Well put, which is why I questioned the hire in the first place. This lack of motivation and playing hard is nothing new with certain guys on this team...but allowing it to be exposed certainly is.
Adelman’s system is best suited on a team that has a balanced attack (Portland and Sacramento). This roster is as far from being balanced as it gets.
As an example, PJ forced the triangle on the Lakers. He didn't come in and let Kobe and Shaq free-lance. It's a precise and disciplined offense that works well once a team finally gets it, which takes a while. The first 3-4 years PJ was in LA, he was THE MAN. After they won too much, Kobe and Shaq started tuning him out and doing their own thing, which led to their decline. One of the reasons he popped off publicly so much last year (actually naming players) was his frustration with them. If you go back to Chicago, they were a very disciplined team on both ends of the floor. On offense, it always began with MJ but they were a precise team with very defined roles who ran well-designed plays that created shots in the half court. If by some miracle PJ had joined the Rockets this summer, the words "I'm gonna let them figure it out" would have never come out of his mouth. That isn't his style. Tell you one thing: I could see him taking that tack when his team is getting slaughtered during a game because they aren't doing what he said, just to prove his point. He loves to prove he's right about something to the point of irritation.
Well, I don't know if keeping JVG would have been the best thing, but we certainly would be better off than with Adelman. People cut JVG to pieces because he didn't adjust his system enough to maximize Tracy and Yao. To that I would say: How has Adelman adjusted HIS system to our players and why isn't he being ripped for it? After 25 games and no trend towards offensive improvement, the excuses ring hollow.
player's coaches work with some players, just not the ones we've got. I actually think a player's coach is fine for Yao, but Tracy needs more structure.
We are really losing because of the Details Simple crap . .that is what is killing me MAKING YOUR FREE THROWS Silly Turnovers Jumpshooting instead of driving Hesitation on shot and when to drive These are NOT MAJOR things just a mountain of little things Like the Texans . ..the Rockets are REALLY not that far away Rocket River
that's why Yao is stepping up and trying to fill that leader role. last year he didnt need to do that because JVG was our leader.
When it comes to winning NBA championships, when was that era? I missed it. Coaching an NBA squad is different from managing a baseball team.
Every single player on the Rockets is performing individually worse than they have in the past. If it was just one or two players that were playing bad, you could blame the system. When everyone is playing below their standards you have to blame the coach. Rick Adelman is not a good coach this year.
Rick Adelman has been here all of a quarter of a seasons. Nobody's approach is the same, but it strikes me as very very very similar to Phil Jackson thus far. Whereas JVG was obviously more in the Popovich group. Which means either type of coaching can work. But obviously, to this point of the season, Rick's coaching is NOT working. But I don't think Rick is the only problem. Now I don't expect the team to shoot 50% on 3 pointers every night, but when you have wide open look after wide open look, how many can you possibly miss?? When you have 12 seconds to get at lease a semi-decent shot at a 3 to tie the game, and you have your best shooter/ballhandlers out there and you end up where we were...c'mon! Rick has to draw up a better play, but please, even an average NBA player would do something better than what we did when the play breaks down. Yao is dominant, when healthy. T-Mac is dominant, when health...and motivated. Rafer still sucks. Mike James is obviously more last year's version than the 1 year, contract year Mike James. Bonzi Wells creates some mismatches, but not nearly enough to get the run he gets. Hayes is limited offensively and too small defensively. Scola is a foul, turnover or missed jumper/layup waiting to happen. Shane Batter? Overrated defender, ridiculously bad offensively player other than a few key spots. And Francis...clearly not the player he once was. If Adelman is as laissez-fare as you say, and is just saying go out there and play, and this is the result...then our players freaking SUCK. If he's trying to run some kind of system, which he's been successful with in the past, and this is the result, then our players freaking SUCK. It is definitely becoming clearer and clearer that JVG overachieved as a coach on this team. And right now, I'd prefer him as a coach for this team. But that doesn't mean, regardless of coach, the team doesn't still have major issues. Aside from Yao/Tracy, we have at most 1 player that would regularly start on any other semi-decent team in the league (take your pick of the Rocket's mentioned). The rest of the group has some attributes, and are serviceable NBA players...which means 20 minutes off the bench. Anyways..stop rambling there. As to the triangle...I said it in another thread a week or so ago. Why don't more teams run the triangle? It doesn't look that hard to master, but seems to be a good system that works.
A good coach motivates their players. Forces them to be held accountable, to play inspired and recognizes problems and creates a solution. Adelman hasn't done much of anything well. His laissez-fare approach with this group is nothing but a sinking ship unless changes are made.
JayZ750, I'm no master of the triangle and it's intricacies. But it requires the players to think a lot and it takes some time before becoming natural. I think that is why PJ (via the tutelage of his longtime assistant Tex Winter) is the only NBA coach to use it. The difficulty level is pretty high. You'd think after 9 championships other teams would copy it. Oh well.
57 games still left in this very young season. I personally will withhold judgement on Adelman until around march of next year. This is still one of the most talented rocket teams I've have seen and I expect that they will turn it around and find some sort of identity sooner rather than later. Morey is going to have to find some way of unloading some of the backcourt depth that they currently have. It's way to difficult to find any sort of chemistry with so many players in the backcourt. Remember during JVG's early days with the rockets and how bad Maurice Taylor and Juwon Howard looked when they were subbing for one another. When they got rid of Taylor, Howards game really flourished, I think Mike James may be in the same boat as Howard this season. Rockets may lose some depth ie.(injuries), but may gain in better play ie.(shooting and finishing) with some players moved before the trade deadline in the backcourt.
