I have slowly been warming up to JVG, I have taken off the glases of disdain and taken a good look at the man and his coaching. I like what I see for the most part.....but....and this is not meant to be a bashing thread, but one of constructive criticism. Last night, and many nights this year, the team just comes out lackidasically and doesn't play with fire or passion and a number of times it has resulted in a loss to a vastly inferior team. If the Rockets want to do anything this year in the playoffs they are going to need home court advantage for at least one round.....right now.....they won't have it.....JVG knows this, he has to be harping on his players...imploring them to not take anyone lightly......we all know he is doing this.......but...... When the team comes out like it did last night and they are not playing with energy or passion....JVG sticks with his rotation, no matter what........players are just not held accountable for their lack of effort. The difference between Popovich and JVG is that Pop would pull his starters to make a point....dig deep in the bench....for a bit of time to make a point....JVG doggedly stays with his 8 man rotation even when most of them are out there just going through the motions. Accountability.......please JVG !!! Take a stand....yank the guys playing like crap....put in their understudies to play with fire....let them know that their spot in the lineup is tenous if they don't play hard. Could it cause us to lose? Sure......but the point needs to be made.... Snyder, Novak, VSpan, JL3.......put em in there if their counterparts are just not into it.....light a fire under their butts..... Competition is a good thing...right? Come on JVG....take a lesson from a championship coach.....hold EVERYONE accountable not just the end of the bench players. DD
How often do the Rockets lose to bad teams? How does their win percentage vs bad teams compare with other teams with similar records? How does their record vs bad teams compare with the Spurs?
you have to admit that playing battier, head, bonzi in the 4th quarter, is a stubborn move. imo, after he said hes sticking with the 8man rotation, he became more stubborn. you put snyder with 20 seconds left? your just playing him like ryan bowen, when snyder can drive, defend, and is athletic. head couldn't do anything on offense, which is his only strenght, and battier was getting blown by jj. even though jvg is a great coach, its stuff like this that i get so mad. past games, bonzi isn't doing squat., so is head.
Remember the game when Head went something like 0 for 7 and lit it up at the end? It didn't work this game, but Luther has made too many clutch shots to be benched even on bad shooting nights. Despite the issues, the team was right there til the end. You don't leave your clutch shooter out of close finishes.
The game was winnable the entire night and if there is a chance to win the game he's going to stick with his rotation. For the most part the Rockets have done an excellent job of beating the teams they were suppose to, just didn't happen last nite.
Wow DD great speech. It's all true though, why have a bench if you dont use it? injury cases? naw its not right. i also read somewhere ..a quote..not sure of who though it went like this "In the game of basketball,you only need 8 players,5 who are really good, and 3 who cheer like mad." something like that :S Anyways ,yao is around the corner so lets keep our heads up.
I am really proud of this team - playing so well without Yao. I do get disappointed when we lose to New Orleans/ OKLA City and Atlanta. Do not hyperventilate - Van Gundy zealots- I am not dogging him- this is on the role players. Last nite TMAc and RAfer played exceptional, but we could not get a rebound and our defense was poor. Hello Head and Juwan!!!! You cannot win every nite- but DaDa is right - this team needs to come out more focused and beat these mediocre teams.....
Against Atlanta Synder was the perfect sub, didn't happen. JVG's lack of flexability is not one of his best traits. Wells was horrible but played big minutes. Battier had one of his worst games. Shane, you have got to hit those wide open shots! But, back to point, JVG is very reluctant to experiment. A few changes for a few minutes last night could have helped.
I'm confident all the starters know they were accountable for this loss.. JVG probably didn't want to let them off the hook for a poor performance by taking them out. And it was close well into the fourth quarter, they could have won it.
Give me a break! Everyone knows I am not a JVG lover or his fans and I don't want to speak for him. But how often this team loses to teams they are supposed to beat this season? Very very few. In fact, the way they are beating those crappy teams, especially those from east, is exceptional. I am not worring about losing one or two games against garbage teams. It happens during a long season. If team should win every game they are supposed to, then the Mavs should have a 82-0 record, right?
I like what he did to be honest IF and its a BIG IF we won if they experimented, how do you think the starters would have felt? A loss puts their poor defence in the limelight and they will come out firing next game. This is a good way to learn a lesson, albeit at the cost of a loss
Great point. We all want to Rockets can go deep in playoff. We all wish Rockets can do win 15 games in the roll. so JVG has to do some adjustment.
I kinda agree a weeeee bit with DaDakota. I am a risk taker by nature so if I was a coach, I would probably consider doing something like what Dakota suggest. HOWEVA... The Rockets are something like 23-6 against teams under .500. Saying that they come out unfocused is an irresponsible comment. They can't be 100-0 against teams under .500. The other team has talent also.
how about the starters would have come out the next game after getting embarrassed by the bench if they were able to pull out the victory? thats why teams have benches...in case the starters just don't have it
that is true about head, but what about the others? battier and bonzi? are they clutch? maybe battier, but i'm talking about bonzi. he has so much on and off days, don't you think snyder deservs a spot?? they both suck at freethrows, their good cutters, one is fat and the other is athletic. one is old the other is young. their both good defenders depending which kind of player they guard. we have so much versatility, that its a weapon. smart players like bonzi and battier, athletic like snyder. one part i agree with dada is the pop changes a lineup completly. while jvg sticks with it
Horrible contribution...weak effort ...and so inaccurate is is not even funny.....lots of low energy games and it is COSTING THE TEAM HOME COURT !!!!!!!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now back on topic for those people who actually want to discuss things and not shoot messangers.....you know the adults in the crowd. I am not talking about doing it in the 4th quarter....and not for very long either. Do it in the first quarter to make a point and then put the starters back in the game. The team has played a LOT of games lately with low energy....sometimes it works, but a lot of times you get bit in the butt..... Yank the starters early...put in the subs.......and then tell the starters that they get another chance to go back in....but they have to play hard. The problem is that we don't have a fiery personality on the floor with the regulars.....not a leader out there.....Tmac and Yao are AWESOME players but not guys that are going to be vocal leaders.....maybe Yao will some day.....but whenever the team comes out and just dogs it....like they were last night......Yank em for about 4-5 minutes and then put em back in.... Make the point that they need to bring it EVERY single night. DD
Rudy was the same way. most coaches are. but I agree this was a night for snyder, if anything to compete with atlanta's atheleticism.
Low energy games - and their results this year -as far as I can remember.... New Orleans 96-90 Loss Minnesota 90-84 Loss Lakers 102-94 Loss GSW - 109-107 Loss Clippers 103- 108 Win Grizz 109-111 Win Sonics 96-103 Win Minn 103-99 Loss Sac. 111-115 Win Den 121-113 Loss Seatle 102-112 Win NOK 87-74 Loss Sac 104-109 Win Atl 105-99 Loss Those are all the games I can remember where the team's energy was low and they were just going through the motions.... 6-8 in those games... I agree with people who say Snyder should be playing....Bonzi is crap this year....we need Synder's energy and he will be here for more than just this year. Bench the Bonz.... One more thing....we all hear JVG whining to the media about his team's lack of energy, and you can here him on the bench saying the same things.....this is my point.....hold the players accountable....Yank em.....no matter who they are....Popovich even yanks Tim Duncan......hold em acountable. DD
