that's some stupid sh*t. yao was barely 21 a year ago! go home and take some elementary school logic tests. no...how about the square peg and round hole one? i'm sure you may get 1 out of 20 right.
tsl 99= Larry Bird has a bad heart. He hates Houston. He will never come coach here. You hate Rudy - do you hate Carroll Dawson too???
What RudyT is doing for the Rox is 1000x more Commendable than any Phil Jackson achievement The patience that RudyT and CD are doing to grow this franchise is really what "dynasties" are made of. A lot of that progressive thinking was already in place in Chicago (ala Jerry Krause). Phil Jackson inherited a good deck of cards at BOTH L.A. and Chicago. But while RudyT got Hakeem and got SF, his challenge in recent years is analogous to what championship level football coaches do. Great coaches DEVELOP good teams into great teams Here with the Rox, they not only have all the pieces of the puzzle, but they have a coach who is: 1)Patient to see this maturation process through 2)Intelligent to help develop young talent 3)Articulate to communicate his views to his players 4)Venerated to be "THE COACH" that players must heed 5)Qualified all the more so now that he's got the Center piece Truthfully, it pains me to see all the "I Hate Rudy" Threads. Though I've had my share of concerns about Rox strategy, all in all, I think he's doing a wonderful job. Moreover, as is frequently the case (e.g. last nite), it's the PLAYER'S JOB TO EXECUTE. Esp with minimizing the boneheaded plays like not calling a timeout with seconds to spare in OT. Rudy is purportedly a player's coach. i.e. he lets his players flourish w/o micromanaging them or forcefitting them into some mold. While his players might not be as intelligently decisive as we'd like them to be, on a positive note, the players have been steadily progressing whether or not we'd like to admit it. The problem right now is I think the media has amplified our expectations (as only the media can do) And that, quite frankly is unfair to the team and unobjective on our part. Expectations have to be reasonable and I think a reasonable expection is more PROGRESS relative to our own benchmarks and not so simply getting into the playoffs. While the latter case would be great, it's simpleton logic to think that if we get the 8th seed, we're automaticcally a good team. That's BS IMO. Lots of mediocre teams reach that mark (think Washington). Absent Jordan next year, do you really think they're going to be a playoff caliber team? The Rox trajectory is up and that's all that really matters. The West is very strong and even if the Rox fall back as the 9 seed, it's still a far more respectable showing than last year... and that equals progress. Management's patience WILL be rewarded. We ought to be patient too. theSAGE
Larry didn't have the temperament to coach today's players longer than three years. He doesn't even want to coach anymore; he wants to be a GM. This is another testament to Rudy; his temperament to go from coaching veteran players to NBA titles to a rebuilding process with the youngest or second youngest team in the league. Name another big name coach that would have stuck with the process as long as Rudy and worked the hours Rudy has worked without blowing a gasket. Phil Jackson has only coached teams ready made to win, teams that had the best player in the league or the best two players in the league. Phil Jackson's teams may have nine titles, but each time they won, they should have, because he was coaching the most talented team in the league. Phil Jackson couldn't have coached a team of scrubs to a bronze medal in the World Championships. Rudy has never coached a team that could have been considered the most talented in the league. Phil Jackson couldn't hold Rudy's jockstrap.
Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Don Nelson, Jr. If the team isn't going to play defense with their current coach, then at least they should have a fun offense to watch Or, Van Gundy himself wouldn't be bad. Those NY teams always overachieved with him at the helm, and if he can't get them to play solid, consistent defense, no one can. Or someone out of nowhere, ala a Rick Carlisle or Musshleman, etc. Exactly, when Hakeem was "past his prime" people didn't mind seeing the greatest icon in Houston sports history shipped out to Canada of all places. Because he complained a little (ironically, maybe some of those complaints - new guards were selfish, didn't understand how to play and Rudy wasn't forcing/teaching them - make more sense now). Just because you were good at something, doesn't mean you'll continue to be. I don't know which teams you remember seeing, but the season before they won their first championship, they were, imo, as good a team, and as consistent. they jsut ran into the one team they couldn't beat in the playoffs, the sonics, who, coincidentally, they didn't have to play the next year. even then, they still played on of the greatest 7 game non-championship series in the history of basketball, before finally bowing out in overtime. You really see progress with the current squad? Has it improved dramatically since earlier in the season? All indications say no.
I have to disagree with JFV. This is not to bash Rudy. The problem is Rudy is too slow to adjust and the only thing he has is ISO. Look at yesterday's game, The only play we have is ISO. Guard iso, center iso, forward iso. There are two types of powerhouse in west. Laker with dominant players in Shaq and Kobe. Mavs and Kings without dominant inside presence, but very good point guard who can do controlled penetration and powerforwards who can hit lights out from 15ft out. Also beautiful ball movement with all kinds of cutting, screens. I used to think Rudy can't implement all the motion offense because he doesn't have Yao in training camp to practice with other players. But it is not true, because look at Mavs,Kings, they don't have dominant inside presence but still have all the ball movement. We are winning on pure individual talent. The only chance we have is for Yao and Steve to be as good as Shaq and Kobe. Another point is we can't do Pick'n Roll right. It's been 50+ games, we still can't do it right. Our big men esp Yao release too early and guard didn't drive the opponent into big man. Also guards have no patience whatsoever, they never use screen more than once. Finally, Steve needs to do controlled penetration just like Nash. Don't pick up dribble too early. THen his turnover will be down at least 1 per game.
I believe this is a myth. If not, it's a definite exaggeration. I sincerely hope that a BBS infested with Mad Yao Disease is not this guy's only reference. What you have is a very vocal, b****y minority, not a 'growing legion'. This is the same thing as with Hakeem last year.
As a coach Larry had the same problem RudyT had when Rudy won his 1st championship..only one all time great on his team...Reggie Miller. RudyT had the Dream in 93-94 and is the only coach since who won without two all time greats. Phil Jackson,,MJ and Pippen Pop..............Robinson and Duncan Jackson........Kobe and Shaq Rudy got it done, Larry didn,t..Make your case..period.
Coaches never say other coaches should be fired. Not even a complete moron like John Lucas or Alvin Gentry. JVG "defending" Rudy is a complete non-story. National news picking up the call for his head IS. We need a teacher, not a baby sitter. Rudy is finished. Hire Larry Brown now. On the other hand... If Rudy was coach of Sacto or Dallas, I wonder what kind of scheme he would run? Would he iso Dirk on the low block, use Dirk for a pick to free Nash, have everyone else stand around on the perimeter? Would he iso Webber, or Peja? In truth, I think he would ... but it would WORK there. Rox still have a talent deficit that makes the job more difficult. And that offense amplifies the problem - it makes it even MORE difficult to score. I do think Adelman/Princeton or Nelson/Nelson/Harris et al would give us a more balanced, effective attack, in the swap scenario. I don't think Rudy has any other bullets for his gun. He has no other coaching experience, he has no other plan of attack, he knows no other way to play.
1) What Van Gundy said is exactly what you would expect to hear from a highly professional (and visible) person. Did anyone really expect him to say anything different to a member of the press in an obviously "on the record" situation? Hypothetically, if Rudy decided to hang it up this season and just go fishing and the Rockets approached JVG about the vacancy, is there anyone here who thinks Van Gundy's response would be..."ohhh...I just don't know, I'm not sure I can fill Rudy's shoes with all that championship experience...and that Rockets team...they're just soooo young...why don't you ask around the league and if you don't get any good offers, get back to me". Van Gundy's very professional comment has already endeared him to the Rockets management and you can bet JVG knows it. 2) I don't consider myself a basketball guru. I'd like to think that perhaps I'm an average or (hopefully) a little above average fan. I watch the Rockets and from their spacing and positioning on the floor, I can determine in advance which one of the 3 set offensive plays they will run. If I can figure it out...they are just too predictable. Perhaps both of the following statements are true...but IMO at least one is: A) RT can not teach or motivate a very young team for whatever reason(s). B) The Rockets collectively as a team have a very low Bball IQ. The plays are there, but they can't/don't make very good realtime decisions about reading what the defense is giving them. As offensive as some may find it, if either of these statements is more fact than opinion then all of the patience you and I and RT and Les Alexander can muster won't be enough to get to the next level.
There are a couple of points I think are interesting about the frustration with Rudy... First, Van Gundy isn't the only coach/GM/scout, etc who supports Tomjanovich. There is never a shortage of critics of coaches in media and from around the league when a guy is doing poorly. So far, not a peep regarding Rudy T. Second, I do think that our inability to step back from a team that we care about contributes a great deal to our vision of the team. Most people around the league expected the Rockets to be in a battle for the 8th spot in the west. That is exactly where we are. I don't recall reading any legitimate media outlet or NBA coach/GM, etc who thought the Rockets were headed for an easy trip to the playoffs. IMO, the combination of the really horrific season that preceded this one, the addition of a high-profile player like Yao and the rollercoaster ride associated with most inexperienced teams has us all looking at the team with exasperation. The problem with making decisions while you're pissed off is that you rarely can see clearly enough to make good, sound, rational decisions. Instead, you grasp desperately at anything you think will work. It's like losing weight. The formula is easy: eat less, eat healthier foods and exercise. But, people would rather just have surgery or take a pill because they think it is easier. We may not like it, but the Rockets have a lot of growing and learning to do. It doesn't come easy in the NBA. There is no magic pill.
This is the most interesting part. If I'm not mistaken, this is the 2nd time in the past month that Van Gundy has made this kind of comment. We don't hear Fratello making these kind of comments.
A sportsbroadcaster earns a 7-figure salary. Assistant coach earns 6-figures. Why would Van Gundy drop his cushy job to be an assistant coach?
How can any intelligent person compare coaching with playing? Are you saying that when coaches get old, they lose the ability to coach like players losing ability to play? Tell that to Hubie Brown. Tell that to Tex Winter. Tell that to Don Nelson. Tell that to . . .
