how smart is rudy?

Individually........NO

and it would be damn close with them together

 

hey you just echoed my sentiments just like I stated a few posts ago. That Seattle 0 for 13 stretch especially in the playoffs still baffles me - we were just embarrased by George and his 'dogs'. Wow.

 

Rudy is a basic concept coach. Not a creative coach. Very basic on the x's an o's. Meat and potatoes. I'm sure he knows about technique in shooting, but not much on boxing-out or rebounding technique, or passing lanes, deception and attack, dribbling technique. I mean, never saw any changes at all regarding any of these...If a player takes it upon himself to do these things, then Rudy considers it one thing he doesn't have to worry about.

Rudy: Attention to detail? NO WAY!

He probably talks-over his players' heads most of the time. Although some people think he's a motivator, he himself said that "motivation is overrated," making the point that if players can't motivate themselves, then they shouldn't be in the NBA. Not sure I agree with this statement, considering the amount of lazy kids (mental part of the game) in the NBA today. In reality, I think Rudy tried to motivate his players once, but got that "stare" from his players and never tried it again.

The Francis and Mobley stare = Wats dis fool talking about?

Although, you can treat some players with velvet gloves, some players need a good "kick in the butt." Not sure Rudy would ever show backbone. Guess he uses the "shotgun method" for all his players (Golly gee-whiz guys...let's show some hustle...I'll be nice.).

Yes, it's true, most of the time I think that Rudy is a wuss. If he's not being a total ho-hum nice guy (to the sickening level), he's freaking out and being melodramatic on the sidelines...

Once I heard him call a foul on the ground for tripping Francis.

"Hey ref! That was a foul! The ground tripped Francis!"

Turns out, the Francis tripped on himself.

....heh heh....

 

Well...it seems that after timeouts, our team seems to do well. And we have had some nice comebacks. But we have also had some terrible losses to terrible teams and a few good teams. Rudy is a nice guy. It would be sad to see the Houston Chronicle with the headlines, "Rudy Fired". But if we have to do it, then I guess it's to improve our team. I still think they will not get rid of him because they are trying to rebuild and develop. IF WE DO NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS, then he needs to leave. Or we need to leave the Western Conference and go East. W00T!

 

Many of you who don't respect Rudys' coaching abilities aren't old enough to remember the Rockets before Rudy became our coach. For many years the Rockets had, in my opinion, very good talent surrounding the best center in the league. But it wasn't until Rudy became our coach that all the pieces came together to win two championships.

If for some reason the Rockets did fire Rudy, I'm sure several other teams would be more than happy to hire him the very next day. It's not easy to find a coach who was a spectacular college player, who goes on to be a perennial NBA all-star, and works his way up the coaching ladder to win two NBA championships.

I do become frustrated when it seems the Rockets aren't playing up to their potential, but I figure Rudy and his staff know a little bit more about basketball than I do. And, I'm sure Rudy knows a lot more about coaching this team than any of you barely-out-of-high-school basketball neophytes.

 

A LOT MORE.

It's not easy to coach a team.

There are very many sides to coaching.

It's very difficult.

And they get paid.

And he is one of the best coaches in the NBA. He's not THE BEST...but he is one of the best.

You're right. I'm sure Cleveland or Denver would love to hire him...MAYBE EVEN THE MAVERICKS.

 

Different time, different team, different era. No one here, well at least not me, is saying Rudy is a bad guy or discounting the two banners he brought to Houston. It's just a fact that all era's come to an end. Is Rudy a great coach and a great guy? Yes. Is he the RIGHT coach for THIS team? That's the question.

On a personal level, I WISH I was still "barely-out-of-high-school". My Dad used to take me to Rocket games at the Astrodome and/or Hofienz Pav to see Rudy, Calvin and Mike Newlin. I've had the pleasure of meeting Rudy a few times so believe me when I say it's NOT personal.

 

The only problem I have with Rudy is that fact he admits he tells players to do things and they don't do it. He has said as such on his radio show. Of course he never comes out and says it str-8 up, but he does say something like, "We have talked about that and that is something we are working on."

I just feel like Rudy can coach, but these players are not responding to him. That is a problem that can only be remedied by a new coach.

 

I don't think Rudy should take all the blame. Ultimately, our 3 "star" players are the ones that should decide whether the team wins or loses. I'm afraid I just don't think this is the right mix of players. Their games just don't blend well together. When Steve and Cuttino play well, Yao doesn't. When Steve and Yao play well, Cuttino isn't. All 3 can never seem to get on the same page.

Look at Dallas, their big 3 play well every game. Their games blend together perfectly allowing all 3 to play well at the same time. I'm afraid you can't say the same about the Rockets. Yao, Steve, and Cat all need the ball in their hands and when only 2 of the 3 are getting the ball, the other one is ineffective.

It's a shame because in the rare instances when all 3 have had good games (like vs. Sacramento), the team has look great. The problem is it only happens like once in every 10 games. Most of the time only 1 or 2 play well, in which case, the team has looked mediocre/average.

I say make one more trade to upgrade the 4 spot and if it still doesn't work out next season, look for a new coach.