Barkley's first year with Houston, he did take more 3-ptrs per game than any other year in his career, this is true. He also pulled down 13.5 boards (2nd best total of his career, best since 86-87), however, and the team won 57 games, with Barkley missing almost 30 games. So your comment about Barkley 'never being in position to rebound' is complete crap. What would you have done to get more than 57 wins from that team, with an undrafted rookie starting at point guard? How is it a 'waste of talent' to get 19 and 13.5 out of Barkley at that point (his 13th season), when he's playing with the 1st Team All-NBA center, and Drexler, and missing 30 games? The rest of Barkley's career with the Rockets, he hardly took any threes, so you have no point. The Pippen season, he took less threes than any other year save his rookie season. As for Pippen, he had more points, rebounds, assists, and steals in his year with the Rockets than any year he's played since.
you are not following me. I'm saying it is Francis's job to learn the responses the the coaches can plainly see...and you are saying that since you didn't plainly see Francis make dynamic responses, then he must not have been coached any. If you believe that, then you are a football fan who believes the coaches can command the quarterback on all situations and the QB with always respond. do you really believe that? dude...basketball doesn't have a stoppage of play after every play to tell Francis exactly what to do, and Francis is not Joe Montana in a 2 minute drill.
I understand your point, but when someone calls a well-respected coach an "idiot," that person has crossed the line of objectivity and deserves the same medicine he/she has dished out. If this particular messenger stuck to the facts without referring to Mr. Tomjanovich as an idiot, then he would have warranted a non-emotional response. And I appreciate your attempt to "educate" me on message board etiquette, but it's not necessary. Thanks.
In my humble opinion, Rudy is still a great coach, but his mistake was trying to take too much authority. He was making decisions on players, drafts, etc... etc... when I think if he could have just focused more on coaching he would have succeeded. That, and the fact that this team is going to suck no matter who is coaching it (until we get some more veteran players or until the current players mature more) still makes me think the Rockets have made a huge mistake letting Rudy go. Of course, all the people around here who were calling for his head are probably going to be shutting their mouths when, by midseason, the Rockets aren't any better than they were last year. In the Rockets case, it is about the players, not the coach.
There has been some confusion on the terminology we use around here. In its purest form ISO is where 1 man goes 1 on 1, the other 4 men stay on the weak side but that is not the only set. There are many variations that are called isolation play that involve a lot of screening, picking . In its general form, if your set provide some clear-out and oppotunity for one guy to go 1 on 1, it could be called Iso play. (Look it up if you doubt this statement) If Francis and Griffin can not run a good PnR, should we a) Practice more to improve. If a) can not be achieved then b) Abandon the play and try something else or c) Keep running a failed play? There are also a lot of variations to the PnR. The 1st option is for the player with the ball to shoot. The 2nd option is to feed the picker/ roller. The 3rd and 4th options involve movement on the weakside or on the baseline away from the ball. The Rockets rarely got to option 2 option so they "never" got to option 3, 4. Running a PnR for Yao and let him push his man down the lane is not the answer to "the fronting of Yao". That is used to get Yao deep low post position. After that is done, he can still be fronted if the defense chooses to do so. If ur post is fronted, u lob the ball in while clearing the opposite post. (watch the Lakers). There are people on this board who put all the blame on 1 person when something goes wrong. In this case Francis. I think it has to be a combination of coaches and players. The coaches design the plays and put the players in the best situation to score and the players have to execute. If the play fails, you pratice and improve it. If you can't, then you design and learn other plays. If the players can not run any play well then you get rid of the players. If the coaches can not design any play that works then get rid of the coach!
I understand what you are saying HP, but the dealy is this... The coaching staff has to prepare Steve for what he will face so he can react appropriately. I know you have a wealth of basketball knowledge, likely more than myself, but I was a point guard for four years in highschool and for the first two years, at the JV level, I had very little game planning done by the coaches. I ran the team kind of like Steve does now where you aren't really seeing a fortified plan when he brings the ball up the court. It is like they are depending on superior talent to score. My last two years I had a very good coach who dedicated one practice out of the week to analyzing the next team we were to play and how best to beat them. Those games ran so smoothly because you knew what to expect and had discussed several different options on how to respond. Of course I assume Rudy and his staff spent time preparing, but I would hazard to guess it wasn't the planning that this current crop needed. When we won last year, it was usually due to superior talent. A good example of a coach who can win with one style but not with another is George Karl. This doesn't mean Rudy is a bad coach, just not the right coach for this current team. It is true that the coach cannot control Steve on the court, but he is responsible for making sure that Steve knows how to deal with what he will face, how to respond, how to hurt a particular scheme...etc... Raging Fire - That was one great post. Wish I could put my thoughts through the keyboard like that.
Thank you ragingFire for explaining why Rudy and his coaching staff, in my mind, was one of the worst and least creative in the league. I don't know why people think RT is such a great coach; and the fact that some posters have suggested that we may wish we had Rudy T back is just plain DUMB. It seems as though many posters here are in a fantasy world and do not step back and take and outside perspective of the situation. You are talking about a coach that has not taken his team to the playoffs in four years, mind you, in a league in which half the teams go to the post-season. Rudy had all of the opportunity in the world to draft and make the oppropriate trades to aquire the players he thought he could develop into his system (or lack there of), and get the team back into the playoffs. Rudy T's ability to draft and analyze players comes under some serious scrutiny. You are talking about some lackluster players whose talent, leadership ablilty, and work ethic are in definate suspicion. Talent - (Eddie Griffin) Trading three picks for a player whose talent was not supposed to be questioned with the #7 overall pick. Many posters on this very board have mentioned EG in numerous trade proposals. And why? If his talent was not in question his name would rarely be spoken of in silly trade proposals. I for one like what Eddie brings to this team as far as ability and combined with his youth the verdict is not yet out on EG. There is still some time. Leadership Ability - (Without a doubt Steve Francis) Steve's inability to take a team that was to be revolved around him to the playoffs coupled with the often feuding backcourt and migranes, no doubt puts question marks around his ability to lead men. It seems to me as if Francis was given the "leadership role" out of blind faith from Rudy because he thought he had his man. BIG MISTAKE on RT's part. As I see it many of the players don't look to Francis as their leader. (Not to be confused that the other players don't recognize that he has talent) When I think of players with leadership ability name such as Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady come to mind. Players, that if needed, can carry their respective teams single handedly by going out and scoring 40 points for a stretch of games or just doing what they have to for thier team to win. Not going 1-12 or 1-14 from the floor to while riding a winning streak. Work Ethic - (Mo T and EG) Although I like his upside, Eddie's work ethic is just terrible. If you are scouting a player this would be a player that a team should avoid. Eddie has shone no inkling of improvement over the course of his NBA career. Zero tenacity along with a lack of desire to get better physically and mentally has left an awful stinch of the Rudy T era. Like Griff, Mo Taylor's mentality is undesirable of a quality team. And I don't think I need to mention the fact that the pot smoking incindents only hinders their ability or tradability. In my opinion these are just a few terrible decisions that reflect Rudy's inabilities. And as far as I am concerned he may have even stayed one year too many. And if not for the grace of GOD to shine down upon the Rockets organization and bless this team with Yao Ming, who the hell knows who we would have taken if we had the 2nd or 3rd pick! Jay Williams??? We already had a point guard in Steve Francis. Mike Dunleavy??? We drafted EG the season prior. It makes me sick just thinking of who Rudy would have drafted if we were not so fortunate. But Rudy is now just the remanence of a bad dream, and hopefully the JVG era can instill discipline and an offense that involves "PASSING" and getting everyone involved. cheers egn
egn your posts betray a little too much anti-Rudy sentiment to be taken seriously. If you are talking about a coach that won two titles and coached an olympic team with nothing but the highest praise from all of his players, and you are saying he basically is daft, then you are showing your cards. I like how you say the verdict is not out yet on EG, the dude just turned 21. A couple of years from now, when EG is Jefferson's age, and EG is averaging eighteen points a game, nine boards and two blocks, that is going to look like a great trade. I liked the trade then and I still do. Rudy's problem is not that he takes too much authority, he tries to let players play. That worked with the championship teams but this team needs discipline. That is why a Larry Brown/JVG type is the right coach for this team, and that's all. It isn't that Rudy sucks, it is that we need someone to bring some discipline and work ethic.
Whether you take me seriously or not means very little to me. And yes I am talking about the same coach that won two titles and coached Team USA. I believe as well as others including Michael Jordan that those two titles should have asterisks next to them. It's not as if Rudy was a highly reguarded coach brought in to get the Rockets into the playoffs. He was just an interim coach that acquired a good team, not to mention a team with one of the greatest centers of all time! Then they add Drexler and have two of the NBA's 50 Greatest on the same team! "I like how you say the verdict is not out yet on EG,".... I meant that as one of his positives ..."when EG is Jefferson's age, and EG is averaging eighteen points a game, nine boards and two blocks, that is going to look like a great trade." This is a WHAT IF!!!! What has shone you thus far that Eddie has the ability to average 18, 9, and 2. Was it his consistant bricks and airballs or his lack of desire for the game. The fact is that if Eddie had half the desire or will of Jefferson, he might be on his way to posting decent numbers. But untill then, these averages you speak of are pure speculation and BIG what-ifs! "Rudy's problem is not that he takes too much authority, he tries to let players play. That worked with the championship teams but this team needs discipline. That is why a Larry Brown/JVG type is the right coach for this team, and that's all. It isn't that Rudy sucks, it is that we need someone to bring some discipline and work ethic." "Rudy's problem" is that he can't coach. You mean to tell me that Rudy is not a coach that instills discipline. What kind of coach does not teach discipline? Maybe a coach that had no controll over his team! Maybe a coach that has lackadasical practices!Maybe a coach that failed to make the playoffs 4 straight years. Or maybe a coach that was just and interim coach after all! cheers egn
*yawn* That "good team" with "one of the greatest centers" was AT .500, and was a season removed from a full year at .500. Three consecutive "first round and out" performances, where they won a grand total of TWO postseason games. After they changed coached? A .671 season, and a trip to the second round, losing in one of the classic seventh games of all time. That was then followed by a .707 season including a championshp, and to top it off, yet another championship. There are the standards JVG needs to equal if he wants me to consider him any more than adequate. I'll take the guy who has done it over the one who hasn't. Sure the players did it, but most of the same squad was also struggling just as much (if not more) than the current team.
WRONG!!! They were one season removed from a 52 - 30 record! The season prior to that, they went 41-41 but with a playoff birth. They were an even .500 at 26-26 when Don Chaney was fired. Then interim coach Rudy Tomjanovich was brought in finishing the season with 16 wins and 14 losses. The next season (91-92) the Rockets go to the playoffs and exit again early with a second round defeat. Honestly I don't think prior NBA Coach of the Year Don Chaney would have done worse. The following season the Rockets win their first championship*. During this season, despite a 58-22 record and a ring, why was the great RT not coach of the year? The 94-95 season, the Rockets, WITH the addition of another one of the NBA's 50 Greatest in Clyde Drexler, claimed their second championship**. * - MJ was completly out of the NBA laying ground for someone other than the Bulls to win the title. ** - MJ played in just 17 games for the Bulls after coming out of retirement. The Bulls were beaten in the playoffs that year by a team in Orlando that had Shaq and Hardaway. Jordan himself (the greatest basketball player to ever live) said that there should be asterisks by those two championships. In hindsight this would mean nothing if he didn't back it up. But he did, WINNING THE NEXT THREE IN A ROW! "There are the standards JVG needs to equal if he wants me to consider him any more than adequate. I'll take the guy who has done it over the one who hasn't." Once again there are no "standards" as you say. The only thing that should be standard is to turn this team around from Rudy's previous perennial losing, overpaid underachievers. cheers egn
egn, if it matters little to you if people take you seriously then perhaps you are joking. Because you sound like you must be joking. Either that or one of Rudy's daughters made fun of you in highschool or something.....
Yeah I remember that Olympic team. It was a team loaded with stars from the best league in the world but barely beat a Luthiania team of which the players are below NBA scrub standard, by a total of 1 point in the final match. Lucky coach is Rudy T.
Do you have trouble with English? ONE - SEASON - REMOVED is not the same as THE PRIOR SEASON. Three first round exits with a total of two victories, and getting to the "final 8" - especially to a seventh game is not progress? The second round is not winning a championship, but is hardly an "early exit." An end of his career Clyde Drexler who joined the club 2/3 of the way through the season. He was a good player, but hardly leading the Blazers anywhere. The generally recognized accomplishment is the 1998 World Champhionship team where NBA guys AND top college guys did not participate. A team of CBA players with inadequate practice time that was not expected to place ended up with the bronze. As far as the 2000 Olympics, Lithuania got the bronze medal and was 5-3. Every other game in that series was a >10 point victory for team USA. Well, that explains it then. No self-respecting Rockets fan would claim asterisk nonsense. Jordan was out of the game. So F'ing what? Every other team including the Bulls has an equal chance to win. Only one did. Might as well say every World Series since the thirties should have an asterisk by it because Babe Ruth has been out of his game... A .620 winning percentage over SEVEN YEARS is hardly "perennial losing." JVG needs to do that for ONE. If he cannot take a team with a better record to a world championship in three seasons, he must be an absolute failure...
Who was the coach that just lost two games internationally little panda bear? Does that coach suck too? Do they all suck unless they win the championship every year with no talent on their team? You children are starting to sound to hyper to play on the McBurglar bars.
It's just funny to me that the Rudy followers use the Olympic team as an example for Rudy's achievement. Let's see, you have an NBA all star team vs NBA player wannabes and you guys brag about it when that all star team won the final match by 1 point under Rudy T? Talking about low standard. As to George Karl losing with Dream team 5. First of all, Dream Team 5 is a watered down version of the previous Dream teams. All second tier stars and none in the range of Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Alonzo Mourning, Antonio McDyess, Ray Allen etc. that Rudy had. Second, legitimate NBA players like Dirk, Nash, Gasol played against team USA last year so the competition level was also higher. It's also an acknowledged fact the international competition is gaining fast momentum in recent years. As to Rudy T winning a bronze medal with CBAers, different times, different level of competition. Rudy probably wouldn't win a bronze medal in world championship nowadays with the likes of Dirk, Nash, Gasol and Ginobilies competing aginst them. I don't think it's fair to downplay CBA too much either, CBA has NBA players coming out of it every year. For example, Brad Miller, a good center by NBA standards, was on that CBA squad five years ago. Ray Allen on that Olympic team complained after the final match about NO INSTRUCTIONS ON THE DEFENSIVE END near end of the game. Surprise, surprise.....
