1. Rudy already coached Yao. Same result. Yao has only imporoved incrementally. 2. TMac and Steve are similar players in that they are both insanely effective ISO players. Didn't everybody call Steve a natural 2 guard anyway? (The difference is that TMAC is much taller so he can knock down open J's. And Steve's decision making was questionable, at best). In fact, TMac even plays PG 50% of the time. So I don't see how anybody can support the premise, other than a hunch, that Rudy would have coached TMac any more effectively than Steve. We've seen how Rudy coaches a freakishly talented guard in Steve. We've seen how Rudy coaches Yao. Somebody please support your claim with anything tangible about why you think Rudy would be better than JVG. From my perspective, we already saw what Rudy could do and its seems to be about the same what JVG is currently doing.
Well, Rudy would keep player stuff more behind close doors. Rudy would have Larry Smith be his heavy guy berrating Yao when he played passively. Rudy would be benching Yao at times (when he isn't scoring and playing passively, fouling and turning the ball over) in favor of Mutumbo and publically saying that Yao is on a 5 yr learning curve.
I wonder if Yao thinks Rudy is a better coach. I never hear he says anything about it publically, but he did say something like the little flags designed by Rudy would motivate him better. It was Rudy that made it public getting the ball to Yao. They won 4 home games in a row after that, and then Mr mean came in......
The long haul? Are you kidding? What is our average age - 57? Our players are closer to the old folks home than a championship. If JVG is planning on the long haul than he must believe in reincarnation, b/c with the exception of Yao and T-mac the team he is building has already played out 80-90% of their career. Interesting way to plan for the long term.
Toast, Great Post. I think the players that Rudy had were self-disciplined and easily motivated and I think it had to do with the average age and personality of that team. With all the recent changes, the average age is much older than when JVG took over the reins and I don't think that the personalities of most of those players mesh with JVG. If we are trying to win a Championship this year than some of the trades make sense, but if not, it really doesn't meke much sense to bring in players that will retire in a year or two.
You dislike it? So, do you think that getting more players involved means that TMac and Yao score the same as the rest of the players? Does it mean that they play a five-man game all the time? What does it mean to you? What Mr. Clutch is saying is that coaches like JVG, Brown, Jackson, Don Nelson, Gregg Popovich actually run plays for guys *other* than their main stars. They get them involved throughout the 82 game season. Not always. Just more so than Rudy ever did. Rudy is a simpleton on offense. Always has been. It worked out with the 10 year vet Hakeem by surrounding him with 3 point shooters. But failed after 1996 (age was a factor too). And it will fail in LA (got Hakeem/Shaq?). So, when you say that "we score more" is not just because TMac/Yao get more ISOs. It's for a lot of reasons....TMac is more comfortable within the system (as he has stated in the press), Yao is more comfortable playing with Tmac, and our supporting cast has improved and are actually hitting their shots on a more consistent basis (Sura, Wesley, Barry, Howard and Deke). Better than Lue/Ward. We actually have a couple guards that can push the ball up the court without TURNING IT OVER!!!! This is what I LOVE about this team! We're gaining chemistry with our improved players. And TMac/Yao are learning how to play with them. Take away Sura, Wesley and bring back Lue/Ward. How well would we score? We'd struggle. Just as playing a five-man offense without TMac/Yao contributing would be bad too. So, the more you can get out of your role players during a 82 game season, the better. JVG trusts TMac. This was not the case with Francis. And for good reason. So, Mr. Cluthch isn't implying that JVG ignored TMac/Yao for the sake of sharing the ball. It's just that JVG gets all his players invovled more so than Rudy does. As do a lot of coaches like Pop, Brown and D'Antiono. As far as Rudy/Francis... Francis is a coach killer. Rudy, JVG, Brown, or Phil. It wouldn't matter. If you put your team in the hands of Francis, sooner or latter that coach would be fired. Rudy was the scapegoat because there were still those in the media, fans, and staff that thought that Francis was still in development. So, they blamed Rudy instead. Also, most felt that the team needed a change, even though Francis got along with Rudy. Most felt that Francis/Mobley were not disciplined enough to get to the next level (The "Rudy was too nice" thing). So, Rudy was fired/released. It's just circumstantial. If the fans/staff and media felt that Rudy diserved another chance...well... I doubt that Rudy had the heart to trade Francis. I just don't see Rudy doing that (speculating that Rudy didn't get cancer and they gave him another year). But change was needed for the wrong reasons; blame the coach, and not the star player. That's just the way it goes sometimes. The TMac trade was an opportunity that happened not because a forced trade (just because), but rather because TMac wanted to play with Yao and he saw that there was a problem in Houston with JVG/Francis. Would Rudy do this trade? We'll never know. But I doubt it. It's much easier to do that trade once JVG was here than if Rudy was still here. Also, this was coming off a full year with Francis/Mobley. So, at least in most peoples eyes, they tried it. It was prefect timing to move on and get a new "star." On a side note....Francis got the short end of the stick with his 16ppg. That was not his fault. But that's besides the point. That was just another sore spot that made the trade easier (those fans that were fooled by his PPG; Francis got the 16ppg because he was doing what JVG told him to do. Not because it was a "bad year" for Francis.). Next...would Rudy do better than JVG with THIS team? My opinion is that Rudy would have done better at the start of the season. But not at the end of the season for the reasons I stated above. An ISO based offense gets you some easy wins and some spectacular plays. But I don't trust it over the long season. Only time will tell. But at the end of THIS season, those of you that don't believe in JVG will see with your own eyes why I prefer his coaching over Rudy's. And we'll get the benefit of having a team that plays as a unit, offensively and defensively, but also uses ISOs (and picks) WHEN NEEDED (end of games or when the team needs a spark). Tonight's box-score is what I love to see. 30 TMac 29 Howard 20 Yao 12 Sura 21 Wesley Lots of screens, picks and rolls, interior passing off drives, complementing TMac's ISOs; sometimes one-on-one, and sometimes with picks. That's basketball! This team has long way to go. We still need to improve our rebounding (FA) and our outside shooting. I'm telling you! This team is on the right track! We're missing a few more key role players. You gotta belive it! And even if you don't belive it, you'll see it with your own eyes. By the way. Yao is NOT great! He's very good. Those of you that think that he's the *new * Hakeem being held back by JVG need to wake up. Yao is too slow, passive and has hands of stones. This wont change much and we better get used to it (on-again and off-again, will be Yao game). He's just too big and lumbering to be carrying the team night-in and night-out. That's McGrady's job. IF there's anything that I would blame JVG on would be that he needs to bring in players to make-up for Yao's weakneses (rebounding, speed and latteral movement). We need quick players. If Yao isn't going to rebound 10-12, then he better tip those balls to someone that CAN rebound. So, we need to get players around Yao that can help him out. Yao will improve slowly. Too slow for most impatient fans. It's not just about the strengths of TMac/Yao. It's about their weaknesses too (don't let those too-high expectations of Yao blind you. He is what he is). That's where FA's come in. We need to make more speed and rebounding. How's that draft look? Hey, we stole Cassell and Cat. Maybe we can find us a "Chris Bosh" in our next draft.
The only think I will add is Kareem was never known for his quickness, aggression or his rebounding. In fact, he was constantly maligned for his lack of them. But he wound up one of the top 5 centers to ever play the game and in my opinon one of the top 10 players overall to ever play. Yao is what he is but he isn't what he can become. If he doesn't improve, he is a taller, slightly more athletic Smits. If he does improve, he will be great. I think he will still be great.
