Oct. 12, 2006, 1:09AM Little goes right for bench players during first chance to make impression By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Nearly four hours after the Rockets convened on Wednesday for the day's video session and practice, coach Jeff Van Gundy was still going over the recorded evidence of the misadventures of his young bench Tuesday night. A day after Van Gundy called the performance "eye-opening" before deciding it might have been wiser to look away, he and the Rockets' kids studied the mess. The rebuilt depth was supposed to be one of the great improvements of the Rockets' roster. It still might be. They have collected young talent to develop. But Tuesday's second-half collapse in a 75-69 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies demonstrated that it has not developed yet. "It's only been one game, one preseason game so don't throw us a parade or jump off a cliff just yet," swingman Casey Jacobsen said. "Give us a few games to really learn. After a few games, maybe after a few regular-season games, I think we'll see how we'll play together." The bench should look stronger when Juwan Howard, Bonzi Wells and Luther Head — each held out Tuesday — take places in the rotation. But for now, the depth looked shallow. "It's not anybody saying we have depth; it's proving we have enough guys capable of playing quality basketball," Van Gundy said. "In the second half, that was just very, very poor. We didn't start in the right spots. We didn't hit the open man. Those young guys missed each other wide open. They didn't cover for each other on the other end. And the worst part was they didn't show a lot of fight with discipline. "We didn't have disciplined intensity. You don't get many opportunities in the NBA, even in preseason. Either you can help the team function well or you can't. Judging from (Tuesday) night, I wasn't very happy with our depth." Going deep into bench The Rockets went most of the second half with combinations of Vassilis Spanoulis, John Lucas III, Steve Novak, Kelenna Azubuike, Kirk Snyder, Matt Haryasz, Scott Padgett and Jacobsen. In the second half, the Rockets made 20 percent of their shots, scored 20 points and had 16 turnovers while losing a 12-point halftime lead. Preseason bench play, however, can be very different from in the regular season. Some in that group likely won't be on the team, much less playing together when the games count. It is easier to be a backup point guard getting minutes with Yao Ming in the low post, or a shooting power forward getting set up by Tracy McGrady than in a group with no veteran providing reliable direction. But for now, it is not possible to give eight reserves enough time to learn and to compete for a roster spot while only playing them with veteran starters. "I think you'll see the real team as we tie down the rotation," Jacobsen said. "But I think coach Van Gundy knows what he's doing. There's a lot of young guys including myself trying to learn this system who really need game experience to do that. We've got to step up and take on that opportunity." The Rockets are not going to play 13 players for long, and success this season will not be measured by the play of the 10th through 15th men. Yet, the Rockets hope Lucas or Spanoulis cand nail down the backup point position. Neither moved an inch that direction on Tuesday. Spanoulis had five turnovers. Lucas made 2 of 11 shots. "If they play better," Van Gundy said of his rookies earning a rotation spot. "If they play random, undisciplined basketball, there's no chance. You might not make every shot, but you can get in the right spots offensively and defensively. They can do that. "It's 18, 19 days away from making a decision and I don't think either (Spanoulis or Lucas) made a case. I don't think they played the way they're capable of." A bit of faint praise In a way, Van Gundy pointing out that they are capable of more is about as positive a sign as the bench produced. But most of the reserves who struggled Tuesday were brought in to complement Yao and McGrady, rather than each other. "A lot of that will still shape up," Novak said. "But there's no question the practices we've had with Yao and Tracy, you get a good feel for what it will be like. So much of our offense is obviously built around those guys. "On an NBA team, there's not a lot of weak links. You have to be able to hold your own. You have to be able to do your job." A day after they didn't, the young players got a long look at their mistakes. It was not a pretty sight. "We were just looking extensively with the younger guys," Van Gundy said. "I thought the younger guys really needed to see how much they let themselves down and each other down with that performance. It looked bad, and they're capable of much more."
Van Grumpy at it Again I try to like the guy but he just won’t shutup. If he would just shutup, not talk to the media and coach maybe I could tolerate him. He says he is going to have a more upbeat, positive attitude this year but in his first post game interview the best he could do was not say anything. He was biting his tongue during most of the interview but when he did speak only negative chunks of vomit were projected from his mouth. “Depth we have no depth, look at the so called depth on the court. You guys (media) overhype these players and I’m doing damage control. They come from somewhere else and think they can play in this league (no doubt referring to Vspan)… this league is tough.” Great words of encouragement. He put his players in a situation they were bound to fail and then he put them down for doing so. Come on how could anyone expect a team of Vassilis Spanoulis, John Lucas III, Kelenna Azubuike, Matt Haryasz, and Scott Padgett to succeed. 3 or 4 of those players won’t be on the the active 12 man roster and may not even make the team but throw them to the dogs, scream at them during the game and the next day show them film and proclaim how much they suck to them and the media. That’s vintage Van Grumpy if I ever seen it. Remember last year after the Rockets’ played Dallas and Luther Head had 28 points and 7 rebounds and Van Grumpy proceeded to explain the many ways how Head sucked that night without even giving him 1 iota of credit. That’s vintage Van Grumpy. There’s no question the man has basketball knowledge. I was a coach for many years and I can see that. He probably has forgotten more than I remember but coaching is more than knowledge it is communicating that knowledge to your players and motivating them to execute it. There’s a lot of ways to communicate and motivate. Van Grumpy seems to be of the school of ridicule. Yeah most certainly these players performance was poor. But them in environment were they have a chance for some success don’t throw them dogs. And if you have to throw them to the dogs then at least don’t put them down in public. In my coaching tenure I always tried to treat my players with respect. If a player was screwing up as much as possible I tried to correct it 1 on 1 and when that wasn’t possible I never tried to correct it by screaming at them or bad mouthing them. I always felt as long as a player was giving his best effort that he deserved my respect. I know I was dealing with kids and not adults. And these are professionals we are talking about. But they are still human and if you treat them respect and let them know what you demand from them in a respectful way you will be amazed how they respond to it. Basketball is simply not about talent it is also confidence and drive. Look at Tmac IMO he is more talented than Kobe or Lebron but he seems at step behind those guys in drive. Maybe that’s something that count be taught but if it can I would think it would come more from praise than ridicule. Also Sports is a release from the everyday task of life. I don’t always want to hear the negatives. Tell me how these players have a lot to learn but they are making progress. Tell me how you love this about so and so and this other thing about this other player. Be a little beat upbeat about the team. As a fan that’s what I want to hear from my coach sometimes. I know there are times you have realistic but this a game an escape. And besides that’s what Van Grumpy promised Les, he would be more upbeat. Where is that? If he can't say something positive maybe he should shutup because from my vantage point he still seems to be the same old Nazi-istic negative little person.
What negativity? Everybody and their mother knows the 2nd half looked bad last night. He's being honest about how it was and telling the kids they are capable of more than that crappy 2nd half. Negativity would be just saying they are not capable of NBA caliber ball and cut them. Many teams have already begun cutting their players.
he was not expecting them to win. he was expecting 1 or 2 of them to step up and lead the team. he was looking for the one that was not lost.
Yeah you guys are right. He should just baby them, then maybe they'd see that it's not how you play, but it's what's on the inside that counts. Who cares if he's not being positive? That's not his job. It's not a coaches job to smile and be happy when his team gives up a 20 point lead, regardless of who was playing the second half. Anyone that's ever been on any sort of team, or coached one, knows that coaches (and most players) prefer to win every regular season game, preseason game, and every scrimmage. Who's to blame Van Gundy if he gets frusterated when the bench that so many people are excited about (probably including himself) let's the team down so horribly that we lose such a big lead? Not me, because I too found myself thinking, "I know it's just preseason, but it would've been nice to win that one." Coaching at such a high level isn't just about teaching either, it's about managing egos. If you're coach talks about how frusterated he is with you after a bad game, even though the media, the fans, your old team, or even your superstar teammates overhype you, then just maybe these young guys will realize that they're not there yet. Just maybe they'll put in more work then they Stromile Swifts of the world and keep developing their games throughout their career. Just maybe.
But that's the problem. This bench is not overhyped. The people playing most of the second half (and let's not include Kirk Snyder or Chuck Hayes in this as they didn't play most of the second half) will not be on the bench, much less the team. No one expects Haryasz, Azubuike, or Padgett to be that great, or even here. Maybe people expect a lot out of JLIII, V-Span, and Novak. Maybe V-Span and Novak are a little overhyped. But no one is expecting that much from them. V-Span/Lucas will play at most 10 minutes a game. The same for Novak. Why go off ranting like this after one game and maybe 2 weeks of practice? I just don't get it. I could understand after another week of practice and a couple more games. Sometimes it is better to stay quiet and talk to players outside of the newspaper.
Oct. 12, 2006, 1:04AM For athletes, foot problems just an occupational hazard By JEANNIE KEVER Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle You may not be surprised that Yao Ming has toe trouble. After all, 7 feet 5 inches and 295 pounds is a lot to carry around on your tootsies, even if they're on size 18 feet. But mention foot trouble to the person in the next cubicle, and prepare to be regaled. Maybe repulsed. "Oh, yeah, I get black toes," Paul Cooley cheerfully confesses. "They usually end up falling off." Cooley, a lawyer who took up running on his 40th birthday, is talking about his toenails, not the toes themselves. Even so, it is not a pretty picture. For most of us, bunions, calluses and bone spurs are a dirty little secret. Who wants to show off a toenail sitting on a pool of blood, or a bunion poking out like a tent pole? But for athletes — basketball players, runners, soccer players, even ballerinas — foot problems are just an occupational hazard. "Ballet feet are strong feet, but they're not pretty feet," says Dr. Kevin Varner, an orthopedic surgeon who treats dancers of Houston Ballet through the Methodist Hospital's Center for Performing Arts Medicine, as well as members of the Houston Dynamo soccer team and other athletes. For any athlete, he says, "feet are the tools of your trade." Ming, the Rockets' star center, is out for at least 10 days in the latest round of man versus toe. His left big toenail was removed Monday, for the third time since July 2004, and he missed 21 games last season because of an infection. Linda Case had toenail problems, too, during her years as a ballroom dancer. She eventually had both big toenails permanently removed. Problem solved, although it can be a little unsettling for a first-time pedicurist. The nails were damaged by constant bumping from her partner's foot. "It would feel like my feet were wet, and they would be bleeding." The 54-year-old Case, a jewelry designer, reports that with a little nail polish no one knows the difference, although she wears an acrylic nail for special occasions. She recommends permanent removal for Yao. "I don't know why Yao keeps dealing with this." Rockets coach Jeff Van Grundy blames Yao's shoes. Reebok denies it. Regardless, shoes do matter. "We affectionately call pointe shoes 'little pink coffins,' " says Barbara Bears, a principal dancer with Houston Ballet. "Dancers have really bad toenails, especially the women," says Varner. "Toe shoes, although made for people, may not be what the good Lord intended." Bears, 35, has lost her share of toenails, but that's not the worst of it. Wednesday was her first full day back at work since she sprained a foot while sliding out of a lift three weeks ago. She's had four foot surgeries over the years and "lots of sprained ankles and stress fractures." It's all part of the job, and dancers routinely perform with painful corns and blisters. "Anbesol Jr. was made for your mouth, but if you have a blister, it'll numb up that area so you can get your shoes on," Bears says. Dynamo players have their own tricks, trainer Bruce Morgan says. "Their feet are to them what hands are to a piano player," he says. "They should care for them in that way." They don't always. That's where tape, blister foam, skin lube and other ointments come in. Many tape their feet for practice and games. Soccer players' feet are prone to bruising, sprains and injuries of the soft tissue and ligaments. Fifth-metatarsal fractures are common, as is abnormal bony growth along the first metatarsal. Morgan encourages players to strengthen their ankle and foot muscles, along with balance training. Shoes are another issue. Soccer shoes are tight — as much as one size smaller than a street shoe — to improve the "touch" on the ball. That means there's no room for an insert and not much room for tape. Losing a nail is common, as are corns and calluses. "None of these guys are going to become foot models," Morgan says. Still, foot injuries are no laughing matter. Several Dynamo players have foot problems, but the trainer won't name names. Foot injuries can spark rumors about an athlete's future, even a franchise's season. That's not a problem for the weekend warrior, however, so they are free to display their badges of honor. "I don't know that people necessarily brag about it," Bob Hoekman says, discussing what he politely refers to as "the black toe problem." Hoekman, 65, is a retired orthopedic surgeon and is medical director for the Houston Area Road Runners Association. He's also a runner, having competed in about 60 marathons over the past 20 years. "Black toe," named for the blood that gathers under toenails from rubbing against a shoe or even a sock, is almost inevitable for distance runners, Hoekman says. Poor-fitting shoes make it worse. Hoekman always has black toe after a race. He's also got claw toes, a condition — in his case, caused by an encounter between his foot and a lawn mower when he was 13 — that causes the toes to bend upward. He runs, anyway. "It's uncomfortable after a while," he says of black toe. "But you ignore it. It looks kind of ugly." Runners, and anyone who spends a lot of time on his or her feet, can suffer from more serious maladies, as well, including Morton's neuroma and plantar fasciitis. Professional athletes get help at the first sign of injury, but amateurs "go into denial," Hoekman says. "They keep on trying to plug away and aggravate things to the point where they get more serious." The Rockets' main worry now is that Yao's 10-day layoff will lengthen. "But there are a lot of people addicted to their exercise where being off 10 days is a big deal, too," Hoekman says. Black toe and other injuries can even be a good thing, under the right circumstances. The Houston Master Sports Association sponsors an Ugly Feet contest every summer. Cooley, who is 56, placed second last year. Winners used to receive a pedicure, but Cooley says the club has since gotten smart. "Now we award socks, to cover them up." http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4252809.html
Ok fair enough, not the whole bench is over-hyped. But we both know that 1/3 of the people on this board expect JLIII to be the back-up point guard for a playoff team this year, and he sure can't shoot like that and do us any good. Another 1/3 expect the same out of V-Span and my arguement remains the same. Novak has already touted the #8 impact rookie by some media outlets, and also how been called something like, 'one of the best shooters I've ever played with' by an All-Star forward. I mean c'mon, you can't tell me that those 3 aren't over-hyped. I also don't see this as such a terrible rant though. I mean what did he say that wasn't true? His biggest points were essentially that they played bad in the second half, that they didn't play as well as they're capable of, and that they still have a chance to make the team. I really think that's a 3 part arguement for them to wake up and start playing, or expect to get cut, which is a common medium of motivation for many proffessional athletes.
Does Casey Jacobsen really think he's going to get a few regular-season games to see how he plays with the team? Even though he was somewhat better than Azubuike, Haryasz, and Padgett, he was still awful. He better turn it on now, or he'll never make it to the regular-season.
My flashback was the '95-'96 season with so many injuries and Horry punched his ticket out of town when he would not or could not rise up and lead the coillection of benchies and CBAers. Horry evolved into a fine complementary piece, but after proving he was not a prime piece. These guys, and I think JVG was targeting Billy and Johnny, need to take over when they have to, at least in terms of leadership and decision making, execution...
Old Man Rock, Seriously dude, I think maybe you read too much into this article. Exactly where does he call someone out in public without saying something positive about them as well. First off, I agree with everything he said. Secondly, if one of our 2nd half newbies has a problem with anything he said, I'd consider that a big mistake on that players part. I'd consider that one stupid professional player trying to make a squad. As a coach, I be tempted to cut him if I could for being so thin skinned. Most of those players will bounce back out of shear pride and competitiveness; you'd be really stupid being the one who got his feelings hurt like some 10-12yr old who you coached.
He's attempting to display confidence. Would you want him to throw up his hands and throw in the towel? You have to have that mindset, IMO, or you've lost before you started. Don't know if he'll make the team, but he's saying the right things. Agree that he needs to turn it up on the court. And we don't know how he's doing in practice.
I agree with you here. I always saw lucas as the third stringer; however, billy didn't play as well as I thought, but he will get better. It doesn't seem like he's ready to be the back-up point yet, unless he makes major tweaks in his game by opening night. As of right now he is a turnover machine, but his passing is definitely refreshing. My guess is he'll be ready soon, but until then head will have to play the 1, with T-mac at point forward; Rafer would probably get heavy minutes until one of those two prove themselves. Yeah...maybe he's a little over-hyped with the #8 rookie projection, but he certainly has the capabilities. The sweetest stroke I have ever seen. And yes, Novak may well be the best shooter t-mac has ever played with. That doesn't mean he will get rotational minutes. T-mac just commented on his shooting ability, and nothing else.
True, he displayed alot of confidence--He even called the play once, but that's all he had going for him. He did not show his excellent shooting ability that we brought him here to do. In fact....none of our "shooters", excluding Novak, did. I mean that percentage was horrible.
Old Man Rock glad to see you didn't overreact too much....jeezzz I don't see anything wrong with what he said, it's training camp, these guys should be fighting for spots on the roster, they played terrible in the 2nd half of that game, end of story
I understand where he is coming from. Yeah, it is just the first game of preseason and they were thrown to the wolves, so it's no big deal. But still, it's the tone. When you've seen this from JVG for the last 2 years, it just gets old. The Luther performance last year was one. And he was always putting down JBarry because of his horrible D and never giving him credit for the spark, energy, and good decision making and shot making that JBarry gave us. I think most of us have probably had bosses/managers at work that pulled this crap enough times that no matter how much you like the guy/gal, you'd like to deliver a swift kick to the derrier when they walk away from you. You know they are just trying to motivate and you'd like to tell them so much how much they are demotivating you by griping. Gimmeabreak. I'm glad he's honest. It's what he doesn't say more than what he does say. He can make all the statements that he made but he should cushion it with, "These kids are young, this is their first preseason game, Billy wasn't even in the country until a couple weeks ago, so they just haven't had enough time yet. And I kind of thought it would look this way.". You know, all the things that we already know. We all know how ridiculous it would be for them to trade JLIII or VSpan or Head for any PG that would be available. And we all know how ridiculous it would be for them to sign some scrap heap 41-year-old PG that has been retired for 4 years and to actually play that guy this season in front of JLIII and VSpan. We already seen enough of that last year to know it won't work. Somebody mentioned a Head for Duhon trade in another thread. That's about the only trade that I have seen for a PG that would make any sense. And I'm sorry, but I don't see Chicago doing that deal. There just isn't anybody out there right now. Any serious basketball fan knows that, so we know JVG is just yacking kinda like the boss at the office is yacking when they are threatening that they are going to have to change things, lay somebody off, etc. etc. etc. when all the while we know and they know they ain't got anybody better.
HP, it's not just about the article it's so much more. He started the off season right. He was saying all the right things. But then he went through a series of stupid or needless comments. And before anyone goes into I am just a JVG hater well let me just say I don't want to be. I am Rockets fan first and foremost. I started following them back when they were in San Diego after they drafted the Big E. I have dilligently followed the team ever since and have never once disliked a Rockets coach. I liked Chaney although I thought he wasn't the best basketball mind. I liked Fitch although I thought he was a bit inflexible. I like Nissalke, Harris hell I am even remember liking Johnny Egan. And of course I loved Rudy and think most of this forum underrates him. I'll even concede that that was part of my dislike for JVG in the beginning. I just didn't think he was close to Rudy as a coach. But that is not the case now. The Rockets are my team and he is there coach. I always root for them to win and no matter who the coach is would never root for them to lose. And I know if they win it is a reflection on him. I also know in all likelihood JVG is here for a while. He is well liked by TMac who has alot of sayso. SO if JVG can make it into the second round this year he will be back for at least another year and if he makes it further he'll probably get an extension. So it behooves me to like this coach and believe it or not I want to like JVG! But he just keeps doing and saying things that annoy me. Last week it the shoes suck this week its the scrubs suck. Also why does he have to close practices to all when almost everyone in the league allows some form of media in practice. Does he think he has some secret scheme that no scout is going to see in the preseason games, maybe he thinks the media will disrupt the practice. If so there are ways to control. What I think it is he is weary of the judgement of the style of his coaching in camp. It's not so much what he says it's they way he says it. For instance if he truly felt Reebok's shoe was at fault, why not get on the phone with Yao and them and talk about it. He might find that they are very open to discussion. But instead he chooses to call them up in the media and immediately puts them on the defensive. What does this accomplish accept to make enemies and IMO opinion disrespect Yao. I am abusiness owner and sell a hi-tech product that takes my customers time to learn how to operate. I try my best to make that learning as painless as possible by well documenting my product and offering thorough tutorials. Still many of my clients fall short of learning everything from the info provided and inevitably call in for tech support. Most call in very courteous and eager to learn and I go out of my way to assist them. But others call in with a negative attitude and while I will still try to assist them I can assure they are only getting the minimum amount of my time. If they treat me with respect they get it back. Doesn't JVG get that. Don't demand respect that you haven't earned but rather treat his players with respect and he will get it back and more importantly than that treat them as equals. Don't scream at Yao and Vspan and kiss TMac's ass. It doesn't create unity and doesn't create a team.
