ClutchFans Game Thread: Nuggets @ Rockets 1/20/2007

Do you honestly think that he wouldn't play someone better if he thought they were better? His job is depending on this year. I don't think he is that stupid to stick with someone who he doesn't think can do the job. I just think he feels he doesn't have a better option.

 

I KNEW IT
JVG only talking about lack of defensive effort and the Rockets "getting what they deserved" cuz of it.....

 

Rafer + Tmac + Head - Bonzi = Lost!
JVG was not happy about Rafer either, we don't have another pg to push the ball. Tmac just doesnt care about winning. He's trying to hide in Denver's defense! He doesnt even want to take control.

 

I agree, but I do wonder if Bonzi has the stamina to play extended minutes, given that his playing time has been so sporadic this season.

 

thanks...thats what my thread "JVG: hes to blame is all about....stupid JVG decisions

 

I just saw JVG saying that the lack of effort started in the first half. I agree. However, my question would be, then, why the heck does he not react and pull the players he thinks are not playing hard enough? How much on the blame is on yourself for this game, JVG?

 

I'm sorry but his stats has nothing to do with his effort at the end of the game you dont play to put up great stats you to play to WIN and tmac absolutely did not want to win tonite and thats the issue nothing else

 

"Interview with Houston fans, feel like they've been deceived by Rockets."

AP link

When the Houston NBA franchise brought in Jeff Van Gundy, the team's loyal fan base figured it was a good sign of better things to come.

With the defensive mindset, and a couple of trips both as an assistant and a head coach under his belt, Van Gundy seemed to be a promising prospect to right the waining ship. Not so.

In what has been every season to this point, the fans have started to notice a discouraging trend. Van Gundy seems to not play any of the players he has not had a hand in bringing on board, thus limited the potential for some possible diamonds in the rough to be discovered.

You'd think that the upper management wouldn't let Van Gundy get away with ignoring the fact that they may know a little bit about what they're doing. After all, Rockets GM Carrol Dawson was a coaching assistant on the bench under Rudy Tomjanovich during the teams first title run in the 1993-1994 season... the self-same season that Jeff Van Gundy was on the losing side as an assistant to the New York Knicks' Pat Riley.

Perhaps there is a deep seeded resentment to Dawson in Van Gundy's sub conscience. Perhaps indeed.

Or it could be that the tenacity that once produced the image of a small Van Gundy nipping at the leg of a much larger Alonzo Mourning in an on-court brawl against his beloved Knicks was mistaken for real heart. The kind of heart it takes to dip below a 7 man rotation while the bench holds 12. The kind of heart that is often mistaken for courage, or in the case of sports, coaching genius. The kind of heart that Champions have.

The fact that Jeff Van Gundy has never been a champion at any level is something to ponder. And maybe, just maybe the underlying cause is starting to be revealed. Maybe Van Gundy is just tenacious about preserving self image.

That tenacity in itself will not make anyone a champion.

"I know I feel like I was deceived by the Rockets. They brought JVG in to win a title," said 'IROC it' of the Clutchfans.net BBS, "Maybe we should have went with the gut feeling we had when we saw his record for championship games and not expected anything but smoke and mirrors."

With the team now facing back-to-back seasons of injury woes from the team's stars, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady and point guard worries deluxe... the fans long for the days of back-to-back titles and point guard wows, like those of veteran Kenny Smith and rookie sensation Sam Cassell.

Cassell, by the way, started the season riding the bench... sitting next to Carrol Dawson. "CD" as they call him has had a knack for spotting "seated talent" for quite some time. Too bad Van Gundy has a point to prove and appears unwilling to let the past go.

But hey, he's got heart. Just not the kind champions have. That seems to be reserved for the likes of Rudy T. At least when it comes to the Rockets' head coaching position.

We hear you IROC, we feel the same way.

 

A good coach mixes and matches when things arent working. when you see rafer is'nt working, stick tracy at the point and play Bonzi at the SF..

 

Yes, JVG's personal agendas are annoying. Question will Les encourage this by giving JVG a contract extension??

 

yea thats true i know john lucas went 3 for 13 last game but when he gets in the game the energy level is never a question he should have played

 

This is a very bad loss. It is too difficult to watch Rafer's player on the court, he is just not smart enough for a PG. He can make some good playes, then he thinks he is a superman, he will try to do too much untill it proves he is stupid.

 

I missed the OT (maybe a good thing) but saw enough of Rafer in regulation to nearly vomit. I guess JL3 has played his way completely out of the rotation so the answer is to trot Rafer out there for 40 minutes now matter how much he stinks.

Late last season, when Rafer would flake-out and leave planet Earth, JVG would sometimes sit him in close games and let Luther finish at PG. Why he didn't do that tonight is beyond me. The 3rd airball runner should have banished him for the rest of the game.

Rafer should be forced to look at 24 straight hours of film showing AI penetrating and then finishing or dishing. Why Rafer leaves his feet 6-7 feet from the basket will be a mystery that dies with him. Why JVG doesn't hold him accountable will die a secret with JVG. Rafer just doesn't have the basketball IQ we need at PG. If he would play smarter, it could possibly work.

My hope is this loss will be the bottom the team needs to hit and force some changes. We could have a silver lining. I think JVG & the Rockets brass have to know that Yao coming back won't solve Rafer's problems (nor Chuck's).

 

JvG- 'Win Now' at all costs senario, lack of players being creative, due to strick play as I say by the coach,the only creative player who played for the Rockets to-night was Bonzi Wells.Due to the lack of creative play, teams know just how to set up to defend and increase our deficiencies. Coach overplaying his starters Alston 40mins, Mutombo 38mins, Howard 42 mins. McG 43 mins, battier 43 mins [incl overtime] and underplaying his back up players.+ Mediocre game by Mc Grady. Rockets win few games when they try to outscore their opponents and especially when they forget their defensive stratergy. Chuck's defence seems limited to fouling - he is one of the players that JVG plays because he likes his work ethics.

 

I love the way Rafer play, follow the coach order, shoot the ball and being aggressive and defend hard. He even tried to defend the 3 pt line, fouled 3 pt shooters twice. Cant blame Rafer to be a JVG's pet. Both coach and player are at the same level.

 

It just came down to Alston and Tmac. Rafer kept shooting, which just killed this team, and he made so many mental mistakes i lost count. Tmac choked big time and stopped driving. Only 4 ft's again, just horrible. Bonzi coming out was all JVG's fault, he was being aggressive, driving to the hole. Tmac was extremely unclutch tonnight, he definitely is the major reason we lost, along with Reefer

 

But didnt he play him at all in the OT. dude didnt look all that tierd when he was dragged with 6 minutes still left in the 4th.

 

The entire team quit tonight. There was no one else availible.

Van Gundy is dangerously close to stepping over the line with his insistence on keeping Wells and Snyder on the bench. McGrady has been carrying the Rockets, but he ran out of gas in the second half. JVG needs to realize that he cannot continue to rely on one person to provide offense for this team. Howard has done an excellent job since moving into the starting lineup. The Rockets must have a third scorer to go with McGrady and Howard. Wells seems best suited to fill that role, but Van Gundy refuses to budge on this issue.

 

he told the truth as much as u hate jvg they got what they deserved it starts from the top and i'm not talking about the coach i'm talking about tmac

 

Exactly! Isn't JVG always preaching the guys who practice hard get to play. Does that rule only apply to practice because the guys he played tonight didn't get the job done.

Use your bench Jeff that what they are for. Maybe one of those guys sitting was the key to victory tonight. Unfortunately we'll never know now.