"There are little pockets of resistance." JVG Comments

This is a good point. Maybe it's not Kelvin getting better but the rest of the team getting worse. The only frontcourt player on the team I'd prefer to have in the game is Yao. Given my hatred for him so few years ago...that eitehr says a lot about Kelving or the team as a whole.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. Maybe we didn't do great last year, but at least everyone was getting along. Now Van Gundy's trying to turn everyone against each other, and it's just gonna result in everyone hating him. We've seen plenty of cases where this makes winning IMPOSSIBLE (like Rocket River said, see Milwaukee). Van Gundy needs to form a bond with his players and win their trust before he rolls into town and starts putting people out on front like that. It's just not gonna work.

 

I look at the actions and not the words!

Case in point:
Jeff came to town and Mooch, Taylor, Rice ... lost ~20 lbs each.

If Rudy was still here, u think the players had come into camp in better shape?

If a coach could not, did not or for whatever reason get the players to get in their best playing shape, whose problem is it?

If all of the responsibility lies with the players, why do they get in shape now and not last year?

 

nah really you should see rockhead play

 

great explanation verse, sensational stuff

 

The tension is between JJ and Steve?...well jimmy needs to be upset with his turnovers and dumb mistakes on the court. This whole team aint right, they can't even run the pick-and-roll right it's not just steve. It's Jim Jackson, Moochie, Cat, Nachbar and Steve. Damn another year in the lottery.

 

My feelings exactly. Taking quotes out of context is the way the media thrives. People take advantage of it all the time. You have to watch what you hear, or read.

 

I disagree here. No one has a bigger ego than MJ, but Phil Jackson had him bought into the team concept, and that change lead to all the wins for them. MJ was older than Francis, and just as sturbbon if not more. If he could be changed, SF can be changed, too.


--daoshi

 

Okay I/we could go on and on with this and I just don't have the time or the desire to do so. So I will state my thoughts and try to clear up any misunderstandings and you can respond as much as you choose.

First of all I was responding to your specific post as well as the thread on the whole and when I said impatient fans I was referring to the impatient fans who want the Rockets to win a championship (which realy is all of us) but have to start hating after they lose afew games in preseason. I wasn't specifically referring to you. I could see how you might have thought that but it was not the case so let's just clear that up.

You did however say "The Rockets are now, and have been for some time, commonly percieved to be underachievers throughout the league. " And then after i said magazines would disagree with you, you went on to debate that except for last year you thought I was wrong. Well I just want to say I buy 3 or 4 preseason Magazines every year and I in the predictions that I have seen in 3 out of the last 4 years the Rockets have done as good as or better than predicted.

Perhaps you have read other magazines and have found different predictions but I didn't see them. Now after all of that you said the Rockets may not be underachievers. Come on you can't start off one way and then later for conveniece change positions, well unless you are running for office. Don't start off with one position and then waffle around and then expect me to understand your position.

Now here are areas we just don't see eye to eye. I did see improvement from Steve Cat and even Moochie as far as selfish play goes last year and their where some great games were they worked the ball into Yao quite a bit. But it just didn't happen enough and the just seem to revert back to selfish play to often. On the whole I was disappointed in thier play. Oh by the way I attended 25 games last year and watched all of the rest with the exception of 2. So you can disagree with me but I saw improvement no matter that it wasn't enough.

As far as other teams making thier star center the main focal point right away. You are just talking in generalities here. But being specific, I'm sorry Yao was just not the same type of player coming into the league as Kareem, or Walton or Russell. Even Hakeem had to share the role with Ralph in the beginning. And MJ took a couple of years before it became his team.

Yao came into the league nervous. I would go as far as saying he was scared. He played terrible in the beginning and the fact is Cato started off better. but Yao improved dramatically over time. Towards the second half he had some really good games but he still struggled against players like Jerome James. Olowakandi even Minnesotas Nesterovic took him to school. So no matter what you think he was not physically ready to take over the teams Identity. But as the season progressed he became more physically ready only he still wasn't emotionally ready. Hell he still had an interpretor buffering his every word.

As far as as the extremes of our coaches which is my real difference with you. I just don't see it. Listen to what the players or saying in interviews and they are all saying the same things. It's not that different. He is a little more of a stickler for detail but Rudy was too. maybe not as much but he was. And when people say things like he mad them come to camp in shape. Those players did that for themselves. If they wanted to impress JVG they would have shown up to camp early like he pleaded. But almost noone did.That's just the way it is. So in the end I will just agree to disagree with you.

 

Dang, that's a lot of reading.......I need a break. There's got to be a more pleasant thread to waste the time away on...

 

I haven't read every post in this thread, but I feel like voicing my two cents anyway. Short and simple.

- I'm used to SF giving reporters stupid quotes already, this isn't that much of a shock to me.

- SF does need to change his game, and I hope JVG can get through to him.

- I think what JVG says is true, but I don't particularly like him voicing it to the press, not because this might annoy the players, but because if the rants become serious enough, it lowers Steve's trade value.

 

If you have a brain capable of thinking, you'd make a post that didnt sound like 3rd grader wrote it. What is bs is you attacking me just for expressing my opinion.

 

somewhere several hundred replies ago i think you said the fact that francis was misquoted really wasn't a big deal b/c he still focused on the shooting thing. i completely don't get that. he said i've played the same way for 5 years, and directly related it to playing hard. he then said, "if that means going one on one at the end of the shot clock, then it is what it is" (paraphrased). this thread started out essentially making it look like he said "i've played the same for 5 years, i'll shoot when i want how i want" and that is completely not how the full article goes. not at all. he did say he'd shoot and not pass to a 7' at the 3 point line, but that certainly wasn't a comment about i'm never passing and the only situation he ever brought up was an end of shot clock situation, not all of the offense. and again, the i've played the same was about playing hard, and it's obvious it was from the context of the full, non-misquoted article. and he ended it with he's going to be together with jvg. somewhere in there i stopped referring directly to MacBeth and just to the board in general.

also, just to clear up, i think you said we were tied with the longest streak for not being in the playoffs, which is most certainly not true. chicago has missed for 5 years, gsw and denver i don't believe have been there forever (gsw may actually have the longest streak), the clippers haven't gone at least since 1 year before odom got there, cleveland i don't think has been for a while, and of course the grizzlies have never ever been in the playoffs. so we certainly aren't setting the pace for futility, and even the teams that have missed 4 in a row have usually been completely out of the race and are just getting rebuilding under way whereas we've had 2 9th seed finishes and 2 .500+ seasons when were weren't completely killed by injuries.


and finally, STEVE FRANICS HAS ONLY BEEN HERE FOR 4 YEARS. how did this thread get 200 replies in w/o anyone mentioning that? of course, people took a misquote from THE ROCKETS GUY in HOOPSWORLD to get all over him, so what could i expect.


and finally, if jj has a problem with steve, that better not be a reason to jump on steve first. jj is the guy with past problems who waits through every offseason to sign a small little contract, i'm not sure taking on a star player w/in a week of getting on the new team is the best way to shed that image. that's of course if they even have a problem b/t them at all and it's not just being exaggerated like usual.

 

Actually the "misquote" came from the Chronicle and the bulk of the latest round of Francis bashing is because the quote was out of the context in which Francis delivered it. Ironically, it was TRG--not known as the bastion of credibility--who actually had the question Francis was asked and the complete quote of Francis' reply which actually clarifies things.

 

Thank you for clearing up the quote about Francis. The only thing is that many from here won't remember the real deal behind the quote, only the negative light that was shone on it.

 

Wow, you ar hapless if you can't see it. Saying JVG has little in his bags while the League GM voted him the best X n O coach?

 

I agree with you. Phil Jackson has done the same thing in LA with Kobe and Shaq. I don't know if Jeff has this skill though, but we will see soon. Sometimes it takes people longer to adapt to change. Some people can handle it well and others can't and it takes them a while. We will see how Steve Francis reacts, but I don't question him wanting to win and do what is best for the team.

 

Major props to what has to be one of the smartest thoughts posted on the board this year.

Indeed!

 

If that's true...that is very very sad. Rudy T was a nice guy...

 

After reading your most recent posts, I have to change my vote. You ARE a troll and sooner or later, you will be dealt with.