[Chronicle] Van Gundy's frustrations spill into public setting

Just like Bowen, except ppl have unrealistic high expectations of him because of how he *used* to play and the size of his contract.

Problem is....Howard is old, lost a few steps, and never was terribly athletic in the first place....but you will rarely see him not give it everything he has left.

Problem again is....he aint got that much left...a decent jumpshot and smarts on the floor and the ability to provide some fire and leadership when others wont.

I have watched every second of every game as Im sure most of yall know...and I have noticed the things that many overlook, intentionally or not, that he gets damn near zero credit for around here.

on a side note: I can always tell a astute observor of the game when he gives credit to the players for the little things they do that dont show on the stat sheet.
Unfortuntely...the number of folks around here that notice the little things diminishes more and more every day.

anyway....VG appreciates hustle and desire more than anything else, and normally when he talks about lack of desire...the proof is on the court...EVERY TIME. It is as obvious as the nose on your face.

Howard and Bowen give it all they have more than anyone else on this team...bar none

I appreciate their play for that fact alone.

on another side note...I dont know why I bother with this response..guess it is more of a rant than anything else. This forum needs a HUGE dose of Prozac.

 

i won't go so far as to say that i "like juwan", because i truly believe that if juwan howard is your starter, your team is not going to make it all the way. i just can see the role that he plays on this team, at this time.

juwan = stopgap.
juwan's contract = stupid gm

add those up and you'll see that we need an upgrade.


when jvg says that we are "uninspirable", he is right. dead on right. how many plays per game do you actually get pumped up? i'm talking jump out of your seat "ooooooohhhh daayaaammm!!!" plays? not many, unless you're the purist of all die-hards that gets excited by any positive rocket play. nothing wrong with being that way, mind you. now, how many plays happen when our bench jumps up and gets crunk? not many. that, imo, is what jvg is referring to.

juwan doesn't necessarily provide that jump up and down moments either, but he does put the teeth in the old rockets ship. lest you forget, we jettisoned that silly cartoonish mockery.......

 

Just a question? Are we sure its not something he either isnt doing or doing as the coach?

I mean he can rip the team all day long but NONE of this falls on him? He can never motivate the team? Never?

 

simple

he has been successful in the past in getting more out of what talent he has than he has any right to, so until I see other facts that fit into the theory it is due to a mistake in his part..I give him the benefit of the doubt. I have also never heard it said ANYWHERE that he does not do eveything it takes to prepare his players for the games...no rumors...no public talk....nothing.
Thee is only so much preperation you can do for a game from a coaches standpoint...the rest of it(the execution) is up to the players.

These guys should take pride in playing hard...they are professionals for christs sake...you are getting paid to care about winning, play like it.

 

Howard's game is on the decline - what exactly do you want him to do? Go out there and score 25 and grab 10 rebs a night? When it came time for him to be the go-to guy on this team with Yao and TMac out, he stepped up and played at nearly a star level. Your question shouldn't be why is Howard still playing if he's so bad, but rather why is it Stromile can't get minutes when Howard is so bad? Because Stromile sucks and I honestly believe JVG is trying to get him to focus on both ends of the court... for one of the frew times this season, I saw defensive intensity from Stro in this last game. If he can combine that with his usual 1 or 2 highlights per game as well as defend and not miss assignments, we have our new PF. JVG will sure let him get more minutes. Until then, Howard with a smattering of Chuck Hayes it is...

 

You Juwan defenders are really hilarious.

I DO NOT CARE that Juwan gives it his all every night. That is not a reason why he should be starting for the Rockets, or even playing for this team. Him "giving it his all" doesn't make him a good player. He is not a good fit for this team, and even our freaking head coach doesn't see that, which is shameful. I've lost some respect for JVG because he thinks Howard is an important piece to the team.

JVG is one of those guys that works too hard, and not smart enough. Juwan Howard is the worst of the 3 power forwards we have, yet he starts. Ridiculous.

Juwan Howard is not a tough guy. He does not provide the Rockets with a mean streak. In order to be be tough, one has to rebound. Howard doesn't rebound. He's not a good defender. All Juwan does is ACT like a tough guy a times with the occasional hard foul. Charles Oakley in his heydey was tough, Najera is tough. Chuck Hayes is tougher than Howard.

It's really frustrating as a Rockets fan that Juwan gets a pass from some of you just because he "gives it his all." I'd give it my all too if I played for the Rockets.

Bottom line is that, if you really think a team with Juwan Howard playing a prominent role on it will ever win a championship or even reach the Finals, well, I feel sorry for you.

The Rockets need to cut Juwan in the offseason if they can't trade him. He's got three years left on his deal. Eat his salary. McGrady and Yao are entering the prime of their careers and the Rockets don't need an over-the-hill, non physical 4 that will only stunt the team's progress.

 

Switch all players to a commission based income. They win they get paid, they lose they don't
We sure as hell wouldn't be 26-33 even with all the injuries we've had.

An interesting note - I read a book about Red Auerbach a few years ago and he said they deliberately set their payers salaries where the players actually needed the playoff money to survive. You see how well his teams were motivated and thus played.

 

Exactamundo!!!!!

It's not the lack of talent that bothers me about Juwan the most. It's his lack of HUSTLE.

I have seen him countless times just let the defender waltz to the basket. How's is that hustling!?!

Blocked shots is part of hustle. How many does he have as a front court player?? If he truly hustles he can get a few. As of right now he has practically none this season.

He gets outhustled for rebounds by people who are smaller than him. Once again, I bring a key stat. He averages about the same amount of rebounds per game as Hayes while Hayes plays half as much. HOW IS THAT IF JUWAN IS HUSTLING.

So, what are the little things he does?!?! Please do elaborate on that. Cause he sure as hell does not get the steals and rebounds, and in spite of being a PF, he is a terrible rebounder.

For the record, I watch every second of every game too. And I DO SEE the lack of hustle of Juwan's part, as do quiet a few others on this board.

If Swift and hayes havent done anything to earn the Starting spot and more minutes at PF, Juwan certainly hasnt earned a right to retain it. Simple favourtism on JVG's part. Doesnt suprise me though. Neither Juwan, nor JVG have ever won anything.

 

JB, Zboy, I think the two of you are missing the point. You SHOULD CARE that he's giving it every night. Watching Swift look lost out on the court is painful. It is extremely frustrating to know that he has all the talent in the world but can't put it together. We have potentially the answer we need right there and he just can't 'get it'.

I'll make it simple: Howard just isn't that good.

Better than Bowen, yeah, but Bowen is downright horrible. You don't see Howard 'hustle'..because he can't. What you're seeing is all the hustle he has. He gives the effort, but doesn't have the talent. Not as extreme a case as Bowen, but you get the point.

JVG seems to be playing Bowen in particular - and Howard in addition - because they are trying out there. Howard, I imagine, is simply doing everything JVG asks of him. And nothing else...because he can't. What's sad is that if Swift would just do the same Swift would be outstanding. Hayes, I do agree, I'd like to see more; but Hayes is also still a rookie. It seems like he has yet to get plays and defensive assignments down. I'd love for him to be out there more, though.

Howard is hardly more than a role player, that's true. But to fault him for giving whatever he has left to give is wrong.

If some of the other guys could just do the same, we'd be a hell of a lot better team. And we wouldn't need to play Juwon Howard as much.

 

I really don't need to post in this thread... you and R2K say pretty much all that needs sayin'. Typing, "I agree!" gets a little old!

 

JVG is such a horrible coach. He needs to fix his team (that's a coaches job) and stop whining to the media.

 

Although, they are both bad apples, I'd rather have a clueless Swift on the court than Howard. I'd say start Swift, then play Hayes back-up minutes. That's 12 fouls to give right there. Howard can ride the pine.

All I know is that the Rockets went 12-5 after Juwans last game in 04-05. That's a higher winning percentage that at any time Juwan was playing. The Rockets are a better team without JH.

 

Ummm Swift gave us a GREAT two weeks before his injury and then probably had his best game a Rox the first game back from injury. Then he got 8 mins the next night, and zero the following. Explain the LUNACY in that, and how it goes to debunk the thinking that all SS needs to do is turn the corner for several games. A few games ago, he had a great game again in about 25 mins...just to have his time cut to 16 mins (best I can remember without looking it up) the next night. The only reason SS cant get several weeks of good play is simple............JVGs absolute refusal to allow SS to have a great streak.


I dont care what you J HO guys are trying to sell. LOOK AT THE NUMBERS. The Rox are a much much much worse team when J HO is on the floor. NUFF said. You cant argue it, you cant discredit it, you cant apologize for it. Now look at J HO's Hustle stats. Steals, Blocks, and Rebounds. And I cant imagine how anyone could have the balls to claim that J HO is hustling more then the next guy. The dude has a whopping 5 blocks this season. With a stong side defender who is 7'6". Thats appaling.

Get this through your heads. The Rox are less productive and lose more when J Ho is on the floor. Take your hustle and stuff that in the "I dont care if we win or not, just hutle baby" bags.

 

He doesn't have to start, but Swift MUST get the majority minutes alongside Yao.

It seems like Howard plays better on offense when both/either Yao or McGrady don't play, so may be he's better utilized in that fashion?

Stro has been playing great for a while now, not just a game or two (but last two games especially he's inspired improbable comebacks to win two games).

 

I like Howard, too.

He's decent. That's it. On a team with any depth, he'd be a decent option off the bench to hit a few 16-foot jumpers when the other team is packing the middle.

But we don't have anyone better. Swift is a terrible, terrible basketball player. He has absolutely no understanding of how to play the game. He doesn't even play hard, generally. And pointing to a couple of highlight plays every game doesn't change that.

Juwan is what we've got. That's not an ideal situation, but there's no reason to attack a player who not only contributes, but would contribute on a good team, albeit in a lesser role.

 

Don't even try to reason any more. The Stro lovers have their minds made up. They know more than JVG. Stro must start. JH is bad for the team. All we can hope for is at least one of the 2 PFs steps up each game as we play out the season.