Chicago Tribune: Best cure for Rockets: Launch Van Gundy

Just one idiot writing about another.

 

Exactly! there will be no discussion at all if we can at least hit half of the open shots they were getting... I can't believe how wide-open (with capital W!) some of them were.... if we could have hit those shots... we will be 9-6 now instead of the other way around... heck we could be even at 12-3 now...

 

So true. With great talents like T-Mac and Yao, they should be given considerable freedom to play their own basketball, instead of forcing them into a "system" that exposes their weaknesses.

 

Right on, Sam!

A fast-breaking team is the answer for Yao's stamina problem. He won't be the one filling a lane; he'll be the one loping to half-court to see if a quick basket is made before continuing his lope down to the box.... a la Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Can we teach him the sky-hook?

This walk-it-up game is boring to watch.

 

Anyone counting on the days before a mental breakdown by Yao? After the Kings game, all he was talking about that JVG would kill him for those mistakes. Now he is talking about at least he is doing what JVG is asking him to do.

Neither Yao nor TMac is able to play their games on offense. And I blame JVG for that.

 

Cannot argue those stats
YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE
and those
just plain ole SUCK

Rocket River

 

But don't we have a great foundation for a half-court system like the Kings or the Jazz? Both T-Mac and Yao are certainly good enough passers. And everyone else could be gotten from FA, trades, or the draft.

 

and we have one that's 7'6". i've said this before, but yao is not a greta low post player, and i'm not sure he ever will be. just because he 7'6" doesn't mean he belongs on the low block. stick him on the free throw line and run the offense through him from the high post. it's an easier, much quicker entry pass to make, and he'd have a field day feeding T-Mac and Boki as they cut off him. and he's got a very solid "jump" shot from 15-18'.

 

delete

 

Yao is FAST for 7'6"!! But I actually think he is slower and less responsive this year because Van Grumpy has bulked him up too much.

Yao now has more stamina, BUT he is not as quick and sleek. Let Yao LOSE some muscles!! He doesn't need to be Arnold!!

 

And therein lies another problem. Do we have the TALENT to make those shots on a consistant basis? Personnel moves...another matter altogether!

Sam's article is actually pretty good considering the source. And yes Jeff he looks like he lifted the basis of it from some of your recent posts.

 

Van GUndy has to go, period. He sucks the life out of this team.

 

We have had many threads about the Rockets' problems in the past few days. The thoughts go from: Yao had not dominated (or sucked), TMac had not dominated, the offense too predictable, lack of transition game ... While all of those things are true, they don't point to the root of the problem. Watching all of the games and looking at the statistics, 15 games in, what do we see?

Compared to last year, on avg, we score 1 pt less, our opponents score 1 pt more. We shoot about the same FG%, improve a little on TOs, assists. We foul more. We are worse in rebounding by a bunch, last year we got ~3 more rebound and this year we grab ~3 less rebound. We replaced the people who could rebound by those who can shoot and pass. We certainly can not rebound as well, if we don't shoot and pass much better then of course we lose.

The foul and rebound statistics tell me we are slower than the opponents and that is because we are now one of the older team while we were one of the youngest last yr! It's difficult to see the difference in energy level, in the quickness to the ball in one or two games but it has become more apparent the more this team play together.

Yao, MoT, Ward, JJ are slower than most men they guard. Even TMac is slower when he has to guard a quick and smaller guy. It's ok when only 2, 3 of your men out of 5 are slower than the other team's men. Your quicker ones cover for it. Now our whole team is slower. If we go to the bench, Howard, Padgett, Boki are slow. Lue is quick but he got over powered in the low post. Spoon got quickness but again lacks size. Deke is slow but he actually has height and reach to make up for it.
Sura is probably the only one with size and quickness to match up 1 on 1 and he has only played 1 game.

One way to solve your problem is if you can do something else much better. Such as raising the FG% or cut down on TOs even more but those things are easier said than done.

If I were coach and I want to solve rebounding problem, I play guys who can rebound a little longer. i.e, against Denver, I would have gone with Howard and Deke more instead of MoT, Padgett and Spoon.

 

T-Mac is very close to bad mouthing Van Grumpy!!

 

Once again, Van Grumpy attacks and blames the players. Van Grumpy sees NO PROBLEMS with himself.

 

He's talking about himself too.

 

Yeah, he's never included himself when issuing blame...

 

why is SAM SMITH of the Chicago Tribune...writing an article about the houston rockets and van gundy? i wonder about his motive..

 

Van Gundy has blamed the entire team, including the coaching staff. But passing around blame is not going to do any good. He's got to pull another Knicks departure where he says he can't reach these guys any more and walks out. He did that with a winning record on the Knicks, and I don't see him doing that without a winning record on the Rockets, so that might never happen. Also, he probably doesn't want a rep as a quitter.

But if Van Gundy were to leave the organization one way or another, who replaces him? Do you think Yao's affinity for Del Harris would have any impact on Les' decision? He also coaches for the Mavericks who play a more exciting game with a big man who can shoot (Nowitzski).

 

The problem with JVG is that he REPEATEDLY says stuff like this. I mean, isn't this guy getting paid $4 mil a year to get players to play hard? If Yao and T-Mac are messing up in crunch time, shouldn't he be teaching them how to remedy the situation for later games?