JVG is a very good coach and a straight shooter. And he is wealthy because of it. His biggest problem is that his expectations here often exceeded his resources and that caught him- between changes to the chemistry and injuries he ran on a very bumpy road. Consider- when he had Jon Barry and Bob Sura playing real well and at full speed this team was very explosive on the offensive end and they ran up and down the court very well. He had a very tough hard nosed point guard who rebounded very well and a couple good shooters on the bench who were very high BB IQ players. I think Bob Sura's injury and Barry's decline hurt JVG's vision for the team alot. It was hard to move the ball around and run more when TMac with the ball and Yao in the post were the only viable offensive options. Rafer was still under development. In fact I credit JVG for stabilizing Rafer and instilling a work ethic in him that has produced some fruit. When I met with JVG prior to his last season he told me Rafer and him had talked and Rafer worked his bottom off all summer.
Far as I know Bonzi hasn't signed with any team at this point. Please elaborate on your second point.
It's coaching etiquette to credit the GM/owner for personnel. It's just talk. In reality, they all had a share in decision making.
From how I see it, I think you are just half right. You are right that Rudy was not much of a disciplinarian. JVG was. That's why Rudy was a lot better with veterans who were self-motivated. You are also right that Rudy ball was ISO ball. I also agree that CD's choices of players had a lot to do with the coach. But I think you are wrong in these: 1. JVG should not be credited for the TMac trade, anymore than Doc Rivers should get credit for getting Garnett and Allen. I mean, what coach in his right mind wouldn't trade Steve Francis for Tracy McGrady? Rudy would have done that in a heart beat. 2. Everybody knows that Francis was not a great team baller. His strongest suit was one on one ball. Rudy was just trying to maximize what he had. He maximized Hakeem by putting all the shooters on the 3-pt line and threw the ball to Hakeem. At the era of no zone D, that was the best way to exploit Hakeem's dominance. So going ISO with Francis was not a sign of bad coaching, anymore than what JVG did with Yao Ming.
No matter how much input he had on this team, people would be insane to say he's not a good coach. Put him on any team in the league and they will make the playoffs the following year, and there are only a handful of coaches that are better than him. If we didn't get a coach in the caliber of Rick Adalmen, no way the Rockets let him go. Yes, he has his limitations, but his hard-work is certainly admirable. I think that alone should get him a coaching job somewhere. JVG's a very polarizing coach. redao: You're saying discipline is bad for this team?
I was saying the "discipline" on the offense was bad for the current team. Yao, TMAC, Rafer, Battier are all flowing the "discipline" and having great difficulty to transfer their game into Adelman's offense system. It will be very bad if they still play JVG offense with this much talent.
I don't really care enough anymore to argue. If you want to celebrate that era, be my guest. It was no better than the Don Chaney era. Let's just say I'm glad Adelman is here.
1. On the contrary, I can see Rudy leaning towards no on trading Francis. Rudy was, afterall, the person who traded for Francis in the first place. Why would he admit he was wrong in his original idea that Francis is a player the Rockets can build around to title contention? In the end that was his undoing, too much loyalty to the wrong type of players and players that he ultimately overrated. Edit: Btw, if you really don't think JVG should get credit for the TMac trade, then you must not have followed the Rockets that year. 2. My problem with the ISO goes beyond the ISO. I agree that Rudy was just maximizing what he had at the time in the ISO era. My problem was Rudy himself and his partner in crime, CD. I fault the whole gradual descent of the Rockets after the Hakeem era on his and CD's personnel decisions. And that starts with one of the main personnel decision mistakes in my eyes: the trading for Francis and trying to build around him. Yeah I was excited like the next guy when we got him, yeah I recognized we needed someone to build around when Hakeem was in his down years and the Pippen trade was a failure. Ultimately though, Rudy gambled his chips on the wrong player, and he lost his job for it (yes he did get pushed out, health issues were an excuse). Meanwhile we were subjected to watching Francis and Mobley dribble the clock out on one side of the court while the other 4 players were on the other side.
But you have to admit that JVG's defense was more interesting to watch. Depends on which side of the ball you focus on.
The problem with JVG in my opinion was he could not adjust during game situations. If the original game plan didnt work it would be more of the same in the second half. I do not care what he has to say.
so instead of putting the ball in TMAC and Yao's hands you prefer he run the offense through Luther head and JHo? I think people are to easy to forget what limited offensive options he had. On another note I know I will get destroyed for this but if you take the 22 game winning streak away and apply the teams winning % of the rest of the games to those 22 games, we have a 45 win season and miss the playoffs.
I think JVG was perfect for Steve Francis, and maybe for T-Ming's first year together, but his coaching style and philosophy quickly became a detriment.
JVG is possibly the most overated coach in the history of the NBA...he is good on D...lousy on O.... Great in interviews....but possibly the least creative coach I have ever seen. His teams choke in the playoffs because they fail to counter the other team's adjustments. JVG's adjustments = play better......lol Yao guarding the high pnr was painful to watch, glad Adelman is here, we needed a coach who plays to their strengths, and minimizes their weaknesses. Glad he is gone....... DD
man dada you should be on fox or msnbc...no objectivity at all...the guy is a helluva a coach and all you do is run him down...vspan cant play at the nba level...its ok to say you were wrong...goodnight and let it go
Agreed. Also it was a pain to see him in agony even after a win. Don't forget when he screwed our draft pick by playing Motumbo and other vets to win a meaningless last game. I like him as a commentator.
and if yao was so bad in the high pick and roll, why were we so dominant defensively? why did yao have his best statistical years? why do the players laud him still to this day? do you know more than those that played for him every day? why were the offensive numbers so similar to adelman's? what adjustments werent made vs. the lakers (lost in 5), vs dallas (lost in 7) and vs. utah (lost in 7)? what adjustments did adelman make in last year series that was superior? you would be a great politician...nothing specific...just random ramblings and character assasinations
