Are the Rockets good at Developing players? Will JVG be better? Watching KT and Collier get a bit better after they left made me wonder KT worked hard but it seemed like he did it on his own during the summers without much input from the staff Collier. . I am baffled by his improvement I thought he had skills Langhi ain't done squat . . . just asking the question - How can we improve out personel developement Rocket River
I wanted to see Eddie Griffin develop under JVG. I was really looking forward to that. Dont forget, he was supposed to be our starting PF. JVG has given Boki a few chances to 'show his quality' At least more so than Rudy.
Bring back T-Mo while we still can! He would benefit -- and be of benefit to the Rockets -- with JVG's instruction.
BTW -- RR, this is an excellent observation. It has happened through the years -- not just the last one or two. However, with JVG's ultra short rotation, bench players do not get as much game time. Can the Rocks do better in the future in this regard? How?
I really cant recall any young players developing durin gthe JVG era in NY. Part of the problem i sthat in order to develo, you need playing time, but JVG wont give anyone PT unless they can D up. I think Joaquin Jawkins woulda honesly had more minutes this season had he been brouhgt back
The main problem with the Rockets is that we need to contend and develop players at the same time. Which makes for problems. For example, if we play Boki 20 minutes a game, it means 20 less minutes from Mobley/JJ. And while we all feel that Boki could eventually become a capable backup, he's certainly not close to the levels of JJ/Cat right now. So do we sacrifice a few potential wins, or should we concentrate on developing the young players? If this team sucked, or is in the top 3 in the west right now, the answer is obvious. We play Boki major minutes in the first situation, and sitting his ass on the bench in the second. But we're caught in the middle. Because the Rockets needs to improve for the future, while they can't afford to sacrifice the present.
Coach Van Gundy has very little options as far as the length of the rotation with our current roster. Coach would be willing to extend the rotation during the regular season if the bench could carry a sufficient load of minutes without jeopardizing the necessary results; i.e. defense, rebounding and the ability to put the ball in the basket within the concept of team. The problem in this case, as I see it, is the majority of the Rockets roster is one-dimensional. Adding more versatile players would dramatically change the dynamic of the team. A player that comes to my mind that could make a significant impact to this team is Mehmet Okur. A player such as Okur would give the Rockets everything they want and need at the power forward postion; size, the ability to rebound, the great footwork that lets him defend some of the quicker fours, a solid passer, a great mid-range game that can extend beyond the arc and the ability to score in the post as well.
They are both playing on bad teams and getting minutes (and they are in the East - which is not the defensive powerhouse it was in the 1990's - save for miami and detrioit) besides, look at Yao in Nov. 2002 and now - do you think he just developed himself ?!?!
Actually, maybe. Great players are just going to improve, most of the time. Yao is stronger and has adjusted to the US and the NBA. Most of that probably has nothing to do with coaching - or at least... he would have improved that much with almost anybody coaching him. To look at the ability of a coaching staff to develop players, I think you have to examine the "surprise" players they've developed. A lot of Texas fans worship Rick Barnes because of the way he develops guys who initially suck and have mediocre talent, like Jason Klotz. The Rockets have struck out lately in terms of talent development. And unfortunately, JVG is not a noted developer of youth.
