aaahhhh YES . . .a PLAYER'S COACH!! Rudy was a PLAYER'S COACH Hip Hip Hurray for the PLAYER'S COACHES Rocket River *grin*
Haven't you read Animal Farm, some of us are more equal than others. Some of us are just better fans.
You do realize that Rudy was 150-178 over his last 4 years as the Rocket's coach right? That is in comparison to Jeff's 182-146 record over the last 4 years. Rudy "motivated" the rockets to zero playoff appearances during that 4 year stretch, much less series wins. If we are going with the assumption that the roster is the way Jeff shaped it now, don't we also have to assume that the roster was the way Rudy shaped it when he coached? Rudy was the coach in charge when we morgaged our future for Eddie Griffin, and we are still reeling from that mistake. We signed Kelvin Cato, Matt Maloney, Brent Price, Moochie Norris, and Mo Taylor among others to rediculously over paid contracts during Rudy's watch. But that was CD's fault and the current roster is jeff's fault? Rudy did a great job winning 2 championships with a veteran team and a hall of fame center that just happened to get 2 outstanding role players in the draft just prior to those runs in Sam Cassel and Robert Horry. But his track record over the last 4 years here was nothing to be excited about. I'm not saying he was a bad coach (he has the best winning % in franchise history and 2 titles), but there is definitely some rose colored glasses out look by some people.
Thats totally not fair... Jeff had Yao Ming for all 4 of those years and T-mac for 3. Rudy had an injured steve francise and an incompetent replacement after he had cancer.
Don't waste your time by tossing our facts. Not to mention that Rudy led a 45 win team to the brink of the playoffs, and it was the most wins to not make the playoffs since they were expanded. DD
Funny how it is Jeff's fault for the roster we have now, but 6 years of no playoff wins and a bad roster wasn't Rudy's fault? If anything Jeff should get more of a pass because he was left with the wreck of a salary cap that Rudy's teams had from Kelvin Kato, Eddie Griffin, Mo Taylor, Moochie Norris, ect. We lost for 6 years and the only player drafted that is still on the team from the Rudy era is Yao.
I go to rockets games and at these games I like them to win. We had the 5th best record with Yao being out for 33 games. I'm cool with that. This is way better than average team.
You cool with getting bounced from the 1st round every year and always blowing 2-0 series lead? Just wondering if that's your stance and if your expectations are really that low?
I watched a lot of bad basketball during the SF3 era. Lazy passes. Lax defense. Unforced turnovers. Poor shot selection. Just phoning it in some games.You name it. Game after game. Year after year. I would yell at the TV. Get mad and change the channel and then change back. I was frustrated, powerless and depressed. I was an angry young man. I remember watching JVG as a TNT analyst and he talked about the Rocket's problems, and I remember saying that THAT guy should be our next coach. When he was hired I cheered. When Van Gundy came here, the turnovers seemed to go down. The defense improved. SF3 dropped his scoring avg, but he went to the playoffs for the 1st time and played better team ball. I was optimistic and actually excited about my team. We've had some really tough breaks these past 4 years. From Eddie Griffin's complete meltdown to McGrady's spinal woes, we've been through it.Our contract situation has been an ongoing nightmare. During JVG's time though, there's been no excuses or complaints and competitive play. Despite his flaws, and I'm not saying that they are few in number, I think Van Gundy is still the perfect coach for this team. The retirement/firing scenario has seemed to take on a life of its own, and at this point there doesn't seem to be any other possible future besides Van Gundy's exit. Some will be delighted and I can't say I blame you if you've thought about it and decided that JVG can't/won't coach offense, develop talent, make adjustments, lengthen the rotation or any number of legitimate points. Since I'm rambling tonight, here's a wish list. - for Jeff Van Gundy to give it one more shot and take the one year extension - an offensive minded assistant coach (Adelman, Del Harris, insert big name) - Morey to produce a rabbit out of a hat. Doesn't seem likely with our cap and assets, but hey I wasn't expecting much at this time last year either by was of roster moves. - for Rockets training camp to start in two weeks with full participation. Seriously guys, this needs to be a work summer. Watch some tape then hit the gym. Don't forget to work on freethrows. - Now this one's a longshot. I know. If JVG leaves or is forced out as coach, for him to stay with the organization in some capacity. He has a brilliant basketball mind and it would benefit us to keep him around. Plus he supposedly wants to stay in Houston. I think he would want to coach though, and some team will scoop him up whenever he's ready. - No Larry Brown talk. Sorry for the length but I needed to vent after this Houston series and my fellow Chicagoans don't get it. However they will understand better after this Detroit series.
I think we should offer JVG to coach the Rockets for one more year. In the mean time, I think we should contact Phil Jackson and see if he is interested in coaching the Rockets after next year (Can you legally do this in NBA?) since his contract with the Lakers end next year. If he seems interested then we can bring him in to coach the Rockets after next year.
JVG Please GO!!! I enjoy so much watching the Warriors and the Sun play. We need a team like that. We need scorers and a Coach to make us exciting again. Bring on Adelman or any other offensive minded fast-pace coach. I wouldn´t feel so terrible about our losses if at least they were exciting ones. Not to mention the value of our players would rise and fans would enjoy games much more. Moreover, this is the type of Basketball that´s winning games now. Just want to get rid forever of those 78-72 losses we seem to have all the time.
