JVG might've been my favorite coach amongst the three, but I think Adelman was slightly a better coach. I think McHale is not in the same league as those guys but I do feel we bash a bit more than we should.
22 game winning streak… First franchise playoff series win in 12 years… Took the eventual champs to 7 games in the 2nd round with his star going down… Best offense in franchise history last year with no All-Star player… Winningest coach in Rockets history… All with T-Mac and Yao playing only 72 games and ZERO postseasons together in RA's four year tenure. I think JVG is a high quality coach, certainly much better than McHale, but I don’t think he’s really all that close to Adelman.
JVG had a healthy T-Mac and Yao, and a crappy overall roster otherwise. Adelman had a strong roster, but the two stars were injury-riddled by then. I'm giving Adelman the nod because he's a top offensive coach and a very underrated defensive one. JVG is a one-trick-pony, but he does that one trick (defense) very well. McHale? He's merely a place-holder.
It doesn't make sense because it's arbitrary and there are many unknowns. For one, you don't know how good a HC Turner would be since he hasn't had the chance. TT also coached more recently under Doc Rivers, not JVG, so maybe Doc made him a great talent, not JVG. You don't know that TT didn't make JVG, as opposed to the other way around. Lastly, maybe Adelman is such a badass that he does what he does with inferior assistants.
Adelman has taken a team that has Love, Beasley, Rubio, Pekovic and done what with them? And you guys love to dog McHale...
Beasley is an average starter. Rubio is a rookie. Pekovic just got a breakout season under Adelman. Only Love was a legit NBA star when Adelman took over. So what's your point?
Very easy for me. Rick Adelman. If Van Gundy could run the defense, that would be damn near perfect, but given the choice, Coach Adelman. I also think his defensive skills are highly underrated. He's always done the best he could with what he's been given and has had very good defensive teams in the past. Van Gundy would be second, and McHale? I would give him an incomplete.
what the hell DD? you didn't capitalize the second "D" in your sig. i've lost all hopes in the rockets now, thanks.
that was when the Rockets were the worst. so the 2000-2003 Rudy T shouldn't be considered. the 1990s Rudy T was the greatest coach of all time though
Almost everybody on this board thinks Minny has more talent than the Rockets, yet the Rockets are ahead in the standings.
Because after that, Rockets had 8 of the 10 WORST players in the league supporting them. Part of that goes on Van Gundy, cuz he chose some of those players. Thats part of coaching. Still, I keep on saying if Van Gundy had the same TALENT that Adelman got, if Van Gundy had Scola, Landry, Aaron Brooks, even Mike James, Van Gundy would have done JUST as well. Van Gundy just needed a Rafer Alston replacement. It can be said the MAIN reason the Rockets had a 22 game win streak with Adelman is because that directly coincided with Rafer actually shooting to NBA average. He held the team back THAT much. (OR, you can say Adelman GOT RAFER to produce within his system when Van Gundy couldnt. So credit to Adelman)
I am but probably shouldn't be surprised that JVG is winning this poll. As I personality he was much more entertaining than Adelman but Adelman is hands down the better coach. Many here seem to forget that the 07 Jazz series especially the game where only four Rockets were able to score. As other posters have noted JVG had home court, both Yao and T-Mac playing and the Jazz on the ropes but couldn't close the deal. Granted Yao wasn't nearly a 100% but at least he played in all of the games. Compare that to the 09 run. No home court advantage and no T-Mac. We lose Deke in the first game of the Portland series. Yao gets injured and is gone after the first game of the Lakers series. We still beat a good Portland team and take the eventual champion Lakers to 7 games that including a gutsy win at staples in game one and a blowout win with no Yao, T-mac or Deke. As far as the talent disparity that JVG and Adelman has it's true that Scola is better than Juwan Howard but consider that Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry were largely unknown quantities and Adelman was able to get quite a bit from them as compared to JVG with Luther head. Adelman might've just lucked out that the rookies and young players he got were better than what JVG had but then again coaching might've had something to do with that. Chuck Hayes became a great defender under JVG and kept it playing under Adelman but also eventually became more than an offensive liability under Adelman. In general I don't think the talent disparity between the Adelman Rox vs JVG Rox is very much at all. Living in Minnesota I'm also getting to watch first hand Adelman work his magic on a franchise that had become a basketcase, thanks in part to the current Rockets' coach. While Adelman is still snake bit as far as injuries to stars you can really see the improvement in the attitude and play of the T-Wolves in recent games. Even without Rubio the T-Wolves are far far better than last year and even better than they were in the beginning of the season. Almost all of that change is credited to Adelman's coaching. As far as McHale as my sig indicates I am not a fan but honestly he has done better than I expected. I will still wait until next season before I change my sig though.
Rubio is a rookie who is still learning the NBA game, Beasley, Love and Pekovic were all on the 17-65 Kurt Rambis led T-Wolves. Given the depths that the T-Wolves had sank to Adelman is doing a great job with this team, especially considering how little of a training camp he had with these guys. If you follow the Wolves there is a very palpable difference in the 2011-2012 team from teams of prior years. Almost all of that is due to Adelman. Also both teams currently have the same number of wins but the Wolves have one more loss and the T-Wolves hold the tie breaker.
Adelman is a HOF.... so no question there. But what intrigues me is that he was far better coach at defense when he went to the Finals with the Blazers and the Kings respectively. He is still a bonafide offensive Coach but his teams are not good defensively tbh. No doubt about that. They have the best PF in the game and a arguable Top 11 guard prospect who can defend... a serviceable often times fantastic big man, two lethal but inconsistent scorers in Beasley, DerrickW ... enough talent but they are still a mediocre team so far.... although I believe they will finish around the 0.60 mark later.... He could do better if he could instill some defense.
