After watching all the drama of the past four years involving Larry Brown and Allen Iverson, I'm glad the Rockets aren't hiring him. And, for those of you who are squawking about Les being too impatient and making stupid moves and ruining the franchise, look at what Larry Brown has done in Philly the last few years and it makes Les look as patient as the Pope. First of all, everyone raves about how great a teacher Larry Brown is. That's all fine and good, but he never managed to teach the players he had on the Sixers much of anything from what I can see. He's obviously a top-tier coach and well thought of around the league, but geez Allen Iverson is still the same player he was when he first came into the league (for the most part) -- still taking way too many shots, still missing practices. He's an unbelievable player and I don't think Larry Brown managed to get the most out of him. How can we expect him to get the most out of Francis or Yao? The Rockets need a big-man coach right now. They need someone who is going to get the team to buy into an inside-out offensive concept, and one who is going to be able to mentor Yao properly. Yao is now the cornerstone of this team, as good as Francis is. Guards are a dime a dozen, and as far as point guards go, Steve Francis is all flash and no substance at this point. I think Steve is a great player but until he become a better distributor and decision maker, he's overrated in my opinion. His amazing athleticism will never make him a great point guard. His willingness to be the quarterback and let someone else be the finisher is what will make him great. I really can't say who would be the best option for the Rockets, but the person needs to be about hard work on D, using Yao and inside D to create opportunities to run the floor, and using your inside advantage with Yao to kill the other team in your set offense. I don't think Larry Brown fits that mold anyway, because he's better at orchestrating a guard oriented offense, which exactly what the Rockets DON'T need.
Let's see, our 2 best scorers are guards. And Larry did a decent job with Danny Manning in college. That was NOT a guard oriented offense. Larry Brown WAS the perfect coach for this team. Rick Carlisle would be the next best option IMHO.
At first I really wanted Larry Brown, but after thinking about it I have realized that he is not the choice for the Rockets. He seems to be playing the Rockets and the Pistons, just to get more money. He has no connection to Houston and like most are saying, he would not stay very long. He has worked with a big man, but not extensively (Robison). I think that Van Gundy is more experienced in this area and thus would be a better coach. Brown has not been able to tame AI, but I dont think anyone will, quite frankly. I have to give it to LB on that one, he has, IMO, really helped Iverson along. Van Gundy would bring defense to the Rockets as well as an inside out philosophy. I think that under Brown, Yao would score around 18 a game, but under Van Gundy around 23 a game. The other question is the Houston guards. Would Van Gundy or Brown or Dunleavy for that matter help Mobley and Francis the most. I think that Van Gundy would. He is a disciplinarian who can really set Cat and Steve straight. If Van Gundy comes to Houston I think the Rockets will be contending for the 5th or 6th seed, while if Brown comes to Houston they'll be fighting for 6 or 7 or 8.
Our best player is not a guard, though. Yao will become our best player next season, mark my words. The Rockets need a coach that runs plays through the big man more than through the guards.
Bob, why do you think Carlisle would be a good fit here? I think he is a very good caoach and seems great with motivating his players, but I think his stifling defensive philosophy would be lost on these offensive minded players. Plus, if he was having personality struggles w/that bunch of no namers, how would our selfish stars be able to keep their mouth shut. IMO, his best move would be to sit out for a season and let his stock rise. Everyone will forget about the personality quibbles w/the passage of time. Yet, with immediately picking up in a new situation, I believe that a selfish star could easily destruct Carlisle's career much like sprewell and Carlisimo.
Defense wins. Francis and Mobley have not learned this yet. Carlisle can teach them, IF they are willing to listen and learn. You bring up an interesting point though, suppose Francis and Mobley don't buy into the new coaches philosophy. Do we get rid of the new coach? Or do we ship Francis and Mobley out of town? Carlisle had a great defensive player in Detroit in Wallace. The Rockets have a great young defensive star of the future in Ming. Carlisle teaches his teams to force everything to the middle of the defense to capitalize on Wallace defensive prowess. The Rockets should do the same. Carlisle would also not put up with the matador style defense Francis and Mobley play. If Francis really wants to win, he will learn to play defense.
Although Larry Brown was my first choice for the Rockets coaching opening, I had doubts about the effectiveness of his projected 3 to 4 year coaching tenure in Houston and I'd like to see the next coach stay on for 7 years or more due to the very competitive nature of the western conference. If we would have hired LB for 3 to 4 years, then Yao would have had 3 head coaches in a 5 year period, which isn't good for continuity relative to his development. IMO the Rockets need a coach to stay around for awhile to pound an improved philosophy into the players' iso infected brains.
Larry Brown is the worst we could do. Rudy T revisited. We need a player oriented coach that will get us scoring at the level of the Kings/Mavs. We have the firepower - we need the system. Clone Doug Moe...
and that is the whole point bob, If steve wants to win he will learn to play defense. He is a spectacular offensive player even if he doesn't ever get any better on that end, but his defense is pathetic. He only seems to play it one to two minutes in a game. If he brought defensive intensity to go along with his offensive game, there wouldn't be a person in clutchcity dissin on him. ok, maybe a-train, but he is the town cynic.
What makes you so sure of that? You don't know that. What a pointless statement this is. Mix in some substance.
I wouldn't say two "best" scorers, I would say two "top" scorers. There is a difference. Your best scorer is the guy who has the best chance to get you a basket when he touches the ball. Your top scorer is the guy who is taking the most shots night in and night out. See Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, et al... Neither of them is on a championship contender. And they are both not only top scorers on their teams, they are top scorers in the league. Our BEST scorer, right now, is Yao hands down. He is the biggest mismatch night in and night out, and if the Rockets hire a coach who isn't going to exploit that to the fullest, they are crazy. Case in point -- Steve Francis gets LIT UP night in and night out by the opposing point guards. No matter how many points he scores, he generally gets cancelled out by his counterpart. That is why, despite his impressive numbers, the Rockets have failed to make the playoffs. When the Rockets were winning championships, Hakeem was consistently destroying opposing centers, scoring three to four times as many points, while the other guys on the team were able to keep up with or cancel out the scoring of the rest of the opposing squad. Our biggest opportunity to do this again is to use Yao as our primary option. The sooner the better. Get him started now so that he gets the experience and skill. Then, three to four years down the road, he will be tearing up everyone except Tim Duncan (because Shaq will have retired by then).
What attracts me to Van Gundy, more than anything, is that he's probably the coach the players on this team would want least. Brown would have been nice, but the only real advantage he has over JVG is name recognition.
they better hire Brown him or Paul Silas! Man Steve and Cuttino have less ego then AI so Larry won't have to deal with that here! Then we have Yao and he is pretty humble and this team loos like a team really wanting to succeed so they would prolly be respectful of Larry Brown so I bet they would get along. I think Paul Silas is another pretty good choice but hell no don't take Van Gundy.
