I agree with Morey when he says we will still be a top five defensive team. Watching chuck hayes man the 5 in the playoffs after yao went out really impressed me. He was everywhere, coming out on pick and roles, helping his team mates, shutting down the post, running down rebounds. The guy is a defensive force and more minutes for him and the addition of ariza will improve our defense. Landry has made alot of strides on the defensive end as well, and Lowry is a great defender and rebounder at the 1 position. Add Shane Battier to the mix and I'm not worried about our defense. Scoring will be the biggest issue as it usually is, especially now with Yao out. Its going to be interesting to see what Ariza can do when he's featured on offense, and I'm hoping mcgrady makes it back before december so we can have a guy who can run half court sets.
Of course I remember that, and this leads you to believe getting rid of JVG was Morey's call? Jeez...
JVG actually joined Morey's panel at his Sports Conference at MIT earlier this year. They seem to get along fine with eachother, and JVG went out of his way to praise the job Morey has done on national tv during the playoffs. My guess is it was mostly Les Alexander that wanted JVG gone. Morey seems to have a good relationship with him.
He also praised Les Alexander in those broadcasts as well. And some of the other guys like Mark Jackson were ribbing him about praising the people that fired him and he didn't bite. You have to consider the personality. This is the same guy that said his official friend told him Yao was being targeted for cheap fouls and mentioned the "secret" referee website all conspiracy theorists thought existed but didn't have proof. Then he totally backed off later. It would be unprecedented for him to get on the air and shred the organization that fired him and unprofessional to just hide from the mic whenever the subject comes up. I am sure ESPN wouldn't allow it, I am sure there was something in the contract because if he did that, it would bring bad press on ESPN. If he worked for TNT (I wish he did), then I say he gets away with it.
I still remember JVG as a New York coach. He would ALWAYS get pissed off. He kind of did as well as Rocket coach but man, he is such a great commentator. He seems really happy sometimes commentating.
Larry Riley and John Hammond are the best GMs in the league, because they outsmarted Morey to get Azubuike and Bogans. LOL
No doubt. Even though JVG jokes on air that Morey fired him, it was Les. Recall that Les was not a fan of JVG's slow offensive system and wanted a more "exciting" offense. Also, JVG not getting a new deal during the season ended up costing him.
