he's available , but not now. maybe when the season is done, but even then we have very little chance.
EDC, You ever stand in a corner and just punch yourself silly? Doesn't this thread give anyone else that image?.... HEY! Today I had my yearly raise FALL RIGHT IN MY LAP!!! WOOHOO!!! Or was it already here before I got here? Does that makes me less of a....worthy...person....worker....asset to the firm!?!?!?
Which doesn't make the topic true, just up for debate. However, the thread would die if you wouldn't keep it going, as there is no more debate as to who should coach the Rockets this season. I think you're just on a personal mission to see this thread reach that mark, and act like it was because JVG should get fired. Oh well.
Just noting the passing of the milestone, that's all. Until the Rockets lose 31 games, I'm NOT saying JVG should be fired...
1,000 pardons if this was already posted somewhere; I couldn't find it. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3038704 Feb. 14, 2005, 1:40AM Van Gundy's reputation misleading By JOHN P. LOPEZ It was ugly by any gauge, but at least Jeff Van Gundy enjoyed the defensive effort because, of course, he's Jeff Van Gundy. The Houston Strangler? He won't show it, but when his teams play good defense — forcing turnovers, rebounding, making stops — Van Gundy gets all goose-pimply underneath his sport coat. Defense and finding a way to win — even an ugly way, like in Sunday night's 81-80 victory over the Trail Blazers — are his bliss. Unfortunately, they are also his shackles. The most curious thing about NBA fans, especially the casual ones, is they stay with long-held presumptions like comfortable shoes. Fans refuse to change. The Blazers are a bunch of thugs. So goes the supposition. Van Gundy turns a beautiful game ugly. Such is the gospel about his basketball soul. Perception hard to shake He was worn that reputation of being basketball's human sundial for nine years — ever since he took over the Knicks two seasons after they bludgeoned the Rockets, and vice versa, in the mucky 1994 NBA Finals. Van Gundy has been known as the man who would rather have his team walk the ball upcourt than finish a snazzy fast break. He'd rather bruise than cruise. His idea of high-scoring offense is drawing a foul and a free throw after seven passes and a tip-in off an offensive rebound. He has often kidded about the reputation, saying once: "I can suck the life out of anything." And so the Rockets turned in an effort reminiscent of a tractor pull Sunday night. There was no denying it. "Trying to ease into the All-Star break instead of sprinting," is how the coach described it. You're probably thinking that all those clanging sounds off the rim were secretly music to the coach's ears. You're thinking he popped a 20-liter Diet Coke, propped his feet up on his desk and basked in dreary delirium. But if that's what you think, what games have you been watching lately? Rarely ugly these days These Rockets have won seven consecutive games, and few have been close to ugly like this. Going into Sunday night, the Rockets had averaged 98.6 points in their previous 23 games. Their record through their last two dozen outings is 18-6. Tracy McGrady has found a comfortable place in the offense and above the rim. Yao Ming has become noticeably more confident and multidimensional whenever he gets the ball in the post. Jon Barry has improved significantly in his role off the bench, knocking down more shots and earning more minutes. Guards Bob Sura and David Wesley have cut down on the previous backcourt's dumb turnovers and consistently made smart passes. Power forward Juwan Howard, who had one double double in points and rebounds through the first three months of the season, has had four in his past six games. If you skimmed past Van Gundy's postgame rant about caring and his team's having regressed — past the idea that this is Van Gundy's way — and listened closely during games, you would hear him repeatedly shout, "Run! Run! Run!" "That's what he tells us all the time — get to the basket, get layups," Wesley said. "I know since I've been here, all he's done is try to get us to push the ball. Sometimes it's not in a team's nature, but he's wanted us to run a lot more." Clearly, these are not the same Rockets that began the year looking sluggish and ugly. Neither are they the team that missed every 3-pointer it took Sunday night, an oh-fer that hadn't happened in two years. They're by no stretch the Showtime Lakers, but rest assured they aren't the 1994 Knicks, either. Yet because Van Gundy stresses defense, purses his lips and grimaces when possessions go bad, and enjoys a good rant, he cannot shake the branding from his New York days. He might never, in fact. "(The reputation) never bothers you?" Van Gundy said. "No ... it does. It's just some things that are said you find off-base." Like that whole sucking the life out of the game thing. Some players confuse discipline with conservatism. That's what former Rocket Steve Francis did. Van Gundy demands things done his way. Is that a bad style? Francis fed the reputation this season, criticizing Van Gundy and saying if players refuse to buy into his system, "they'll get traded like me." But from the uninspiring days of November and December, the Rockets have become a team that has scored more than 100 points 10 times in its past 24 games. Sunday was the exception — a nasty one, but an exception nonetheless. Even at that, the Rockets came up with the smart offensive possessions in the final minutes, getting a McGrady fadeaway from 22 feet, a Yao jumper, and a huge slicing drive by Sura. "You know, I think as a coach you're always going to be labeled," Van Gundy said. "I hope one day my label is as a champion. Other than that, it's based on results. Not every game in this league is pretty." Not everything you think you learned about Van Gundy in the 1990s is true anymore. "I didn't change the approach," Van Gundy said. "The people enjoy it more when you score more, and that's great. I would like them to have a good time when they come. "But you still have to play to your strengths and play to win." The Rockets have been winning. And contrary to what you might think, it hasn't been ugly — Sunday night notwithstanding. john.lopez@chron.com
According to Bill Worrell, "T-mac told me on a flight home that, 'JVG is the best coach I've ever had.'" You're not going to get a bigger endoresement than that... I think this thread is officially dead.
Agreed, I was certainly on the fire JVG bandwagon, but am now officially kicking myself off, and getting back on the Rockets Koolaide. DD
I predicted this would wear out over time (I can't find my post on this... 33 pages 'nuff said) the same thing happened to Mack Brown at UT they hated him so much they even had a web site "firemackbrown.com" but in the end they took the web site down - and put up a message that said basically they didn't always agree with him and he couldn't beat OU, but he had the team in the top 10 and in a BCS bowl - so they felt he had "earned" the right NOT to have a web site calling for his head JVG may be an annoying prick... but he's OUR annoying prick (tell me you haters didn't love seeing him actually crack a smile during the 4th quarter)
Hey everybody, I gotta a great idea..let's all go lover to the new threads area and start a GIVE CD A HELL OF ALLOT MORE LUV thread ? OK ? I'll make sandwiches !
