Great recap. thanks DD. remember last year when JVg said the team wasn't ready at the start of the season and none of us believed him. they had a bad start, then tmac went down. this season, he's saying they are ready and will grow and improve. this is very good to hear from JVg.
I think this is the most important thing that JVG said, Yao has talent but can Yao win, he didn't get to prove it last year because of the injuries. He has to prove it this year, get off to a fast start, put the team on his back and just win baby win.
i share the same concern about yao's aggressiveness that jeff expressed. yao has to understand that the torch was grabbed last season. it is HIS team now! there's no need to go back to being passive and deferring to tmac. in fact, i hope jvg fiercely scolds yao the next time he doesn't punish single coverage.
http://sportsradio610.com/Article.asp?id=93926 Here Jeff's interview audio clip (left column) http://sportsradio610.com/Article.asp?id=93926
It seems to me that BONZI will see time at the FOUR, so how does that affect the 'committee's minutes'?
i disagree. i'm interpreting jvg's comments as saying bonzi will play the 2/3 but will playing a post game. the difference is that whomever is in the game @ the 4 with bonzi will HAVE to be an outside shooting threat. IOW, bonzi will become yao "lite". that also infers, of course that bonzi will probably being subbing in for yao. by "power guard", imo, jvg means a guard that primarily operates on the low block ala a 4 or 5, but is actually playing the 2.
JVG also shared a funny conversation that he had with Bill Parcells & Keyshawn Johnson. IIRC, JVG said it was during his season with TNT, and Parcells invited him to attend a Jets practice. The three guys were having a discussion that went as follows, to the best of my recollection. Parcells: Do you like to eat at good restaurants? JVG: Sure Parcells: Ask Keyshawn about good restaurants, he knows all about them. Do you like nice clothes? JVG: Yeah Parcells: Ask Keyshawn about places to buy nice clothes, he knows all about them. Do you like to win? JVG: Of course. Parcells: Well, don't ask Keyshawn about winning, he doesn't know anything about winning.
OK, except JVG has said in so many words at earlier preseason times that Bonzi might play some in the 4, and why not? He's as much a 4 as Chuck is a 5 and the match up problems might just go on the others' feet, for once!
I love listening to Van Gundy talk basketball. I just wish he could be that engaging and informative in the post-game interviews. It's like the game completely saps all his energy or something.
These two were together or should I say the one directly followed correlated to the other. Basically Patrick was acknowledging JVG's attitude about not handing out to much praise to his players but rather kept himself realistic andas a result kept his players expectations and goals towards improving on an even keel. Patrick was relating this to his high school coach using the same technique. Lets try not to be so arrogant as to call him stupid. As I expected JVG agreed with him and went on to make the comment that followed about not letting satisfaction rule the day. It goes in line with his often misunderstood demeanor. Most people see this as negative but to me its just maitaining a balance with the media's super hyperbole they like to throw around. If he allowed his players to get sucked into that they would be getting blown out by other teams and then the media (and BBS posters) would attack him for being satisfied with their previous progress......LOL Otherwise great recap DD. He just keeps it real. No need to say hey we did a great job when in fact they sucked. Conversely, he isn't going to give public praise like you are wanting for the reasons I described above. He needs to keep his players aggressively working towards improvements each and everyday. Honestly I bet he wouldn't even do the interviews if the NBA didn't require them. Nobody seems to mind it when Parcels isn't happy go lucky in post game rants.
Great recap -- thanks! You just have to love this team's attitude. Alston and Yao coming in early, Battier staying in late, superstar McGrady giving up much of his normal game to help the team... can't wait for this season!!
oh, absolutely. bonzi might see sometime at the 4, when the opponents lineup dictates it. that, imo, is the only time you will see it...when the opposition goes to small ball. otherwise, you won't see it. look at it this way... if we're running bonzi @ the 4, alongside yao, the paint is way too crowded. bonzi is at his best on the blocks, but there's no way i ask yao to move out of the block for bonzi. the only way you see it is with yao out of the game, or if the opposing 4 is severely undersized...so much so that bonzi would be a greater threat in the post than yao would. how often will that happen?
Thanks for the recap! I wish JVG would have said something about Juwan Howard. He doesn't sound to be in the mix at all, which surprises me as he was serviceble last year.
