http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/rssstory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3145958 April 20, 2005, 11:51PM Win or lose, Rockets are special group By RICHARD JUSTICE Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Remarkable sports stories don't always have neat endings. They may not have champagne showers or ticker-tape parades. They may not even need those things to be remarkable. Sometimes only the players and coaches know when they've done something spectacular. For instance, the Rockets. I know, I know. I see you rolling your eyes. I know you're going to remind me they haven't accomplished a thing. You're going to tell me simply making the NBA playoffs is no big deal. You're right about that. And wrong about these Rockets, who won for the 51st time Wednesday night, defeating Seattle 106-78 in a meaningless regular-season finale. They're 45-20 since a 6-11 beginning. They've done it with a collection of old guys and young superstars, with players who were spare parts on other teams, with players in the twilight of their careers. Building and rebuilding They were constructed once last summer and then twice reconstructed on the fly during the season. Partly because of injuries and partly because they kept searching for the right mix to compliment Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, they've used a franchise-record 23 players, including 14 different starting lineups. They've gotten it right. Whether they're good enough to win a playoff series is almost irrelevant. What they've done right, what general manager Carroll Dawson and coach Jeff Van Gundy can never get too much credit for doing, is getting players who did things right. In some NBA cities, there are stories about players who played when they felt like it. That's not what the Rockets are at this moment. I don't know what Bob Sura, Jon Barry, Mike James and David Wesley were like early in their careers, but they've been almost perfect additions to this team. They're consummate professionals. They've got raging competitive fires. They've taken care of the little things since their first day at Toyota Center. Lavish praise When Jeff Van Gundy gathered his players Tuesday morning, he pushed the pause button on the usual conversation. "I wanted them to take a moment and understand they were part of something that doesn't happen often in the NBA," he said. "This is a team of givers, not takers. This is a team that bought into the idea of team. "They bought in completely. I want them to understand this has been something special. "If you look at our guys, a lot of them weren't even in a rotation on their teams last season. McGrady was on a 21-win team. What adds up? It's that saying, 'The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.' That's what chemistry does for you. That's why it's important." You probably don't recognize this Jeff Van Gundy. You're used to that dour guy, the one who focuses on the negatives. That's the face he wants you to see. His players don't see that Jeff Van Gundy as much as you might think. They see the guy who prepares them better than they've ever been prepared before. "He works harder than any coach I've ever played for," Wesley said. "He can expect more out of us because he gives us so much more himself." He's more accessible than people know. He encourages locker-room celebrations, and former players still look him up on the road. And this week, his players saw a guy who wanted them to know how proud he was. "I don't know how much we have left in the tank for the playoffs," he said. "Sometimes we won this season because we were just more ready than the other team. Our guys were more professional. They may not have felt good, they may have been beat up, but they just dug it out. "They've put in the preparation for a long time now. When we were 6-11 and then 16-17, when we were scratching and clawing to get to .500, our guys were putting the work in. All of a sudden you look up and it's clicking. That's pretty special. That doesn't happen much. "We had three stretches where we played four games in five nights. We won the fourth game all three times. Our guys were old and hurting and couldn't move. That's when their professionalism came through. "Now we've got an unbelievable opportunity. Some of these guys may never have one like this again. And it's special." He'll begin fretting about the series with the Mavericks this morning. He'll worry about slowing down Dirk Nowitzki and getting his guys to run with Jason Terry and Josh Howard. He has no idea how it'll work out. The Rockets aren't supposed to win this series, but at one point this season, they wouldn't have been a good bet to even make the playoffs. Now things look different. "That doesn't mean we're going to win 16 in the playoffs," Van Gundy said. "But I know this. When we go to Dallas and walk out on the floor, we're going to do it as hard and as well as we can. I'm certain of that." richard.justice@chron.com
Translated: We are not going to win the championship in the first round. But I know this. When we go to Dallas and walk out on the floor, we're going to deal them as hard an @ss whuppin' as we can. I even made a trip to Vegas on that.
If there ever was a realist it was Jeff Van Gundy, but I'll be damned if he hasn't grown to love this team.
No kidding. This team is like a dream come true for him. They have lots of heart, always hustle, and never give up. This is one special Rockets squad. I am so excited about Sat.
That's pretty nice stuff. I like the peek into the seldom-seen positive, praising side of JVG. It makes him seem less like an obsessed 'the Brain' (of "Pinky and ...' fame) of basketball and adds a bit of depth to his personality. I've come to appreciate his dry, wry sense of humor since he's been here. He wears that 'semi-disgusted' poker face on the sidelines so much that it's difficult to see into other facets of his personality. This glimpse helps more fully round out his character as a man for me. With RudyT, you knew pretty much where he stood at all times; even unconsciously, he left his feelings out on his sleeve for all to read. He was a 'feel' coach that played off emotion and momentum as much as (or more than) Xs and Os, and his personal style reflected that. JVG is a more cerebral, detail-oriented leader. He knows where each player should be and what he should be doing in each situation, and he lets the players know when they don't do it properly. JVG puts so much work and preparation into each matchup that I just can't see Avery Johnson out-coaching him in the upcoming series. JVG can probably anticipate and counter any strategic moves that AJ -- inexperienced head coach (with no playoff coaching experience) that he is -- would likely make. If the series ends up being decided on strategy, the Rockets will certainly win, because JVG has the clear edge in that area. The article would be better if the professional writer knew the difference between "compliment" and "complement", though.
Feel-good article of the year - at least about the regular season. Hopefully we will have many written about the playoffs. I like how this Rockets team has shown that you don't need thunderous dunks and endless bravado to win in the NBA - you need a couple of stars, shooters, teamwork, sacrifice, discipline, and great D. In the immmortal words of Ali G: You gotta RESPEK!
Nice article,...Early on I had no idea if the team knew who they really were. It was near unwatchable because there was no sense of a team because of personnel changes. They are absolutely set as a team with the virtues Van Gundy preaches...It's nice to see they know who they are.
Absolutely loved this article. In some kind of weird way Richard Justice and Jeff Van Gundy put a kind of "Mighty Ducks," or "Little Giants" spin on our team. "If you look at our guys, a lot of them weren't even in a rotation on their teams last season. McGrady was on a 21-win team. What adds up? It's that saying, 'The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.' That's what chemistry does for you. That's why it's important." Then when I thought about it I realized that with the exception of Mike James all of our other guys were kinda rounded up from the cellars of the NBA. Just like the rag-tag teams that Disney always puts together in some of their movies. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, I LOVE THIS ROCKET TEAM AND AM DAMN PROUD TO HAVE SUPPORTED THEM THROUGH THE THICK AND THIN. GO ROCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! kICK SOME DALLAS A$$
Del's a nice guy and decent coach and all, but I haven't seen lots of evidence that he's a high-powered basketball strategist ... he seems more like a good tactician who's sometimes had the advantage of coaching big-time talent. I still say JVG by himself can out-plan and out-plot the entire Mavs coaching staff. (Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exxageration, but not too much)
I am one that was kind of pissed at JVG last season and early on this season but I gotta give him credit for assembling this group of guys who genuinly seem to like one another.
This a great group of guys and other than Yao and Tmac most of our guys really did come from some crappy teams not even able to get off the bench. Remember when Sura was with Detroit? he had a resurgence in Atlanta. DWes is the exception as he has always been a starter (for the worst team in the league right now) JBarry was not part of youth movement in Atlanta Spoon was buried on the bench in NY and Houston but WOW now hes our starting PF! hahaha (*still makes me laugh) Deke lost his starting job to Nazr in NY *man all of these guys have been instrumental in turning our team around. I think SPadgett hit on it a few months ago that this team shares the ball, everyone touches it. When your two superstars are unselfish and love passing the rock it helps keep everyone involved. I really feel TMac and Yao make everyone around them better. Tmac with his willingness to share the ball and his passing ability (he finds angles/seams I didnt even notice) Yao commanding double teams and willingness to share the ball. wow its been a great regular season and im very excited about the playoffs. *Clutch could you start the first playoff game thread? J
I will read this after the play-offs. I'm afraid of sappy ****, before they play. Could present bad karma.
