IIRC JVG having a phonebook like playbook was reported by the media first, and was talked about on this board a couple of years ago. JVG runs an offense that focuses on reading defense, adjusting angle and off the ball movement. Players react to situation and find the seams in defense for open shots. It doesn't have to do with setting screens or pick and rolls, so the sets are less transparent. Players going one on one is either a designed result, or after a broken play, or simply due to they don't know how to run the sets yet, out of confusion and hesitance. It takes time to master the amount of plays. What EJ talked about is the amount of information currently exceeding the learning capacity of the players. It's like a CPU overload. I think it's a fair assessment. It also occured in the beginning of last season. Reducing the plays to 5 or 6 and let the players master them first is a good idea. JVG should also get better with executing pick and rolls, and he's into his motion offense, it'll be lucky for Yao if JVG picks up the conventional wisdom of high post offense starting from the center to utilize Yao's creativity and passing, which is Yao's regression EJ talked about. Yao lacks fun and passion under the current situation. I find these two points EJ made pretty much on the mark.
I've been saying what Eddie is saying for a couple of weeks now. You have flamboyant players in T-Mac, Alston, Swift and Anderson. They are ballers and need to have fun to play well. They are not system players. The less restrictions JVG imposes, the better for the team
Why can't you use your head for a minute and realize that almost all the players you named are playing together for the first time. Two of them have not played competitively for over 7 months. How about give the team some time to gel before talking about "balling" and perceived restrictions. Gosh!
I am glad Eddie agrees with me on this one. Get rid of him. I posted here 4 games into the season. they look like robots and do not look like they are having fun. even on rare occasions that they win. Why was Eddie unhappy here, his last year? the fans loved him and the team was winning.
It is certainly possible the Rockets fail to make the playoffs. The Rockets are currently: 3.5 games behind Denver. 5 games behind Phoenix. 6 games behind Golden State. 6 games behind Memphis That is a fair bit of ground to make up.
As for making the game fun: "If I have to motivate my guys, I've got the wrong guys." Guess which Rockets coach said that. I believe it was Don Chaney
Similarly, the Rocket's can "simply" allow Yao AND T-Mac to run the show. He's not equating Yao to Hakeem, he's equating Yao and T-Mac to Hakeem in the sense that they can make things happen without a large amount of plays and sets to direct them in the offense. Perfectly valid point.
Look at every team in the league. Take away their top three PLAYMAKERS (Mcgrady, Sura, Alston) Or take away their Superstar Player and their Starting Point Guard. Then have them play Miami, Spurs, Pistons, Pacers, Mavericks, Suns, Bulls, Memphis. See how they do. Are they in every game with a chance to win like the Rockets have been? Or are they blown out by halftime? I say it's the latter.
No, it's still ridiculous to say they won't make the playoffs. They will finish at least 6th, because they will get hot and play to their potential. 5 games isn't a lot to make up when you have 67 games left. THERE ARE 67 GAMES LEFT PEOPLE, RELAX! The Clippers are the number 2 seed at this point, so that shows you just how scrambled the current playoff picture is. No one seriously thinks that the Warriors and Grizzlies are better teams than the Rockets are, right?
They could just as easily have continued injury, coaching and chemistry problems, and end up out of the mix.
Haha, well the same could be said about any other team. You're basing your assumption on T-Mac being injured (that's the cause for the rest of the problems). That's a weak assumption; the Rockets will be fine.
I don't know if it is due to an overly complicated playbook, a general unfamiliarity with each other and the offense, or timid play, but the Rockets certainly hesitate too often on offense. Bill Walton really made me start thinking about it more when he called the Phoenix (not sure) game. He mentioned that there were way too many pump fakes. It is hard to beat a defensive rotation when you give them an extra 0.8 seconds to catch you by pump faking every time you touch the ball. Shooters only stay open for a split second, even against poor NBA defenses.
The real thing this season is Tmac and Yao both have their extensions. They have more power than JVG. So, JVG is only useful to them so long as he helps them win. They have to believe it, and they have to see it, too. He can't just sucker them in. He better produce, or he is history. I think he will get fired. He has already dug himself a deep hole. You do not make better music by forcing the artist to work the instrument harder. That will get you suzuki method robot crap. You have to play. The whole idea of making a great talent react instead of create is evil. In heaven, the angels play for eternity, while the tortured souls of the inferno strive. Play is our higher nature but striving is the wheel of suffering. Suffering is expending your energy on something outside of your control. When Phil Jackson took over from the try-hard striver Doug Collins, the first thing he installed was a new defense. He let his superior wings, Jordan and Pippen, attack, instead of sitting back on their heels and reacting. The were called "the greyhounds", because they could fly down the court, and tear into the opponents. The offense came later. First they learned to "play" defense, and enjoy it. Van Gundy makes the process work, always less than perfection, because "he knows his $h#!". Sure. There is always something to hate. The little ball of hate can make a platonic ideal and never be satisfied comparing all to his demonic vision of perfection. Real beauty and joy is in finding the nature of things as they are, not trying to adulterate and manipulate them into a new monster. The Confucianist will always have a long list of legalist justifications for brutality and a long book of rules and practices. This is the way of suffering, that wants to justify and correct things falling apart, by abuse and demands. They would be better following Wu Wei, or doing, not doing, allowing them not to strive, but to be.
Going on 30+ years now and I have NEVER disliked Rocketball like I do now. Bill Fitch would be a ray of sunshine - that's how bad.
What does have that to do with them being able to play freely? We're not talking about chemistry here which takes time. We're talking about placing a tiger in a cage. Let them roam. Van Gundy plays Mr. Policeman and walks the sideline like he's freaking Napoleon. Let the players play and quit micromanaging every minute aspect
What I find funny about EJ's article is that, the media always bashed Yao for being a 'soft' non-traditional post big man his first couple of years. Now, EJ is complaining cause he is more of the 'pound it down low', traditional center. Whatever happens with Yao in his career, the media will just never be satisfied.
