JVG didn't cause the Tsunami, but he's in control of plays, practice and players. If you put too much emphasis on 2 players on a half court offense, there's a great chance they get hurt. Also, if you have too many old players. they hurt easier. Barkley with the Suns was in better shape than Barkley with the Rockets. JVG has to change something. I thought we lost to Dallas because we were worn out by the end of the year. Why did Sura drop after that series? I'm glad JVG isn't thinking about being a boat captain.
Of course you can't blame all the injuries on the coach. The points people make in this thread is valid to a certain extense. Grinding practices and intensive defense do heighten the probability of injury, as are long play-time and old age. JVG has been quoted to say that he didn't believe in fatigue for professional players. I don't blame JVG for everything. And I still believe he is a good coach. But I do think his constant "be tough" mentality sometimes goes overboard and have a negative effect on the team.
tinman, LOL, you are very funny. I think Sura was hurt before he even became a Rocket. Oh, I know, he got hurt because he knew JVG was going to be his coach. Yeah, Sura's knee and back problems must be on JVG somehow. JVG is also the reason Mike James fell on JH's knee last year and why JH got the heart virus. So either it's the supposed "grinding" practices, our players are too old or we depend too much on our two star players in the 1/2 court. With those 3, I guess you can blame JVG for every single injury. All bases are covered. Do some of you realize the season is only 1/3 completed, yet practice is supposedly a key reason our players are breaking down? I must be the only one seeing this thread as a blame JVG for everything gripe session.
i'm blaming JVG for that whole Knicks team breaking down. i'm blaming JVG for the depriving us of big macs.
...and despite that fact, Mr. Van Gundy obtained him as a free agent and signed him to a multiple-year contract...
I don't blame Sura's injuries on JVG. Sura is a helter skelter, throw his body around the court, player. He is susceptible to injuries because of how he plays the game. He played the same way before he got to Houston. In my opinion, if Van Gundy has a weakness, it's that he has that mentality of never give up an easy bucket to speed the game up and get back an easy bucket. He wants his team grinding the floor defensively for 48 minutes. And there's nothing wrong with that if you got the horses. But we've got a couple donkeys and some glue factory specials to go along with 1 thoroughbred and a 16 wheeler. He's gotta know the physical limitations of his team.
I would like to point out that Karma isn't fate, the will of the Gods or luck. Karma is cause and affect so if it is Karma its still JVG's fault since JVG must've done something negative to bring down bad Karma on himself or the team.
Okay...but so were the thousands of other basketball players to ever play the game. What exactly does that have to do with JVG? I understand that injuries to Barry and DA could be due to their age, but how could you try to possibly blame JVG for TMac's bad back and Yao's bad toe? That's like trying to blame Riley for Shaq being out for most of the season so far.
