Good post, finally some positive voices on this board. I really cannot stand al the negativity. People forget how good we were, and can still be.
One thing I don't understand is that last year, from what I picked up on, the team's style of play didn't change because Van Gundy tweaked the offense but more because the players realized they could get away with it as long as they got back and played defense. JVG is always portrayed as a "grind it out" coach yet he wanted to bring in Luther and Alston because they could push the ball up the court at a fast pace. I think the team has to realize that they are supposed to push the ball so we have more of the shot clock available but that doesn't really mean you have to use it all. No matter how quickly you get into your offensive set if you use ALL the clock it puts you into the same rushed position as if you took your time getting there. Push the ball up court so you have the clock time if you NEED it. If they start moving the ball like last year when everything settled into place I think the team could turn around real fast.
Actually, we CAN, but we don't. Rotating is not all about speed. Mostly, it is about knowing your rotatations and making them deliberately. We have at least a couple of guys new to the rotation - Swift in particular - who seem to be clueless on defensive rotations.
Bill Walton was quite effective in the high post. Besides, nobody is saying that we should make Yao a "high post center." All we are saying is that we shouldn't park him in the low post ALL the time. He still should be there MOST of the times. But he has skills that can only be used in the high post. Why waste them? I am pleased with his numbers too. But I think he can help the team more if his game is more diverse.
Good post Did you guys notice the shooting improvement of wesley and anderson? When t-mac is back we will be ok. Plus luther is getting on well. Think positive guys
From what I can here is that JVG tries to maximize what he can utilize from this tmac-less team so as to prepare for the later ( tmac,sura back with head add-in as a mike james last year). Just look at the schedule we are dealing with here, even if tmac is fully functional, I dont think we'll do much better than the 0.500 mark. The blessing is, I'd rather all this going-down coming sooner in the early season, than right before the playoff, just as the situation where we lost howard 6 months ago.
Tim Breaux got somethin to say...and you can bet it's part of the solution...so get quiet real quick... I'm feelin that real_egal...throwin you props on the deep insight...Tim Breaux think that way too...and maybe it would be a better world if mora ya'll did. Ya know...with today bein the day that the pilgrims and the injuns did their thing...and we all should be givin thanks for the big fellas blessins in our lives...(talkin bout G-O-D this time yung uns'...not Y-A-O) HEE HEE. Anyway...not to be gettin all Oprah Winfrey on ya'll...but maybe...just maybe...we all should be givin thanks for some of the positives that not only the Rockets, but ALL Houston sports teams be showin...even when the winnin is scarce. Let's look at Houston's finest first...The Rox...We all know things ain't great right now...but we should be givin thanks that we don't have to put up with the public bs that is tossed about in those other cities... My man JVG, Yao, Dikembe, ...and pretty much that whole team...they's all role models in life...good men...you don't be catchin them runnin drugs, or hittin ladies or livin the life of a fool...and that pretty much can be said about the whol dang team...and the owner...my boy Les don't put up with too much bull...never has...and we should be proud of the fact that we don't have to be explainin no mess to our kids about the mistakes that alot of pro athletes make in life...the poor choices...the garbage. We can be proud of the fellas...they tryin their best...and they're frustrated too...you can tell...so, let's throw them some love and support...show em that we're in it wit em. And the same is true for the STROS and the TEXANS...all good people...good owners...good role models. All are strugglin...even the STROS...who did their thing at the END...and made us proud. But if most of ya'll was honest...nobody believed it was gonna happen for them...but alot of ya'll naysayers sure jumped on that winnin wagon in Oct. Give the Rox and the Texans a chance...David Carr, Capers, Andre Johnson, Yao Ming, Biggio, JVG,Bagwell, Wesley, Swift, Luther...and all the others. They men ya'll can be proud of. So on this Turkey Day let's FIND something to thank tha Lord for...even if we do have to look hard for it...get on yo knees and say a prayer or two for your peoples...family and friends...the less fortunate...even yo dogs and cats if ya want...heck I don't know...but at the end...b4 you pop that Amen...listen real close for the silence...you can hear it it you try...and through that silence...you just might be able to hear it...that little voice...heck...sounds like a whisper...but you can hear it...It's the big fella speakin to ya...and he's sayin somethin... somethin that sounds...somethin that sounds like... like...."remember...remember...remember........remember the Astros!" Ain't nothin impossible ya'll! Happy Turkey Day Rockets Fans! HEE HEE! Tim Breaux has spoken, and as usual, it was what ya'll be needin to hear...now it's back to the bench...where I can get that Rocket rally goin with my boy CJ.
Great point. Remember JVG went to sit down with David Stern after talking with Bill Parcells? Great coaches think alike...When asked about Denver Broncos' league best running attack (for the past 6 years), Parcells said if you look at the films, Broncos have only a handful very simple running plays - it's all about execution.
That Tim Breaux schtick is way tired. JVG is not very smart. Phil Jackson is very smart. JVG can talk to Bill Parcells all he wants, but he isn't getting new superstars. Phil Jackson knows how to use the Tao, to play to his stars strengths. JVG will keep trying to make water flow uphill. He will keep trying to p### in the wind. When the wind blows it back, he will only grow more stubborn. How smart is that?
So should we get a bunch of fast guys that can't shoot? If super quick guards that shoot 45%+ were easy to come by, it wouldn't be a problem. Since last season we nearly had the lowest PPG as a team in the league and we had a good defense, JVG wanted better shooters. Seems like a logical choice to me. Not to you? btw, that is why we brought in DA and Head. They ARE quick guys that can shoot. Unfortunately, DA doesn't seem to be adjusting too this team well. But Head is doing better than expected.
That's true but you can't underestimate the importance of speed and athleticism on D. JVG has said it himself that players who last year were showing lateral quickness aren't showing it now. I'm presuming he's referring to people like Barry and Wesley. He's chalking it up to lack of heart. I'm chalking it up to that these guys are old by NBA standards and being a guy in my 30's myself I can testify to how its difficult to maintain speed and athleticism consistently. So yes smarts is critical and in general a smart player beats just a purely athletic player but in the NBA the level of athleticism is so high along with the basketball IQ of most NBA players. Its difficult to imagine an aging slower older Rox team matching up with the athletic teams out there consistently and the top tier NBA teams like Spurs and Pistons already combine a high degree of athleticism with basketball smarts.
On average we were low scoring but when you looked at when we went on our run in the second half of the season we were scoring a lot more but so were the opponents. A lot of the threads on the GARM last spring dealt with why was the Rox D not as good as it used to be. Also if you noticed many of the games that we did lose last year, and this year, were due to either not being able to hold a lead or being beat by teams who used team speed and ball rotation to beat our D. Having good shooters always helps but what do you do when those shooters slump or your team can't perform with enough speed and athleticism consistently? The problem I see with JVG's system isn't that it is inherently bad but that the team is too inflexible of adjusting. We just can't count on the older players getting more athletic to fill in the gaps created by a losing T-Mac, James and Sura.
Wonderful post. No pain, no gain is right. We have young and old trying to think together and that can be hard. All we have to do is show up and support them. It takes time. JVG always looks like he hasn't slept for a month but I'm sure it's true now. He knows the pressure and the "impending doom" that could result. He's working on it. Its an 82 game season. Lets sit back and watch. It'll get better. No way it can't. Truth be told, I just want to make the playoffs as a non-8 or 7 seed. We just need to avoid San Antonio and Dallas in the first round. The rest will fall in place. Lets not forget, the West is weaker this year.
JVG isn't very smart having his superstar practice when he was still recovering from tendinitis. He should have been playing in games, but sitting out practice for a week or so until his knees were fully recovered. If he hadn't been practicing while banged up, his back injury would have never occurred. This is all down to JVG.
Yeah, JVG is smart, no questions about that. That's why I expect him again to quit before he get fired. Like what he did in New York.
