That was the key move of the game there late in the fourth. They kept rotating off Bowen, so he puts Bobby out there with the understanding that they will probably rotate off Bobby, which they do, and Bobby ends up getting and hitting some wide open threes and really kind of switched the momentum around. That move was big. edit: Just saw your post Mack. Thats exactly what happened. great move by JVG.
Avery's got lots of talent to work with, and they're falling short. And it's not like the Rockets are hitting lots of contested shots, these are open jumpers and dunks/layups. Granted off of good ball movement, but still... If his message isn't getting through, then they either need a new coach or new players.
EXACTLY right. One team is contesting shots. One team really isn't. It's not like Avery is working with scrubs....but he is working with guys who are limited defensively. But that's something that can be worked on. I won't throw this at Avery, though. I'll throw it at Nellie. THE MOST OVERRATED COACH IN ANY SPORT!!!! Bar none. Seriously.
He has talented players but they're all on the offensive end. Stackhouse, Van Horn, Finley, Terry, and Dirk can be coached to become decent defensive players but scoring is ingrained in their nature. You can have 1 or 2 weak defenders but not 3 or 4. This team is not built to win playoff basketball. They need 2 more Josh Howard's.
thats coaching too.. he asked tmac what his opinion was.. and jvg decided it was a good idea and let mcgrady run the show.. so it all started with him asking tmac and giving the green light..
and did you get the sense AJ was seriously overcoaching in the first half??? particularly the first quarter?? the substitutions came fast and furious...and the Rocks still had their starters in with about 2 mins to go in the 1st quarter, with no subs in yet. there was a sense of confidence and composure in that which i loved. damn i love this team!!!!!
I agree with that. Nellie is a bad coach because he believes his own hype. He really is an inventive guy offensively - Run TMC was a fun Warriors team to watch, and he knew how to create and exploit mismatches. But for whatever reason he had no interest in defense, his teams had no interest in defense, and that's what doomed every team he's coached.
Nellie is a great talent evaluator but is too myopic to win championships. He had the eye to draft Nowitzki. He picked up Najera whose defensive toughness is now sorely missed. He found Josh Howard with the last pick in the 1st round. He found undrafted free-agent Marquis Daniels. Nellie would make a fantastic scout - probably much better than any of the Rockets current staff.
the winningest coach of all time in the most worthless regular season in all of sports congratulations. that and a quarter will get you a pack of gum.
I dont remember the exact timeline....but iirc, didnt the Bucks originally draft Dirk? and the Rockets drafted Najera....wonder if that trade was Nellie's idea or the Rockets? Nellie needs to be a offensive coordinator...let someone else run the team but use his offensive creativity.
As I have maintained since JVG was hired, his brand of basketball has problems in the regular season because it is geared towards the playoffs. Last year, the entire season was getting the team prepared to play well in the playoffs, which they did given the talent level. We were three total possessions away from winning three games in the playoffs last year. Unfortunately, we had players (one in particular) that had a low BBIQ and were unable to maximize possessions by executing well in the half court offense. This year, we are seeing a team that has totally bought into JVGs system, maximize their opportunities, minimize the mistakes, and most importantly, play outstanding team help defense. Our half court sets are run to perfection (for the most part), and we have players that are willing to shoulder the load by laying it all on the line every minute they are on the court. JVG is a big part of all that.
Do you really think that those guys can't play D? Or just don't? McGrady has a spotty defensive rep, but he's capable and has stepped up his defense tremendously. Ryan Bowen doesn't possess any particular defensive skills, he's all hustle and heart. I think most (not all) guys in the NBA are athletic and savvy enough to play at least average defense. Why couldn't Nowitzki and Finley be versatile defenders? Why can't Terry and Stack get back in transition? You should be able to build a defense around the shotblocking/rebounding of Dampier, the athleticism and long arms of Josh Howard, and 3 average to pretty good defenders.
Your memory is better than mine. The Bucks did draft Nowitzki but Nellie was smart enough to trade for him. I remember Nellie said Nowitzki was going to be the best player in that draft and people laughed at him, especially when Dirk was struggling his rookie season.
The Bucks drafted Nowitzki for the Mavs, as part of a draft-day trade for Tractor Trailer. That went well for them. The Najera deal was all about DaDakota's hero, Dan Langhi.
good point. defense is almost entirely effort. few people are born to be good defenders. good defenders are usually made.
I don't think you can transition from being a good scorer to being a good defender unless you're an elite player. McGrady, KG, Kobe, Shaq all have the athleticism to to be good even great defenders if they chose to. Players like Stackhouse, Finley, Terry, Van Horn even Nowitzki don't have the ability to make that transition, especially since they've honed their skills for years only on the offensive end. They can be decent one/one defenders but their biggest problem is an inability to play team defense. That comes with experience on spacing and playing with the same players for years. This team is more of a hodgepodge of ex all-stars thrown together. Luckily for us, our role players have always been role players who are just doing what theyve been doing, except now on a winning team. It took awhile to find the chemistry but we're now very very good. That's 2 steps removed for the Dallas players and too difficult at this stage of their careers.
