Im sure that Jackson with all his psychological bs crap, has been secretly thrilled wen Kobe had to play without Shaq. Only then did Kobe realized how hard it is to win without another premier player, especially a force in the middle. If Phil Jackson coached the Rockets, he would ride Francis and Cat much harder because unlike, Kobe, neither are franchise players. Great players have a lot of leeway. Problems arise with players who think they're superstars but really aren't, decide that they'll do whatever on the court without any reprecussions. That's where we stand. It all starts from the top.
The only change I'd make is that I'd give Greg Poppavich an A+ Anyone who's ever heard him speak knows that he not only reasonates basketball but that he's also a very good communicator. How he's managed to develop a team in the "harvest years" of Robinson is pretty incredible, IMO. They totally bypassed the reconstruction years and has been outstanding at realizing the franchise value of Duncan. The San Antonio organization is solid. theSAGE
You can argue for Rudy T. all you want, but claiming that Phil Jackson didn't help the Lakers get to the next level is ridiculous.
Please put me on record as "Yes", I do think so. 1) We have 4 basic plays which most of here could diagram. I have NBALP and I get dizzy trying to figure out what half court sets most of the other teams are running. 2) From what I have read posted here, links I have connected to from here, and listening to the various and numerous analysts doing national and NBALP broadcasts of Rockets games indicate there is a problem. Yet, in the latest thread about Larry Smith's recent talk show, LS doesn't aknowledge there is a problem. No one in the Rockets management thinks there is a problem...therefore no one is going to attempt to solve it.
Steve Francis is no Allen Iverson. And have you watched Philly lately? It's mostly the same thing- Iverson going iso. He is getting better, but not that much better. We are dealing with the same thing, except with a guy who averages 22 ppg, not 28 ppg.
I'm not arguing for Rudy T. I'm arguing against the players. I don't want to end up with a worse coach and the same group of loser players. That said, Rudy has made some horrible personnel decisions, but he's made some good ones.
They will try to solve it and here's why. Les has predicted Yao will be bigger than Michael Jordan. How is this going to happen when they don't make the playoffs. Over the next several years, the Rockets will be under a microscope and the owner wants to capitalize on this opportunity. Based on past history, Les wil do what it takes to make this team better. He is the anti-Drayton McLane.
From what I have seen, Francis has a very low ability to run complex plays. So it's hard for me to tell if it's the coaches fault or if they are making a simpler offense for this group of players.
Ahead of this season, Rocket mgmt did a heck of job assembling a good roster. However, that was then and this is now. An attractive roster is not the same as a productive one. And perhaps, in assembling TOO much talent but w/o an eye on other key areas like veteran leadership and role players and consistent workmen, Rox mgmt is now confronted with a new series of challenges in figuring out who to keep and who to give up. Talent is NOT the issue on the Rox. In fact, I think talent is our undoing. Those radio announcements advertising the Rox speak of EG as some "great talent" but I think "talent" is turning into the de facto excuse that though we're not performing superbly, we've still got potential. Talent has become a synonym for non-performance. It's important that Rox mgmt NOT BE WEDDED to their work of yesteryear in thinking this attractive roster we have is pristine. It's NOT! We need some changes to shake up and instill more consistency and confidence with this group. Consequently, the Rox need a better eye on maturity/brains/on-court leadership/and team players this season. That is the way we improve our chemistry. No more weed wackers... pleeze!!! theSAGE
I agree with this analysis. We shouldn't have made a 6'3" guy with some major flaws in his game "The Franchise." And Rudy T's talk last year about how Cat is "one of the best players in the NBA" was just unbelievably stupid. And Rudy T. ran constant ISOs for 2 years, and now he's surprised when his team doesn't know how to pass? LOL. Still, whether or not we get a new coach, I think we need some new players as well.
Well Mr. Clutch, there's an old axium in pro sports I'm sure you've heard, "You can't fire players". I know switching coaches is risky, but trading away players and trying to rebuild is going to take a long time, and I would rather see these guys with a diciplinarian who has an offensive system. You wrote in another post that maybe Francis can't run a complex system, but you're ignoring the fact that Rudy has never changed his system. Rudy coaches iso. That's why I can't understand how someone can place all the blame on the players. That's how Rudy coaches. I've never seen Rudy get off the bench and start yelling when no one is moving around when they pass the ball to Yao. I know why it doesn't bother him, its because that's what he's been coaching since he's gotten the job.
How is this not the coach's fault? This isn't the LA Clippers where the owner does whatever he wants and the coach is stuck with a bunch of malcontents with no authority to do anything. I find it laughable that earlier in the season someone asked Rudy why Moochie plays so much. His answer was basically they had to because there is no one else. Ok, whose responsibility is that? Rudy is very involved in personnel decisions. He isn't a puppet or just a figurehead. Whose idea was it to give those fat contracts? Who makes draft decisions? Who decides what FA's to go after? Rudy is responsible for a lot of this organization's successes and failures. If Rudy can't make his players buy into the system, he has to either change the system or change the players. Either way, it all starts from the top.
Pgabrial, I can't believe we actually are in total agreement about something. Chicken little has to be running around saying "The Sky is falling" somewhere. DD
Kobe and Shaq were there for about 3 years before Phil Jackson came in and they did not win. That included a team with Shaq, a young Kobe, Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. That team was loaded with talent. It wasn't until Phil Jackson came in did the Lakers win the championship. I'm not sure how you can argue with results. That's the bottom line. You can make arguments all you want about whether Phil can't get Kobe to pass. I'm not sure what relevance that has to the results -- which is that the Lakers win rings, period.
for those that are not sure about whose fault it is (players v coach), consider these questions: 1. if the rockets' players executing rudy/mean's "game plan", would we be a good passing team? 2. if yao ming is the franchise (which i think we all can agree on), is he best suited for a isolation based system or a pass-oriented system? 3. has rudy t/mean ever shown the ability to develop a pass-oriented offense? 4. when was the last time you saw a rocket coach pull a player for repeated quick shots? 5. when was the last time you saw more than 2 cuts in a given set? 6. why does our offense CONSISTENTLY start at the 14 sec shot clock mark? 7. why is that, in the allstar game, steve francis CONSISTENTLY pushed the ball up court and passed before the 18 sec shot clock mark, yet NEVER does it with the rockets? 8. why does cuttino mobley - historically our best iso player - get the most minutes on the team, when james posey has the ability to play some at the 2? 9. why have we only seen yao ming and kelvin cato together on the floor ONE TIME this whole season? 10. why has bostjan nachbar not been given a chance to perform, after being hyped as "nba ready" and a "good shooter", in a time where our problem is "not making shots"? these are game plan problems, imo....
As much as I dislike Charley Rosen, his evaluation is true. Rudy is a great guy, but a not so great coach. We run the same handful of plays if we even run plays. There is no discipline on offense and our defensive stats look so good not because we play great defense but our pace of game just slows the other team down. We don't use Yao effectively. Yao should not touch the ball unless people are cutting or unless he is within 10 ft (NOT 15 feet) away from the basket. We do not have an offensive "system" If Rudy cannot teach the players how to change their games then we need a coach who can. Listen to the guys on NBA2night, TNT, or anyone else. They all say we are not going anywhere as long as our team plays with not discipline or consistent offensive scheme that utilizes our player's talents.
My point is, will a new coach get Steve to pass to Yao? Or will it still be the Steve Francis show? Because Kobe can score 30 ppg and win more. But Steve can't. What is a new coach going to do with these guys?
1. if the rockets' players executing rudy/mean's "game plan", would we be a good passing team? -We have a game plan? 2. if yao ming is the franchise (which i think we all can agree on), is he best suited for a isolation based system or a pass-oriented system? -Pass-oriented, hell even Bill Walton repeats it over and over that Yao is not a one-on-one player. 3. has rudy t/mean ever shown the ability to develop a pass-oriented offense? -Nope 4. when was the last time you saw a rocket coach pull a player for repeated quick shots? -Never 5. when was the last time you saw more than 2 cuts in a given set? -Cuts, what are those? There have been some cuts, but it's not a consistent part of our offense. 6. why does our offense CONSISTENTLY start at the 14 sec shot clock mark? -Dribble, dribble, die.. 7. why is that, in the allstar game, steve francis CONSISTENTLY pushed the ball up court and passed before the 18 sec shot clock mark, yet NEVER does it with the rockets? -Maybe because the coach doesn't tell him too... 8. why does cuttino mobley - historically our best iso player - get the most minutes on the team, when james posey has the ability to play some at the 2? -This is the only one I disagree about. Cuttino is great at coming around sceens for a jumper off a pass. We should run Steve, Cat, and Posey at the same time. 9. why have we only seen yao ming and kelvin cato together on the floor ONE TIME this whole season? -Something new or innovative? NEVER...experimenting when things don't work...Why do that? 10. why has bostjan nachbar not been given a chance to perform, after being hyped as "nba ready" and a "good shooter", in a time where our problem is "not making shots"? -Okay, I agree Nachbar should be given at least a chance to get 20 minutes in a game and see how he does, but we don't really know if he's murdered by T-Mo in practice, so I wouldn't question this one too much.
I don't know. What did Hubie do for Jason Williams? What did Eric Musselman do for the Warriors? How does Rick Carlisle win with crap players? How did George Karl ruin the Bucks? Coaches can have huge effects both positively and negatively, Admit it...
I really don't disagree with you on Rudy. He runs too many ISOs and doesn't discipline guys. RIET, I completely agree with you on the personnel stuff. If there is no one decent on the bench, that is Rudy's fault. Look, earlier in the season, I really thought Rudy needed to go. But the more I watched the Rockets, the more I noticed Francis hasn't matured as point guard, and his ability to involve Yao Ming in the offense has been a JOKE. Francis also does not make other teammates better, and his clutch decision skills have been lacking. I think if a new coach comes in, we will still have Francis handling the ball 80% of the time, and I just don't see why the results would be different. Is Francis going to suddenly change into Steve Nash just because a motion offense is installed?
