It is sad to realize that JVG provided the leadership to the team. Adelman had his best days in Portland, then declined some in Sacramento, and is his worst here in Houston.
Does Phil Jackson have an identity as an offensive-only coach? Do Doc Rivers or Mike Brown have any reputation whatsoever? I'm sorry but you're not selling this to me as the coach's problem. The starters give Washington a ten point lead all game, then the bench comes in, turns it around and gives us a three point lead and plays with fire not seen in the previous 3 quarters, and finally the starters return for the final 4 minutes, and walk our team to death once again. It's clearly a problem with our leaders on the floor, and I won't drop any names but their jersey numbers have nothing but 1's in em.
And that's why the game looks so much more fun to watch and so free flowing because it's not so predictable and everyone touches the ball!
The other problem with our team is our starting PG that thinks he has to shoot 10-15 times a game.... In a game like tonight we need energy, and Rafer is not the guy for the job. As soon as he misses a few shots he's done. AB, although he didn't have a good game tonight, should have stayed on the floor to finish the game...he is ALWAYS going full speed!!
Mike Brown is one of the best defensive coaches in the NBA. That is beyond dispute. PJ, IMO, has lost his touch and isn't what he used to be. With the Bulls, he was definitely a defensive coach. With the Lakers, he brought the triangle offense from the Bulls and with Shaq and Kobe had one of the most unstoppable offensive machines in quite some time. His Lakers teams played defense in spurts. Doc Rivers is fortunate that he hired Tom Thibadeux who turned the Celts defense into the best in the NBA.
this is the way the NBA works. when all goes well, the stars get all the credit. when all goes wrong, including horrible play by your stars, the coach gets all the blame. unfortunately for adelman, we have two of the most fragile "stars" in the league.
Do not forget that Doc Rivers is a fiery guy and he provides that leadership role. He was not scared to confront his only superstar (Pierce) when he had to. The guy along with KG are fierce competitors and they wear their emotions on their sleeves, so they play that role. At the same time, KG and Coach Thibeadu are both defensive monsters, so that is a perfect mix right there in Boston. It is all about a healthy balance, and the Rockets have never had that since the championship years. They always lacked one major component, and now they lack everything from energy to hustle to defense to leadership. And do not think for a second Artest can provide that role, no one will take him seriously with his history of antics and all it would do is trigger a conflict between the players. So really short of signing Mutombo as a quick fix for BOTH of these things (leadership and defense) we are in serious, serious trouble. I think even with Deke we will be in serious trouble either way. I have a feeling sooner or later there will be a blowup with Adelman and he will have to go.
Your member name is "God's Son!!!!" That kind of creeps me out! Didn't we just celebrate the real "God's Son's" birthday? Anyway, I agree with your points. I am starting to look to the coaching staff for answers.
that irritates me as well, it's post Yao, perimeter kick, repost, re-kick, 3 point shot by (insert 3 point shooter here). Which is fine, when we are actually hitting 3's. this offense just seems so bland, no imagination at all. Defense is just weak all around.
Not sure what your point is but... Mike Brown got swept by the Spurs. He's competitive now because Danny Ferry and Brown figured out the Cavs needed to add more offensive firepower (Mo Williams) and pick up the pace in transition. They took a chance on Wallace but balanced him out with Varejao. Different skill sets but neither lacks physical skills. Thibodeau is a Van Gundy clone and who will fall flat on his face once he becomes a Head Coach. He..like Van Gundy...will only emphasizes one end of the court and he won't have Garnet to bail him out. PJ? Probably equivalent to Brown or Thibodeau...but Durant isn't LeBron or KG.
If this is the case then the team has reached perfection in Adelman's eyes. He has now transfered the Rocket's identity to a team with no identity. It was ok with his previous teams but the Rockets are so different that they can't perform like the old Sacramento or the old Portland. Our 2008 Rockets are a team that needs order and leadership. It needs a coach that has set plays and believes in defence. Adelman would have been alright with Tom Thibodoe or JVG as co coach with either of them coaching defence and Adelman the offence. If you look at the team of starters on the court you will notice a lot of standing and waiting for something to happen, they just can't play the old Adelman way, they just don't fully partake in the game, fancy having finishers like Landry and Scola playing such uninspired roles as Adelman has them playing. Yao Ming runs up and down the court , sometines 5 times without ever touching the ball and just gettig exhausted for nothing. Tracy Mc Grady and Ron Artest are injured and need to get well and fit, even if we loose a lot of games.Adelman should see to it!!! Adelman has this strange thing of depending on Rafer, Chuck and Head to an extent that it makes me feel that we must be short of decent NBA Players or that he just doesn't know how to organize the playing time of his decent players anymore. The last couple of games tell me not to expect too much this year, unless Morey comes to recognise that there are big problems!
is adelman's a player's coach or what? if he is (from his reputation), shouldn't players play hard for him EVERY night? it's like they tune him out.
that's not accurate. the bench played about half of the second period and created the hole to begin with. the entire team played badly tonight imo. as to sending the starters in late in the game, i guess it's just adelman's style - after almost 2 decades of coaching. one time under jvg we played the lakers at tc and trailed over 20pts in the 4th. the bench got us back, and jvg stuck with them. in the end we still lost. there were big discussions back then. so it's a personal style by the coach and nothing more. remember there are no what-if's in the game.
The team revolves around Yao and McGrady. That's the identity of the team during the JVG era and now in Adelman's. Adelman now has the players to compensate when one of the two stars has a bad game. But when Yao plays poorly and McGrady is hobbled, AND Artest is also hurt, then there is a limit to what Adelman or any coach can do.
if he has other players, why didn't he use those other players more? when your stars struggle, go to the others. yao clearly did not have it going AT ALL tonight. i wouldn't mind if we had tracy penetrate and kick out to scola for a mid-range (he was hitting that all night) or artest for the 3.
