Maybe Van Gundy will be willing to play Cato a little bit more at PF. I know he isn't fast enough to stop Ducan or Garnet, but Cato was easily the most reliable bench player that we had last year. With his effort last year, he deserves some recognition.
I'm starting to lean more towards Van Gundy than Dunleavy. Whether it's pretty or not, our team would be pretty good at a well-devised half-court game. Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley are able to take their men one-on-one, which will probably be the case since teams will constantly double Ming. As long as Van Gundy finds a way to connect this penetration with getting Yao Ming better shots, and we have the league's best or 2nd best defense, I think we can do very well. We witnessed our team embrace the concept of defense last season. Now with the defensive mastermind coaching us, hopefully we'll be elite in that category.
RIET really has a great point there! Not to dump on Brown (and I am on record as wanting him here in Houston) but RIET is right on the money with Brown's reactions at the press conference! He seemed more relieved to be out of Philly than excited about Detroit!
Something else to consider. Now that Rudy and HIS offensive system are gone perhaps we can FINALLY begin to really explore having Cato AND Yao on the court at the same time. In Rudy's system the PF had to be able to hit jumpers to be effective (thus no Cato at PF) but perhaps in Van Gundy's sytem there will be more movement and cutting and less reliable on jump shooting which would allow us to put Cato and Yao on the floor at the same time. If we do get Van Gundy it will be interesting to see what happens with Nachbar. Since VG's forte is defense and Nachbar's weakness IS defense it will be interesting to see how much time he gets on the floor. Hopefully he will get a chance. And as far as Griffin goes. Griffin can make a mark on defense. I hope that Van Gundy can get through to him and make him more of a defensive force similar to Kenyon Martin. We can HOPE!
no we cant have a another guy in our starting rotation that cant shoot. Thatll be too many. The only guys who are god jump shooters in our starting line-up is Francis. We need more.
Steve Francis, Mo Taylor, Yao Ming, and Glen Rice are all jump shooters. Boki is also apparently a good jump shooter, and Mobley's not too bad at it. I think a Ben Wallace type would be excellent. Someone who doesn't shoot (more inside shots to Yao) but does EVERYTHING else very well. But then again, that may put too much pressure on Yao. Elton Brand is the best of both worlds.
that's for those who questioned firing rudy. rice just said what several people have been saying for months (myself included). #1 reason why we sucked............. RUDY. #1 reason why we wont suck next season............ Van Gundy (read: NO RUDY).
HE BETTER NOT GIVE POSEY A 100 MILL CONTRACT ala Allan Houston!!! Otherwise. . . I'm not too disappointed about this pick. I know it would be nice to see Rudy Sit beside him for a few games Rocket River just as a scout
We have good players. Even our role players can put up 18 ppg. So I think the roster is solid. It's just that something was missing. Let's hope that Van Gundy can find a way to melt the pieces together.
The sooner the better! If its JVG, then the sooner he gets to work the sooner he can recognise the problems, that need to be delt with prior to the upcoming season at the Arena. This is a selfish team that hasnt played the Team Game. Its tailend, Maddox, Rice, Moochie and Hawkins, consists of players not worthy of the NBA.It has a Point Guard that cant pass well, cant playmake and cant defend. A Shooting Guard that plays like a black hole and thinks hes the Star. A young Power Forward, full of promise that needs to be fully included into the Team Game. A Center that is a finesse player that has not had any NBA Big Man Coaching. He doesnt know NBA positioning both in Defence and Offence, he doesnt know how to position himself for rebounding. Defencive Stats are not the true picture of this team as its overall defence needs dramatic improvement, which will come with a more diciplined approach. Individual roles and Plays are not known very well by Rockets Players because the team was run by a low key Coach and a free wheeling Point Guard, who didnt trust his team-mates, resulting in the lack of Team Play. Certain Changes are needed on our Roster. There needs to be a new mind set regarding Team Play and it should be the primary focus governing the new Roster. Questions-Do we need a new Point Guard? Do we need a new Shooting Guard and back up? Do we need a much higher level Power Forward? Do we need a great three point shooter?Do we need to resign James Posey? Do we need better defencive players? Do we need high energy Ast. Coaches like Mario Ellie, Calvin Murphy, Kenny Smith and Avery Johnson? Do we need a Big Man Coach for the Centers and Forwards like Moses Malone/Jabbar? The one thing I do like about JVG is that he is young enough to have the lasting power to turn our Rockets into a winner. Larry Brown would never have the fortitude to sort out this team!
I agree. We're not using those guys to their full potential. Just giving Griff/Posey/Cato the ball and having them go one-on-one is not what I call exploiting their potential. It's making it harder on them. Those guys should be moving and cutting. And it's the guards and/or Yao to find them. Similar to how Kenny Thomas is/was being used in Philadelphia.
a la.. i'm starting to think that doc rocket is not a credible source of information (but then he's probably predicted a few things in previous times).. i remember him saying that rudy wouldn't step down at all..
Could it be that we "needed" the shooters so much was because we'd put our power foward out on the 3 point line? And because we'd have guys always going into the iso, trying to shoot over a guys outstretched arm? You know, any team would need Larry Bird type shooting if they would go into that type of offense most of the time. Our guards and small foward will be our "shooters." But they shouldn't be standing on the 3 point line all the time or going in to iso, either. They should be moving, cutting and using the pick and role. And if they happen to have natural talent like Francis and Mobley, then their shot will come easier because of this.
Yetti, as usual, you are on target. The Rockets have worn out the "young team" and "great potential" hype and must now face hard core realities. This is a very selfish team lacking in fundamentals. They desperately need structure, organization, and discipline. Van Gundy will bring it, but will they respond, and what will happen if they don't?
Half the board will blame the coach; the other half will blame the players, and half of each of those will cave admists more pointed discussion and claim it's a combination of both. so, what else is new in sports?
