Dear Mr. Alexander, I, as a Houston Rockets fan, have great respect for the accomplishments of Rudy Tomjanovich, especially the two championships in 1994 and 1995, and the fact that Rudy has become an icon and institution, I respectfully ask that my name (Enter First and Last name here) be added to this petition for Rudy Tomjanovich to have his contract extended for the following reasons: 1. Rudy has consistently gotten his team prepared to face teams with records under 500 as evidenct by recent wins to the Clippers and now Chicago. 2. Rudy has consistently made the necessary defensive adjustments as evident by the recent wins over Chicago and New Jersey. It's quite evident that he has taken this team to another level defensively. The Rockets rank as one of the best teams defensive teams in the NBA...stats don't lie. 3. Rudy's substitution rotation has consistently proven effective. Bringing in Taylor and Rice off of the bench to keep the offense flowing while giving the starters a needed rest. Taylor should be considered as a possible 6th man of the year. 4. Rudy has been able to motivate his team to play at a higher level. It's evident by the way Rudy was able to keep his team focused against Chicago even with the Suns game looming on the horizon. 5. Rudy has proven to his guards, Francis and Mobley, that getting the ball to Yao Ming is important. It's apparent that that the offense is clicking because of Rudy's creativity and imagination with different lineups. 6. It is obvious to observant fans that Rudy is providing players with necessary information to improve the team and the players are accepting the information he is providing. Either way, this is a clear indication that his "coaching" is at its best! 7. Rudy has clearly over acheived with less talent than almost any team in the NBA. The majority of the players on this team have never achieved much until this season. 8. At the beginning of the season, the Rockets entire organization stated that anything less than making the playoffs would be considered a failure. At this point, there are many NBA experts who would be willing to consider the Rockets a playoff contender. 9. Finally, as fans, we believe that Rudy is capable of coaching this particular group of players to a level that they have never reached in their careers. With the exception of Glen Rice, Kelvin Cato and Cuttino, none of these players have had a taste of the playoffs. Because of Rudy, the playoffs are becoming a reality. As a result of these reasons, I respectfully add my name to the growing list of those who believe that the Rockets team and organization would be best served by extending Rudy's contract to keep him a lifelong Houston Rocket. We are pleading with you Les Alexander to do what is best for the team, the fans and the city!! Signed, F. Agent
Rockets still haven't achieved anything yet. I like what Rudy T was doing in the last few games, but maybe you should wait until we are offcially in the playoff?
Why wait? Some here were signing petitions to have Rudy fired before the seasons end. What's the difference?
One of the writers said I believe the Rockets wil lmake the playoffs because of Rudy's experince and Yao's emergence. Lot of coaches choke in big time games. Rudy is not one of them I remeber in the 94 Final Riley was telling his team in game 7 that keep the game close and the Rockets wil lchoke. he Rockets didn't choke because they took their coaches mentallity. I have defended Rudy many times. Personally the best quality of Rudy that he is a fan first. His enthusiasm of a big play and accomplishments are what makes him my favorite coach. I still remember this season when Houston was playing LA and Francis made that dish to Yao for the dunk and immediately Rudy's hand went up in the air like every other Rockets fan.
Seriously, if we make it to the playoffs, Rudy is the MAN. He would exceed expectations if we get there. And guess what? Guess what team is starting to share the ball? Good for Rudy! Good for this team! More importantly, good for the fans!
Where does Rudy rank among the coaches in the NBA? How many different offensive sets do we run? We beat some of the league's worst teams, so it's time to resign the guy? No thanks.
Look at our team first. Every expert said we will end up in the 10th or 11th spot in the west. And we are fighting for the 8th or 7th spot. That should speak volumes for itself. Also what kind of offensive sets do u want him to run. He runs post ups, backdoor, iso's, three point shots. These are what the basic offense is. We are not Sacramento or Dallas who has shooters in every corner.
The only coach in NBA history to take the same organization through two different championship runs.. Go Rudy!
We lose a few, there's a petition to fire Rudy. We win a few, and there's a peitition to resign him. I'm withholding judgment. And I'm trying not to premise my opinions on win/loss record, but rather improvement in specific areas. I don't really like Rudy's style... but as long as he'd getting results, it would be unfair to fire him unless it's obvious the Rockets are underachieving.
I'll tell you what. If the Rockets make the playoffs, give RT an extension, and if they fail to make the playoffs, replace him. We have a deal? Raven
I think it's funny how all the anti Rudy posters like to point out how bad this team has played this year. They are oblivious to the fact that Rudy has taken the second youngest team in the whole NBA and put them in position to make the playoffs in the loaded Western conference. He's done this while having to adjust his starting lineup so many times that the starting lineup -- Eddie Griffin, James Posey, Yao Ming, Cuttino Mobley and Steve Francis -- has started 25 games, the most for a Rockets lineup since Maurice Taylor, Walt Williams, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shandon Anderson and Francis started 25 games together in the 2000-2001 season. Not to mention our starting center is a rookie who hardly even got a chance to get to know his teamates before the season started. Our starting PF is only 20 years old and only played one year of college ball. The SF position has been a game of musical chairs all season because of injuries. We traded away a starter (Kenny Thomas) and got a new player (Posey) who is now starting but has played in less than 30 games with this team. Even if we don't make the playoffs this year Rudy has done a fine job with this team. People need to realize how young this team is and how new these players are to one another. Its not an excuse, its a fact. Teams like Sacramento and Dallas who have a lot of good players didn't instantly become good teams. I don't understand why our fans expect us to. We have good players now all we need is for them to grow together and become a TEAM. Rudy and these players will be fine we just need to be patient.
FA, Count me in. In fact, in the "other" thread I had made a joke about starting a petition like yours and believe it or not, I got 20 emails or so.
as usual, my stance is......."don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion" (that never get's old)
