I think if you go worst case/ best case on it then this is the worst case but it is entirely possible. I disagree with SA being the number 1 seed though. I would say best case is we will be seeded like last year as a 5(4) with home court in the first round. so 4-7 seems most likely to me. (huge surprise I know)
The Rockets made a mistake of hiring Adelman. He is not a championship-caliber coach. He failed in Portland, Sac-town and will fail in Houston. His past teams were the best in the NBA at those time. He's too loose, gives his players too much freedom on offense, and does not focus on defense.
You do know he has 700 odd wins and only 400 losses?. the man is a great coach. he has'nt even had half a season to implement the offense that he likes to run here. to pass such shortsighted judgements without giving the guy enough time is nothing short of stupidity. The mans a winner. been to the nba Finals(lost to jordan). WCF(lost to a robert horry daggar) and has made the playoffs almost every year as a coach. give him sometime. And finally, Adelman is a better coach then gundy. he might not coach a defensive set play like gundy, but he is a much better offensive coach and a better overall coach.
Really? That's just one way to define a "good coach". To me, a coach's first and foremost duty is to prepare his players with the best chance to win a game. That includes briefing on opponent's scouting reports, instituting a gameplan, and making changes on the fly. Secondly, he has to be a good teacher, given the draft system of the NBA. JVG fulfills all of the former. Granted, his stubborness, and some might say shortsightedness, might be glaring. But this is a man who is known to prepare for opponents dilligently. When we lose, it's never a lack of preparation. And we almost never played teams the wrong way when he's in charge. He might not preach fluid motion offense, but every man has a different vision. His was simply to surround our stars with shooters who'll feed off the defensive attention our big two draw. Plus, our set plays off timeouts and inbounding the ball are among one of the best then. Adelman is a proven coach. And I'd hardly argue that he's not "good". He's a great coach I'm sure. But what I see with this team is a lack of control. We've been throwing the ball every which way for what? 15 games now. Adelman has talked to the media about this. But where is the change and improvement? That looks to me like someone who is too hands-off and does not have the temperament to make sure that these guys do their job right. You can be sure if guys were turning over the ball this much like we're doing now, each and every player would have been chewed into by JVG. To me, when your two stars are as laid back as Tmac and Yao, you need a strong vocal coach like JVG to lead them, not a hands-off motivator like Adelman. I thought they made a bad decision when they let JVG go, and was lukewarm about the Adelman hiring, and I still am. The team right now has no identity. The team's slow to pick up Adelman's offense, and have thus regressed back into JVG's stagnant offense, but without the same defensive intensity that slowed down opponents just enough to ride Tmac and Yao to victory. I don't doubt Adelman's credentials, but we'll see how things go past the All-Star break. If the team's still playing like it is now, then I think they really have to question if Adelman's a good fit for the team.
A way to see how JVG affects a team is to review history of NY. I was not a fan of NY Knicks then perhaps someone who watch NY Knicks can provide some opinions. What happened to the NY Knicks right after JVG left them? How does NY Knick fare when a new coach took over from JVG back then? JVG totalitarian style maybe good but once it settled down, if the next coach is a player's coach (or less controlling type) like Adelman or Rudy T, I believe the team will take a while to adapt.
So by your definition, anyone the Rockets hire other than Larry Brown would be bad hire? Or do you feel we need Rudy T back? There was no other "championship caliber" coach out there besides those two. JVG was not a championship coach. Other than a freaky run in a lockout-shortened season, he's done nothing in the playoffs. Is he a bad coach? I have said at the beginning of the season that I don't even care what the Rockets record is during the regular season. Lumps will be taken when such a huge adjustment in style is made. If the team still plays like this come march or april, then I'll start panicking.
If the team doesn't make a trade what should we expect to change? Everyone harps about more motion, more smooth execution, blah blah blah The team does not have a high quality pg like a Parker, Williams, Nash, Harris, Paul (that is a big factor on our execution and how smooth the offense runs) We rely on TMac and Yao because we do not have good mid range shooters and the 3 point shot hasn't been clicking. TMac can dominate but when he struggles you have to have a consistent bench. Yao can dominate the post when he gets rythmn and enough touches; of course there has to be a better adjustment for quicker players fronting him and also he is starting to get dble and triple teamed. I only expect improvement when the chemistry improves. The lineup right now is not working in this system. Pray the defense stays tough and TMac and Yao are both healthy.
These guys are Pro Basketball players, I don't think they need anyone to force them to think for themselves. Everyone wants to blame JVG for our playoff lost but our stars didn't necessarily step up either. And they're the ones that are actually on the court, not JVG. It's not JVG's fault that only 4 guys scored in one playoff game. Coaching is secondary on this team. We go as far as Yao & T-Mac takes us.
Frankly, i had the same anxiety many days ago. But if RA's chemical change work for rockets, our the other conpetitive is not a problem.JVG and RA are in deferent level. JVG insist on his rule while RA emphasize consciousness.The latter give more space to players themselves, especially, some genious. However, this point cause a problem some players haven't genious to show RA's system.
i think this team needs something in between JVG and Adelman. i personally prefer JVG, but I can see how his style could wear on players...and what's done is done. but, anybody that's watched this team since mcgrady's been here knows...the way it's built, we need a vocal leader. the past few years, it's been JVG because there haven't been too many players that fit the bill (sans Bob Sura). so either RA needs to pick it up instead of sitting/standing the whole game with that confused look of his and saying nothing, or something needs to go down to bring in somebody else with fire. i think steve can provide some of that passion and fire, but that's a discussion for a different thread.
You're obviously very new here and that was rude. We appreciate contributions by our non-native English speakers.
Who hear thinks that Adleman and JVG can spawn a kid that would be the ultimate coach? Offensive AND defensive minded?!?!
All this coach analysis 10 games in? The guy hasn't had any time to implement his system fully. If you all wanted to win now or see results now, should of kept JVG. The team was already familiar with the style of play and the coaching philosophy. You can't tell me adding Scola and James wouldn't of made a huge difference even with JVG as coach. Still, RA has to be cut some serious slack. He is a totally different coach. His system is different. Give the guy at least 2 months before the system is fully implemented.
Even though Adelman had training camp I think he is still learning about this team. It is one thing to watch players on tape and see them in training camp and yet another to see how they perform in a game. Adelman's been experimenting a lot the past few games and I think this team is still very much a work in progress. I think he started out the season sticking with JVG's lineup and closer to his formula but is now feeling that he needs take this team in a different direction. Its tough being patient and there is little margin for error in this conference but I have hope that Adelman will start to figure things out and by April we will see a different team than what we have in November.
I've actually been surprised at how similar they are. Both favor a short rotation, and in particular are hesitant to give a big role to younger, inexperienced players. But I suppose that's just NBA coaches in general. For whatever reason, JVG caught a lot of flak for it.
You know I have to agree with you here a bit. I didn't expect them to be similar at all. I guess I didn't know enough about Rick Adelman except that he ran efficient offenses and have some playoff success. But Im very disappointed in the fact that the doesn't play his bench enough or develope younger players. Without Sam Cassell, we don't win that first championship. Of course, he still have the rest of this season to impress us and change our minds. That being said, I was complaining about RA's coaching style when we were 6-1! Because it is more about his decision making than it is our record. Im not to concerned about our record right now because I know it's a long season, although we don't want to get too far behind. But his decision of who to play and when is what really disturbs me the most. It would have been nice if JVG could have talked RA into being his number one assistant coach. That being said, I still don't want JVG back, it would just be the opposite of Ra, and the complaints would still roll in. Who would be a good coach for RA to bring in to help with Defense? I know JVG wouldn't accept the job, but who else is out there that is a defensive specialist?
Well, we had Tom Thibodeau, but apparently Adelman wanted to use his own guys. So, I don't think he's looking for another coach.
