Adelman and the Art of Replacing the Benevolent Authoritarian

I don't understand all this "bringing in players". That's the job of the GM, it's what he's paid to do. JVG was responsible for short-term solutions, ie 10 day contracts, which is why he'd bring in the Stricklands, Mark Jacksons, Oakley's etc. But these guys didn't even play much under him. They were short-term solutions. All of a sudden Morey's our GM and now we have all this talent. Coincidence? I think not.

As for JVG's authoritative style, who cares what VSpan and Bonzi think? What the hell have they done in their careers? Larry Brown, Pat Riley, Greg Pop, Mike Brown, Rick Pitino, SVG, Jerry Sloan, Scott Skiles, 90% of all successful college coaches: they're all authoritative. The average winning pct of these coaches is around .600 too. THat ain't bad if you ask me. At the end of the day, it's about how many games you win and if you win it all. Good example: Antoine Walker. The guy was happy with Svg and pat riley because he won it all, but now he says **** about Riley because RIley was too authoritarian. Well, as a fan, all I care about is the championship. Who cares if coach called you fat? You've got a nice golden ring on your finger!

Bonzi and Steve both said they would have returned even if JVG was coach. Now, Bonzi probably would not have been as motivated as he is now, but we wouldn't need him anyway since we got James and Scola. I hate Bonzi, and so do 90% of coaches in the NBA. He got what he deserved last year and in the previous offseason.

Mutombo would have definitely come back. He would have retired 4 years ago if it weren't for JVG. I'll be surprised if Mutombo averages more than 4 minutes a game this season, even if Yao gets hurt for a long period of time.

Without a doubt Francis fits JVG's system better than he does Adelman's. Francis would be an instant starter, as would Scola, under JVG, and Hayes and Alston would come off the bench along with James and Mutombo. But even if we didn't have Francis, really the only guy's we'd need in JVG's system would be James, Scola, and Mike Harris. Bouncy, Francis, they probably would have a funner time with the bobcats or clippers, but they suck anyway. Bouncy supposedly wanted Miami, but he probably got scared off by Riley's weight expectations. Unlike JVG, Riley actually tells the media personal stuff, which is unnecessary.

He gave Bowen heavy minutes because we had injuries. Who would you have rather played? That walking chode Weatherspoon? Justin Davis? RIchie Frahm? Torraye Braggs? Vin Baker? Lonnie Baxter? Maciej Lampe? Rick Brunson? Yeah, those were the reserves JVG had. Guess how many are in the NBA today? CD's lack of intelligence hurt the team, from the stupid signings in the Rudy T era to missing it on SlowMile and not going after under-the-radar free agents like Morey has done.

 

Guilty as charged.. I misread your post or didn't read it all. All of my responses or misinformed. I retract them and will only add that after reading your post correctly that in the end change was best for your class and it will be best for the Rockets.

 

great thread

 

JVG a successful and popular authoritarian? LOL

Success: 0-3 in Rockets playoff, twice failed to clinch the series when leading 0-2, worst lopsided loss in Rockets playoff history, worst offensive output from his players in a playoff game, possibly worst defensive efficiency drop from regular season to playoffs

Popularity: nearly 75% of Rockets fans wanted to see him replaced at the end of the last season in several polls

Agreed with OMR, this is another pathetic JVG nostalgic thread by Van Gundier in a somewhat frustrated preseason where Adelman-led Rockets have not even played one regular-season game. For those of you who are jumpy and clueless, Utah Jazz had a losing preseason record when they started the '06-'07 season.

Van Gundier, good to see you are once again taking up your former educator's duty -- even outside of your specialty, but is "controntation" an English word?

 

oh ok ok i get it. this is the thread where we dont read the opening opinion. then we proceed to thrash that opinion which we are not to read, and then we give our own opinion which actually agrees with the opinion that we are not to read?

awesome, i'm in.

so in that fashion:

PUHLEEEEEZ, everyone knows that this is the preseason. you have to wait a little while to see if the the adelman system can work. i think it can work. but i guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

I really appreciate the tenor and tone of your post, Carl Herrera, and concur with you. I enjoy when posters take the time to be thoughtful, and give an example from their own life, rather than pontificate. After all, we can best draw on our own experience and learnings. So, thank you for this note.

I wanted to be rid of JVG from year one, and wanted a triangle or motion offense. That said, I can see JVG had his success, and great value in clear and defined roles and expectations. I know it's going to take some time to see how our team adjusts to this more fluid game, with multiple reads and cuts and movement. I'm sure some of our players aren't going to be very good fits for this. It's going to take good instincts, some from solid education, and some from the repetition and drilling until unconscious competence develops. Right now, our guys, even our smart guys - like Yao and Scola and Battier and Tmac, maybe even Rafter ;p - , our guys look like they're a step behind, still thinking. It's going to take a little time, and a lot of drills, before they know, without thinking, where that teammate is going to be, moving off the ball.

Of course, when it clicks, then it's a thing of absolute beauty. Pass pass pass, open shot. When it works, the defense looks bad. It's demoralizing, because they can't stop 4 guys. The defense is always exposed. But for now, our guys have to learn who they are going to play with, what are their spots, what are their shots, and how to move the ball there.

 

How many times does it need to be proven that JVG's problem as coach wasn't his style? It was his boring & predictable offense. Pop, LB and Riles are all more authoritative and won championships, but they are also better coaches than JVG. It remains to be determined if Adelman is a better coach. The Rockets needed to make a change so let's hope for the best.