coaching is to judged over time. everyone put john lucas on a pedestal when he was with san antonio...lets see how avery johnson does over time.
Avery Johnson was put into a great position, as he inherited a team loaded with talent. JVG on the other hand got a team with 3 decent players when he arrived. Outside of Francis, Mobley, and Yao who else did he have? For all those that blame him for the players he aquired, how much better could he of really done? Without any pieces to trade, he didnt have much choice. He came onboard to a team loaded with horrible LONG contracts. There is only so much you can get back for MoT, Moocie, and Cato. The lack of talent and depth to the Rockets now stem from the fact that Rudy and CD made horrible draft choices, and gave bad contracts to bad players.
He's not buying tickets to fill the stands. He's buying tickets to fill the stands with rowdy fans. Those seats are usually sold. More often than not, they're even occupied - they're just occupied by boring fans that act as though the Rockets play in a library. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that you hate Les Alexander. No, he isn't the richest owner in the league, but I've still never felt like he's cheap. He does what he can to win. As for wanting him to sell it to a "Mark Cuban type", good luck. It just so happens that there aren't thousands of insane billionaires out there willing to purchase an NBA team and throw money at it until it's in contention. In the entire NBA you only have maybe three owners who spend money like he does. Cuban, James Dolan and Paul Allen. Paul Allen wants to sell his team. James Dolan is an idiot with one of the worst franchises in the league. And Mark Cuban is so obnoxious that many Mavericks fans and even some of his players have grown tired of his antics. See the Nowitski comments. I'm sure we all would have loved to have learned that Bill Gates retired to buy the Rockets and is ready to blow all of his cash on making them championship contenders, but the fact of the matter is that's nothing more than a fantasy. Reality is that we have a pretty damn good owner and we ought to appreciate him. George Shinn/Donald Sterling he's not.
JOHN BARRY,WESLEY,SURA,MARK JACKSON they may be old but they understand the system. IMO I don't expect to convince you EDC of the good coach that we have. I think some fans nowdays are fans of the ESPN slam and glam game and others like me like smart basketball which is boring to some. My father was a basketball coach in Houston, he even put together a team to scrimmage against Clyde when he was coaching at UH. It was to prepare UH before a game against CINN. My dads team was full of high school and former college players. He coached them well and lost by a point-which earned my dad a mad glare from Clyde after the game. My dad prepared his players and these guys listened and played like a team. Clydes guys wanted to do the NBA one on one selfish basketball crap, therefore a bunch of scrubs played hard and together and should have beaten these cougars if it had not come down to questionable calls in the last 30 seconds. It was a joke. The point is this brand of basketball ran so rampant among young players my father got out of basketball because he was fvrustrated with the fact that some many talented players refused to be coached and play like a team. It carried over and my dad stopped watching the rockets in the Steve/Cat era. It was only when Yao, an unselfish player with fundamentals, could my dad watched anymore and even then he complained about the lack of discipline Rudy and Steve/Cat infected the rockets. When JVG came on board everything was changing. Guys played hard and worried about their jobs..see Stromile. JVG refuses to have a team built around playgound one on one basketball. Avery Johnson let guys continually make dumb decisions in the playoffs and as the legs went in the playoffs so did the shots. Where was their inside game? And why haven't they addressed it fully in the offseason? DIfferent philosophy in the NBA! Riley had a guy who attacked, which with health TMac will do more. Riley knew you cannot live and die by the jumpshot. You have to play as close to the basket as possibly. You have to have guysto know their role and accept it and that is what JVG is trying to do. Unfortunately you are right we don't have good shooters, but look at the nba there are not many. The teams that have a great shooter build the team around them and can't afford any more pieces. We are lucky we have two pieces and guys who are not as athletic as we'd like but respect our stars, coach and the fact that guys with basketball knowledge are cherished in an age where high flying wouldn't buy a jump shot if it didn't come with a tomahawk dunk.
(1) I'm glad your father coached a team that scrimmaged against Clyde Drexler's Cougars. You also might remember that Clyde did not last long in that position, and that that team really wasn't all that good. Perhaps you can coach the Washington Generals to within a dozen points of the Harlem Globetrotters. It would mean about as much. (2) The last time the Rockets were in the playoffs (can anyone remember back that far?) Avery Johnson outcoached your "good coach." Badly. You're not particularly egotistical, are you? Scoring != flash defense != smart basketball A good team has balance on offense and defense, plays to their strengths, and adjusts to their opponents. Mister Van Gundy dictates what he wants, adjusts poorly, and forces others into "his system" without regards to their talents. P.S.: It's JON ("no H") BARRY.
JVG went to the old folks home for role players because that's where role players are. The younger players in the NBA don't know fundamentals & don't understand team basketball. That's also why the Battier trade was made. We got a fundamentally sound, good shooting(2 & 3 pt), defensive & hustling 3/4 who is the same age as Yao & T-Mac. We got actual, whereas everyone else after the 1st 4 picks drafted on potential.
a 58 win team went 7 games and beat the rockets badly in game 7. how was jvg outcoached. were you saying that after the first two games of that series? were you saying that up 88 -82 in the 4th of the next two games? were you saying that when yao went to the line 20 times in game 5 after jvg's fine? after the game 6 blowout? when exactly was he outcoached?
and ive always wanted to ask this...the balance thing you are right on...then why dont you say the same thing about washington and phoenix who are all o and no d? and what players strenths have not been utilized?
Mister Van Gundy never adjusted after the first two victories. Avery Johnson went small and quick, the Rockets had no answer, and the series was over. The embarassment of game seven was the icing on the "badly outcoached" cake. One team was ready, the other was not.
Or one could argue the Mavs talent was so much better it took a great coaching job to steal the 1st two on the road and win 3 overall. Once the coaches got out of the way and let the players decide, the Rockets could not keep up.
...you could argue that, but you'd be wrong Besides, there is no excuse for the worst game seven loss in NBA history. Everybody failed, and the head coach must take a significant chunk of the blame.
correct on the game 7...but the mavs didnt go small...they stayed the same. only change was van horn got hurt and they actually played bigger at 5 vs. mutumbo. and they played darrell armstrong instead of devon harris...so your premise is flawed. but one thing is...you sound like you really know the facts...when really you just are making it up as you go. please post how they went smaller and quicker. the rockets went smaller by starting bowen in the first 2 games...
and are you saying that dallas didnt have superior talent? sura terry wesley finley mac howard bowen nowitski yao dampier james harris padgett stackhouse mutumbo van horn barry daniels even you cant be so hateful that you dont see the discrepancy in talent
It is NOT about individual talent, but team talent. The Rockets did not adjust and Van Horn getting hurt was the best thing that could have happened to the Mavs, they had to rely more on Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels, and that made them MUCH better. DD
OK I'll say it like this.... Coaching these young guys today is like trying to convince you that the NBA has become a league full of young guys that have athleticism but no brains. I'm not the only one pointing out that these guys have no fundamentals and are not TEAM players. THATS WHAT MY FATHER AND CLYDE REALIZED....and my point was you can get 8 guys together in 3 days, coach them to rely on each other and almost beat a team who has practiced for months. WHY? BECAUSE ITS A TEAM GAME. Thats what Jordan realized, DREAM realized, Shaq realized, but KOBE hasn't. Why hasn't Phil made him realize? Want to talk about ego! I'M sorry Melo and Lebron jacking up 20 footers in the playoffs is not good basketball! They will never win anything until they learn to trust in their teammates. ITS A TEAM GAME. We lost against the Mavs for the same reason they lost to the Heat...tired legs. The shots left with the legs. Would you like to debate that the legs have an impact on your shot? As for JVG you don't have to like him for all I care...but how many years did it take Larry Brown to win a championship? OH yeah he sucks. The knicks are the perfect example of my argument.All of the talent the league has to offer, bvut uncoachable players. JVG doesn't put up with that SH#T and I'm glad we don't have players like that. As for Avery being a better coach, you can believe that if you want, but he's 0-1 in the finals just like JVG. I'll take a low post offense over a jumpshot run and gun anyday and so would PHO and everyone else if they had a guy like Yao. When it comes to the playoffs, its a half court game, they can change their game, we don't have to. I don't always agree with JVG but I think he's a better than average coach IMO. The only reason why I don't like him is because he's such a hard ass and realist that he's hard to take when things are bad. However, he speaks the truth and I think the smart players listen. You can't blame him for all the bricks this year. PS I think JUAN BARRY would agree!
Same. Same. Exact same. I'm like I bought it in t-mac's first year, and now they harass me. If i had money, I'd do it. But I don't have money!
"Say it" all you like. However, the league is no more "full of athleticism but no brains" than it ever has been. Steve Francis is indicative of himself, not the entire league. As far as "uncoachable players," seems to me the coach did everything he could to bring the king of that bunch, Latrell Sprewell to the Rockets. I guess it is ok to be a knucklehead as long as you are a "Mister Van Gundy" kind of guy? Avery Johnson lost in the finals of a full season, not a bastardized lockout version. Add another thirty games to the legs of those old Knicks, and there is serious doubt they would've gotten past the first round. As far as what the coach can be blamed for, the bricks are indirectly his. He chose the players. He relied on their shooting. You can't have it both ways. Bring in old guys, they will be broken down by the time April and May roll around. Add in an ever-questionable back from T-Mac, and you get TROUBLE with a capital "T." (Fortunately, if it happens again, the result from Le$ will be FIRED with a capital "F.")
We want your daddy to be the Rockets' coach since your daddy know so much about team basketball and could coach high school guys to beat Clyde's team. Now, we can start to discuss your daddy now since you know so much about your daddy. btw. Are you the sandwiches that got left in the Rockets locker room when JVG tried that sandwich trick in Toyota Centre last season?
