It wasn't Avery's fault. Most teams call a timeout after a score with less than a minute. If the Rockets wouldve called a timeout, Johnson wouldve ordered the double team. The Rockets really did surprise the Mavs. Yao set the screen and Van Horn had a brain cramp - which is the reason he's been traded a million times.
I'm not even a Mavs fan and I blame him, the guy is soft. Foot speed, the guy has no basketball IQ, he should have seen that play coming. Nine out of ten times when Yao sets that high screen 21' feet out, T-Mac shoots the jumper, KVH needed to be at the spot to contest the shot.
I've been wondering how AJ got a head coaching job so quickly. He jumped from player to head coach in, what, a year? Year and a half? WHY? Just because he expressed an interest in it?!? Man, that is VERY flawed reasoning. There are dozens of guys out there with a lot of bench experience who would've made a better coach that AJ. Don Nelson and Mark Cuban made a terrible decision and I bet they're already regretting it. Seriously, you don't give someone a head coaching spot just because he WANTS one. You give it to someone with the right amount of experience, knowledge, management skills, and intangibles to hopefully get the job done right. AJ might be a great guy, but handing him the head coaching job on a silver platter was just a dumb, DUMB decision.
I have to admit that I had serious doubts about Gumby but I was proven wrong, wrong, wrong about him. And I am very glad that has happened! What kills me is all I heard from the "so-called" experts was how hard it was going to be for the Rockets to stop Dirk. None of them really mentioned that the Mavericks would have to stop TMac. And of course, there was NO mention about the coaching matchup. 16-2 or whatever was a nice little run for AJ but that was the regular season. Playoffs are on a whole another level and he is painfully finding that out now, much to our glee.
You'd think end of game double teams on McGrady would be something they covered in practice... shouldn't need a timeout and a chalkboard to draw that up.
Cuban just fell in love with him and bumped Nelson son and mad Avery the coach. It's Cuban, you figure it out. I defended JVG at the start of the season and told everyone to be patient because the guys a winner, nice to see everyone finally come around.
On that last play Avery said he instructed the Mavs all night long to trap on screens, he said that time they didn't, basically blamed KVH. Hmm... Can the Mavs PLEASE stop saying that they're focusing on DEFENSE, they're still subbing offense for defense everytime the going gets tough, it's the same damn Mavs from years ago. Van Horn for Dampier? Same old, same old, trying to win with offense.
Not according to all the great sportwriters.... I told a friend of mine before this series started that the Mavs defense was massively overrated and that they were totally drinking their own koolaid. The Mavs hadn't played a team like the Rockets on their winning streak, mean while we were beating the cream of the crop. The Mavs were paper "champions" and it's starting to show.
Im sure they talked about it. That's how they built their lead, by doubling McGrady and leaving Bowen alone. It wasn't a foreign strategy. We just caught them off guard and Van Horn just screwed up. Avery Johnson couldnt say "Yeah, Van Horn is an idiot and he didn't do what we've done throughout the entire game". I remember when Steve Francis would make some bonehead play and Rudy looked he was about to have a heart attack. Johnson was smart to go to a small lineup with Josh Howard and then leaving Bowen alone and trapping. That worked very well until Van Gundy made his adjustment to bring Sura in. At the end, we were just a little more clever than them and Van Horn missed his assignment. That wasn;t Avery Johnson's fault.
Avery made some good coaching decisions in this game and it almost paid off for him. But that last play was classic, and Jeff you nailed why. Avery’s answer in the post-game interview was, “we wanted to trap in that situation, but we forgot to do it.” If he’d had a time out to remind his team what to do... Nah, probably wouldn’t have made a difference. Van Gundy Rocks!
Exactly. I'm just glad to have a team that really does focus on defense FIRST, and doesn't worry about having FIVE offensive weapons on the floor at the same time. Don't they know that the game is played with ONE ball?
JVG- Came in and gave RudyT all the props and love in the world, said he was a legend and a great coach. .. And Gundy meant every word of it. He is a man that has integrity and honesty. He didn't trash Steve, he just knew we had to make a change. He praises his team without overlooking the areas they must elevate to be champions. He is super high BB smart He pushes to get the very best out of each player. He expects alot because he sincerely wants his players to become all they can be. He will mold Yao and TMac to greatness. He never did anything but defend Yao and TMac all season. And he gave the humble props to Carroll Dawson for his work. We got the right man for Clutch City. He must become a Texan, JVG- get you a cowboy hat and some boots and sit a spell.
Asking your star player in advance whether to call a timeout or not. No way a rookie coach like AJ would do that. The rookie coach calls the timeout so he can "coach" the final play. The veteran coach understands that sometimes, coaching means figuring out when you need to "coach" and when you don't.
Im sure most veteran coaches wouldve called a timout as well. I wouldnt blame Johnson as much as I'd praise Van Gundy. Van Gundy's move was clever.
I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't a JVG fan at the beginning of the season. I thought his use of Yao on perimeter defense is ridiculous and his half-court offensive sets were too predictable. *eats crow* I agree with RIET. AJ is not a bad coach. His traps confused the Rox a bit in the third quarter and he responded well to Yao's offense by going small. The problem is that the Mavs as a team just doesn't have that killer instinct. KVH looked really scared out there.
We're not at the frontier anymore, the days of trail blazing and cow hearding have been over for a long time now. I am sick of everyone refering to "Cowboys" when thinking of Texas and Houston. Get him some Fubu gear and some bling bling or something
Not many veteran coaches give up that 'coaching op', either. I give JVG great props for doing ... nada. And everything. JVG's teams are always well prepared.
Beyond the Xs & Os, I really get the sense that JVG's players respect him and each other. I rarely (if ever) hear Rox players mouthing off to the media about not getting minutes or shots. A lot of it has to do with the fact that our two star players are such humble guys. Like Stockton and Malone, Yao and Tracy really set a great example for the rest of the team. JVG also has a great personality. He doesn't engage in mind games against his players like Phil Jackson. He is just a straight up, stand up, dude. Hats off to him and the team.
Avery Johnson isn't being outcoached....his players are being outplayed, plain and simple. The only thing making the series somewhat competitive at all so far is rebounding. Johnson coached very well last night, made some smart strategic moves, etc. Sure, he could be questioned for a few things, but then, how many times should Dampier get a free dunk with Jon Barry guarding him before making a change? You can't adjust to everything all the time. That's why both of these teams are in the playoffs, in the West, with such good records...they're good. Had the Rockets lost, and I know they didn't so why even talk about it, but, IF they had, this thread would have the same title, but different analysis. For a good part of the 2nd half, JVG was the one being outcoached.
