I remember last preseason the Rox were heavily pursuing Larry Brown and it looked like we were pretty colse to getting him until he decided to go to Detroit. I can only wonder if Larry Brown had been our coach would we have gotten past the Lakers in the first round and maybe made it all the way to the Championship? Larry Brown seems to be the type of coach who emphasizes playing the game the right away, good fundamentals and tough D. JVG is said to be the same way but unlike JVG Larry Brown also seems to know offense too. Looking at the Pistons individually they don't seem any more talented than the Rockets of 2003-2004. So do y'all think that Larry Brown could've turned the Rockets into the smooth running tenacious team that the Pistons were? Could he have gotten Francis, Mobley and Taylor to play team ball at both ends of the court? Could he have taken advantage of all of Yao's unusual b-ball talents than just trying to make him into another Patrick Ewing? Could have turned Cato into an offensive talent like Ben Wallace?
I'm sorry but the Lakers got LUCKY this year. 1. Rockets...reason they beat us is because of our enormous amounts of TOs and our inexperience in the playoffs. 2. Spurs...Fisher's shot really killed them. They're pretty soft mentally and that shot was like the gas chamber to them 3. Twolves...A healthy Cassell would have changed the outcome. A healthy Hudson might have changed the outcome. A healthy Cassell AND a healthy Hudson would have destroyed the Lakers With that being said, NO WAY would we have gotten past the Spurs or the Wolves or the Kings or the Mavs NO MATTER WHO OUR COACH IS/WAS.
Sishir - I think this is an interesting thing to discuss. I remember the big thing about LB was that he was a *teacher* of the game, and the concerns revolved (and still do) about how much the backcourt would allow themselves to learn. It seems like Steve and Cuttino did work a lot this past year. If one assumes that Larry Brown is a better teacher of the game than Jeff Van Gundy, then it seems like the team may have been better. At the same time, how apt are the AI vs. Franchise comparisons? If Steve Francis or anybody else on team didn't like Brown's "tough love", then I don't see the Rockets doing better than they did. And, of course, the Rockets right now have nowhere near the talent that Detroit does.
The same things had been said about Chauncy Billups and Rasheed Wallace, whether they were coachable. If you look at the effort that Francis put into this past season trying to play JVG's system and also the heart that he puts into games I think he would've bought into Brown's tough love system. The difference I think is that Brown would have a better understanding of how to use Francis, Mobley, Yao and the other Rockets on the offensive end. The Rockets' talents aren't naturally suited to the plodding half court game that JVG likes and I think Larry Brown's experience with AI would have helped him undertand how to deal with Francis. I respectfully disagree here. Individually I will take Francis over Billups and Yao over Ben Wallace and Mobley over Hamilton. I think Prince is more athletic than JJ but I think JJ is a better player. We don't have anyone that can compare with Rasheed but if Taylor can play consistent offense and better D he could be just as good. Cato looks like Ben Wallace before Larry Brown taught him offense. The one area where talent wise we are lacking is bench but other wise I think individual talent wise among the top six players we're close and maybe even a bit better. IMO this is about getting us to play functionally as a team.
After all, it seems that L. Brown picked the right team to coach. Or more accurately, he picked the right management to work with. Dumars is agressive and he got 'Sheed for Brown. JVG also emphasize on playing the right way. At least we didn't lose many games we are not supposed to. Look at our 24-6 record against East. Problem is other West teams improved more than we did.
oh what a difference a year makes. last year it was detroit making excuses why they for the 2nd straight year missed out on going to the big dance. as for larry brown, whos to say we wouldve won? its not like its a gaurentee, case in point. his other 21 years of head coaching in the NBA.
LAKERS roster: Self serving whiners. Pistons roster: Selfless winners. the rockets in the playoffs showed a good amount of teamwork from what i saw.
An excellent point! Its possible that Larry Brown saw something about the Rockets and decided to go with the team he thought he had a better chance to mold.
It's also possible that the Pistons still would have won with Carlisle at the helm. They were a good team before Brown showed up. The woulda coulda shoulda exercise is pretty futile.
If I'm not mistaken didn't the Pistons make it to the eastern conference finals last year under Rick Carlisle without Rasheed Wallace. Also didn't Rick Carlisle's Pacers get the best record in the league and make it to the eastern conference finals without Brad Miller and a injured Jermaine Oneal. In my estimation Larry Brown is one hell of a coach who is coaching a team that was already very good and got on a huge roll in the finals, but without Rasheed's presence they don't get past the New Jersey Nets. I think I'll stick with my Van Gundy.
Piston's offense is better than last year. They really look like a structured team and at times play beatuiful. Last year the offense was ugly like JVG's team. They were also swept by Nets and almost lost in the first round.
IMO Brown is a better coach than Van Gundy, but out of the available coaches last year, the Rockets got the best they could. It seems Brown has a more balanced system and creates a more positive vibe. Van Gundy's system lacks offense, and it seems he's never happy or satisfied, and never has good things to say. I'm a firm believer in always striving to be better, but sometimes you have to praise your players (especially players like Steve and Cat) to get them motivated.
Can there be any doubt Larry Brown is a better coach than Van Grumpy? One is a winner, the other is not.
If Brown had been the Rockets Coach instead of JVG then our Guards would no longer be with us. Brown would not have wasted the last season , giving them a second chance, they would be gone and better role players brought into compliment Yao.
