Disconcerting thing about Vspan or am I worrying too much

JVG strikes me as the prototypical "veteran's coach." He's intensely loyal to his vets and will avoid speaking ill of them individually in public, but on the flipside, he'll keep his rookies on a short leash and isn't afraid of chewing them out in public. It's as if he sees his players in a hierarchy, and will treat them according to their level of experience.
It's not an attitude I completely agree with, but as far as I can tell, he's consistent about it.

 

Yeah, I kind of agree with this, but he did throw Stro under the bus last year.....not that he didn't deserve it....

DD

 

He rewards preparedness, game-readiness, and intensity... regardless of the "heiarchy."

John Lucas III has seen increased minutes over the last two weeks because of this. Chuck Hayes earned a starting spot this year based on his improved play over the last year. Bonzi, as soon as he showed a commitment, was given more and more chances to show it on the court.

JVG plays his BEST players... regardless of their age/time in the league. If you want to complain about a coach giving his team the best chance to win (at the expense of not playing some backup players who have developed an unhealthy "cult" status), so be it.

 

I'm not saying that he only plays veterans and won't play the rookies. I agree that he will play the best players for his system. Sometimes his hand has to be forced by circumstance for him to give big minutes to younger players, but once he realizes their ability, he will play them consistently. He's no Van Dummy.

But in terms of what he's willing to say and not say about them publicly, his treatment is different. Not personal, but different.

 

Are your other 17 posts equally insightful?

 

He routinely pointed out mistakes that Yao made when he was still developing his game. Just as recent as last week, he called out T-mac for not showing enough fun/joy in his demeanor on the court. He BENCHED Juwon Howard for the first two weeks of the season, and told him they have better options on the roster right now.

Sure, he's harder on rookies... big freaking deal. Normally, younger players who aren't guaranteed a job on any other NBA squad need to be prepared for how hard this league really is.

 

Game-readiness? I hope you're kidding. It's blatant that JVG plays favorites. Now if JVG is your favorite, I can see why you're blind/bias to this issue. If you want any more details, go talk to RyBo and any of the ex-Nicks.

 

Yea... and his favorites are normally the ones who are most game-ready, prepare the hardest, and are ready to show it on the court. Battier, Head, JLIII, Chuck Hayes... not former ex-Knicks, just simply hard workers.

Name any player that has played for the Rockets that looked cluelesss out there... that didn't know their role.

Ryan Bowen isn't even on the roster... and when he was playing, it was more of a function of how pathetic the rest of the roster was, not because he was being given token minutes out of favortism.

Also, every coach will play favorites... or do you forget how Rudy T. loved Moochie Norris, Kelvin Cato, Matt Maloney, and Maurice Taylor enough to make them all rich for life?

 

You've officially taken brown-nosing to a whole new level. Let's put it this way, if JVG was around in 2002, Yao would've been a bench warmer.

 

ABSOLUTELY... because everyone knows Ryan Bowen = basketball superstar!

I'm sorry, which of these players you mentioned did Rudy take to the Lakers? And um...which ex-Nix did JVG take to Houston?

 

And you make assumptions you are in no way qualified to make. Yao's minutes WERE limited when JVG first got here... Yao still needed to get stronger, still needed to work on footwork, and still needed to develop confidence in what he could and could not do on the court.

Yao's game is COMPLETELY different than it was in his rookie year... as early as last year, people were still clamoring for Yao to emulate a game more like Brad freaking Miller, instead of being a low-post dominant threat.

But yea... go ahead and get mad at me for not hating JVG... if you want to bakc up your statments with actual facts and evidence, instead of the circumstantial crap that gets tossed around here far too often, be my guest.

 

Yao WAS a benchwarmer when he started the season in 2002. Good memory.

 

Dikembe Mutumbo?

Was he a Knick when JVG was there?

 

Charlie Ward? And that was more because Bob Sura wasn't going to be ready till mid-season.

 

"An unhealthy cult status" I like that,Vspan has captured the imagination of the people,he has given us hope.

 

well any player that is not in the rotation should be disappointed...maybe its just how he is.....I wouldn't make too much of it but I do like when players stand up to support teammates...

 

Ryan Bowen averaged double digit minutes for 4 straight years in Denver (including 22.5 and 16.1 before coming to Houston). He never reached that plateau in 3 years in Houston.

Spanoulis is averaging 10.6 mpg - more than Bowen ever got here, and he's playing on a better team than Bowen did.

And yes Rudy did "play favorites" with one guy in his brief stint in LA - Tierre Brown. Tierre Brown played 4 years and had 2 seasons of more than 15 games played - one in Houston, one in LA. Tierre Brown played 14 mpg for the Lakers(and got into 76 games), his most out of his entire career. When Rudy was gone the next year, so was Tierre's career. Bowen got more minutes when he played other places. Tierre Brown getting playing time is more flagrant than Ryan Bowen doing so.

It makes sense to bring in guys who know how to play for you, because it eases the transition. That's why when Van Gundy first came, he brought a couple guys over he knew. It happens EVERYWHERE, in every sport. Look at the Texans (great example, I know)- notice Kubiak bring in a couple ex-Broncos scattered throughout the team. Notice Phil Jackson try to bring Tex Winters with him everywhere (and for another example, see Ron Harper being brought along with Chief Triangle).

And Van Gundy has no problem cutting one of his "favorites" when they don't fit in. Ask Charles Oakley.

I'm done here.

 

Also, I remember how Luke Walton couldn't find the court when Rudy was there... Rudy even went as far as saying that he didn't seem to match up well in the forward-dominated west.

Ironically, he was a favorite of Phil Jackson (and by extention, Frank Hamblin)... and as soon as Rudy stepped down, Luke was right back in the rotation. Now, he's probably the second-most important player on that Lakers team.

 

I just think V-Span is taking some time to learn to play under better control and find the balance with his aggressive style. Once he gets that down his minutes should improve.

If he gets depressed and gives up, then that would be ashamed, but it would be better for us to know that is the kind of player he is sooner rather than later.

I think V-Span will be fine, and over time give some valuable contribution to the team.

 

Yao was riding pine in 2002, when JVG was not here. We didn't need JVG for that to occur.