Who said anything about a 40 win team come playoff time? Yes, no team grow overnight, as you say. It's all about steady improvement. Which is why I say to give the Rockets the whole regular season to make their improvement. It's going to be steady improvement, and this thread after 14 games is way too early. I only care to see them peaking the last 10-20 games. Any time before that, and I consider it a bonus. The difference in offensive philosophy is too different between JVG and Adelman to expect too much too soon.
I just don't buy this mindset. It's a weak mindset to have with a built in excuse for failure, and we don't have time to pawn anything off on "it's going to take time." Besides, isn't the preseason for learning the offense and each other? These guys are pros. They should know how to play offense. You draw it up, you run it. It shouldn't be this hard...and there's only so much "sophisticated offense" you can run in 24 seconds.
I'll get right on that. I'm sure these fans you've talked to can provide a lot of insight into the contributions made by an assistant coach in the NBA.
Yeah, if there's just one difference I've noticed, it's that Adelman is definitely much looser with the rotations. JVG did do a little experimenting with the starting lineup (sometimes) when we had new guys that he didn't hate, but it didn't take long for him to make up his mind, and then never budge again barring injuries.
classic. so incredibly overexaggerated and misrepresented...things never change eh DD? you must be getting frustrated that the rockets arent leading the league in offense and are barely over .500, despite having much, much more talent.
When has Adelman budged from his starting lineup? It hasn't changed except when T-Mac was out. Regarding rotations, I don't see how one is any more experimental than the other.
I said when JVG was fired that there was going to be minimal change in end results without roster changes. We added quite a bit of depth to our bench, but so far the bench hasn't performed particularly well on a consistent basis. Add to that the shooting struggles for the whole supporting cast from outside the arc, and a new offense and it isn't surprising that we are struggling some. Especially considering how brutal our schedule has been and TMac being out or hampered with the elbow injury during that losing streak. Based on talent this team should do better this year, but I don't expect the coach to be the primary factor in that improvement.
JVG is a win-now guy to the extreme. He treats every game as a "must win" and manages it accordingly. Some say that this shows that he is shortsighted. You make the judge. Adelman, on the other hand, is willing to "sacrifice" some present performance in order to get better future results. Before the Clippers game, I heard an interview on the radio (forgot who) that said that Adelman is not as concerned about November and December as March and April. He lets players make mistakes, learn from them, and figure them out themselves earlier on and aim at peaking at the last couple of months of the regular season. Of course, every coach wants to win. It's just that coaches like JVG sees each game as a unit, while coaches like Adelman sees a whole season as a unit.
that's a better mindset. we don't look good offensively right now statistic-wise, but the players are so slow in learning it that it forced adelman to revert to some plays last yr. now he's going back to his offense full-time. but he's STILL experimenting. that's why right now we're riding tmac and yao very hard just until our role players can step up consistently. i think as the all-star break rolls around, we will be rolling. championships aren't won in november/december. yes, it might cost us a high seed, but what has homecourt done for us? the same thing as starting on the road. as long as we play great going into the playoffs, that's all that matters.
good point. RA seems to get the automatic nod for "being more experimenta" (whatever the hell that means) but realistically i havent seen much difference and there is no muich if there is any, at least a negligable amount.
I don't really agree with this distinction. I recall JVG often stressing the need for the team to continue to improve throughout the season and be playing at its peak by playoff time. And sometimes, he showed more unhappiness after wins than losses.
Once again, I hate to always mention about the tough schedule of the Rox, potentially use it as an excuse for the loses. If these games were really strong-strong talks and finally the stronger won, it's fine. but in fact the Rox didn't show a bit ability to fight back when they were down. They lost it naturally, smoothly, like silk. Their opponents couldn't feel safer when they are facing Rox and with 10 point lead. But that never happen to the tight teams, Spurs, Mavs. Suns. This Rox team is TOO LOOSE. They didn't yet show they can consistently win close games and they can come back when facing a good team.
That's not the point. Every coach wants to win every game. Every coach wants the team to improve through the season. JVG and Adelman are no different. There is a difference between "want" and implementing a philosophy. JVG's philosophy is one game at a time. You concentrate on winning one game. It doesn't matter how the process of winning this one game affect future games. Adelman, on the other hand, would see the season as a whole and plan his coaching accordingly. To use a track analogy, JVG has the sprinter's mentality. You give it all from start to finish. Adelman has the long-distance runner's mentality. You don't have to be at top speed in the beginning, as long as you know you can beat your competitors at the end.
