I think the comparison to Dream, Shaq and TD are fair. Yao is no where near those great players, no matter what era he's playing. Whether he can get close to those all time greats, I think all Rockets fans look forward to that day. But what we hope is not important, what important is you always try to get the best out of your star players. TMac was freed after 6-11, and the focus wasn't to make a super star happy, but for the sake of team success, to maximize his super talent. By the same token, although Yao has obvious shortcomings, he's still a legit offensive threat, that's why the team try hard to utilize those advantages, meanwhile he's working very hard everyday, on and off court. There is no doubt that he's slow, but whether he's really soft, that's up to everyone's interpretation. I just don't buy it, I don't think someone plays his better games again Shaq, both offensively and defensively, never backed down, should be considered soft. He usually plays well againt Ben Wallce, defensive player of the year. Why? He doesn't mind strong but fair players. He doesn't mind other teams playing him straight with their big men, even double team; he just doesn't know what to do with those short, strong, flopping or even dirty players fronting/grabbing/pushing him. He doesn't know how to react and protect himself, and he doesn't know how to play aggressive, semi-dirty but without fouling. I think he can learn that, if you can play Shaq and Ben straight, you have the tools to play any defense. He's just not there yet. By the way, Dream had problem with Sonic's fronting as well. Speaking of those super quick men you just mentioned, I don't see him having trouble playing Zo straight, if Zo doesn't get help or front. If he doesn't really have problem with Ben, why would he mind Oakley or Mason? And Malone? Are you kidding me? Did he ever play Yao straight, yes, he did pull the chair once against Yao, but that's about it. Like I said, Yao didn't have trouble with strong big men, but rather had trouble with fronting Euro players. He's slow and lacking of stamina, obviously because of his height and weight, and not aggressive enough. But he's fundamentally weak? Well, I would assume that's about skills, shooting, and understanding of basketball and team playing, I will let basketball experts to judge. Because I have been heard otherwise since day one, or even before his draft.
This bears repeating... I'm disappointed in their play, but that stretch of games is an unfair gauge of the team and the coach. We're not getting Sura back so we can't use that excuse for long. But, Head is shaping into a playmaker and our star player is back. Plus we won't be walking the gauntlet all season like we just did. How we play going forward from here will be more telling.
Dikembe played for Lenny Wilkens, Barry played for Rick Adelman (yes, he's a good coach) and Rick Carlisle, McGrady played for Doc Rivers, and Bob Sura played for Larry Brown in Detroit. I think you can make a case for the worth of each of these coaches. And again, there's a difference between the reactions that players have towards their coach. "He's the best" and "we gotta do what coach tells us" are two different things.
I like JVG, and am not ready to give up on him; however, Johnson makes some good points. Interesting article ....
I think its a progression and a matter of trust once Van gundy sees that these guys understand their and roles and the system he'll be willing to loosen up his grip. However I think he's dead on about Yao, He has the smarts and the ability to do much more but he does seem tenetive because he's thinking about what the coach wants, he needs to stop reacting and play the game instinctively.
But on the other hand, once he's so familiar with what JVG wants, he can be doing those things without thinking too much, it would be just great. However, it's really frustrating to wait that long. I think the points EJ made was so similar to us casual fans, which are normally wrong Just common sense, it is much easier to play freelance than in a strict system. Nothing great can be achieved with easy access. Although I don't know too much about basketball X's and O's, I would rather believe JVG than that guy or some casual fans. However, motivation and disipline have to be balanced. But I think JVG is a master in that, otherwise players won't love him. He always protects his players in front of the media, but maybe very harsh in video sessions. Hopefully players react positively and learn fast.
Well let me put my 2 cents in on this long thread. First off I don’t think the article was that bad. Basically, Eddie was speaking about the team as he sees it. The problem with that is most of us never want to hear that we have a bad child and we will come up with all type of excuses and get mad at anyone who tries to tell us that our child is bad. Well at this point the Rockets are our children and they are bad. Now with that said does that mean that because someone says something negative against them that they don’t love them? No… The first step in recovery is admitting that there is a problem. I agree with this totally… The Rockets are expected to have some hard times if their top scorer is out; but true champions will fight thru the hard times and make adjustments to win. They are a different team without McGrady, which means they must improvise to the skills that are on the court to get the job done. There is only one T-Mac like there is only one MJ, Magic, Bird or Hakeem. As the article stated the Rockets have too much talent for them too just crumple like they did. Apparently Eddie still loves the Rockets, since he has picked them as one of his elite teams. He is just stating the obvious, with the talent that if they should at least be .500 without McGrady. Now here is where I disagree with Eddie to a certain pint. The blame should go to everyone. The coach, players and fans…. Yeah even the fans. Like I said before this is a TEAM game, when one loses they all lose. The coach has his job to get the team prepared; the players have their job of executing the coach’s game plan and the fans have their job of supporting the team thru THICK and THIN. Amazing how all the fans (band wagon) like to come out and play when the sun is shining, but when the rain comes down they are no where to be found. True fans are there no matter what… Know one wants to get up and go to work where they are just miserable all day. I have seen people at work who are just there, so that they can get a paycheck. To me that is a miserable feeling, no matter how much you are making. I have seen the difference of individuals who enjoy what they do. You can see the results in their productivity and in their attitude. When people are happy with the work that they are doing, their production will be some of the highest quality that you can see. Now who knows if Eddie is basing this article on seeing the team only once; who’s to say that he has not been watching them on TV and he is basing this article on how he saw them live. But the fact is he is only stating what has been stated on this board. The only difference, the message is coming from an outside source. Again if you have a bad child, you have a bad child. Accept it, correct it and move on. The first thing I tell young programmers that work for me is to remember the KISS method (Keep it Simple Stupid). No we don’t have Hakeem but we have Yao and Tracy. I am not going to even try and compare Yao to Hakeem because that would not be favor and I really don’t feel as if Eddie was trying to do that. The best offense is a motion offense, from the NBA to Fonde. I love the way that San Antonio plays… Duncan is their Superstar but even when he is out they still give teams problems. They play as a team passing the ball, back door cuts, pick and roll, basically finding the open man and taking the easy shot. Exploit your opponent, find his weak spot and kill them. Now here is where I agree and disagree with Eddie. I don’t truly believe Yao has regressed, but I agree that he has become mechanical and hesitant. I remember a game in Yao’s rookie season where Yao was on the low post and someone passed him a ball from the key and he did a no look ball slap to a cutter going to the basket. When I made the statement about that comparing Yao to Hakeem was not fair I was really talking about both players. Hakeem was a great low post, power center but he could not pass the ball for crap. Passing and reading trap defenses was not Hakeem’s greatest strength. Before you argue just say Seattle. Yao is not a great low post player, but he has exceptional passing skills and can read the defense. The biggest problem that I have with Yao and the coaching staff is that Yao is becoming an Ewing clone. When I first saw Yao play, I compared his game to Kareem, Sarbonis and Divac not Ewing. This is where I can relate with Eddie saying, “He is not the loose daring rookie that played under Rudy Tomjanovich. He has become very mechanical and hesitant.” I can understand Yao must strengthen his weakness, but don’t take away his strength for. Kareem, Sarbonis and Divac were great at making you pay for double-teaming them. When Yao gets the ball now he takes the shot regardless of his position or the defense. That is not Yao, which is how Ewing played. Just as Yao has to learn how to change his approach the coaching staff has to learn the same lesson and adjust.
I think it's because of Barkely's comments about Eddie's wife after he hit the game winner against the Jazz in 97
Originally Posted by GATER Eddie Johnson does commentary on the Suns' broadcasts. He's worse than Clyde. ......... Not impossible. Clyde is better, that is what crossed my mind when I was listening to him and Gary Bender broadcast a game. Interesting article though.
Close. Correct answer is Rudy Tomjanovich. The point being: Rudy T, the coach some us look back on fondly as the kind of coach players wanted to play for, actually wanted nothing to do with players who only wanted to play for certain coaches, instead of for love and respect of the game.
basically any player that does not agree with him well .. they get bashed to hell ANYWHOO To me. . . I *DO* have a problem with them being unable to WIN without T-mac I know he the main man . .but going 0-fer is not kewl Rocket River
Yao playing like EWING . .. please wake me from this nightmare why duplicate someone that isn't even a Top 25 Center Rocket River I'd rather he tried to imitate the mermaid
I believe you're correct, but NBA coaches have been saying essentially the same thing since before Auerbach. Irreguardless, the fact is since Magic got Westpahl fired every superstar has either directly or indirectly determined coach's fates. And evoking Don Chaney in this thread is ironic. He was a hero of mine as a child (UofH fanatic) and I met him after he moved into Kellywood about 13 years ago. But it was during Chaney's COY season that he lost Dream's confidence and we had the "fake" injury and Hakeem made it clear he wanted either out of Houston, or Chaney fired. Both last season (when we were clicking) and this one, T-Mac breaks down the game, the sets and reacts as he will. No real ramifications, no worries. He appreciates any criticism JVG can offer up, but the bottom line is this guy doesn't really take a bad shot - sometimes he just misses badly. He's not worried here. He said he can make Stro an all-star and he knows Yao's not going to care as long as we win. Where JVG really comes into play here is that he's essential to happens to be on the court at any given time. That's about the extent of it.
Well, if Mr. Van Gundy manages to blow the rest of the season, and the new coach gets lucky with the lottery, the Rockets might be able to get Reggie Bush
