jvg def needs to develop the bench, and i'm practically certain that tmac's back stiffening up was from overexertion. i've had trouble with back spasms in the past, and now whenever i've been running hard for too long, my back will stiffen up without fail. i think the point isnt that jvg should've thrown in our bench against the mavs in order to start developing during a game in which we had a very good chance of winning. the bench should've been developing all season long so that when we're already missing yao, we can at least spell tmac for a few minutes without completely crumbling. this will become essential come playoff time, when every minute our bench plays and starters get to rest becomes a million times more critical. jvg IS a very well prepared coach, but he only prepares for our short rotation that WILL be worn out by the end of the season. i appreciate all the hard work he puts in preparing the team, but to say he isn't short-sighted in the way he runs his rotations might just be an indication of how short-sighted a person is. would i do the same if i was fighting to keep my job? very possibly, but i would also like to think that i'd recognize how it's hurting the team's future.
I think JLIII is asked to be a little selfish within the confines of the game since we need offense. And last night, I think it was ok that he was small since we were playing Dallas. They have small guards that need quick people on them. To me, last night, our guys just got out hussled. Dallas really gets after the ball, and they are always cutting to the rim. Also, as Battier said post-game, the game plan was to make them take outside shots, and the majority of Dallas's shots were outside. Ideally you want them to shoot lower percentage shots (shots outside the paint), and just hope they can't shoot a good percentage. Dallas is good, it shouldn't surprise people that we lost that game last night. I did enjoy the game Tracy had though, wow. I think he played a lot b/c he wanted to be in there.
JVG essentially did the same thing in the OT win against the Kings. 6 guys with 35+ minutes and a 7th with 15. It could be argued that JVG's foresight to shorten his bench proved to be the reason the Rockets won that game.
Obviously the Rockets should trust DD's decision making and rationale over one of the best basketball coaches in the world. Yeup...
thats kind of the debate though, isn't it? would you rather have 4 or 5 more regular season wins over a fresher, healthier tmac + a more prepared, experienced bench for the playoffs?
We're arguing about him failing to develop guys who would be any good teams' 11th and 12th men... hell, they're OUR 11th and 12th men when we're fully healthy. I understand that we're not fully healthy, and he may have no choice in the matter... but our bench would have been played more had we actually had one: 1. Mutombo* 2. Head 3. Bonzi* 4. Snyder* 5. Hayes That's a pretty decent 5 to come off a bench of a contending team. When you take away the * players (who are either injured, or starting due to injury) you are left with: 1. Head 2. Hayes ......... 3. JLIII 4. Novak 5. V-Span There's a SIZABLE talent gap between the 3-4-5, and the Mutombo-Bonzi-Snyder trimuverant that SHOULD be our bench. But, as I said, you can't always play the injury card... JVG will eventually be forced to use players who's abilities aren't quite NBA-ready yet (thus 11th and 12th men), on a team that is fighting for its playoff lives till Yao gets back. Then, everybody will be happy.
I think, and I think this is mindset of most of those guys in the locker room, that you go out every night trying to get a win. If TMac can play, he plays. He can't go out scared every night. that's like being scared to fly now b/c of 9/11. It's not like he's being reckless. He understands the nature of his problem. It can occur at anytime, might as well go out and play hard (as if there is any other way to play) and help the team win as many games as he can. It's not even guaranteed he'll be around for the playoffs. I don't know, as you said, it's a debate. For what it's worth, in all the games where it wasn't close, Tracy typically gets what it seems like a good amount of time on the bench/floor resting.
If we weren't winning recently with what we have, I would think JVG would have played them last night. BUT...he should have tried putting them in even if for a few minutes to see if they could provide something since the game started slipping away.
The pity of it is that we couldn't find the gas to close out the win, Dallas being too deep, and we play Phoenix, of all teams the one you wouldn't want to face in the second game of a back to back. Why didn't Hayes play more minutes? I missed part of the first half. Did he do something to keep himself out? He only had 1 foul, miracle of miracles. What's up with that?
I've been one of the more vocal voices around here about how Van Gundy is not playing his bench. But last night's game, I don't think playing Novak or Spanoulis would have helped because it's...well...the Mavs. These are the games that we need an 8 man rotation. Games where we are either blowing teams out or when we're playing VERY poorly is when we need to get our bench involved.
Exactly... if we have a problem with T-mac playing just 40 minutes a night against an elite NBA team (which is exactly the amount of time he played last night)... we're in trouble any way you slice it. (and that's without taking into account the injuries we have to our intended "bench" players).
If the 4 or 5 more wins improves their playoff position, definitely. I'd rather see a tired McGrady against the Clippers, Nuggets, Wolves or Kings, than a rested McGrady against Dallas, Phoenix or San Antonio.
Seriously... in the game thread last night, he said benches were overrated ("only play 20% of the game") when responding to how the Mavs bench was so much deeper than the Rockets bench (in terms of talent/quality). Now, after the fact (I think the Rockets were still winning when the post was made)... its all about the "short bench loses games."
Does it matter that much whether the Rockets have the 5th or 8th playoff spot by the end of the regular season? If a few more wins make your fragile super star wear out and more vulnerable to injuries while at the same time deplete the opportunities for role/specialty players to sharpen their skills and become more battle tested in regular season, I say these wins are more detrimental than advantageous to the bigger goal.
This thread is asinine. The Rockets lose to the best team in the league without arguably their best player, and its the coach's fault? Pardon me for saying so, but I do not believe Novak or Spanoulis would have been able to guard Josh Howard or Nowitzki any better, nor would they have swung the battle of the boards in the Rockets' favor. As others have mentioned, the Mavericks destroyed the Rockets every time McGrady went to the bench, so I do not think resting him more would have made things better. The Rockets "bench" when healthy includes Juwan Howard, Luther Head, Dikembe Mutombo, Bonzi Wells (injured), and Kirk Snyder (injured). The rest are scrubs. All of those players listed who were healthy last night played substantial minutes.
