Chron.com: From "Good to Great"

JVG is turning into Phil Jackson. heh




http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2296268

Rockets betting on going from 'Good to Great'
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
RESOURCES

"The capability resides within them, perhaps buried or ignored, but there nonetheless. And under the right circumstances -- self-reflection, conscious personal development, a mentor, a great teacher, loving parents, a significant life experience, a ... boss, or any number of other factors -- they begin to develop."

-- Writer Jim Collins

John Amaechi left Toyota Center reading, turning pages as he walked the way people who live with books in their hands do. Moochie Norris read on the bus, Cuttino Mobley on the plane.

The bright orange book in every Rockets player's possession was far from a page turner that had gripped the team. But to the Rockets, there was significance in the book Good to Great even before the covers were opened.

Coach Jeff Van Gundy had presented every player with a copy, including a personal note to each. A message was delivered before the first words were read.

"He wouldn't have given it to us if there was not a meaning behind it," Norris said. "It must be something that can help each one of us, help this team. I'm already into it. I'm starting to get a feel for what's going on. I want to get deep into it.

"You have to strive to be a great team. I'm not satisfied with just playing in this league, and I don't think anybody is happy just to be on an NBA team. The goal is to win an NBA championship and as many as possible. That's what we want. This year is a major step toward that. We've been good. It's time for us to get over the hump."

There might have been times in the past two games, humbling losses to the Spurs, when Van Gundy wanted to return to the bookstore to find copies of Mediocre to Will Have to Do.

But in a way, the message of Good to Great and the timing of the losses could not have been better. The Rockets have had a "good" season with a "good" record, and they played the Spurs after a run of "good" wins.

When they faced "great," however, they were overmatched, exposed as a good team that does not do the little, everyday things that make teams great.

There is little wonder why Van Gundy found the book so relevant.

Unlike many business books, Jim Collins' Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't is not loaded with sports metaphors. But it strikes on familiar themes. There is a chapter entitled The Discipline of Getting Things Done, another called A Culture of Discipline. A section about leadership sounds straight from the book of Van Gundy: "The ultimate test of effective leadership is sustainable excellence."

Like many who have watched the Rockets in recent seasons, the book contends: "Good is the enemy of great."

"I would just say the essence of the book is being good -- or pretty good, average or whatever -- many times gets in the way of being great," Van Gundy said. "Being good is a hindrance. It's like being close to the playoffs. `We were only one game out.' Woulda, coulda, shouldas. Or in a particular game, `We did some good things.' Well, every NBA game you're going to do something pretty good.

"It's more of a business book. For any organization, it's really a desirable idea. For a player, a team or an organization sort of stuck in the middle, it's very sound. The challenge is to make the next step."

Van Gundy said he does not normally hand out reading material. Lakers coach Phil Jackson has for years selected books for his players and passed them out before long road trips, enriching the libraries of hotel maids everywhere. Van Gundy said he simply thought this particular book would be well-received.

It remains to be seen how many players will apply the examples in Good to Great to their own lives and how long that influence will last. But Van Gundy made an impression, if only with the gift and by implying that "great" is possible.

"He's a very thoughtful dude," Mobley said. "He's a deep thinker. He thinks things out, and they make sense. That book, of course, has a message in there that will apply to us as a team. When things are going well, you can become content."

But whether fighting contentment during "good" times or facing tough times like those brought with the consecutive losses to the Spurs, Van Gundy has repeatedly said the Rockets must become an "every-day" team. Wins and losses come and go. They often can be misleading if teams allow. But progress must be steady.

The Rockets' problems against San Antonio almost certainly existed before the Spurs made them so obvious. The Rockets seemed to be making progress passing the ball against the Hornets and Pistons, but they could not consider that weakness a strength based on portions of two games. When pushed by a superior defensive team, the Rockets' offense broke down around that weakness.

Their pick-and-roll defense had consistently left shooters open. But the Rockets had successfully swarmed around opponents' best scorers, as they did against Tim Duncan, and other players missed shots. When the Spurs circling Duncan and Tony Parker began hitting shots, like the Kings did last month, the Rockets were blown out.

"From our vantage point, some of the problems continue to plague us," Van Gundy said. "Whether they get righted for a game, we have to at some point go about our business.

"As a coach, you get paid to win. You get paid to put out a team that works hard every night. Certainly, I feel like I haven't done my job, either. It's shared responsibility. We're not making the progress I think we need to make. We're sort of stuck in the quagmire of accepting whatever we do. I have a different mentality about that.

"The more you put into something, the more you care about the result. I think that's a good start."

That quagmire can be a difficult trap, particularly for those already playing in the NBA and making millions. But if "good is the enemy of great," the Rockets' losses to the Spurs will serve as a reminder how wide the gulf between good and great is.

"That's what we're trying to do," guard Steve Francis said. "It's going to take time. It's not going to happen in 21 games. We have to continue to work through the problems we're having right now."

As much as the Rockets want to improve in time to face the Timberwolves on Tuesday, a little reading on the charter flight to Minnesota might remind them to strive for something beyond that.

"You're always trying to be a great team," forward Kelvin Cato said. "Right now, we're trying to work on things to make us better. There must be something in that book he liked, that he thought could help us become not just better players but better people.

"That's not satisfaction. Satisfaction is winning a championship. Or a few championships."