Q & A w/ John Feigen Van Gundy's style of coaching in question Question: If you were the general manager of Rockets, are you going to fire Jeff Van Gundy right now, or give him more chances to prove his coaching style which does not fit this team? Leon in Victoria, B.C. Answer: There is no coaching style that suggests the team not try hard. If Van Gundy's coaching style is to suggest that his players not bother to rebound, commit needless turnovers and get back slowly defensely, he should be fired. But the Rockets problems have nothing to do with style. As I wrote the other day, when they do the things every team must do they do them badly. Getting a team to do those things, however, is the coach's responsibility. Eventually, it does go to the coach. But I think that a proven coach, and probably any coach, deserves more than roughly 100 games. Usually, it's best for the coach's authority to be clear, something you lose when you dump the coach the first time the players play badly. Francis, Mobley undervalued Question: Do you think the Rockets overvalued Tracy McGrady and undervalued Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley? Could it be that the latter two meant more to the Rockets than they realized? Don in Richmond, Va. Answer: I think many people vastly undervalued Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley. Thinking back to the way they were criticized last season, especially with Steve Francis, we have a clear example of the Joni Mitchell doctrine: "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone." I think the Rockets knew, however, that they were taking a huge gamble. They considered the move worth doing because McGrady is that kind of rare player. He had proved that much in the league. If the deal does not work out now, it could be the right move long-term. It did, however, start rebuilding, rather than end it. http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/sports/feigen/qa/index.html
That's the second quote from Joni's song Big Yellow Taxi I've seen in the Chron this week. That's just creepy.
