Might be a little early to be talking about Adelman having to go and I'm surprised on how many "Yes" votes the poll got. However, the argument is very analytical and well put together. Not saying it couldn't happen, but I'd like to see what happens by the end of the season. I don't agree with everything Rick does but I'm also shocked that 1) With Tracy gone, 2) The many lineup changes, 3) A rocky start to the season, we are still 43-25 and 3rd in the west. Never thought that would happen and I DEFINITELY have to give RA some credit for that. I'm not sure that Rick isn't trying his best to get the ball to Yao, I don't think Yao's getting the ball nearly enough but I don't know if I can blame that on Rick yet, I still think that's the players fault. It is true that Yao isn't exactly the 'model' player for Rick's system. I just think the players have to get him the ball more, it's an easy basket and there Rockets have some ridiculous record (like 26-2) when Yao scored over 20 points a game. He needs more touches. I also, though, wouldn't like to see the Rockets run a half-court 'grind-it-out' offense. They may have been able to do that before before Rick got here, or before this year, but whatever skill they had at that before I think might have vanished. The last 3 games, their half-court offense has been scary to me, especially when I see Ron Artest with the ball with 18 seconds on the shot-clock and Aaron nowhere around, or Scola with the ball at the 3-point line looking lost with no one to give the ball to. Also, that kind of offense is boring, and I do think there is a difference between a team that plays a good, grind-it-out type of offense, and a non-athletic team. We were a grind-it-out, half-court type of team BECAUSE we had to be, we were definitely not athletic and I think reverting back to that could hurt us overall in the league.
I agree that is another thing that bothers me. I'm really bothered by his inability to get the ball to Yao EVERYTIME. Really, this team is going where Yao is going, I'm not sure whether his players didn't get the message or what's the case. I could careless about his stats, but he isn't being utilized properly at this point. I think he's done a great job bringing in and getting the players. I just don't think he is utilizing any of them properly except Kyle Lowry.
Jeeeez Louizzzzzzz I would hate to see this board if we were actually having a BAD season instead of being 3rd in the WC...
More stupid kneejerk thread. The rockets is currently 3rd in the west and some idiotic fans are asking for Adelman's head. Sheesh enough with the pessimism.
Definitely too early to get rid of the guy but it is funny that his style does not work for any of the "stars" on the Rocket team but seems to work well for everyone else.
not a fan of his coaching. i seriously question his value and contribution to the team. too bad nothing will change any time soon.
With few exceptions, coaches in this league are way overrated, most successfull coaches were successful because they had superstar players. Reilly with the Lakers had Magic, Worthy. Abdul Jabbar and many others. Then when he went to New York he could not win. He only won with Miami because he was playing a soft Dallas team and Wade went crazy. Phil Jackson was lucky to have Jordan for 6 rings and then he chose to coach a team with Shaq and Kobe. POpovich is a good coach, but would not have all of those rings without Duncan. It is the general manager that ultimately has more influence on a team being good over the long term. Popovich is a great general manager, having gotten Duncan (by tanking the previous season) but also developing Parker and Ginobili, each acquired swith low draft picks. Rudy and CD made a n umber of good personnel moves in the 90's which kept the Rockets near the top of the league, like Cassell, Horry, Elie, Drexler. The last 8 years before Morey, CD made some poor personnel decisions, which kept the Rockets from improving. Adelman is a good coach, but I don't expect materially different results with the same nucleus of players that JVG had. What is interesting in the short run is that Morey has built a stable of good young talent that may develop (Landry, Scola, Lowry, Brooks, Wafer). It is yet to be seen what he can do with an aging or if re-siging Artest is in the cards or what can be done to bring in another threat that demands a double team, which will make it harder to double team Yao successfully.
It's unlikely to find a better coach right now...just keep him and give him more time.... in my opinion he is doing fine
Well the thing is those coaches knew how to utilize their star players. That's how those coaches won it. They were also coaches that had some of the scariest defensive teams in the league. Of all those teams which of them had worse defense than what we have right now? A good coach can get their team to play both. I am glad our boys picked up some offense but we do need someone who can coach both ends of the court. If we can't do that then at least bring in an assistant coach that can coach defense for us.
I'm shocked there are a number of YES votes on this thread. The poll is extremely skewed, because the discussion is so absurd, most aren't posting to the thread, or else Adelman would be more like 10-1. It's actually harder to get a great coach in this league, than to get a superstar, although, often when you get a superstar, you can attract a great coach. Adelman is doing unusually well with what he has ... he is peaking them at the right time. It's more important that Morey get the right players. If you give Adelman talent, he'll get the job done. All these knee-jerk panic posts after we lose 2 games to the top 2 teams in the league, and were in each game to the end. (shaking my head)
Isn't this the problem? Adelman HAS BEEN MISUSING WHAT HE HAS. Of course we would be number 3 in the Western conference. Even without Tmac, look at our roster: Yao/Scola/Hayes/Mutombo Scola/Landry/Hayes Shane Battier/Artest/Wafer/Landry/Barry Artest/Wafer/Lowry/Barry AB/Lowry/Wafer/Barry Barry, Hayes and Mutombo are collecting splinters on the bench when most teams don't have backups as good as they are. So in short Adelman isn't exactly working with a D-league team here. He just isn't making the right roster decisions to get us that W. Scola has been our MVP so far, and he isn't getting the shots he deserves. As I said before, Hayes Barry and Mutombo are above average subs, yet they aren't getting any PT when we need defense and 3 pt shooting so bad. They are so many times our bench has given us a lead in the game, yet we lose because Adelman keeps on inserting the starters when its clear they suck at the time. Most importantly, we just don't execute because Adelman doesn't know how to instill discipline in his players. I'm not saying he's to blame for everything,however a lot of problems we have, and especially a lot of the losses we got, can be laid at his feet. The problem is how do you replace him? Having Adelman now is like having Alston last year: of course you want to replace him, but where do you get someone better? You can throw around guys like Avery Johnson around, but the thing is we're in win now mode and not really in a position to experiment. If we get someone like Johnson and he flops, we have just wasted yet another year of Yao's career. Right now the only coaches I'd prefer over RA are the Van Gundies (although Stan is my preferred choice), and both of them aren't available for obvious reasons.
Rockets are playing better than at any other time in since the Dream Championship years and you want to get rid of the coach? What are you? A Jazz or Mavericks fan?
Take this thread with a grain of salt. After every loss, there is always at least one knee jerk thread. This might be one of them. I have faith in Rick, and I might take him over the above mentioned coaches in certain situations. Rick is a master with mismatches. That's not something a lot of coaches know how to deal with. They'll play the same guys despite the numbers showing that other players would contribute more according to opponents' rotations.
Adelman has had to deal with losing his go-to guy for the season, survived injuries to his other two main perimeter players, kept his cool amid lockerroom/media drama that could've destroyed team chemistry, and made a major change in his point guard rotation midseason. Meanwhile, he's found points in unexpected places, has kept his star center relatively fresh and has the team playing hard and tough while battling for homecourt in the playoffs. Could another coach have done as well or better with this team? Who knows? What I do know is that Adelman has done an excellent job so far.
I'd like to add that I've been impressed with Adelman's player rotation as well. Although he's willing to go with the hot hand sometimes, Adelman seems to value overall consistency in his minutes distribution and rotation. While some posters criticize him for this, I think it allows the team to build much needed chemistry. Our second unit, for example, wouldn't be as strong if it weren't for Adelman IMO. Also, it has allowed positional tandems Scola/Landry and Brooks/Lowry to develop and define their roles. And I can't remember ever seeing Adelman react to a player's mistake by yanking him and benching him for the rest of the game. As for limited minutes for the end-of-the-bench guys, that's just the way it goes. Mutombo is insurance for Yao. If Adelman were less offensive minded, Hayes might be used in more than special defensive situations, but it is what it is. You could argue that Barry is too skilled not to be playing more, but there are just not enough minutes for both him and Wafer. Adelman had to choose between the two and despite Wafer's inexperience, I'd say he made the right choice. Just wanted to show some love for the coach.
