ESPN - Possible Coaching Changes : Rudy among them?

You excuse makers are complete wussies. Big frickin' deal. Rox had plenty of chances and fell flat on their face. They showed who they are - out of control, lacking in character, incapable of stepping up. Big losers with a capital L. You want the Mooch...you got 'em. Suck on that for 5 more years. Only radical change will root out the evil that corrupts this team.

 

Probably the best thing we can do is get a guard who can pass (Alvin Williams? Kenny Anderson? Eric Snow? good-bye Cuttino) and a bruiser to protect Yao. As far as the coach, yeah, Rudy would have to resign, whether by choice or "suggestion."

 

Steve a legit PG? He was leading the league in turn overs for a while. Come on...

Taylor a low Post Scoring? He average 1.05 points per shot...9th best on the team and you consider that "low post scoring"

Moochie brings something to the table? I'm not even going into this one.

 

So was Kidd!!
Steve is considerd around the nba to be one of the top points.
No he is not the passer Kidd or Stocken are but he is a much better scorer.
Points that pass first, second, third, and then owe I'd better shoot it usely can't shoot. They get good assist but bring you no scoring. We have one of the hardest points to guard! His assits would go up if the rest of the team could make their shots.

Why do people want to add point guards that don't pass any better than Steve and are worse scorers? You move Steve to the 2 and his assist go down so our backcourt productivity goes down and we are worse on D.

 

Okay.

When does Rudy T's contract expire?

 

Kidd actually did lead the league in turnovers this year. Damn. And I thought Jason was a legit point guard.

 

And guess who is at the number 2 spot but our good friend Steve Francis with (3.69) yet Steve seem to have falling down the list in other categories such as assists, steals, etc... And guess what...I was wrong, Steve does own the coveted statistical award of Ranks #1 in the NBA in Total Turnovers(299.0). And to think he didn't have what it took to be Number 1. Congrats Steve. And Juggie thanks for your insightful comment or shall I say spam. Read between the lines...

 

There really is no upgrade to Rudy, but that's not the point. What they want is someone as good as RT, or almost, that can get Steve and Cat to do what they are supposed to do.

 

amen to that.

cut francis

 

So a PG having a flaw to his game renders him illegitimate? Come on .............

What makes Steve a legit PG is his ability to take anyone in the league off the dribble and penetrate. Unfortunately, his passing, once into the heart of the defense, has been slow to come around (but comparisons to other great PGs show that it is possible he will get the hang of it).

Before the April collapse, Steve averaged 7.1 assists and only 2.8 TOs in March. Steve is slowly getting it and my guess is he will receive another shot at PG this coming season.

Exactly how do you think Mo scored his points? Are you saying that Mo is not a low post scoring threat?

If you don't think that Mo is a legit low post scorer because he only averages "1.05 pointers per shot" then I don't know what to say. Mo absolutely would dominate stretches of games with his low post scoring. That is his niche. I guess you missed those games. His jump hook was almost automatic and his mid-range jumper was fairly reliable. Thats about all Mo has to offer, is his low post scoring.

Fine, then I'll go into since you obviously have no basis for any of your arguements.

Lets take a look at the 21 legit backup PGs in the NBA (those who have played at least 50 games as a backup PG):

Ollie - Sea
Johnson - NJ
McGinnis - Por
Lue - Was
Kerr - SA
Strickland - Ind
Boykins - GS
Knight - Mem
Atkins - Det
Van Exel - Dal
Armstrong - Orl
Norris - Hou
Jaric - LAC
Ward - NY
Parker - Cle
Shaw - LAL
Crawford - Chi
Jones - Sac
James - Mia
Dickau - Atl
Jackson - Utah

Out of all these players, here is how Moochie compares in stats:

20th in point per 48 Min
11th in assists per 48 Min
6th in rebounds per 48 Min
11th in turnovers per 48 Min
11th in Assist/TO Ratio
8th in steals per 48 Min
12th in FG%

Fact is, Moo is not one of the best backup PGs in the league. Fact is, Moo is not one of the worst backup PGs in the league. Fact is, Moo is an average backup PG in this league. Which reinforces my claim that at no more than 10-12 MPG, he would be an adequate backup. And please don't say that Moo never hustles and never plays hard. Again, at least he tries most of the time on D.

I think its very unfair for people to claim that Moo is the worst backup PG in the league when 1) Most don't watch every game of every team in the league close enough to be able to accurately critique other backup PGs in the league and 2) the statistics show is about average when compared to other backups in the league.

Moochie is the least of this team's problems. A backup PG playing 15 mins per game is not going to be a factor in most games.

 

Jeff, couple of things.... All the preseason predictions of the Rockets finishing with a win total in the low 40s and being a possible 8th seed were based on Yao Ming taking a long time to develop. Go through a lot of the arguments saying the Rockets were essentially a playoff team during their 47 win season but sank to 28 wins b/c they had injuries, therefore, they could win 40 plus games even if Yao took 2 seasons to develop. No one in their wildest dreams thought Yao would be a 14-8 player his rookie season and was essentially the second most productive center in the NBA. If you told people in the preseason that this would happen, the predicitions would have been more like 48-50 wins than 40-43 wins. A team with the second most productive center in the conference, the second or third most productive PG in the conference, a top 8 SG in the conference and one of the deepest rosters should not be sitting at home in May.

That being said, I am not saying that Rudy absolutely must go. I can see a very valid argument for it, but personally, thats really not the biggest issue for me; my take for the majority of the season has been that the players around Yao and Steve MUST change. If this team makes the type of offseason moves that have been hinted at by the insiders in this forum, then they will have absolutely no problem winning 50 games next yr and finishing with a top 5 playoff seed. When Doc Rocket essentially said that Steve Francis will be a SG next yr, that one quote gave me a lot of hope for the long term success of this team. This team as is will be mired in mediocrity, a few changes starting with Steve taking on more of a scoring role will help these guys become elite very fast. This offseason is VERY critical to determining whether this team will be mediocre every yr or win multiple rings.

 

If Silas, who led the Hornets to 4 consecutive playoff apperances, can be fired, why not Rudy T.?

I know that Hornets is an East team and considering the strength or lack of strength in the east, this is not a good comparison. But as one of the senior member in this BBS has said, WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO FINALLY CONVINCE THE HOUSTON PUBLIC AND MOST OF ALL LES ALEXANDER THAT RUDY T. SHOULD BE FIRED?

I know the guy is a good guy and considering his situation...But those two reason does not have anything to do with basketball. If Rudy T. stays, I think the owner should start looking for buyers for the rockets. Maybe then the next owner will finally fire Rudy's butt.

 

codell -- You have great points. But if rudy stays, we will see the same old things. Rare ball movement, too much dribbling, too much one-on-one plays, players standing around and waiting for the other player to do their thing.

I do not care if we have MJ, Kobe, KG, or whoever. Rudy's system do not maximize the game of Yao, which is a team-oriented system. Rudy's system fits SF and CM games, which is why the team is one of the worst in team assist and assist to turnover ratio. The fans deserve TEAM PLAY.

 

The Rockets will most likely wait to see if Karl remains in Milwaukee and then try to promote Rudy to some other part of the organization. clearing the coaching spot for a run at karl. that could be difficult because Karl likes to be in charge of everything.

 

Why the hell would the Rockets make a run at a coach who is hated here and has done an all-around ****ty job where he's at now?

 

I'm one of the few people who wouldn't care either way. I'd like to see Rudy with a full-offseason improved Yao, but at the same time I have no problem with new blood.

Now, if they do go with someone new, who they bring in will interest me a great deal....

 

Can Hakeem coach?

 

Jeff Van Gundy would be a big name coach and would be recognizable by most because he coached for so many years in NY. You can't be a Knicks coach and not be recognizable.

What do you guys think about the possibility of Jerry Sloan coming in to coach? If Stockton retires and Malone leaves, Sloan may jump ship. And I gotta think he is a big enough name for you.

Is it just me or is it harder to become an NBA head coach than any other coach of a major sports team? MLB has the minors where guys can cut their teeth. In the NFL, it seems like the jump from College to pros is easier and it also seems like it is far easier for assistants to become head coaches and be successful. And who really cares about the NHL?

In the NBA, you either have to go with a retread or essentially just pick a guy and hope it works. College to Pro promotions haven't worked well at all and there is no minor leagues.

Can anybody think of a former player with the aptitude to do what Isaih Thomas and Larry Bird have done? Big name and the smarts to be fairly successful? The first guy I thought of was Stockton, but obviously he is still playing. I wouldn't get near Jordan as a coach. Hakeem isn't an option because he is still under contract and I wouldn't want to bring him back for several years if ever. Moses might be, but I think of big man when I think of him, not head coach material. Could be wrong. Drexler would be an option if he had done a little better in his previous gig. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anyone else that would work.

 

What's up with all this 'Rudy has to go' talk? We were well on our way to the playoff when Rudy was replaced by his assistant coach due to health issue. Then we just fell apart and lost 4 of the next 5 to hand the 8th spot to the Suns. Rudy should at least have one more chance (season) to prove that he can get the job done.

 

Actually, the Rockets went 2-3 in their next 5 games following Rudy's departure. And frankly, I doubt they would've done any better regardless of who was coaching them on that road trip. Or did you forget the losses in Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, L.A.(Clippers, not Fakers), New York, Washington, and Memphis where Rudy was in charge?