An Open Letter to JVG and his coaching staff Coach, after watching you for almost a year and a half at the helm of our ROX, a couple of comments and suggestions are in order. We know you can coach. The ride you took us on last year with Stevie, Cat and Cato was impressive to say the least. The fact that you could turn these three individuals into team players and solid defense players (note that Orlando is ranked at the bottom of the barrel in defense this year with those guys) was quite a feat. We also know that your style is one of slow it down, grind it out style. While we will acknowledge that this can work and has worked for you in the past, perhaps it is time to try something new. Here are out suggestions: Teach Yao to keep the ball at least chest high with both hands firmly on the ball when he is going to the hoop. Break Yao of the habit of putting the ball on the floor after a rebound or bringing it low before going back up. WHY HASN’T ANYONE TAUGHT HIM THIS? Catch it High… Keep it High. No more of this getting the ball stripped by little point guards when he should be slamming the ball home every time. THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY. Bring home Hakeem. Bring home the Dream. Hakeem took off as a player when he learned to rotate away from the double teams and rotate the ball quickly to the closest open player. Yao needs to learn this. Keeping the ball high, rotating away from the defense and making the easy quick pass is fundamental basketball. Yao needs to learn this is he is ever going to be a dominating basketball player. Dream can teach him this. We need love out of the power forward position. We don’t need to make a trade… we have players who can play. They just need to be put into a situation to succeed. Clear out the post and call plays for Howard. The man has averaged 17 and 7 for his career. Salary aside… those are impressive numbers. Set him up down low and call his number. He needs touches. History has shown that when he gets touches… he is very productive. He can not succeed as the third option only getting Give the damn ball to MoTaylor. The man has proven that he can light up anyone in the league when given the ball. He needs his touches. This shooting funk that he is in right now is your fault. Pound the ball down to him 10 – 12 times a game. He will get his mojo back and start scoring. We need his offense in order to win. Does this take away looks from Yao and Tmac? Yes. But we need these guys if we are going to win. Getting beat up inside by big guys? Put in Spoon and Deke. This is simple. Spoon is as big a body as anyone. Let him clear the lane. Deke… let him start wagging his finger. Wag Deke Wag. Padgett… if we can’t score inside or if our defensive intensity is lacking… play this man. He can and will dive for lose balls and give up a hard foul. He can make the 3 point shot as well as anyone on the team. Boki… I don’t know. If you commit the time to let him play… I think that he will produce. He just needs more time on the court. But at what expense? You have to decide that. Sometime we have to hurt the team game in order to develop an individual player. Bowen… we love him. Sure, he has no handle on the ball and sure he can’t shoot. But his energy inspires fans and players alike. Play him. JJ… give him the green light to shoot, shoot, shoot. BUT, don’t let him try to create off of the dribble. JJ is as good of a spot up shooter that we have had on the ROX in the past 10 years (sorry Kenny and Matt… but it is true). Show him 5 spots on the floor and tell him that if he gets the ball there and he is open… shoot. If not… swing the ball quickly to an open man (on our team!). No more fancy, “I think I am still 23” attacking the basket moves. Sura… we like him a lot. Energy, aggressiveness, hustle. He can score if given the green light. He is thinking pass first right now which is great. But let him know that if he is attacking the basket… it is ok to put the ball in the hoop. Keep sending him to the trainer so his back gets better and keeping playing him big minutes. Lue… no. Ward… see JJ. But maybe with an “off green” light instead of a green light. He can also shoot the spot up jumper. That is what we need from him. AB… in theory… he should be no better than Lue. But we really feel a change in the flow of the game every time that he is in. Play him behind Sura. Tmac… oh, Tmac. The man is a scoring machine. But he has also shown that he is unselfish with the ball and that when he is feeling it… he involves his teammate. Run the offense through him. Run the offense through him. We sold the farm to get him. Now let’s use him the right way. So Coach… please take these comments and other’s you might receive to heart. We know you can do this… we know that you can win with this team. Regards, dconover
Good post with the positivity. But you're asking him to play freakin everyone and give everyone shots...that's not how a rotation works, that's not how a game unfolds. Taylor has been given the ball enough and still hasn't produced. Bowen's energy is great, but his lack of a shot severely hampers the team. He's the one left wide open off doubles, and no one rotates to him. The whole shifting defense collapses and the Rockets have to reset. If the rest of the team could consistently shoot, I could handle him playing more mins..but not as it is currently. I like Lue, AB, Sura splitting time. Don't discount Lue if he can still show full quickness on that knee (though he didn't show that he could yesterday imo..looked slightly hampered..just enough to not be effective enough to play) Ward..see if he can come back and shoot more consistently than the rest of the team as he did pre-injury (before his funk started). If yes, give him mins..otherwise, bench/release
LOL! If your logic works, Howards get 12 shots, Mo gets 12 shots, JJ has the green light......I mean, that leaves Yao + TMac with less than 10 shots combined. We do need to get everyone involved for success for sure. But you don't take away shots from superstars to build confidence for the role players. Your comment about Dream is a good one.
It is not about the number of shots, it is simply about playing good smart basketball. Get everyone involved, and take the open shot. DD
I hope you didn't send this letter to JVG.........oh and I don't think JVG is as fond of Hakeem as we are......but atleast someone is writing to him
You are our new coach. How much do you want? Seriously, your suggestions make alot of sense. I would love to hear JVG's response. Obviously, JVG is a smart and knowledgeable NBA coach. He obviously has blind spots and he needs a course in "positive-thinking." His dour attitude doesn't help the club. Also, I am sure he is telling players things that they are not doing.
Yeah...the Hakeem thing...he used to come to the mosque I go to and is friends with my dad. But here's the problem with him coming to the Rockets, he lives in Turkey now. He doesn't watch basketball at all anymore, and he used to ask my dad who's good in the NBA these days...so don't expect him to return anytime soon.
Ok now you are breathing too much California air. You only WON when you were on my team and I could set the table for you to eat. DD
No.. San Bernardino. Capital of Smog, Traffic and Urban Sprawl. But also home of the SoCal Houston ROX Fan Club... dconover, president
Good thread imo. I totally agree. I see Howard make that jump hook a lot..it's nice..sometimes he shorthands it..that's because it seems like he's not comfortable..forces it..like a quick shot..but I know that Mo and Juwan can both score. I agree about everyone else too. I think we should play all of the players because they all provide something like you said. Sura can score if we need him to. Basically..we should try to give it to Yao down low. We shouldn't take forever trying to do that...he should get position quickly..I think JVG is tryign to do this. Tmac should be handling the ball. So basically we have JJ ready to catch and shoot...Mo, Juwan, and Yao posting up or setting picks with Deke and Spoon..and people cutting to the basket. I think Sura and Barrett can cut to the basket and react..Tmac should be aggressive and break down the defense..we should attack the basket. I don't know..I would really like to see this. There should be plays for Juwan and Mo. If they aren't doing good..then make them set picks..if someone is open from the outside..take the shot...try to go inside and then back out...don't waste the shotclock...and practice shooting. I don't know..maybe we need an offensive coach Keep Mo or Juwan off the bench but we need to get a PF who rebounds and plays defense and maybe can block shots..and also make the open shot...and who is quite mobile to help Yao out. If we have good shooters around Tmac and Yao..I think we will be fine. It would be great to get someone to help Yao. A true mentor..keeping the ball high would help Yao..I think he'd be better playing like Sabonis...or play inside and outside..that would be nice..make him harder to guard and more versatile. And I'd rather have Nene or Donyell Marshall at this point...and a good shooting small forward who can play defense.
I wish it's that simple. Shooting in a highly competitive game is very different from shooting in a gym, or in a pick up game. You have to have your legs, your timing to shoot well consistently. The way players play defense and offense have a great impact to those key elements. That's why you see many players who are doing great during practice, aka so called "practice player", but couldn't do much in the game.
That's why these NBA Players get paid the big money. They're supposed to shoot better in games or in practice. A lot of times, they have good release and good open space, and they still don't make it. Maybe it's a confidence thing.
