How bout some kudos to Coach Jeff Van Gundy. He is regularly blasted on this board for just about everything he says, does, and thinks, but 21-12 in the Western Conference is great anyway you look at it. Everyone screams that JVG refuses to play rookies no matter how skilled or talented they may be. There were probably 10 different play Vspan or Novak threads. However, when given the chance it is clear neither one of them is ready to play heavy minutes and their weaknesses at this point outweigh their strengths. Good call JVG. The only significant addition so far this year to the Rox has been Shane Battier. (Wells and Snyder added, but no impact so far due to injuries) The same Shane Battier who was largely slammed by 90 percent of the people here for being brought in instead of Gay. The same Battier who was brought in because everyone knew he was a JVG type of player. Good call JVG. Everyone screamed to take Juwan out of the rotation which JVG did at the start of the season. JVG decides he needs to work Juwan in cuz Hayes isnt cutting it at the PF spot. We all scream to trade juwan, or cut him, or kill him or whatever it takes. JVG keeps playing him. Good call JVG. We scream to bench Rafer. He shoots too much, he misses too much, his defense is pathetic. All true, but still he does the one thing JVG needs him to do, bring the ball up, better then anyone else on the team. Head, Vspan have been horrible at the point, and JL3 is good in spurts but not for long stretches. Rafer keeps playing big minutes. Good call JVG. Basically if you look at the guys on this team, we are not going to be an offensive juggernaut even with Tmac rolling. Hayes, Mutombo, Howard, Battier, those guys can only be successful on defense oriented teams. We are basically the opposite of phoenix and need to be in order to win, and that is the system JVG runs. JVG is also the coach who has been in place as Yao has developed into a monster. Like i said, 21-12 is what it is, and made even better when considering the games missed by Yao, Tmac, Wells and Snyder so far. Just giving some credit where credit is due. Kudos JVG.
in addition to some of the things you've mentioned we should give some credit to van gundy for what he's done with deke. now most of mutombo's rejuvenation is because of his natural ability, his wisdom, and his gift of a great body to sustain his play into the 40's, but he was all but retired by the time we acquired him a few years ago. he has cleary been inspired by his time as a rocket and there's no doubt a big part of that is because his strengths are perfectly utilized in jvg's defense. you could make similar cases for jon barry, jim jackson, david wesley, etc. van gundy gets people to play hard if they're willing to put the time in.
The Rockets are benefiting from greatly from a (vintage)T-Mac who has taken the team on his shoulders,a Luther Head with one year under his belt,a Mutumbo who is playing ten years younger,and a Shane Battier who in my opinion does a whole lot more than people give him credit for....Yes JVG deserves some praise but coach's-coach and players win games! The way the team is playing right now you could have Frattelo coaching and they would still be winning! Don't get me wrong..I LIKE JVG but he's not the reason their winning.
JVG has done a very good job so far. For the most part, our defense has been great and has carried us to most of our wins. The Yao-less Rockets are doing better that I thought. However... I still have a problem with the all-Yao all the time offense. Maybe with Tracy back to his old self it will work better. When Yao returns, we must have more variety in our offense because it's too predictable and easy to stop in tight situations. The other players must stop being hypnotized and lazy after passing the ball into Yao. This is a minority viewpoint but so be it. You can ride a horse too hard for too long and that's what we were doing with the big fella. It would have eventually caught up to the Rockets. What's happening now should demonstrate we have other players with capabilities on offense that should be used each game, not just on a situational basis. I speak mainly of Shane.
I have HATED Van Gundy for years. He calls plays rather than allowing TMAC and Yao to play in a free flowing offense. He had those peculiar sub patterns that would leave both Yao and Tmac on the bench. He came to Houston with NO rings, his biggest feat was being tutored under Riley. Unless 5 and out in the finals impresses you... HATE HIM!!! Except this year. He has the Rockets 1st in defense and its not just some stat. Our defense has kept is in so many games. The fact that we have maintained the intensity without Yao, that is magical. 2nd he has us rebounding at the top of the league without any strong rebounder. Its done by everyone. The Spurs game he completely outcoached POP. The Lakers game (I believe) we were down big, put in the bench and they brought us back within a few points. Rather than reinserting the starters he stuck with the guys that brought us back. Even though we lost that was a ballsy call. He has genuinely done a better job this year than I have ever seen him do before. Perhaps it has to do with the talent level. Whatever it is Ill give him his credit. He is finally actually earning it.
Red Rowdies is big. Don't forget that he had that talk with McGrady when he was struggling 2 years ago and again last week that's turned him around into an MVP caliber player.
good thread? didn't we give him credit few weeks ago?! I don't think it's time to give him the extra credit yet..he still needs to do some explaining putting Rafer on the bench for 25 minutes could make things for him much easier anyways, kudos to Mutombo for being phenomenal, kudos for JHo for hitting the mid range jumper, kudos for Battier for playing great D all season long, kudos for TMac for coming back and playing like he normally does and kudos for Lucas for doing some good things and getting some playing time
So, when the team plays well... its all because of the players. When the team plays bad... its all because of the coach. Jeez... at least you guys are consistent.
Actually like a week ago, you were the loser that bumped the "Fire JVG II" thread from last year. Apparently he needs all the credit he can get when trolls like you are at it again. And what explaining does JVG have to do... explain why we're still winning games after losing an MVP candidate? Here's the explanation: he's a damn good coach. YOU are NOT a coach. Why is benching Rafer for half a game going to help us? Are you hoping JL III or V-Span can carry the load? Well, they can't. If they could, JVG would use them. He has a way better idea of what they're capable of than anyone on this forum.
I think JVG is a good coach ! But I also think he could improve the team by letting talented rookies on the floor for a stretch...especially at our 2 weakest areas...PF and PG. DD
Hasn't he been doing that with Lucas III and Novak? Lucas III has had some night moments. Novak hasn't done much, though he doesn't look as lost as he used to.
what I've noticed it JVG and staff seems to be one step ahead of the opponents on preparation. We DESTROYED Dallas, SA and Utah. but the big deal is I got league pass, and that destruction of SA, imo, has sent a memo out to the league. SA is on a tailspin right now. And I've watched that game 5 times and I've seen SA play 5 other teams since. The diffences are copying JVG's. JVG did it. He exposed SA's weakness, and Popovich has not successfully responded yet to the NBA memo, and he's on a tailspin. We are going to catch. So, you can say what you want about offensive coaches vs defense coaches, but the g r e a t thing about defensive coaches like JVG and staff is when they nail it and expose a team the whole league follows. Defense exposes the opponents weakness in a manner that other teams can copy. Offense can expose an opponent weakness, too, but not so much in a manner that other teams can copy. Aside from Rudy, JVG is the best coach for this team. mark me down!
