Van Gundy bears about 30 % of the blame but the players need to react, which they haven't. Van Gundy's style worked, I would say it a similar style to Bill Parcells and Bobby Knight. Those styles work when the player's understand what the coach is trying to accomplish. Ultimately, the player are just not getting the message. I would rate Van Gundy C+ this year and the players a D.
One thing that I think Van Gundy has yet to improve about this team is the amount of energy it takes for the Rockets to score. They get absolutely no easy baskets. Yao has to work extremely hard for every basket he gets. Steve’s body is just breaking down after all those hard hits to the floor. Cat and Jimmy are playing a ton of minutes and their bodies are taking a ton of punishment as well. The players are just running on fumes now. The team had the exact same problem last season. The players had to work like dogs most of the season on the offensive end and towards the end of the season they just pretty much threw in the towel because they were so exhausted from having to work so hard to score. This off-season the Rockets MUST find some more efficient players and hire an assistant coach to help design a more efficient offense.
These same players didn't play for Rudy, and now they aren't playing for JVG. But it is supposedly JVG's fault? JVG actually got this team playing defense, something Rudy could never do. But now that this team's back is up against the wall, they are on the brink of getting into the playoffs, they are collapsing. How is JVG going to stop these turnovers? The turnovers are so boneheaded, sometimes I think they are doing them on purpose. But anyway, the fact is this is on the players. If you want proof of the effect of the coaching this year, don't forget that Rox were close to last in defense last year, but #1 in defense this year. Right now, Yao has picked a terrible time to go into a slump and the Rox picked a terrible time to stop playing defense and team ball. All of that is on the players.
Its not JVGs fault that francis gets schooled by the speedy calton's of the world or that steve cant hit an open jumper. He cant make Yao more agressive, or he cant play defense for team. JVG doesnt need to be a motivator, this team should so that themselves especially since they havent made the playoffs in 5 years. This team has no will or heart to become a contender, i blame it all on the players.
JVG has done wonders with our defense, no one can argue with that, but what price did we pay for this D. Our offense is almost unbarable to watch. Who would ever of thought that Yao Ming, Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Jim Jackson, Maurice Taylor, Pike, would have trouble scoring 80ppg. Our fastbreaks have gone absolutely obsolete. Last in the NBA! I'm not saying JVG is a bad coach, but I am saying that CD and Les may have made a wrong decision. JVGs style of play isn't going to cut it in the West, period. Look at our record East vs. West, and it will tell you everything. JVG is an eastern style coach that wants defense, but the west is a high powered-must score conference. Now that the guys know how to play defense, we should bring back Rudy.
JVG type players are unselfish, have a decent basketball IQ, are willing to hustle on EVERY play, and most importantly, follow instructions. It's not a matter of who, but more of what.
He's had an up and down year as a coach, but he's not turning over the ball and shooting bricks... I think this team needs to be broken up, with the exception of Yao...No discipline, and lack of respect for any coach we have here...
If by 'close to last', you mean in the top 5, then you're right. One has to wonder where they'd be this year had Kelvin Cato not started most of the games.
That's EVERY coach's type of player. Do you know a coach who prefers selfish, dumb, lazy guys who don't listen?
Sorry, but the Rockets are scoring 89.42 ppg per game, last year the Rockets scored 93.8 points. The Rockets scored 4.4 points less than last year. Defensively, the Rockets allowed 92.3 per game last year, and only 87.75 this year, despite missing their key defesive player Kelvin Cato for 10 games, during which the opponents scored 10 more points each game. The Rockets hold the opponents to 4.8 points less than last year if the season ends today. Therefore the Rockets have 0.4 point advantage over last year while facing tougher competition in the west.
Agreed. But 'selfish, dumb, lazy guys who don't listen' are the type of players WE have. Until JVG gets the type that 'EVERY coach' wants, we won't go anywhere. That's my point.
Here is one that everyone love to use when addressing the players: No Excuses! Give me results! Where is the result? Don't give me this "oh, our defense is better and is near the top of the league". What has that netted us? Barely hanging on to playoff hopes. You call this "good" result???!!! You could have the best sales slogan and the funniest ad for your product, but if it doesn't help to sell more product, guess what... you failed! I'm not calling for JVG's head, but it's mind-boggling to hear that he has done a good job. He was brought in to win now and go further in the future. Well, we are not winning NOW. I still think JVG is a good coach, just not this season. I have no problem with him returning next season and I look forward to it. But bottom line is : Give me results. Again, I am not putting all the blame on the coach, but he & his staff have to shoulder some. There was a Troll here few weeks back that said Les is p!ssed with JVG. I don't agree with his assessment, but I doubt very much that Les is happy with the results that JVG has produce.
I judge the whole team with give me the results approach, it doesn't sound right to use this approach judging an individual in just one season- unless one wants to argue that if the Rockets miss the playoffs this year, then Yao Ming has done more bad than good overall.
Huh? We were #6 in points allowed and #5 in fg% allowed last year. That's "close to last"? Rudy could NEVER get this team to play defense? Please get your facts straight. And FYI, we are not #1 this year either. We are #4 in points allowed. We are #1 in fg% allowed but #26 in 3pt fg% allowed. Not exactly #1 defense.
And have Eddie Griffin start instead like Rudy had? I'd say, MUCH more improved. Rudy's gone. Life. Goes. On.
Tough call. JVG is a good coach. He wants accountability from his players, and he won't get that from Steve and Cuttino and Mo. To some degree, yes, they realize they have a job to do, but reading their excuses in the Chron all year pi$$ed me off to no end (I'm preaching to the choir here) because the team threw away so many winnable games and didn't seem to get upset about it. Not enough, anyway. Looking at the end of the schedule, they should have known: Gotta get some wins in the bank. Now all those Seattle games, those Denver games, those choke-losses to Western teams, that horrific week of the Super Bowl, it's all coming back to haunt us if we don't manage to squeak into the playoffs. Especially given that we were reasonably healthy most of the season (that's haunting us now, too). And don't get me started on how the team quit two weeks ago, thinking the playoffs are a lock, given how all the other teams (Utah, Denver, Portland) stepped it up a bit, needing every possible win to secure their spot. I can't blame JVG for expecting our point guard not to turn it over every other time he touches the ball or for our center to suddenly become un-Chinese and grow titanium balls rather than petulantly look at the refs when he doesn't get the whistle. We're looking for a gut-check here. If this is a test of character, the Rockets would be the equivalent of a one-man play, and we're looking for "War and Peace."
Okay my stats are off, but its obviously that our offense is losing us games. We depend on D to start of offense, but our offense is unable to jumpstart itself. No matter what the stats are, we have the worst record in facing the west and one of the best in facing the east. And it's not a suprise to me, but unless JVG finds a way to get our offense going, this defense only thing isn't going to work, period.
