Exactly. If anybody's slumming here it's not the Rockets, it's Adelman. He would have taken Sacramento to the Finals except Mike Bibby screwed up one year and fouled Kobe's elbow with his face. I'm praying that with Shaq back in the Western Conference it will be time for some sweet revenge against both those idiots. What would make it perfect is that the Rockets will have one ex-King on the team.
So has JVG. Too early to jump to conclusions. Adelman matched our W/L from last year, but with a far better roster. I do admit that the defense is still good (something I was critical about when the Rockets fired JVG). The real test will be in the playoffs.
Adelman is the whole reason we have the lineup we have now. With JVG we wouldn't have Landry, Aaron, or Scola.
I don't understand why some find it necessary to disparage one coach in order to prove the value of the other. The way I see it, the Rockets have been extremely lucky to get these two coaches in succession. It's obvious the defensive influence that Van Gundy still has on this team. IMO the players still have those lessons, but now under Adelman, they're learning a balanced offensive approach that can maximize their skills. Its this mixture of defense and offense that's taking this team to the next level. And we have both JVG and Adelman to thank for that.
I really hate the "same record with better talent" argument. It discredits all the work Adelman has to do to both put in his system and to integrate the new players. If there's one thing that is NOT debatable about Adelman this year, it's his success in making all our new players mesh within just half a season.
Adelman has been able to adapt to the players,and has been flexible enough with them which has put us in a position that we can make it to the playoffs. Nothing is certain however,even a mini-slump could cause major problems. I do feel that the team is better prepared to fight through difficulties,which gives me hope but it's not going to be easy to secure a playoff spot. We have to keep on working hard and playing smart basketball.
Well, now we have spread out the distributuon of the ball to more than just Tmac driving, Yao Posting Up, and Rafer shooting the occasional three. Nearly every player who plays in the game scores, because of the new offense. Well, except Aaron Brooks.
Ah come on, don't be like that, it is possible to admit you were wrong, and that Adelman is at least as good as your man JVG. Agree, the roster is better, and the Western Conference is better too. JVG might have given those guys a chance, no doubt, but his leash was far shorter than RA's.....and the draft would have been vastly different with JVG involved.... Actually you are 100% wrong here, Yao comes out and starts at the high post about 50% of the time, he ends up on the low block by moving to the spot and getting the ball on the move or as he is just getting there through a series of passes to set it up. Under JVG he camped out on the block and was a much easier guy to guard. And you have to admit there are a lot more players involved in the offense...THIS year. The High post offense does not mean that the player STAYS there, but it is where it is initiated from. Who said get rid of good defense? And if you think that the only difference is 2 more power forwards, then you are not watching or paying attention. What a crumudgeon, you need a hug.....I may not invite you to my next circle jerk. And for the record, this is NOT my thread.... DD
Just a few on top of my head: 1. He insisted on keeping Juwan Howard. 2. He resisted trading for a PG because of fearing "chemistry problem." 3. He kept playing Ryan Bowen over Padgett. 4. One can argue that he preferred Battier over the right to draft Gay. 5. In the early days, the signing of guys like Charles Oakley was laughable when there were younger and more promising players out there. Look, he had 4 years. The roster kept changing each year. The rotation kept getting shuffled. The talent level had never changed, especially in the offense department. The only significant addition offensively this year is Scola. Tell me how JVG would have used Scola offensively? Scola can't create on his own either. The only player who can create his own offense is still T-Mac. (Bonzi was the other one, but he's gone now.) Adelman does not need a lot of players to create his OWN offense. He just needs players who can move the ball. JVG, on the other hand, had an offense that consisted two things: (1) get it to Yao down low, and (2) give it to T-Mac and let him create. All parameter players not named Tracy just stand outside of the 3pt line and get ready to run back on transition defense. All inside players not named Yao just find a space ready for T-Mac's pass or the offensive rebound. I like JVG's defense. Not question about it. The fact that we could win that many games with the little offensive talent and imagination is a solid proof of his ability to coach great defense. But his strength is also his weakness. He just refused to take risk on offensive players who might not be able to fit his defensive style.
I too, was a doubter. I hated the fire, I hated the hire, and I always wanted jvg. to a certain extent, I still do miss him because I LOVE defense, but adelman has shown me that we can beat people. Now, its important to note that we have been beating up on some really bad teams (but we did take it to cleveland and nola, 2 teams that are not as good as people have pinned them to be. cleveland=bron bron, and NO is probably gonna start dropping a little bit.) Also, we have a lot more talent (ill give kudos for giving rookies a chance). I didnt think the sky was falling in the beggining of the season with those 2 or so months of a MURDEROUS schedule where we seemingly played all the elites twice. it was just bad timing for a new system to be broken in. now, we are gaining our confidence against weak teams. I just hope we start getting some tests in the schedule to strengthen us before the playoffs, because the East is no where close to the top of the west. also, after watching the celtics over the past 3 games, i think our game against them is a must win.
The team is playing well now, yes, but it's not like they've done anything special. Nice winning streak, but you make your name in the post-season; that's all I care about, frankly, after 11 years of never making it out of the first round. And I wouldn't compare Adelman and JVG for now, keep in mind that JVG had much less to work with last season, long stretches of an injured Yao/hobbled T-Mac, and still managed to have this team over perform in a 30-game stretch with Yao recovering from his injury. At the end of the season, we still managed (somehow, miraculously) to win 51 games. I am happy with the way they're playing now, but let's not go overboard either way. It's a long season, and the West is nothing to take lightly come playoff time. We already know Yao/T-Mac teams are a lock for 50+ wins every season, what we also know -- unfortunately -- is that they're perennial playoff chokers. Here's hoping that it changes this season...
Here's something to ponder, in terms of Adelman's effect on offense. I'll just give you assists per game. I'm incredibly sensitive to assists, since it was always painful to watch the slow plodding isos in JVG times. Even when we think Adelman's offense isn't that snappy, the passing is sooo much more frequent, and so much more effective. 06/07 Rox, JVG: 20.8 APG (Assist to turnover about 1.5) 07 Nov Rox, Adel: 20.8 APG 07 Dec Rox, Adel: 20.9 APG 08 Jan Rox, Adel: 21.6 APG 08 Feb Rox, Adel: 25.2 APG (Assist to turnover about 2.0) and... 03/04 Kings, Adel: 25.8 APG (Assist to turnover about 1.9) So our February is really a spike and won't be maintained, with Rafer having one of his best months ever, BUT there is a real trend as the team gets his offense and his coaching sinks in. edit: this data-rich post brought to you courtesy hoopsstats.com
Once again, you really need to go look up the definition of GENERAL MANAGER and compare it with HEAD COACH so you can understand why the two positions are different.
While many of your points are questionable - this one is the silliest. Charles Oakley was signed as a street free agent late in 2004 due to injuries/lack of depth at PF, notched a couple of 10 day contracts - then was left off the postseason roster Please tell me what "younger and more promising players" were out there who would have been signed but for Charles Oakley's presence. Malick Badiane?
