The "magic" of playoff collapse and the worst game 7 loss in NBA history. The only "axe" Mr. Van Gundy has is the one his head seems to be up many days. Your analogy makes perfect sense with the Rockets. He took a team that had potential, and slowly replaced every part except the bolt holding the thing together. These are NOT THE SAME as the Rockets of old, and sadly have little connection to the championship era, other than being led by one of the losers from it.
My Two biggest Issues with JVG are 1. He can only win with 'HIS TYPE' players and 2. his inability to Motivate and Inspire That Blowout was simply. . AJ had his players motivated and hyped JVG had his players tentative and passive Rocket River