No. I never said I wanted him FIRED. I said going into the season that he was a jerk and that the players wouldn't respond to his style of coaching. I know he isn't going anywhere for at least 3 years. I accepted him as the coach of the Rockets but do I like it? NO! Change and acceptance is taken on BOTH SIDES - from players to the coaching staff. This is a marriage and while I do realize that it will take some time to adjust, I am hoping that JVG does some ADJUSTING of his own instead of instilling his Dictatorship Style of Coaching. As to this thread... JVG, Steve, Yao are all at a stalemate. None of them are going anywhere and all parties are having to make an adjustment. Just which one is going to budge first?
I think Dunleavy would have this team one of the most exciting teams in the NBA and a well respected defesive team.....LES/CD made the wrong decision with JVG
Rocket Rich - how many times can you make the same post? We get the point, you don't like Van Gundy, you think he's an egomaniac, you don't think he'll succeed in Houston. Get over it.
Look at Phoenix. We could easily be them right now, but I think the addition of JVG has kept us competitive in the stacked West.
You know.... I was thinking about Dr. Richard Anderson, my Econometrics professor in college. Boy, was an a-hole when I met him. The man was crazy! Subscribe and read the Wall Street Journal everyday? One page summaries on what I read and ready to discuss before every class? Weekly quizzes? Calling on me all the damn time for answers? Watch boring CNBC and be ready to discuss Economic principles of Robert Rubin and Bill Clinton? Essays and whatever else? What the hell? I am a damn senior! What are you talking about me working so damn hard with 6 months left in my college career!?!?!?! You are such a piece of... He never adapted to my ways of being a student. He never took the pressure off. He never let up on me. I thought he was picking on me. And? He is the best professor I ever had and the single most important factor as to why I know what I know and how good I am at my craft. We still trade Xmas gifts 7 years later and talk regularly. He is not just my professor. He is my friend and without him kicking my butt and making me think OUTSIDE the norm, I would not be where I am today. That A HOLE!!! Francis will say that about Gundy or be somewhere else pretty soon. Not just Gundy. But anyone who works his team like Gundy. You know...resistance is FUTILE.
I am going to ask you a very direct and honest question. And I'm asking because you post this and similarly innane comments with great frequency. Do you or have you ever taped a Rockets game and sat down afterwards when the beer cans have been picked up and the popcorn has been vacuumed up off of the floor and done any critical viewing? My guess is no. I have 60 of the Rockets 2002-03 games on tape. I have 26 of this seasons' games on tape. I don't have time or desire to list all of the differences between RT's full-blown ISO offensive and Van Gundy's ball movement, get an open shot, less dribbling offense. But I challenge you right here and now to tape a game. I will personally walk you thorough it. In fact, even though I am unemployed and my money is tight, I will eat the expense of sending you 6 hours of VC tape from RT's last season for your enlightenment. For starters... * In RT's offense seldom did more than 2 players touch the ball in any half court set. 3 would be pushing it. This season, 4 players is par on any half court set. Often the ball exchanges hands 6 times. * RT would plant Griffin at the 3 point line. This year, JVG has Cato weakside at the FT line. Unlike RT, there is usually only 1 player weaside behind the arc. The 5th player is straight on from the hoop for floor balance. This was not always the case in RT''s offense. Don't confuse the fact that when a poorly executed (or well defended) set breaks down into a 1on1 that this is ISO ball. Don't confuse the fact that when there is a hot hand or mismatch (often Mo T) that this is ISO ball...it's not. It wouldn't matter if Rick Adelman were hired tomorrow, the Rockets don't have the personnel to be the Kings. Whatever offense Van Gundy is using is more than adequate, but no ones offense is going to easily overcome 16.7 TO's/g. And IMO, whatever JVG has installed is still being learned by all. Want to know some teams in the Top 12 in ppg scoring? SEA, LAC, MEM, MIL, BOS, ORL, PHX...a smart man like yourself ought to see a trend there. The Rockets score 4 ppg less than the Spurs. Tape a game. I challenge you.
Can not agree with you more. A good offense team with average defense will guarentee to go to play off every year. However, no matter how good a team is ranked in defense, if the team is horrible in offense, they may some time reach the play off, but let me tell you, they will never reach the final; period.
This offense atleast gives them some semblance of hope for success in the future! They're for the first time in years running real basketball plays. The Rockets were never going to win a championship coming down the court and watching Steve Francis, Mobley, and Moochie Norris take turns isolating against their opponents. They are playing pick and roll, setting screens, post re-post to Yao, and dare i say it......MOVING WITHOUT THE BALL! This is how you play basketball. It is clear as day that their problem stems from personnel issues - Steve Francis just isn't a playmaker and Jim Jackson and Kelvin Cato cannot be counted on to be productive offensively. Honestly, how can you blame the offense on the coach when his starting forwards are Cato and Jackson? They just aren't capable of being consistent offensive weapons. We have the best defense in the league. Our offense is horrible but I trust that with a few slight personnel moves that can be fixed. But for the first time in half a decade, I have faith and confidence in our coach. That he won't keep running the god damn ISO every single freaking trip down the court. Every single game of the year. I don't know if they hate him. But they sure are working their asses off for him and in the end that's what matters. He's getting through to them.
Actually his assists per fgm is down from last year. Last season he had 502 assists on 2840 made field goals, or 0.177 A/FGM. This season he has 185 assists on 1064 made field goals, or 0.174 A/FGM. Just like all of the other stats, this one would seem to indicate that he is not passing any more than he did last season. The big changes in Francis from last season to this one are a myth. Adjusted for the reduced number of possessions this season, he is playing basically the same as last season, the differences being a marginal improvement on defense (it isn't like he is all-world on defense now, he just isn't the worst starting PG defeder by far like he was in the past) and a tremendous drop-off in shooting.
Did you come to this conclusion based on stats alone? From watching the games, there has been quite a change. Not a huge dramatic change, but it is obvious he has bought into the system where last year he was content to have the play break down so he could ISO. Stats just don't tell the whole story when there are other factors such as changes in the coaching and personnel. Hakeem's numbers were similar throughout his career but when he won the championship he trusted his teammates and the system a lot more. He didn't get many more assists, but he was a lot more effective.
That is exactly what I have heard too. I have heard that Cato amd Moochie have adjusted and have bought into JVG-ball. Now Steve is just being a hard head and believing his own hype. Yao seems to have liked Rudy's soft approach and needs to adjust to JVG-ball and mainly get more aggressive. If you listen to Bill and Calvin closely, all this is said in not so many words during the games. When Steve is playing well, they will say something like, "It looks like Steve is finally buying into the system, and we need him to do that." When Steve is off doing his own thing, they will say something to the effect of him being stubborn. There is no way Steve is getting traded, unless he holds out and demands a trade. My gut tells me that if he would just buy into the system and play in the system all the time, things would be alot better for the team. Also, to echo Clutch's thoughts, JVG is not exactly a people person. He can coach, but he is not a people person at all. That intensity that you get from him as a coach, he is like that 24/7. Now that is what my sources tell me and they have pretty much been right on the money for a year or so now. I remember them calling out Eddie's problems about a month before they came out, but among the media, that was not a secret at all.
No, it also comes from watching the games. I have seen way too many instances where Steve will come down the floor (not on a fastbreak) and shoot without anyone else touching the ball, or he will pass to Cato at the three point line and then call for the ball back. There is a reason people have been so impressed with the play of Wilkes, and it isn't that he is an all-star quality point guard. The reason is that he plays the way a point guard is supposed to play. re: changes in personnel The addition of guys like Jim Jackson, Padgett, and Piatkowski, and the increase in Nachbar's minutes should lead to increased assist numbers since they are mosly catch and shoot players, especially in this offense. Combined with Steve's supposed increase in passing, his assist numbers should be way up, instead they are down. I agree that stats don't tell the whole story, but neither are they meaningless. The fact is that the biggest change to his game has been negative, his drop in shooting, and the second biggest change to his game has been his advancement from a horrible defensive player to a poor defensive player. The changes to his passing have been minimal if not non-existant. If anything, the biggest change to the way the offense is run has been the increase in the number of times that the ball is taken out of his hands completely, with Jackson or Mobley bringing it up and dumping it in to Yao. This though, is much more a change in coaching the team than it is a change in Francis. Right now, Francis is not giving us anything that we could not get from Charlie Ward, a 33 yo player just released by the Suns. Francis was much better in the Rudy T system where he got to dominate the ball all of the time and do whatever he wanted. The Rockets were not better in that system. That is why the solution seems obvious, trade Francis to a team that needs a player like the old Francis and get back a player or player that better fits into what we are doing here.
WTF are you talking about? Assists numbers should be way up off of Piatkowski and Jackson shooting below 40%, Padget's 3 points in 8 minutes, and Nachbar's playing time and shooting below 40%. With these and the rest of the team's shooting woes, its a wonder how he collects as many assists as he does.
That's great that it looks prettier and all, but it's not effective. This is the worst offense this team has EVER played. Only Miami (another Van Gundy...coincidence?) and Toronto score less - but those teams don't have Francis, Ming, Mobley, Taylor, etc. Yes, it is so clear! The team has better offensive players this year than last year, but it is CLEAR that the problems this year are personnel-related, whereas last year it was the coach's fault. I don't know, you blamed it on Rudy last year, and he had Posey and Griffin as his forwards. JJ is better offensively than Posey, and Griffin and Cato are about the same. The best defense in the league won't get you anywhere. Great teams/players will ALWAYS get their points. You win championships by being unstoppable offensively. The defense was already top 5 last year, which is plenty good enough. I'm not sure what gives you faith and confidence that the offense will improve. It's never been Gundy's calling card - Francis is having the worst year of his career (oh, not the coach's fault, forgot) and the team routinely struggles to score 80. If that's what mattered, Rudy would still be coach.
Well, the problem is Steve and Yao do not fit well with the current offensive system. As you said Steve needs to find a team that fits him. It seems that Yao also needs to find a new team to be successful. Cato is probably the only guy that fit the new system very well. After Steve and Yao leave, JVG can start to build a new team around Cato.
SM, I agree with you to a point. Steve still has a long way in grasping the offense and playing smart. But to say that Ward can do the same things Steve does is stretching it quite a bit. And I guess we'll disagree on the passing. While Steve isn't really passing much better, he is passing more and his attitude in sharing the ball has improved. As far trading Francis, that will probably happen in the offseason if we don't see some improvement in the team.
You've got the right idea. What's the point in putting Steve in a role that can be accomplished by a player making much less money? It's just horrendously inefficient use of resources. Look at the small forward spot. It's barren. If Wilks who is a 2nd year guard can run this offense as well as Steve, then it means that Steve's talents are better suited somewhere else or at least with another role on this team. For the folks who think differently, go watch tapes of Steve's 1st year and the slam dunk contest. This year's Steve is not the same Steve.
