I don't know, JvG was accused of coddling T-Mac. Regardless of who's coach the solution should be the same--T-Mac and Artest need to ride the bench until they fix their attitude problem.
agreed. however, a head coach's job is not only coaching the game; he also needs to have control of the personnel or he's only damaging his own chances of surviving. see rudy t, the only championship coach in town.
This isn't a high school or college team. Van Gundy let McGrady do whatever he wanted while he was here. Maybe you don't remember that.
Adelman: 0 Championships Van Gundy: 0 Championships Gotta love the argument that Adelman is better because he's a proven "winner".
Gundy would be getting the best out of Ronald and Tracy right now, COMEONRICK!!!! GET THIS ISH TOGHETHER
You're right that I don't remember McGrady standing around doing nothing. I do not believe that the status quo with this team would be so readily accepted under JVG as it SEEMS TO ME that it is under the Ricker.
i agree with this thread here is why...... Rick is a very passive coach (a players coach) that believes in his system, he isnt going to change. Tracy, Yao, and Ron our big three all of them are very similar on the court. post up games HALF COURT styles and are very passive on the court.....they are NOT leaders. all three NEED a coach to be a general to point them in the right derection. JVG was an excellent example of a coach WE need he got everyone ready and prepared. Everyone knew there roles. I believe we would have gotten out of the first round if we would have kept him. It wasnt his fault of the injuries we had. When rafer wafer battier scola and yao were in there they had a leader (RAFER) that coached them on the court. With Tracy and Ron back they are never going to let rafer tell them what to do on the court. just bring JVG back. he will get these players playing at a level we all know they can. JVG=CHAMPIONSHIP
I agree with this. I dont think Rick should have to change his coaching <i> personality</i> to deal with high egoistic babies. He's changed this coaching philosophy already to adjust to the players he has. We see quite a different team than the ones he had in Sactown, yet we're winning, meaning he does adjust, coaching wise. Why should he become a hard ass ? If Tmac, etc, still whine, and continue to lose, i'd rather let them walk / trade be4 axing Rick.
Finally a post with the real problem. Rick needs to take control and do what he knows he needs to do. You can tell its eating at him all the time. Put the guys on the floor that makes your offense work. He knows who they are because thats when the rockets couldnt be stopped.
That's in the least an exaggeration. JVG wasn't such an authoritarian that the guys turned on him, true, but he brought out a whip on more than one occasion on Tracy. Case in point (April 2007) Followed one game later by McGrady immediately returns, rings up 33 a game in 6 straight wins, and is given the last game of the season off. Van Gundy did a great job putting a fire under those that needed it. He refused to cater to players that weren't going to be a part of the team. He wasn't the perfect coach, but he was the best leader we've had on this team in any capacity in just about a decade. And no, I have no self-delusions about his return. Not happening. I'll also agree that very few coaches out there command enough respect to run a team in this age with authority and maintain control. Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Jerry Sloan, maybe Mike D'Antoni. End of list. Byron Scott, Larry Brown, George Karl, Scott Skiles, etc all see their players turn on them at some point. After that, you're just looking at the dime-a-dozen coaches that are never any better than the players whose coattails they ride. Evan
Good thread. I was talking about this with my coworker today. EITHER Rick is acting according to Les/Morey to play the fat contracts and see if they're going to contribute OR Adelman is way, way, way, way, way too loyal to the starters/big money players. Yes, they SHOULD be your best players, but they're mailing it in. The question is, Do you want to win? Or do you want to continue this game of chicken and see who blinks first? You're the warden, Rick. Put Tslack and Ron the Chucker in solitary confinement if necessary, but get them away from the general inmate population before they drag the whole group down.
YES! Rick- Coach 'A' - it's on you!!! The real problem is that Rafer Alston is not a real playmaker, floor general, Point Guard, at least he isn't when Tracy McGrady is playing with him, because he mostly defers to Tracy and Tracy then becomes the decission maker. All of this eats up time because Tracy hardly never get the ball in an open position where he can just shoot the ball.He has to set himself up, which takes more time, or just pass on to another, often causing rushed or low percentage shots. An alternative scenario would be not to start McGrady or Ron Ron but to have Rafer , Yao, Wafer, Scola and Brooks become our starters. Tracy and Ron Ron would come in with Berry,Landry & Battier . Tracy and Berry would play the Point Guard (play maker) So we would have an uptempo starting Five and Second team second to none but with more individualistic styles. This scenario should only be changed when we get a dominent Point Guard who is a floor general and controls the tempo and plays of the game. The Coach needs to wake up and smell the roses, because at the moment he isn't even seeing what is going on! Or at least if he is seeing it , he isn't planning to do anything about it PS Just look at the stats from yesterdays game!!
JVG is definitely a better fit for the current roster. I seriously doubt that JVG would have allowed Tracy to be as out of shape as he is. At the start of pre-season he would have had Tracy on the bike with someone monitoring Tracy’s time and weight. Also, I think that Tracy’s rehab would have been handled differently. JVG is a micro-manager who covers every little detail. While some people don’t need to be micro-managed, some do. Tracy and Ron need to be micro-managed.
A great thread, it was on him for a while, I have been saying this for a long time, he really needs to be a man, not only on the floor, but also on the lock room. Come on, as a coach, you need deal with the ball and the players, hoping that you are old enough to know it, the time is running out.
Yetti, Rafer is not a real problem here, we are talking a different problem on the team which could be more important than a point guard.
I think JVG was a Pain in the A.. not so much to the players as the Rockets organization. When all the "stay or go" confusion arose, this was the tipping point. I believe the Rockets did something that often occurs in leadership/business situations, they overcompensated. I agree with one thing, despite the cluster of wins that occur now and again, and the overall decent record, this team is underachieving.
