Van Gundy should do wonders for the Rockets. He had the Knicks playing at a very high level. And the Rockets are much more talented than JVG's Knick teams. He is going to improve Stevie's Defense. Houston as a whole should be much more improved defensively and they were pretty good last season. I'm a little concerned about what he can do on the offensive side. His New York teams were not known for their brilliant offense. But you can only work with what you go go. And the Knicks were not talented on offense. So only time will tell if he is an all around coac. The Rockets got a great young coach. He wants to be here he turned down 35 mil. Larry Brown would have been great but it would only be for a short time. JVG will be here for many years if he does his job. I'm very excited about JVG coming in. So yes we gained alot
Tell me the best player he had for more than one season that was 25 or under. It's not his fault the Knicks can't draft for ****.
for those who talk about Van Gundy quiting shut up!!!!!!!! you guys are so confused you don't even see it.
I wish the Rockets the best. the best thing that can happen is to bring in Elie as an asst. I hope Gundy proves me wrong but this is the Western Conference.
to be a competitive in the west, a real contender you need a big man. Shaq, Duncan, Malone, Garnett, Nowitski and oh wait... what is this??? Yao Ming, hey i think he's a great big man, in fact probably the 2nd best center in basketball.
I just hope NY Knicks does not ask for too much compensation for JVG. That will give anti-JVG fans more reasons to against JVG.
At best, Gundy is a lateral (which is what the original post was about). Who can disprove this using facts and not emotion or loyalties?
Great players win championships. Ducan Issiah Magic Bird Jordan Dream Shaq etc etc etc... If you dont have great player it is very difficult to win it all if not impossible. Houston Spree both nice players but far from great. Comparing a Rocket team that has Hakeem Olajuwon to a Knick team led by Spree and Houston is a very unfair matchup. JVG got the most out of his Knick teams. That what coaching is all about.
When the score of games are 70-68. Can't wait to play Sacor Dallas. Oh I forgot he Knows Defense. His style of play does not fit this team.
What if he can help the Rockets learn how to play defense against Sacramento or Dallas? What if he can also find a way to get the ball in the post to Yao Ming? BTW-The Knicks didn't average 70 ppg with him, more misinformed speaking.
The purpose of this topic is to see if the Rockets gained anything by firing Rudy and Hiring Van Gundy. I believe nothing was gained. If a Riley Brown or even a Phil Jackson that could be said as a gained. Lets wait and see.
Players play, coaches coach. The Rockets with Chaney as coach treaded water (despite having "the best player in the game" as someone alleges above). The next coach won 2 championships with many of the same players. Conclusion? The coaching change made a positive difference. I am willing to admit the Rockets added players with each team who contributed and drew some breaks, especially the Sonics losing in 93-94. But still, those of you unwilling to give Rudy any credit are living in your own private Idahos.
Did you forget who got the ball to Dream in the middle 30-40 times a game. Its not the coach its the players surrounding Ming. Kenny Smith,Cassell,Horry, and Elie fed the ball to Dream. They wanted to win there wasn't any egos. This team has egos and the way to change that is to get rid of the players not the coach.
I will give Gundy some credit for one thing. Anyone who agrees to be Spree's head coach must have at least some courage (or be completely stupid).
Thats funny. Guess who coached the Knicks after Van Gundy? Guess what his record has been? Don Chaney is a bad coach. Jeff Van Gundy is a good coach. But still, those of you unwilling to give Jeff any credit are living in your own private Idahos.
Personally, I think Rudy was an ordinary coach whom the players loved. But, I think Hakeem made him a great coach. Without Hakeem in his prime, Rudy would have been gone long ago. I know this probably won't be a popular point of view. His popularity did allow us to bring in Clyde, Barkley and Francis, but also some very bad GM/Coach decisions the last three years, out of desparation, have given us some bad players with big contracts we cannot unload. Cato had one pre-season game after Hakeem got hurt where he blocked a dozen shots and started foaming at the mouth. That game earned him a huge contract, but oddly he just disappeared until last year. I guess when some folks get a multi-million guaranteed contract makes it difficult to bust your ass day-in and day-out.
