I know I'm late with this however, the last play of the Phoenix game sucked big time. In addition, what about putting Hawkins on Marbuy up top instead of Steve with 5 fouls. Yes, I'm aware that Ming couldn't have reached the high arc shot from Mabury. However, Hawkins would have made him shoot it higher from the beginning. Rudy's bench coaching down the Stretch is something to be desired. Great at developing relationships with players, however his X's and O's are poor at best.
Like a ref's late whistle, as long as the call is indeed correct in the final analysis, it is appreciated. And though you will likely get flamed for starting this thread, I for one appreciate you posting it. btw, i voted for "average"
My humble apologies to the senior members for the lateness, however, this is a consistent theme with our beloved coach. He rode Dreams back to 2 title with the same strategy, kick it down low to Dream and everybody spot up for 3. It will work in the future with Yao, not now though. By the way what happen to our fabulous new motion offense. Down the tube
I thought the point of diagramming a last second play was to get an open look at the basket? If that is the goal then Rudy T called a great play. Eddie (a 45% 3-point shooter) missed a wide-open shot. I don't see how you can pin that one on Rudy T. To make matters worse Cat missed two free throws down the stretch that would have made a last second shot irrelevant. Rudy T screwed this game up how?
Crash, we didn 't need a 3 from Griffin, check Phoenix play, Marbury drives strong to the bucket for 2, not a jumper. MoTaylor on the low post would have been better. Also, remember the last couple of plays down the stretch with the one-on-one isolation with the shot clock running out. By the way where was Ming, he's 7' 6", shouldn't he be in the game with 12 seconds left?
It is a no win situation. If Eddie nails that shot (like he does 45% of the time) then it is a great call that was executed to perfection. Against Portland just a couple of nights ago Steve drove to the basket for the winning hoop and everyone talked about how great a play that was and how Steve stepped up. If Steve had not made that shot then he is selfish for not kicking it out and Rudy T is a moron for calling that play. It's a damn no win situation. In the end it boils down to execution and making shots. You can't ask more from a coach than to get his team into a play with a wide open shot in the closing seconds of a game. The execution was there but the shot was not. It's as simple as that. And as I said in my earlier post, if Cat makes two free throws that he almost always makes we are not even having this discussion.
It's real easy for some of you guys to sit around on your computer and demand perfection and say what should have happened AFTER the fact...Unless you have coached in the NBA you have no idea how tough it is to coach a team of young inexperienced players against the best competition in the world. I voted for average and I'm happy with that..I don't think there is a coach in the nba who is perfect and doesn't get out-coached. A question for all the Rudy haters .... Who would you rather have coaching this team ? I hear plenty of Rudy bashing but never any talk of who could replace him and do a better job ... and why they would do a better job ? I'd rather have Rudy with his faults rather then suffer a stream of coaches who are here for 2 or 3 years and then on to the next one....been there done that ....it sucks !
I think the term "hater" should be banned. It's appropriate perhaps 1/500 times it's used. Almost nobody on this board "hates" Rudy. Many of us, however, believe that his system is no longer fuctional for the personnel he currently has, and that a different style of coaching would be more appropriate. I firmly believe that Rudy is a good coach. I firmly believe that he could succeed with different personnel. I just think he's the wrong for the Rockets at the current moment. "hater." Bah.
DARO: Jeff van Gundy is the obvious answer, though I don't know if he even wants to return to the NBA. Dunleavy might be a good solution, too... his work in Portland is looking better and better by the week. Incidentally, I'm not for the immediate firing of Rudy. I think you have to fire a coach based on overall performance, not whether or not you approve of his style. So, the earliest I'd be in favor of letting Rudy go would be this summer... and that's only if the team isn't in the playoff hunt. I wouldn't even require the playoffs; just being competitive. Don't you have certain performance standards? I mean, excuses of insufficient personnel only work for so long, especially when you have substantial influence on who gets traded, signed, and drafted (with terrific draft picks, too).
I dont think we want to be like the Knicks or the Cavs, and Mario took a two million dollar pay cut to leave here.....I kinda like the Houston Rockets...
Why in the hell would anyone ever want Jeff Van Gundy to coach the Rockets. Jeff Van Gundy sucks and is one of the biggest asswholes of all time. And yes I have something personal against the guy.
Haven, word. Well-said, and with a fraction of the verbiage it would take me. It's been a great run with Rudy, but he has been given ample time to produce with our personnel. Some of his lack of success can be justified by the litany of reasons/excuses we've already heard. But there just haven't been any signs of visible, substantial progress or change. We've literally been pounding our heads against the wall. And the ball into the ground, whether from the left block, or out on the perimeter. The Rudy apologists complain he's in a no-win situation -- and I'll suppress an obvious pun/quip -- but the skeptics could claim likewise. There's always a rationalization for our lack of success and progress. I think I'm like a lot of people here -- we've been patient and quiet for a long time now. I've been lurking here on this bbs unregistered since forever, but this year I've lost my patience, and have hence exploded with posts. That said, I believe Rudy should still get some more time to turn things around, with our progress scrutinized at mid-season and season-end. And we should expect he'll get "evaluated" -- aka "hated" -- throughout the season. But after this season, if things haven't changed, it's not unreasonable to call for his head -- and it's nothing personal, it's perfectly rational. Speaking of personal gripes, I don't think it's unreasonable to consider Van Gundy. You have to give credit to what he achieved with a mediocre Knicks team. I also don't think considering Berry is unreasonable -- you have to wonder about how much of the credit he deserves for our rings. Again, how realistic these options are is a separate issue -- but based solely on merit, they're perfectly reasonable.
hamachi, How about this: Since Rudy T is currently coaching a team that is on pace to challenge for 4th play-off seed, which just happens to get home court for the first round, why don’t you and the Rudy T bashers get off of his ass until he screws it up. Sheesh! The Rockets are winning for crying out loud and you are growing impatient? Rudy T needs no apologies since he is freekin winning!!!
Crash, with all due respect to your opinion and posting history, our schedule thus far has arguably been the easiest of any team in the league.
