wouldn't say Jimy Williams, a man who was run out of Boston, qualifies as a "real coach".
Payton played it cool. He said that Rockets were doing fine, moving in the right direction. He felt that Rudy's reasons for moving up were valid and that Les shouldn't stir up the team by bringing in an all new system. He stated that Les should promote one of the assistants who knows the system and won't make big changes. I took this mean that he had been interested in coming to the Rockets and playing the point and still might be if he doesn't have to deal with the instability of sweeping changes. or We can take this to mean that he's calling Les out. Rudy's comments lead one to believe that it was an issue of his not being 100% and not being able to give his all night in and night out. Payton's comments can be taken to mean that he is calling Les on this idea by implying that if the move is only because Rudy's ill then you have to hire from within, otherwise we know you're lying to us. or It could just be that he was in the spotlight on TBDSSE and just wanted to make a statement that would stick in the minds of the fans. Read into it what you will..
Is it diefferent in any other city? If anything I'd say it's worse. This is the world we live in today.
Lets be real. A change was needed. Its been 4 years without a playoff appearence. Hearing them say next year next year gets old. Rudy did his job but life is about changes and the Rockets needed one. This team needs a coach to lite a fire under their butts they don't need a friend to be their coach.
Thank God!!!!! Maybe we can finally do something with our plethora of talent. You want to wish Rudy well and a speedy recovery. But , clearly his time has gone . He was the wrong coach fro these players. Now I just hope we can get someone who can kick that whining baby Steve Francis in the ass and get him to play team ball. Next send Moochie Norris back to the CBA where he belongs or better yet to the Comets. Release Glenn Rice, trade Griifin and Cato while there is still some modest value to them. Thank you God and Les for listening to our prayers.
ahh Riggs... no regard for the cap... you can't cut norris or rice because the would still be on our cap and we'd lose two roster spots with no return. You've got to package those guys in trades man. Moving Cato for a starter is fine but bailing on EG when we've finally got a chance to bring in someone who can teach and develope talent is foolish. besides, no movement should go down before the new coach is named and gets a chance to meet with the players and determine what he wants to do with them.
Timing is everything in life and in business and this was the right time IMO to make this change for several reasons. 1. Rudy's health and family deserve to be put at the forefront of any of his career ambitions. I wish him a full recovery and a long and satisfying life with his family (especially the youngins'). He's also financially set for retirement and has an established legacy as a head coach in Houston and in the NBA (back to back titles and more importantly, continuity in his profession, which is something that most current NBA coaches can't claim, and his players genuinely love him and felt genuinely loved by him as a coach). The man has succeeded on a personal level with his players and won two titles back to back. One can't ask for more than that in today's NBA. He's a total and complete success story especially considering the way he conquered his own personal demons (drinking) and now has the chance to beat cancer. Rudy T is also one of the most genuinely positive and optimistic figures in sports who never bad mouthed his players in public and always "turned a negative into a positive" (that's the Rudy quote that sticks with me the most because it not only applies to basketball, but to life universally). Rudy has nothing to prove-he's a total winner and a class act as a human being first and a coach secondly. Perhaps Rudy saw that the time was right to focus on self and family which are ridiculously more important than basketball....He's given his entire being to this organization and leaves on his own terms (publically) 2. Perfect time for a complete change in coaching philosophy to include in the team's new marketing plans (new unis, new stadium, and emerging internationally marketable franchise center) to stimulate sales for season ticket holders and to fill the new stadium. The iso style had become very unappealing from a spectator standpoint and more spectators are needed for the new arena and God knows our growing Chinese and international fanbase got sick of watching that boring crap night after night (Francis and Mobley dribbling the entire clock out trying to penetrate with seconds left). Time for a change in style, man 3. Yao's development: A change in on the court philosophy was obviously needed, so why not do it in the early stage of Yao's career to enhance his development by getting him the rock more often, more FGA's and also the improvement of his passing abililies because he'd grow to be more accustomed to seeing more double teams down low and he could get other players more involved by kickin' it back out to the perimeter or a slasher. The sooner the better for Yao's development. Playing in a system with selfish, mistake prone, non passing/iso oriented players would only r****d Yao's growth in the NBA and take longer for him to acclimate himself to the team concept which emphasizes fluid ball movement, disciplined shot selection, proper defensive rotation and increased effort in the hustle department (rebounds, steals, and being a greater presense in the paint defensively) 4. Discipline: Rockets young players were having too many off the court issues with their partying (Stevie's DUI, MoT and Eddie BEING CAUGHT smokin' herb; a recent report stated that the majority of NBA players smoke herb, so why are ours gettin' popped for it? Discipline is needed even to party smart like the rest of the league apparently does ) This trend is bad PR for a team needing to increase it's local ticket sales through improved marketing ploys. Young millionaire ballers need to be schooled about their off the court party life because unlike a veteran team, most young teams have single and very wealthy players who aren't used to having so much of the "good life" thrown up in their grilles so soon. A coach who is more in tune with younger players and their immaturity and vulnerability to trouble off court would better benefit this very young team. Larry Brown has a rep for being able to deal with younger players because he's a great teacher of fundamentals on the court, but Iverson's brushes with the law and the public feuding between the two would make me question if he hasn't lost touch with the hip hop oriented younger players of today's NBA. Brown is old school on and off the court and it takes a special type of coach to instill old school values in young, immature, suddenly rich NBA players and to understand the "ghetto fabulous" lifestyles of many of today's younger players, who have to reconcile a history of poverty growing up in the hood to their newfound fame and phat bank accounts. It takes a unique older cat to relate to today's NBA player, many of which who are getting younger and younger. A laid back coach like Rudy may not be the best fit for today's players who need more discipline in their personal lives. I thought Hubie Brown would have been a great choice (oh well) and didn't Van Gundy have a mostly veteran team in NY? Can Van Gundy deal with the egos and lifestyles of today's younger baller? Didn't Dunleavy have discipline problems in Portland constantly? How about Silas? It's an issue that has to be dealt with to keep the PR cool and to help these younger players transition into maturity with class and dignity. 5. Discipline is desperately needed on court as well, as the team was very high in turnovers, very low in assists, and opposing teams shot a high percentage from the perimeter on the Rocks. These issues are a reflection of the head coach not having enough influence on a very young and immature team. Let's face it, the Rockets play just flat out DUMB basketball during long stretches of games and seldom played a full 48 minutes of smart basketball, and routinely had lapses in intensity and seldom played with a sense of urgency for 48 minutes like the well coached teams do (every possession counts). All teams have scoring droughts during games and lose focus, but it was happening at an unacceptably high level under Rudy and the team seemed to play to the level of their competition more than most teams IMO.
Yes, but in both sports and love, having an ego never works. Will, You are confusing no ego to show up his players with love.
Former Rocket Calvin Murphy, now the team's television analyst, agreed. "You know how I feel about this," Murphy said. "Rudy and I are the original Rockets, so that's 33 years with this organization, and now one of us is removed. I feel hurt. "This is a business, and Rudy's had a great run, but I just didn't expect this." "I'm sorry to hear that," said Utah coach Jerry Sloan, whose 15 years with the Jazz represents the longest tenure in the league. "We had some great battles against him over the years. "And he came out on top most of those times. I've seen a lot of different people come and go, but I hate to see Rudy go." "I've coached a lot of guys over a 43-year career, and I've come across some really special people, but never one better," former Rockets head coach Del Harris said. "He's the original Rocket Man. I'm not sure people ever have understood just what Rudy has meant for that team and that city. from www.chron.com
Nice post glynch. I totally agree. I'm sad to see Rudy go, but also relieved. It felt like it was time. I feel much better knowing that he will still be around to help us get our next ring.
well i wish rudy the best of luck...but he simply did not have the coaching style this team needs. we need a coach who will push the players and make sure he gets the most out of each player. rudy worked with players like dream and drexler and smith and those guys because they were able to push themselves. nowadays u need to give cato an incentive just to practice on his freethrow shooting or sumthing.
Thank you for the 2 titles, Rudy. Now, I wonder who will be the next coach ? Maybe Larry Smith ? I've heard of Van Gundy, but he is more likely to go to Cleveland, now that they have Lebron James...
If we have to change coaches, and fill a bigger arena, how about bringing in player-coach Jason Kidd?
