Now that I think about it.. maybe JVG never really tried a fastbreak/uptempo offense last year because he knows everyones habits from seeing them in practice. He knew SF was NOT an efficient ball handler on the break (you can argue in the half court too ) naturally. JJ was also turn-over prone or tried to do more than he is able to. So that leaves Yao, Cat, and Cato. Cat is the only one i could see do well on a fast break from beginning to end. This years squad we have open-floor freaks in Sura, Barry, T-mac, and Wesley. Just by looking at those names on paper you could tell what type of offense suits that group of players. I don't even know what type of offense Francis would be best suited in. Sure he can put up the best stats in a uptempo offense but from what I've seen and read of the Magic this year, he is committing the same boneheaded plays as last year in a system that "fits him better". I think the Rudy Iso offense pre-zone was the best style for francis. BUT ANYWAY, JVG is great.
I think you just answered your own question. The players you HAVE matter. If that player is unable to mesh their games within the team concept not much will change. Giving trust to Francis? What good would it do? We tried that for 4 years before that. We know what happens; sloppy offense. Thus, hand picking players is done for a reason. That coach knows what he's getting. He knows they will understand him. By the way, he DID experiment last year. That's why he throttled Francis's game back, and shifted it towards Yao. We already knew what we had if we gave Francis the green light. So, we tried to limit his shots, and move more of them towards Yao. This was just part of Yao's development and JVG understanding of what our center could, and could not do. We have a lot better understanding of that today after 1 1/2 years of progression and coaching. "See the writing on the wall?" Not sure I understand what you are saying? Do you think that he prefers loosing at the expense of everything else? You're almost acting like winning is something he didn't *want.* He was trying to figure out what would win regardless of everything else. Also, you're assuming that if we didn't make any acquisitions (Barry, Westley and activated Sura) that we'd some how play like we are now....just by shifting the offense toward TMac. It wouldn't have mattered. We'd still be struggling. TMac and Yao can't do it alone. I mean, didn't you notice how the offense was suddenly "opened" the first few games that Sura was activated? If the players show they deserve trust, they get it. You don't just hand it out without receiving something back. Did the JVG coached Knicks have a young TMac that could score 28PPG? No. They played with the talent they had. An aging center named Ewing (15-22ppg). He was the main man; not Allen Houston, not Spree, not LJ, not Ward... Also, it's not like he had Ewing at the start of his career. After Ewing started having injury problems it was over for that team. They didn't have their leader anymore. So, those players weren't the same type we have now. That Knick team played towards its strength; prodding/defense with a focus on its POST presence (Ewing). Today we play towards our strengths, except it's starts with our shooting guard...we have a young scoring/assisting machine named TMac (28ppg). And young versatile center named Yao (18-20ppg). And we have surrounded those guys with a LOT of shooters. Our stars are young! At the twilight of their careers. These players determine the complexion of the team. Above you said that we don't do these --->...."JVG ball, strong defense, plodding offense, emphasis on ball control rather than fast scoring." Well guess what? We still do JVG ball: strong defense, plodding half court offense, emphasis on ball control...." The fast scoring happens only because we have a guy named TMac. Yao helps too. But not as much as TMac. Again, the players you have matter. Do you think that we'd get "fast scoring" if Tmac wasn't on this team? He's a huge reason we are scoring as much as we do. Check out his ppg for this month alone! And before you say something like TMac is only scoring because he "yelled at JVG." Read above the circumstances (posts) of why TMac wasn't scoring as much at the start of the season. We've gone over that time and time again.
I wasn't the most vocal hater of JVG, but I did hate him. Ever since he came to the Rockets. Now, I'm man enough to say that I was wrong: I thought this team had no passion and wouldn't even make the playoffs. JVG has turned it around, and this team really is playng some wonderful ball. While I may never agree fully witth him, whatever works for the best for our beloved Rox is what we all want. Let's go Rockets!
I give him credit for changing the offensive approach. It is obviously working, so he has done something right!
JVG also trusts his stars by allowing them to play to their strengths in spite of his perceived coaching style. It is obviously paying dividends. I love the confidence of Howard, Sura, Wesley, Barry and even Deke. They obviously make life so much easier for Mac and Yao. Might be too early to say, but the team seems like a throwback to to some of better playoff teams of the mid-90s. Cool thing is they have the potential to be even better than those teams. We're talking dynasty if management can maintain the right mix of personnel for Mac and Yao to work with. To the playoffs, baby! By the way, we're our man Almu? A Rockets/JVG tribute just isn't complete without his contribution.
Personally, I think one of the biggest turning points was the Wesley trade. JVG/CD recognizing we needed to change personnel and get better passers and defenders and more speed overall on this team and then acquire guys like Jon Barry and David Wesley have been huge! JVG DID change some of his strategies which have already been well documented in this thread. But JVG also got HIS PERSONNEL on this team as well. I think that should be noted. He got some guys that FIT what HE wanted to do and fit the current makeup of this team. I think doing that has made things easier for him and the team.
Thanks for the five stars.. JVG has made good adjustments, listened to his players without sacrificing his core beliefs- intensity, effort, team, execution, defense, protecting the ball, the extra pass, smart decisions, commitment, attention to detail, rebounding etc. all the things he has harped on the last two seasons. I like his humor, honest comments (as long as he is not constantly trashing his players), and his frown. I think he is a great game decision coach and I like how he sticks with his rotation. He has loosened the offense, changed his approach with Yao and Tmac and all this while keeping the same system in place. I believe he has allowed this because of TMac and because the players have executed far better than last season. Also he is allowing us to get in transition and run because we play smart. He used alot of plodding last season because frankly we made too many stupid decisions and unforced errors when the reigns were loose. And he knew in the long run we couldn't become a championship team if we weren't willing to change bad habits and develop basic fundementals that produce chemistry, efficiency and winning disciplines.
A lot of people here were saying the team would not do well thru December, but would then gell and play better, and it has. TMac called out JVG and got some necessary changes to the style, tempo and some players (JJ?). JVG and CD found some role players who were smart and played team ball. The train is on the tracks and picking up speed. WOOOO! WOOOOO! Seems like now we have the right players and the right coach working together.
Moved from the "Yao Ming apology" thread.... I'm not sure what you mean here. Could be. We may never know for sure who took the initiative to free up Yao: CD, JVG, the other players, or Yao himself. However, here are some bits of evidence: 1. Near the holidays, about 10 games after T-Mac dramatically broke out for 48 points against the Mavs, JVG said, "I've changed enough. I am who I am. We're not going to sit there and get in a group hug today. We're not going to sing Christmas carols." Why would he say that if he wasn't feeling the pressure from his players for still more change? 2. About then (December/January), Yao started saying to the Chinese press that the NBA's new rules favored speed over power. The days of the traditional center were over, he said; it was no longer possible to win consistently by exclusively banging down low. 3. Yao's liberation was not gradual, it was sudden. Those two games in a row, when Yao scored only with his middle range jumper, stand out in my memory. Of course, the above is only circumstantial evidence, not proof. But my feeling is that Yao took the initiative in his liberation. Yao was injured. He wasn't in a slump, he wasn't being soft, he was hurt! True. But notice how the team's recent hot streak -- 16-4 since the Jan. 7 loss to the Lakers -- coincides almost perfectly with Yao's liberation.
DavidS and Nick; You both raise very good points but I still disagree with you on the basic point that this is more about JVG adapting rather than the team evolving to JVG. I don't have time to give you the full responses that your well argued posts deserve but let me add one thing. If you think this team is still playing typical JVG ball why are other teams scoring so much against us? We're playing well overall but we're not as good of a defensive team as we were before. The difference is our offense is so much better that we can win on offense rather than D which has been the hallmark of JVG teams. Again I give JVG lots of credit for adapting his b-ball philosophy. A lot of this has to do that he has players he can trust but I still think this is more his evolution than the other way around.
Nick, you can go even farther than that. Francis himself admitted that he, and hinted at others, did not buy into JVG's system. I think the qyote was something like: That speaks volumes about JVG's flexibility last year. Also, if you look at the FGA per game, they haven't changed dramatically. We're just executing better and hitting our shots, something the past Rockets were unable to do. It's called Kelvin Cato and Cuttino Mobley. Cato was our best interior defender, and we replaced him with Juwon Howard. Naturally, you're going to see a drop-off in the defense. Also, last year's squad had more athletic players that could decide to turn it on when they needed to. Rod Strickland and Jon Barry aren't exactly the quickest people in the league.
the problem was that last year four out of our top five players (SF, CM, JJ, MT) were all isolation type players who didn't freely move the ball around w/o holding it for a second or two. that makes it a little more difficult to implement a offensive system.
I think that, as usual, most people would love for just ONE THING to be the answer. T-Mac fixed everything. Steve leaving fixed everything. Cato would fix everything. CD screwed everything up. CD fixed everything. JVG is horrible. JVG is amazing. The truth is that it is NEVER just one thing. It is a combination of a range of things. In this case: Trades made over the summer finally paying off. Players beginning to feel comfortable in JVG's system. Sura recovering from his injury. Trades for Wesley and Barry. Opportunites for players and them stepping up (Padgett). Players accepting their roles. Guys getting their shots to fall. Chemistry developing between players on the floor. JVG adjusting to the fact that the league is shifting from a halfcourt to a fullcourt game. The result is recent success and still a ways to go. I'm not saying JVG hasn't done a good job. I think he has made some needed adjustments and managed to find the level of his players, which is great. But, you can't lay the recent success off on one person any more than you can blame one person for the team's failures early in the season. But, I know that's what everyone wants to do because it is easier. Doesn't mean it is true.
Friends, Romans, Clutchfans, I come to praise JVG, not to bury him. The good that men do live after them. The bad is oft interred with the bones, So let it be with JVG.
For me, the key to Van Gundy's success and the turnaround of this team is he finally changed his philosophy and let TMac do his thing on the offensive end. The biggest change that I have seen is TMac now has the ability to put up any shot he wants and the freedom to make decisions on the court without looking over his shoulder at Van Gundy. In other words, Van Gundy started trusting TMac and TMac has not let him down. If Van Gundy continues to trust his players, and continues to work to protect Yao and give him more offensive freedom instead of limiting him to the low block, then he will be an extremely successful coach in this league and will win multiple championships. He can flat out coach the D and gameplan against the opposition. He just needed to learn to work with his superstars and trust them and it looks like he has turned the corner on that issue, because we have legit superstars now with TMac and Yao who are both interested in winning above all else.
