I figure the average percentage of truth in any rumor is about 10 percent. The one about CD and JVG not speaking is a case in point. Of course they speak. But if one is pissed off at the other -- and obviously the more likely pissed-off candidate is Van Gundy -- here's one guess why. Van Gundy constantly talks about the culture of his team. The guy can't stop using that word. He even plays Ryan Bowen, who's nothing but culture. It's interesting, and I think he's got a point. Talent gives you a shot at winning before the opening whistle. But culture is what makes your team play hard at the beginning and hard at the end. It wins games. The moves we made this offseason did not help our culture. They traded culture for fit. The guys we picked up -- Swift, Anderson, Alston -- made enormous sense in terms of fit. We needed a more athletic 4, we needed a shooter/slasher, we needed a distributor. What did we trade away or lose to injury? Sura, Barry, James. Sura and Barry, unlike McGrady and Yao, weren't huge losses in terms of talent. But in the culture department, their loss was lethal. I was for the James trade, and I'm still for it, but my reason was and is that Alston is a better fit. We needed the distribution more than the shooting. But in retrospect I regret the cultural price of losing James. I didn't like his decisions. I loved his attitude. I've never seen anything from Carroll Dawson that suggests he's a culture guy. The deals he cuts generally make sense in terms of talent or fit. But he thinks like a Texan, not a New Yorker. I'm not saying JVG didn't sign off on CD's moves. I'm sure he did. But maybe he's mad at himself for setting aside his pet philosophy in favor of getting guys whose talents, not personalities, seemed to fit our needs. And maybe he's right.
JVG has never been involved in a championship team, ever. CD has....I trust CD WAY WAY WAY more than JVG. DD
I thought CD joined on in the 96-97 season.. so that would mean he hasn't been part of a championship season either. http://www.hoopshype.com/general_managers/carroll_dawson.htm
Interesting post. In hindsight, Stro wasn't a good move and not because of his play ...but because of his attitude. I think the Stro signing was obviously bad if you look at it from your perspective. Stro is just NOT an energy player and never will be. He isn't the kind of guy JVG will ever respect. He may play well is spurts but JVG wants to see guys who hustle and make smart plays. Stro is the exact opposite. James 4 Alston was a good trade any way you slice it, IMO. Sura is a prototypical JVG guy. Hustle player and plays smart. Jon Barry is also a hustle player but he doesn't always play smart. His pull-up 3-pointers or flashy passing is nice when it works but is HORRIBLE when it doesn't.
Interesting points. Basically you're saying CD is 'Isaih Lite'. The question becomes, 'who are the matrix players' ie combining culture and talent. Harpering is. I'd love to add him to the Rox mix. Murphy is. I'd love to add his overpaid self to the Rox. So, too, were Boozer and Daniels. Delonte West is a comer in the matrix department. For next season, and the next few seasons, there must be a better mix of the two.
I was watching that Legends Lunch on Sunday when Drexler was speaking. He was talking about how, back in his day, there were players that he just didn't like. That really struck me because I just don't see that kind of thinking in the NBA anymore. And I actually miss it. Drexler was talking about how if you were going up against someone you didn't like, you played extra hard and you wanted to win at all costs. Then you wanted to rub the guys face in it. Today it seems like all the players like and respect eachother and that's great, but I think it leads to players who don't really care about winning. At least not as much as they used to. When is the last fight that didn't involve Ron Artest? When is the last really hard foul you saw besides Kobe on Mike Miller? Hell, even the toughest player (pound for pound) in the league Allen Iverson seems to have mellowed out over the years. I'm not saying I want a league full of thugs like the early 70's or anything, but I want to see some rivalries. I don't want to see opposing players helping eachother up after fouls. I want to see some confrontations. Just something that shows me that players still care and want to win. Will, I don't know that there are a lot of players left in the league that fit JVG's culture anymore. You could probably count them on two hands. It's a shame.
This is a very interesting subject. It relates to the "chemistry" issue. I look at it this way: talent is the cake, chemistry is the icing. Without sufficient talent, which I don't think this team has, the "culture" of the team is largely irrelevant. JVG talked about having a bunch of nice guys that get along but lacking the "killer" instinct. This is about culture. After the Dallas series he talked about not having all the parts to win. This is about fit or talent. My view is that the current Rockets have neither "fit" (enough talent) or "culture" (too laid back). Getting this mix right is not easy. But, this team will not contend until the Rocket's brain trust "get it together." The "right" move could make the difference.
The only thing I would have to say about your points is: I feel that Alston has turned some kind of corner, and is now immersed in JVG's 'culture', as well as being a good 'fit'. We may never know about DA, but Swift, I think you are spot-on. Swift just doesn't have that *something* on the inside that makes for the piece we need at his spot. It's kind of like that old saying about art - 'I may not know art, but I know it when I see it' . We may all have our own different theories as to why Swift has not been a success here, but I think the one thing was can all agree on is that he has definitely not been a success here. And it's that same 'je-ne-sais-quoi' that allows us to see that Hayes has that 'something' that Swift does not. Hayes is definitely a 'culture' guy. Unfortunately, he may not wind up being the best 'fit' because of his (lack of) size. But even still, I doubt you will find anyone complaining if the Rockets keep Hayes on the roster for a long time, because of those very intangibles. Rafer has been playing some crazy defense lately, really expending a lot of energy on the defensive end, and generally having good results. He has also been playing the way we need a point to play - making good decisions, relatively few turnovers, high assists, and taking the shot himself when it is appropriate. Most of all, JVG has been investing a lot of coaching time with him, during the games you see JVG actually communicating and working with Alston, instead of giving him that disgusted cold shoulder he reserves for players whom he thinks are not listening to him. I like that. So, for your 'culture vs fit' notion, regarding our offseason acquisitions, it seems to be: 1 strikeout (Swift), 1 'we'll-never-know-for-sure-but-he's-gone-anyway' (DA), and one success (Alston). Had DA been able to break with form and actually NOT get injured and miss most of the season, and had we not had the freakishly bad luck with TMac's and Yao's injuries, then there is the very real possibility that he might have meshed with the 'culture' as well as the 'fit' ; that 2 of the three moves could have turned out well, which no one would be complaining about. As it is, we are going to get garbage for DA, and people are going to ride us like the town bicycle when we get rid of Swift. So, it's likely going to be a one-out-of-three ending. The acquisitions of Hayes and (through Baxter) Bogans soften that blow a bit. Both of them seem like culture guys. All in all, I give the front office a C+ for their personnel moves this year, with the caveat that it could have been a lot higher if not for circumstances beyond their control (insane injuries).
Good post...If I can continue with your thought, I would add that both Wesley and Howard have rounded into contributing and effective pieces of this said culture and are now a good fit as complementary role players, even as starters. I am not saying that either is the best choice "on paper", but for now they are important cogs that we can live with and support. The greatest need that the Rockets still have, though, is some added toughness from somewhere, at some position. This is where we miss Sura, who was not, again, "on paper" the best player, but he had arguably the strongest effect on the team with his style of play, not just "fitting" but literally defining JVG`s precious culture. We need that one player that has that ability to define the Rocket culture with added toughness!
Will, good post. It has merrit. I think we have two great players in Yao and Tmac and I think we have a good defensive system with JVG's system. We just have to pepper the roster with more role players, and perhaps role players with that "killer" aspect to them. Guys that are vocal and show a lot of fire on the court. It's a lot easier to find those guys than it is to find Yao's and Tmac's in the open market. We just have to be selective. Of course, in looking for those players you can put your team's chemistry in danger, a player could turn into a cancer. That is the risk you take. But it probably is one worth taking to try to take this team to the next level.
A few years ago, everybody thought Moochie's 'fro culture was great. Seriously, I think Will's point is great. (I didn't know he could write more than a couple of quip sentences at a time. ) You need both fit and culture to win big. But, culture can be cultivated to a certain extent. The key is the leadership of your superstars. I am not a Mavs fan by any stretch. But if you look at how they played a few years back when they were led by the Finley-Dirk-Nash trio. Those three guys were all great shooters. But they didn't hog. They created a culture of sharing. You could see how this culture infatuated the role players they acquired. Same thing is happening in Phoenix. I think Yao is a great culture guy. But he is not a vocal leader. TMac has fire inside, but is probably too sensitive to get going when the going gets tough. The good thing is, both our stars are unselfish team players. We just need some toughness and the culture will be great. Now, JVG, get off that cultural thing and sit Ryan Bowen at the end of the bench!
this is pretty damn simple. there isn't a need to talk about culture and fit. it comes down to a coach being able to adjust and coach the talent he has. JVG hasn't done that. yeah, ryan bowen is a great "culture" guy, but does that mean he should actually see the floor in a game other than to foul someone, HELL NO! culture is great and helps, but you don't need it to win. look at the lakers, they won three championship while their best two players didn't even talk to each other! JVG has talent on this team, he just can't coach it. you don't have to have everyone on a team like each other or have guys with similar personalities. you just need guys who play hard and want to win. that's it. as long as everyone has the common goal of winning, you should be fine.
Good post - I agree completely. I could care less about how great a "culture" guy Bowen is; all I know about him is that when he is in the game, your team becomes very limited offensively. I still can't figure out how he has lasted as long as he has in the league. I'm not one of those fans who wants Gundy out of here, but the one thing that has ALWAYS bothered me about him is what you touched on - he can't ever adjust his coaching style to the players around him.
Yes, I believe it had something to do with an eye injury or a detached retina.. I think he is blind in one eye...... DD
Good post. I heard an out-of-town prognosticator (might have been a veteran or retired player now an assistant coach, I don't remember) on the radio last year say this same thing, that our rep around the league is that the Rockets have in recent years been infatuated with talent, over chemistry.
from the Rockets site: "Dawson is known throughout the NBA for his work with frontcourt players and has also been credited with teaching Hakeem Olajuwon his infamous jump hook"
