make the players fit a mold .. instead of molding the offense around them that's what I want to say. yao and tmac, we all know they are good players but they do have some weak side. how to use them that's the coach's job. JVG WE NEED CHANGE, FROM YOURSELF. RIGHT NOW
The biggest frustration I have with JVG is the fact that he makes it difficult on his players by leaving them so little room for error. They don't get easy baskets and rarely get out in transition meaning their execution in the half court must be flawless and the team MUST be able to hit its three's. Knowing that we don't have a lot of great long-range shooters and that our passing attack would likely be limited early in the season due to Sura's injury and the lack of time for these players playing together, he still didn't make adjustments to compennsate for that. It is kind of like a football coach that blitzes constantly and leaves his DB's on an island in single coverage. That works fine if you have a great pass rush, but if you can't get to the quarterback, your DB's are going to get burned. Continuing to stay in the scheme over and over and over is ignorning your weaknesses. Blaming the players won't help if they aren't the right players. I think JVG succeeded in NYC because his players were used to Pat Riley and he had veteran leadership on the team that was used to that style of coaching. This team doesn't have that which is why he tried to bring in guys from his coaching past to bring the rest into the flow of his system. I, personally, don't worry about his personality in relation to the players. Larry Brown, Jerry Sloan and Pat Riley are three of the most successful coaches in the history of the game and also three of the most demanding. But, his personality in relation to the play on the floor does concern me. At some point, if your players are struggling, you have to find ways to give them easy baskets. Drive them to the hole. Get them up and down the floor. Force the transition game. Anything to get them jump started and give them some confidence. It also lessens the pressure to be perfect in their execution of the half court offense, which will be important come playoff time. But, right now, they need to build some confidence and make the game easier.
Couldn't agree more Jeff. Question is, when will he or the Rockets realize this and what will they do to stop it? Personally, I was a fan of getting rid of Rudy, and now I find myself thinking, hmmm...different players, different coach, same old crap as far as game play is concerned. I'm still trying to assess where the problem in this franchis is. Maybe I expect to much from a team that is and has not been that good.
Jeff Demanding is one thing being a Grump is another I never got the sense that the Pistons FEARED Brown but they knew what he wanted Rocket River
I think the Rockets are already starting to tune out JVG. JVG made a comment to a reporter who asked a question concerning players tuning him out. JVG basically said that players who want to win don't tune him out. That's pretty arrogant. He makes it sound like he's got rings on his fingers or something. The guy is Joe Gibbs. The game has passed him by. Can anyone imagine JVG coaching Lebron? That would be a nightmare for the NBA. TMac's new shoe commercial with the little guys trying to tie him down is telling. It foreshadowed what is happening now. JVG who represents the little man is tying TMac down.
You know, I'm about fed up with this Pat Riley School of Thought bologna. He ain't no more Pat Riley than a man in the moon. When Riley was in LA, he was coaching Magic Johnson. Was Riley playing WALK BALL? >>>>NO! He was running and gunning. What exactly is Riley ball? It is playing tough nosed help defense, and maximizing the offensive skills of the players on the floor. Those Laker teams had Jabbar, Magic, and some great role players. Jabbar wasn't a running center, but he could throw an outlet pass, so he threw the outlet and Magic, Worthy, Scott were off to the races. When they didn't have the break, they set up and threw the ball to Kareem and worked off him. They ran, they played half court. They won. Riley didn't try to force Magic to slow it down. He helped define roles, and let the superstar players have the ball and make decisions with it. He let them grow into champions. And he got them to bust tail on the defensive end. Now fast forward to the Knicks. What does he have to work with up there? He's got Ewing, and a bunch of lesser players. What does he do? He teaches them to play tough nosed help defense, and he lets them play the slow down game, because they had a bunch of grinders. The point is Pat Riley had enough sense to let his players play to their strengths. He didn't try to pigeonhole them every posession, every pass, every cut, every screen, every shot. Now, we got Van Gundy this year and last with 2 of the most explosive players in the league in Francis and TMac, and if they break a play, they get a seat on the bench. For goodness sake, we've got the reigning NBA scoring champ and arguably the most highly skilled offensive center in the NBA, and what do we do? We walk the ball up and then let the other 3 starters throw it around, and dribble it around all over the place. The 3 starters who are probably real likeable guys but who couldn't start for any other team in the league. How much intelligence and intuition does it take to get the ball into TMac's hands and Yao's hands and let them create? That coaching staff is starting to remind me of the polock light bulb changing crew. It takes a whole bunch of them, one to hold the bulb and the rest of them to turn the building. They just seem like they try to come up with all sorts of ways to make it tough for TMac and Yao to put up points. They've got TMac slowing it down, and then they let Yao fight and wrestle with everybody in the paint until the 3 musketeers throw the ball around for 15 seconds and the shot clock is under 10. Then Yao gets to throw it out to 2 subpar 3 point shooters, a black hole (MoT) and a double teamed TMac for the shot at the buzzer. It's just stupid. Please don't compare Van Gundy to Riley. Riley made adjustments. Just look at Stan Van Gundy. Is he forcing the Heat and Wade to walk it up? Why no, he's letting a great player do his thing and learn what is best for what situation. When Wade gets the ball, he races up the floor, and if he gets the advantage he runs the break. We ain't even attempting to run. We got the PG under the defensive basket taking the "handoff" from our rebounder.............that is when our rebounders rebound, something else Riley would not do without but which this team has been doing without since Van Gundy came on board. Van Gundy is no Riley.
By the way, his people skills absolutely suck. The dude doesn't have enough grace to show up for the coach's corner before the game. He sends Tibodeaux out there to answer questions. Rudy never done that and I don't know of another coach in the league who doesn't do his own pregame show. The front office employees are rumored to hate him and he treats the radio and tv guys like crap. He gives no positive reinforcement to his players. He gripes about every win, finding things to complain about, and complains about them to the media. He never says anything positive about his players, just a bunch of veiled threats. He demands total loyalty, and claims he is loyal to his players, then berates them to the media, and trades them away in a heartbeat, or releases them at the time when they need his leadership the most. Then after they are gone, he tells the media that they are really good players and he hated to see them go. He keeps trying to turn the next Kareem into the next Charles Oakley, TMac into Allen Houston, and JJ into Michael Jordan, and then gets upset when it doesn't work. As you can tell, I'm pretty down on this coach right now. Is there anything positive that can be said about him besides, "He is a good defensive coach."?
We should be like Knicks fans and do chants: "Fire Grumpy" Clap, Clap, ClapClapClap or "Change the Offense" Clap, Clap, ClapClapClap or "Get a Rebound" Clap, Clap, ClapClapClap That would be fun, and I think with the right timing, the whole Toyota Center would be into it.
Hey R03: Start chanting F*** (fire or the other one) VAN GUNDY *clap clap* *clap clap clap* when we start slipping in the 4th quarter, see if you can get a chant going. Last year, I wanted Yao out on the high post, or SOME semblance of change in the offense so defenses would respect the different aspects of the game Yao brought to the table. I gave JVG the benefit of the doubt, even though I hated him with a vengeance, because my friend explained that he was probably just trying to get Yao acclimated to banging in the low post for a whole season. So now that Yao has had one season under his belt...we stay with the same ineffective offense? Someone please explain to me (other than saying JVG's a bad coach, which I agree with) why we don't experiment? As for your thoughts RR: 1) JVG may have fooled us into thinking that he could inspire a team by his actions. I mean, everyone was saying, "He got involved in a fight and hung onto Mourning's leg! His team HAS to love him!" Well, that may be because he had an emotional attachment to his players/city. He doesn't seem comfortable in Houston, doesn't seem to like the players he's brought in, save the ex-knicks, and in general seems to lack any will to get better. You would think he'd want to win just to try and get rid of those massive bags under his eyes... 2) Not only is our offense predictable, it's very SIMPLE. Even the newest of basketball fans can predict what the Rox are going to do on an offensive possession. My sister was watching a game and about 6 minutes into the game, she started saying every possesssion "I guess Yao will get the ball after running around for a while and we'll take a bad shot?" I had to laugh, she was right on. The point is, if laymen such as ourselves are picking up on the offense, people who are trained and paid to counter offenses are going to be able to adjust and outcoach Van Gundy, the neverchanging, everpredictable rock that is JVG. 3) Aside from Yao, whose conditioning is horrible, and TMac, who seems to be able to go 40+ but hesitant to do so because of injury worries, I'd say our conditioning is average. However, the bigger concern is our team's joints becoming arthritic, not their stamina. Honestly, our starters/first off the bench players are so old, it's not about conditioning, it's a natural breakdown/degradation of the human bodily functions. 4) Our chemistry probably comes from the fact that (1) JVG is a babboon and teams usually take on the complexion of the coach, and (2) see sig (Steve and Yao being friends, then having him yanked away can't be good for Yao's morale; Yao is the centerpiece, so if his morale suffers, our team's does as well). In short: JVG has no people skills, no inspirational tools for this team, and thus the finished product is what we see on the court: slow, boring, insult to basketball team that just barely cares enough about the game to play it.
I posted all these points like two weeks ago, how come I don't get any credit for this? People are jealous and are playa hating. 4. we have slower players -no cat, no steve, no cato (yeah he wasnt slow) 5. TMac has not been utilized correctly 6. See my Don Chaney thread Also to add fuel to the fire. I have watched some Laker games (cause they are on TV) and I noticed that the Tierre Browns, Chris Mihms, Chucky Atkins, Caron Butlers play their tails off every night and share the ball. What do they have in common with Rudy T players? they have chips on the shoulders or have been underated because they are ex-CBAers. Caron Butler/Mihm were 1st round draft picks who are underated. The rest are ex-CBAers. They are HUNGRY to show people they can play EACH NIGHT. What do we have? A bunch of old veterans who are paid very well and don't play like each night could be their last in the NBA . Also, if you dont like Don Chaney as Ewing's replacement, we need someone who will teach a skill. Look at Larry Smith, not a coincidence that Lamar Odom got 14 rebounds last game and Chris Mihm is getting tons of blocks and boards. My opinion is Tmac/Yao/Sura/Mo Taylor (stay) others..TRADE
he played hard last year against the lakers in the playoffs. he has skill and he's young and he's untradable(contract too high).
I've been studying the mental side of sports for the past year and a half, and the Rockets are making some very fundamental mental mistakes, most stemming from JVG. Some general principles and my perception of how JVG has reacted: 1. Passion: Be motivated by your desire to achieve rather than your fear of failure JVG has our team scared to play freely. Everyone seems to be worried about making mistakes and having to play perfectly, rather than going out there and doing what they love..playing basketball. It seems it's become a job now, and I don't see anyone enjoying the game. 2. Attitude: Your attitude and self-image will determine your altitude I can't stand JVG's crap about us being a mediocre team. We're NOT and should not be thinking that we are. If the coach tells you you're average, you're going to play like you are. That's what's happening to this team, they're underachieving. On the other hand, if the coach says "A lot of people think you're an average player, but I know you're better than that so let's go prove them wrong", then you're more than likely going to go out there and play harder. Both ways intend the athlete to be motivated and play harder, but the latter takes it a step further and reinforces the player with belief. You rarely outplay your self-image, and JVG is making this team think they are crap. 3. Overtrying/Overcomplicating leads to Underperforming We're simply trying too hard, and concentrating more on avoiding mistakes than going out there and playing the way we can. JVG has these players thinking too much, expecting them to try too hard, and having them constantly thinking about trying too hard, and if they're not doing everything perfectly then they're crap. The game has become too complicated and makes it a headache. If he let go of the reigns a bit and let the players relax and just play, then I bet we'd be playing much better basketball. It's like when golf instructors pick apart each piece of your swing and have you thinking about each component every time you hit the ball. Sometimes you just have to relax and just hit it! The concentrating and thinking needs to be ingrained during practice, and given a free chance to execute during games. 4. Confidence Our players are not confident. Ask almost any champion what they think is the most important mental aspect of their performance, and they'll tell you confidence. JVG's messages are tearing our players down, and having them question themselves. If you're questioning your abilities on the playing field, you're pretty much lost before you've even started. It doesn't matter how much talent and ability you have, if you don't believe in yourself you won't play to your potential. I this taking a toll as witnessed in these last few games and also in those times when we're not able to put games away. The Rockets just aren't sure of themselves, and are playing at a level JVG has set for them. I believe this is what I miss most about Rudy. No matter what, he had us believing we were the best out there. Even when we were losing, there was always that belief. Would JVG's attitude have brought us from behind in those playoff series and won us a second title? I guarantee you our players at that time would have folded under his guidance. These are just a few flaws I've seen, and it's not getting any better. Personally, I believe this is the most critical piece of the puzzle we must fix. The Rockets could be running Phil Jackson's triangle, Pat Riley's showtime, the most perfect offense ever created, but if their attitudes and heart aren't there it'll be worthless. I'm ready to see JVG and his negativity go. I truly believe he knows his basketball, and has the tools to take just about any team to the playoffs, but his attitude will keep his teams from ever winning. With JVG, it's just not as fun anymore.
Completely agree with scryman. Can you imagine students would do any good when their teacher picks every mistake and calls them medicore? How ironic when the teacher blasts the students having no confidence? He is killing their confidence. Do you think our players really enjoy the game right now? Maybe only JJ.
scyman- one of the best observations I've read on our current mental state. The players have said it is taking longer for them to adjust to one another... I want to read between the lines and say that they are having trouble executing the offense because they are trying too hard to think about what they should be doing instead of playing with confidence. TMac looks lost in the offense. He has not been made a focal point. Yao has been tried and he has not delivered. Yao must raise his game. Intensity, Aggressiveness and Determination. TMac has to get some open lane to drive, some passes when he cuts, and some good hard picks to get free. We are hampered because we lack good passers. And also Yao has shown he has some bad hands, it really hampers him rebounding and receiving passes and he is getting stripped alot. Yao is going to get fouled alot, but he has to get his shot to go because the refs aren't giving him the call. Van Gundy better loosen up a little, simplify the offense with a focus on TMac and Yao must raise his game. Another big problem is we have lost quickness on defense, our defensive rotations are down quite a bit from last season. Van Gundy should wise up and think about how to get TMac and Yao going, there is no other place to go on this team.
Compared to power forward contracts signed over the summer, Mo is being paid his value. I wouldn't consider him untradable. Shoot, Kenny Thomas get paid more than Mo...
Not only is he ruining the teams morale, he is also ruining the fan's morale as well. People are tuning the Rox out in droves because they are painful to watch (even when they win) and downright UN-WATCHABLE when they lose.
And another thing....Mix in some Zone defense!!! It's asinine to expect older & slower players to chase around younger and quicker players for 48 minutes. Constantly playing man-2-man is stupid and it's tiring the players out and it one of the major reasons the Rox play like crap in the 4th quarter.
