From Insider: Dan (Houston): Is Jeff Van Gundy the problem in Houston? Do you think they'll get their act together to be a viable threat, come playoff time? I can't imagine that the trade will change too much. Stein: Problem is too strong a word. Because Jeff is a damn good coach. But his strengths don't necessarily mesh with T-Mac and Yao as well as Rudy's would have. That's the sad irony in Houston: Rudy is a better fit for the kind of team the Rockets have assembled than JVG.
Pretty much everybody unanimously agreed that Rudy's time was up in Houston. Now all of a sudden, folks are reversing their opinion. So which is it?
Some people thought the Rudy wasn't enough of a disciplinarian for the young team that he left, but right now we have the oldest team in the league that doesn't need discipline. Also rudy is one of the best at exploiting the talents of his superstars and which would be perfect for Tmac and Yao.
But JVG is the one that put this team together...not Rudy. Rudy would never have made so many changes to a team because Rudy was so loyal to his players. So to say that Rudy is better suited for this team than the prior team is an irrelevant and empty argument. BTW, by the time Rudy we fired, we no longer had a 'young' team. The team had been together for years with no tangible results. Rudy had his chance and he didn't get it done. I love the guy and it hurt to see him go. But facts are facts. His performance was lackluster.
The team Rudy had wasn't what Rudy could handle. The team now is not what JVG fits. So what is CD doing the past few years?
What team did JVG build again. Was it JVG who told Tmac to demand a trade to houston? JVG brought in ward, weatherspoon, sura, wesley, pike, JJ, Padgette, and maybe Deke. So what team did JVG build again?
JVG also made it clear that a Steve-Cuttino backcourt was not going to get it done. That opened the door for a big trade, the on that brought T-Mac. Sura, Wesley, JJ, Barry, and Deke were all excellent acquisitions.
One thing Stein overlooked is that coaches work with what they have. JVG is no different. I'll be on the JVG bandwagon for the long haul. I think he knows what he is doing and the wins will come, if not this year definitely the next. Giving him room to work and patience are the keys.
But those guys really are incidental because they are a dime a dozen and I doubt half of them will be on the team next year. When people are talking about the rockets, they are talking about Yao and Tmac. Rudy would have been great at for those two. Guys like Sura, Wesley, Barry are easy to come by and Rudy would have gotten those guys or guys just as good with no problem. Rudy T is a better coach than JVG, and would be definitely be better for a team consisting of TMAC, Yao and a bunch of scrubs.
I love Rudy but to say he would be a better fit is just spure speculation... I mean what is it that makes him a better fit??? He was not a particular good coach the last many seasons he was here and when someone said that he gets the most out of his superstars they must refer to Hakeem and Glyde and not Barkley, Francis and Pippen. Just because Rudy won two championships in a totally different situation with a totally different team does NOT mean he will do it again... It was pretty much Dream that made Rudy seem like a brilliant coach IMO.. I am not saying he was bad by any means since he was a great motivator and well liked during the championship years... But he pretty much had to go as he had no idea how to coach the new team he himself helped creating......IMO only off course..
You are missing the entire point. It was JVG's precense that fostered TMac coming here. If Rudy was here, he would never have traded Steve. Steve was his baby. Also, are you forgetting that Rudy coached Yao for a year? What was everybody's complaint? That Rudy never got Yao enough touches, right? So how was Rudy a good coach for Yao? So that basically debunks your theory that Rudy would be a good coach for either Yao or TMac.
First, I don't think Rudy is a better coach. I like JVG's system better since it gets more guys involved, and I like how he emphasize defense more. Rudy might be a better player's coach, then again that could lead to less disciplined teams. Secondly, those guys might be a dime a dozen, but they were much better than Rudy's dime a dozen guys, which included such scrubs as Moochie, Mo, Cato (who has had only occasional flashes of occasional effectiveness), Maloney, Eddie Griffin, Langhi, Boki, and on and on. JVG has had barely more than a year and I already like the direction of this team much more than after 4 years of rebuilding (after Hakeem left) under Rudy.
Bottom line - JVG is a bad fit. Rudy is a red herring. Don't chase after that. The next coach must fit with Yao and Tmac. He has to get the most out of them. He can't mess up with either one. Nothing else matters.
