Yep. H-Town sportswise is all talk. No action. Born and raised there, I always wondered why people kill us. We are a bad sportstown. No passion. No this. No that. I now understand why people around the country say H-town is that way. H-Town can't take the heat. Its the atmosphere I guess. But I blame it all on the us. The fans of Houston. Here you have a coach, Van Gundy. UNANIMOUSLY praised for his coaching abilities and coaching prowess not only by New York City but by NBA Players, ex-players and coaches all over the league. People that know more in their pinky than most of us will ever know about basketball in 5 lifetimes. Yet, the guy has been here 8 months and we still get the "Rudy T was wrongly fired" and the "He is too intense" and how about "I liked Dunleavy better". Hmm...last time I checked, Dunleavy is not having people knock down his door with job offers. Lets see. Brown is a great coach. He was available. Highly though of. He decided to take Detroit. Carlisle? Ya. Another young, highly thought of coach. But he went to Indiana. So we were left with Gundy who like I said before gets all this praise. And the minute things go wrong, what is the MAIN EXCUSE people who can't take the heat come up with? He has to look at himself because he is being too tough!! Holy shiznet!! I almost fell out of my toilet seat when I read on the screen that Francis thinks people are afraid to make mistakes!!! People on edge not only on the team. But so are the fans. Listen. I don't want to sound snobbish. But you guys who complain couldn't make it one minute anywhere where the whip is cracked like it is up here(NYC). Hell, think about this. Mike Ditka. Tough as the come. Went to Chicago. Won for almost a decade. Then, went to New Orleans and people hated the intensity. Got fired. Riley won for 5 years in NYC. Had 60 win teams 2 or 3 times. Tough. Three hour practices were the norm. Went to Miami and after Alonzo left (who likes that type of coaching style), he is banished. Too much physical practices led to injuries? That was weak. The problem is that some cities...some fans in the cities...need coaches that let players do what they want with little to worry about. Rudy did that and he lucked out because of a basketball miracle called Dream. After Dream how'd that system work out? Did you like the playoffs much before he left? Some cities...some fans...can't take the heat. Its never too hot up here. You get used to the pressure. You learn to thrive in it. Gundy is making a mistake, though. And it will probably cost him this year. Maybe his job. He thinks that his players are tough. And they are not. He thinks the city is willing to watch him not smile and play footsies with the media. And they are not. He thinks that demanding more than the team is use to...than what fans are use to and they are not. I am starting to think that Gundy knows this. I think he knows he probably made a mistake and picked a softie team that he can't fix fast enough for the softie fans.
Let me first say that I have respected you as a poster, especially being from NYC. Now let me say this... How many championships have the Knicks won under Pat Riley and JVG? Exactly. I don't buy all this "toughness" BS. NBA basketball players are grown men and shouldn't need a coach that dictates everything they do. I will admit that some of our players coming into the season needed a little guidance, and Van Gundy fit the bill. Despite our record and recent play, he has made this a tough defensive team. And whether he is the coach for the next championship the Rockets win or not, his teaching will have carried over and made this a tougher team. Please don't knock on Rudy. You can say that he rode the Dream to a title...<b>but what coach doesn't ride their star player MVP to a title</b>? Pops rides Duncan, Phil rode Jordan/Kobe/Shaq...so don't say it was just luck that Rudy won titles. New York City can be as tough as it wants...but they don't have much to show for it in recent years. I don't count the Yankees because baseballs financial system is ridiculous. The last team to win was, lets see...the Giants in '90? Toughness doesn't always mean complete success. I'd also like to see your proof of this "praise" that he has gotten from players...not just his former Knick players either.
Nope, Van Grumpy's mistakes have nothing to do with being "too tough." Had he come in and "pulled a Parcells," then he would've earned my respect. As-is, what was a "gut feeling" nine months ago has been proven out. JVG is very good at teaching defense, but is completely useless on the offensive side of the ball. He works hard, but is overall a mediocre head coach. What I didn't expect, and what troubles me most is JVG's lack of skills with the players. This team had some chemistry a year ago, and while some tweaking (eg: a strong, rebounding power forward) was necessary, "the heart of a champion" could be seen rising from the ground. I no longer see that. These guys now remind me more of the aimless wandering of the post-twin towers Rockets than the championship years.
Nice touch there buddy, as far as JVG, i think he is an above average coach w/ and above average team. The only problem is they are both performing a little below average. The team cant seem to get thier heads on straite & JVG cant seem to help the team get thier heads on stratie.
Interesting take to say the least, but the bottom line is the the majority of the team is comprised of underachieving losers. When I say that, I am not taking a "shot" at the individuals on a personal level, but rather on a professional level. For the most part, and generally speaking, I think that many fans would rather see a team of average or mid-level talent overachieve, that a team with superior or high-level talent underachieve. People want to see teams that compete, play fundamentally sound, play hard and play as one. The Rockets, currently, as an organization and a team, are a complete disaster. Mr. Alexander should be left with no choice but to dismantle the team and its upper level management. The team has underperformed on many levels and as a fellow talent evaluator, there is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Dawson, whom has underperfomed as much as any player on this squad, should be re-evaluated.
Almu, is it OK if I complain about his clock management? The guy goes through timeouts like they were Cheetos. By the end of the game the bag is often empty. Did he do this in New York? I honestly can't remember. And I agree that H-town has always been a fickle sports town, although once they get behind a team, really get fired up, there's few that compare. Having said that, the way this team is ending the season may get me institutionalized. How can a ardent, longtime fan like myself route for his team if he's locked up in a mental hospital?
yes i see how really tough discipline helped bobby valentine compared to joe torre's laid back attitude. as far as VG being "unanimously praised" - go back and look at articles from when he left the knicks suddenly. i think many of us are dissappointed NOT in VG's discipline alone - but more that his discipline hasn't yielded as much benefits as we had hoped.... maybe it will, maybe it won't.... but face it when you see the rockets do you automatically think "great game plan - poor execution".... i know i don't. if anything i think that both the "game plan" by VG and "execution" by the players need improvement.
HEADLINE: Almu-Statue Of Liberty Sex Tape Hits Internet BTW, if anyone needs to eat some crow, <a href="http://bbs2.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=71954">Here Is The Crow Thread</a>. I don't blame Van Gundy entirely, but the end result is he didn't do much better than Rudy. The only reason I'm not upset at Van Gundy is he did exactly what I wanted and what Rudy was not capable of doing (or never would do): He disciplined this team and held them accountable. The players have failed here, and I believe (hope) they will be held accountable this offseason and shipped from their comfy gigs. At the same time, any time a team loses 9 of 12, the coach has to be held responsible for some of it. This is Year 1 of Van Gundy though, and these are not the guys he chose. He has an offseason to work with. But please... spare us the 'New Yorkers are so tough' bull****. The city folk sure toughed it out with Don Chaney and Scott Layden, you faithful, strong troopers thriiiiiiiiiiving on the pressure, you. Lastly, your defenses of Ditka-In-New Orleans and Pat Riley-In-Miami are absolutely hysterical fiction. Rudy T lucked out because of Dream, yet Riley coached his heart out with stiffs like Magic-Kareem-Worthy-Ewing-Mourning.
Again, my point will always be for the first two years is give the guy a chance. Freak. I love you. Diehard, I am not talking championships. If that was the case and if you were talking about rings also, then why bring in Larry Brown or Dunleavy? They have any rings? I am talking patience. Toughing out the bad times before good times come. Not bailing on SF, Yao, the coach. That is a sign of WEAKNESS when it comes to being a fan. I want them to win just like you guys do. But I don't come on this board ready to slit my wrist or kill my coach or hit SF in the kneecaps with a shotgun. I think that people should learn to retape their ankles often. With all the jumping on and off the bandwagon some are gonna need it.
By the way Clutch, You should talk. With your anti New York headlines and ex-Knick front page headlines its about time someone from NYC said something about the softies down there. Grow some backbone people. Sorry to offend anyone. But if you want hilarious it the posters who revamp the team during every quarter. And Clutch, thanks for the bullsh!t comment. I am getting the reaction I expected when typing up the post.
Almu, pardon my French, but WTF???!!! Why are you calling out the Houston fans? I've read majority of the threads and listen to sports radio practically every hour, there are less than 15% (heck maybe even 10%) of the people who tought JVG did a bad job. Why are you so riled up because of this small sample? Practically everyone thought it's the players fault. I don't think JVG is a bad coach, I think he is a good coach, just not a great one (yet). But this season alone, I don't think he did a very good job because the result is not much better than what we did last year. You want to make this a NY toughness thing? Fine, how about what company or organization in NY will put up with mediocre results, because that is what we have. Going into the season, the main goal of the team is to make the play-offs. We hired a coach who is suppose to do that. We are now barely hanging by a thread to make it in. Please tell me what CEO in NY will be issueing bonus money to their management team for this type of result. JVG does not deserve to be fired, but he is no saint or savier (at least for this season). Stop calling out the Houston fans, it is insulting.
that original post was just r****ded. In what city does the town not complain about a coach of a team that underachieves as much as this team has? The only city that happens in is a city where no one cares about the team. At least people here care. I'm not of the opinion that this is all JVG and Rudy would have done better, but I do know that JVG can make changes to what he does just as much as players on this team need to change their game to make this a better team. JVG is a good coach, but he has exuded negativity the entire season, and rarely do we actually have a timeout at the end of the game when it is needed. He has faults and when a team underachieves, those faults are going to come out. The most rediculous thing about your post is that you are coming out of New York. I'll bet you have thousands of people there ready to run Mike Mussina out of town after two games.
From the Crow Thread Clutch: In less than a year, you bring it up when I said it could go as long as a couple of years? The Crow Thread will live. I can't wait for your headline: HOUSTON THE CHAMPS! NYC Playing Style Wins Title In H-TOWN! Clutch agrees with Almu! Universe Reportedly Collapsing. Clutch be nice!
Well...about the coaches, there weren't exactly many championship winning coaches available last offseason if I remember correctly. I believe we have toughed it out long enough with this backcourt. This is the first year I have seriously thought about the team trading Steve. It's kind of like Quitten was...he just doesn't fit this offense very well (although the case can be made that the only offense Quitten fits is the one MJ is in). I believe Van Gundy should get at least 2 more years here...no coach should be expected to have his team at their best the first season. Steve, however, has had several seasons to mature as a PG and I'm not sure he's going to go much further. I love his leadership though, that will be missed if he is gone. I wish all of the Rockets players could read the initial post of this thread. If it fired them up as much as it did me, we'd win tonight by about 50.
