Once again I must remind you to get a dictionary and look up the meaning of the term "General Manager". You will note that it's the GM who makes trades and not the head coach. All of this blaming JVG for the mess on the roster is simply an attempt to justify your dislike for him. If you didn't like the guy fine, I can understand but to continue to make these kinds of statements in order to pin the blame on his shoulders is getting rather old. This team was in the NBA Lotto 4 times BEFORE JVG showed up and the GENERAL MANAGER managed to come out of this with 1 rotation player. It was the GENERAL MANAGER who screwed the 2001 draft that ended up giving this team nothing aka Eddie Griffin. And no matter how you may try to spin otherwise, JVG had this team in the playoffs 3 of his 4 years here which IMO is lightyears better than being an NBA Lotto fixture. And if you honestly believe that Adelman or Brown are the answer and can overcome this team's history of bad personnel & terrible draft decisions then by all means say so. But be advised that come fall when Adelman falls short of being the miracle worker you and the others want him to be, you may find yourself left with the realization that maybe, just maybe, the problems with this team go much deeper than originally thought and changing coaches was not the answer to what happened with Utah.
I agree the GM is also copable, but if you think any of those moves were made without JVG's involvement and approval, I would be shocked. It was a failure on CD and JVG's part...and both are gone now. DD
Check out the regular season ranks of the teams left in the playoffs... Offense (PPG): Utah - 7th San Antonio - 14th Houston - 17th Cleveland - 19th Detroit - 21st Defense (PPG): San Antonio - 1st Detroit - 2nd Houston - 3rd Cleveland - 5th Utah - 17th Only Utah has a better offense than defense. The other 3 teams are all defense-minded.
Ditto here as well. As I look ahead to the future, the shape of things to come fill me with a sense of foreboding. They stand dangerously on the verge of wasting another 3-4 years of Yao's career not to mention completely wasting what may be left of McGrady's career as well.
No, it was a failure on CD & Alexander's part. JVG was asked for his input yes but the final decision rested with those 2. JVG is being made the fall guy here - Les & CD are trying to hide behind the 1st round playoff loses as a reason to change coaches. Before the season, JVG told CD & Les that this team needed upgrades at the PF & SG positions so that TMac could switch back to playing SF. Instead, he got no PF help, and Battier who played the same position as did TMac. They also got Snyder who two other teams had given up on because he couldn't grasp their offensive and defensive systems. He also got 3 rookies who weren't ready for prime time and a season where one of the two star players who form the foundation of this team was out for 32 games. Yet, he still got them to a 52-30 record and the playoffs. Perhaps you have forgotten the 34-48 record of the previous year? You should ask yourself that if JVG was such a bad coach, then why do the two teams in the Western Conference Finals plus Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals play the same style of basketball he advocated here? This entire episode makes the Rockets look exactly what they have come to be: a joke. In 2 years, we will see who gets the last laugh.
Yao can't carry a team by himself... good coaching or not. Nor does he want to. On a team that needs talent, you don't start by trading your most talented player (even with his mileage and back issues).
Huh? The same style of basketball? What games are you watching? Utah runs a complex offensive system of cuts, back picks, and PnR offense. San Antonion runs some of the same offense but it is also predicated on having TWO attacking players on the floor for most of the game, in Manu and TP. Detroit runs Webber in the High post and has a PF that shoots 3 pters in Rasheed.... JVG was not running the same system as any of those teams......he is running the old Knicks system with Patrick Ewing and Allen Houston and Latrell Sprewell....... JVG had to go....it was his time. DD
I agree, NY is still trying to recover from that horrendous system...I hope it doesn't take us that long. Adelman is the right choice to correct the ship/franchise.
So the other day, I totally won tickets to a concert on the radio for being caller number nine. I never win those kind of things, it was amazing. I thought that was the best day ever. I was wrong, yesterday was the best day ever.
I wouldn't worry too much about losing our defensive mentality. Take detroit for example, when Larry Brown left and Flip Saunders took over the team maintained its defensive mentality while adding an offensive punch. I envision Adelman doing the same to the Rockets.
Here's my $.02 on Van Gundy.... He is very old school, stubborn and set in his ways. Its his way or the highway! I think he is a great guy, but as far as coaching is concerned he is by far the worst "in game" coach i've seen in a while. Once he has his game plan, he sticks to it no matter what. There were numerous games in which he did the same thing time after time down the court. Actually the whole Jazz series was like that! For all the hard work he puts in watching video, etc. he should have been able to come up with something to stop Utah. Other reasons I didnt like JVG: 1.) He doesnt develop young players. What we lack the most was a big wing player, yet we had him sitting on the bench the whole season (Snyder). I know he isnt the best bball player. but a 6'6 athletic wing and he cant see the court?? 2) Allowing Rafer to continue to jack up 3's at a 35% clip is insane. He's our PG and should be setting guys up. But instead McGrady had to do everything in his offense,. which wore him down by season's end. 3.) For all the wide open 3's we had, Novak can maybe can a chance at some PT? 4.) Bonzi Wells...I dont give a rats ass if 90% of the people on this board think he is lazy or fat or outta shape. The fact is that he could have definitely helped this team.PERIOD!!! Hopefully Adelman will talk him into staying While im not an idiot that thinks we have a championship team right now, I think we are only 1 solid PG away from greatness! And I have full confidence in Morey that he'll go get the best available players with the little $$$ we do have.
I don't give a rat's ass what people think of Bonzi.... I do give a rat's ass that he couldn't jump any more, and turns the ball over too much, and can't even hit a free throw. I do give a rat's ass that Bonzi did not help the team when he did get a chance.
Here is my view on gundy's firing: 1. JVG is not a bad coach. Rick is no better than Jeff. Jeff will bring us into the playoff next year, but who knows about Rick? 2. JVG got fired by Les because JVG's style does not please the Fans. No Fans, no money. 3. Rox has lost to the Jazz. Someone needs to take the responsibility. The Coach is the one to be blamed. But how about our superstars? Look what Duncan did for the Spurs. Look what Detroit is doing. Minnisoda fired the coach instead of trading KG... As a fan of the Rox, Yao and T-mac, I welcome the change and hope something exciting happen. But be realistic, I will not be surprised if many Fans here miss JVG at the end of next season.
Exactly. Bonzi got PT. When he was in, it just confirmed the obvious. Bonzi can't play at 275-lbs. I'd take the Chuckster today over Bonzi in that shape... On the other hand, Les and his focus on marketing could open-up a whole new apparel area. Who wouldn't want to tend a garden in a Bonzi Wells muu-muu??
