1) Will Cat & Franchise learn to play shut-down defense? 2) Will Eddie Griffin finally start to act like the player we traded 3 first round picks, including Richard Jefferson, to get? 3) Will Mo Taylor quit blowin hot & cold and steady in to a good defender, shot blocker, all around type player? 4) Will the Rox finally take Bokie Nachbar out of the deep freeze? 5) Will our offense finally get some movement into it? 6) Will we start learning to play team defense? 7) Will Tito Maddox finally get some time at the 1 guard, and will they move Stevie over to the 2 during this time? 8) Finally, did Les Alexander hire JVG because of his coaching success, or due to the fact that he was a fellow New Yorker? Inquiring minds would like to know!!
Speaking of questions. Dr. Jack Ramsey answers some questions in his ESPN Chatroom session just now... Ron, Houston: What will Jeff Van Gundy do differently than Rudy T, and how good will the Rockets be over the next few years? Dr. Jack Ramsay: JVG will improve the Rockets defense and get more touches for Yao in the offense...both are needed. The Rockets are near ready to contend for the title...I'm a big Van Gundy guy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeff (Orlando): Which team's future is better, Phoenix or Houston? Dr. Jack Ramsay: I like both teams...they are both ready for an upswing...but Yao makes the Rockets more complete. Dr. Jack Ramsay: I like both teams...they are both ready for an upswing...but Yao makes the Rockets more complete.
1. No. They shoot too much and appear to lack the desire to play this way. 2. The odds are against it happening here. It'll be EG's 3rd year and he shows no real desire to get better. Maybe at his next team... 3. No, Not in his nature. 4. Yes, they need a reliable outside shooting threat. Defense is suspect and VG is all about defense. 5. That's the million dollar question. 6. Under VG, that's a big affirmative. 7. Maybe, but I expect Stevie Franchise to stay at the point where he creates matchup problems for other PGs... as well as turnovers. 8. Uncle Les felt he needed a "name" coach to create some "buzz" for the upcoming season with the move to the new arena and such. Van Gundy was the last big "name' left out there. He may actually work out but only time will tell.
ima_drummer2k, you haven't been around long enough. what you meant to say was... maybe, maybe no. (sorry, I couldn't resist.)
1. Don't see either of them is shut people down kind of defender. JVG is going to make the guards work on defense a lot, just watch. 2. Hopefully, I did not see anything to indicate he will be better than Richard Jefferson though. 3. Mo T is going to be Mo T, don't see him becoming a all around guy. 4. Bokie is out of freeze, if we are having a whole new system, might as well get your high pick involve early Unless they don't want Boki anymore. 5. I think we will see much better ball movement & better execution and our guys are capable of that. 6. In two games, the rockets show they can play great team defense. I hope we'll see a lot more of these kind of games. It's really important because great defense lead to fast break & easy baskets 7. Nobody knows except JVG after he watched all the tapes. 8. Alexander hired him because he thinks JVG is the best fit for the team and vice versa, and JVG has all the tools to succeed.
My 2 cents: (although in this economy only worth 1...) 1. Cat can be a shut down defender and I believe will ultimately do more to "fit in" than S.F. is willing to do. S.F., because of his offensive game, will NEVER believe that he has to become a true defensive stopper... 2. Not just no, but hell no. By far the worst trade ever in the history of the Rockets (except that because E.G. sucked so bad in his rookie year, he helped us get Yao...) 3. Mo is showing signs of growing up and playing hard. I think he will become a better rebounder but doesn't have the length or th hops to be a shot blocker... 4. JVG will give him every shot to prove he belongs! 5. Jury is out on whether JVG learned more than one style of play from Riley... but if we don't get some movement, our only destination is the lottery again!! 6. Yes. However, I envision Stevie's lack of commitment to this goal as an ongoing source of frustration between him and JVG. 7. Who cares? We need a REAL NBA PG that can shoot and dish without masturbating with the ball all night. 8. If their was not a legitimate attempt to get Larry Brown, then yes, I TRULY do believe that this was about one NYC guy hiring another one... (birds of a feather, ya know...) Thanks for letting me play!
1-Cat has become a better defender my using his long arms and positioning. Dumars was a good defender despite being 6'3, so he can get better. Steve will never be confused with Payton, but now he will be forced to give more of a effort. JVG scheme will help him alot trapping the pnr. 2-Eddie in my eyes will never be the J'Oneal or KG that everyone thinks he can be, but I do see a Donyell Marshall/Bulls version of Horace Grant which is good for this team. Hitting those ft line jumpers, scoring inside when he dives to the basket ,rebounding and defending is going to be his career. 14pts 10rebs and 2.5 blks is what i want and expect from him. Thats not asking alot from a #7 pick. 3.He is what he is. A decent offensive pf who is a poor defender both on the perimeter and on the blks. Also will never be accused of being Barkley on the boards. Although his paycheck may not suggest it, he's better suited in the west to come off the bench for offense. At 8mill a yr, one would expect 16pts and 8rebs, but thats not what Taylor will do for you. 4.Looking at JVG history tells us no. He doesn't really play young players and with Posey maybe resigning and Morris improving, he probably won't change. Either scenerio doesn't bode well for Nachbar. He will be given a chance and if the Rockets decide to let posey walk, he'll have a better shot. We'll see July 1st. 5.Don't expect the Kings,Jersey, or Orlando, but the offense will start with maybe a little more movement than last yr under Rudy. I think movement helps Ming more than anyone because he's such a good passer. If they move as much as Sa does, which isn't the princeton offense, then they'll be better. 6.This is his forte. His teams compete every possession on defense. They trap the pick and roll,front the postand apply ball pressure. Once a defender picks up the ball, you will see everyone overplaying lanes. Offensive players will be forced baseline to use the baseline as a extra defender.Even with Thomas at center,Glen Rice and Houston playing at the same time, they were still good defensively. 7.I doubt Maddox will be on the team when they come to camp. As the extra guard in case of injury, expect the guy whom JVG was talking too,Jones. He's a better shooter than Norris and a little bigger. He may not be the creator that Moochie is, but that will be left to Ming mostly. 8.Hopefully he didn't Rudy the selection. I think it was because he felt this team needed a disciplined,structered coach and thats JVG attributes. He's a hard worker and seem to get the most out of his team. Les has made his feeling known about the guy just as Rudy had a fetish for anyone who could shoot like Rice and Williams. I think it was more of his record above anything.
