I know isn't that funny? Rudy T was ragged on so bad for being a terrrible coach. Now that he's gone people wish he was back. IMO, there are very few great coaches in the NBA: Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan and Greg Popovic. So few coaches really know how to play using the strengths of their players as a team rather than relying upon superstars. Jerry Sloan, for example, has the Jazz on top of the NBA and their roster is far from overwhelming. This is a time for Van Gundy to pull out the X's and O's to get us some wins instead of relying upon TMac or Yao.
no i did not. i happened to only focus on the paragraph that you BOLDED! Isn't that the one you wanted us to focus on. No? then why did you BOLD it, and what's up with your thread title. to me...i don't freaking care what you thoughts are around your title and bold paragraph...to me it was just a poster wanting to start a new JVG SUCKS thread and to make sure it got responses. you succeeded. good for you.
do you really want me to take that comment seriously...or is this just you gearing up for reasons to further bash the coach later. look dude. there are four types of coaches in this league...those who you like and those you don't....those who the players like and those who they don't. I like JVG... Yao and TMac do to. argue with that!
I doubt it if the Rockets can get a trade going any time soon. I wonder what kind of offense will the Rockets be able to run, it looks like the Rockets will become the old Cleveland team that Fratello coached a while back. Slow down boring games, that is the only way the Rockets can be in games with what the Rockets have the team. This does not look good at all but I will be pulling for them no matter what.
What about Those that win . . . those that only win when they have the right kind of players in perfect situations and those that lose Rocket RIver
are we talking about players or coaches? Does TMac win? Does VSpan win? we are going to find out! This coach is going to find out. I think many NBA fans like to blame coaches because coaches are so important in the NFL. The NBA is a player's league. JVG knows that. Do you?
I agree the NBA is a player's league, that is why if a team is not winning, the coach gets fired before its star players get traded. In Rox's case, T-Mac doesn't win anything, Yao doesn't win anything either. If they continue this way, JVG will be the one being removed before T-Mac and Yao get traded. Everyone knows that. JVG knows that too. Do you?
ok, i love the rockets just as much, if not more than most around here, but damn, make an honest prediction about how many the following team would have for a season Alston Head Battier Hayes Howard with VSpan, Wells, Novak and Deke off the bench........... now no matter who coaches.... phil, auberach, riley or my favourite red holtzman this team would struggle to get this team more than 20 wins.... this team would be raging favourites to get the #1 pick....... if this was our team.... Atlanta and Philly would have some serious competition for the wooden spoon forget about the coach..... without at least one gun this nice collection of role players will really struggle..... for me JVG might actually be the one who can get this bunch to scrap, fight and maybe win a few games while both Yao and TMac are out......... he did it last year but we had no one to knock down the big shot in the 4th... hopefully fatty Wells and Head can get that done this year.......
Honestly I don't think any coach can turn around this crapbucket. Unless his name is Jesus and can magically make Alston a 50% shooter with 5:1 A/TO, give Juwan mad hops like Amare, and make Deke 40 years old again. Our roster right now is pretty similar (talentwise) to Memphis without Gasol. Meaning - we're pretty much screwed until Tmac can play again. I'm thinking we win maybe 1/4 of our games until Tmac gets back.
Originally posted by Smeggy Smeg: We have talent, but it has yet to be seen how well we can play together as a team without our superstars. You remember what happened in the World Championships?! Despite the talent of team USA, we were not the best team. The best team was Spain by a landslide because they knew how to play together. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. If Van Gundy can motivate our players and get them play together on D & O, we still have a chance. Very few coaches can do this. Let's see what our coach can give us. After all, without using hindsight, could anybody have predicted this... http://magic-madness.com/history.html 1999-00: Armstrong and Co. Lead Rag-Tag Bunch With O'Neal long out of the picture, and Hardaway gone as well, the Magic are without a true star, instead relying on a group of castaways and role players to fill out the roster. Though predicted to finish last in the Atlantic Division, the Magic play inspired basketball, led by Darrell Armstrong, Bo Outlaw, Chucky Atkins, and a young Ben Wallace. Head coach Doc Rivers plays an instrumental role in structuring a team that functions as a unit and plays team basketball without any major stars. Also, general Manager John Gabriel makes a series of moves during the season to free up money for the impending summer free agency period. The club finishes with an improbable 41-41 record, and one game out of the playoff race. The team, affectionately characterized by the slogan "Heart & Hustle", garners attention from the league, and Rivers is named the NBA Coach of the Year. During the off-season, the Magic pursue top free agents Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, and Tracy McGrady, signing Hill and McGrady and seemingly setting the team up for future success.
Be carefull HP or someone might think you are a little hypersensitive about the JVG subject. All I but in bold was that This is when a coach proves his real worth. And you see that statement alone as bashing? Kind of reminds me of the person that takes the Rorschach test and sees what he wants to see. The team we had last year (minus Yao and TMac) was just terrible. We had people starting that would have had a hard time making another roster much less starting. Ryan Bowen, and Rick Brunson are not even on an NBA roster and Keith Bogans is averaging a whopping 3pts a game for Orlando. Those three were major contributors last year on our team when Yao and TMac went down. Richie Frahm is another player that averaged quite a few minutes for us last year that is not on a roster this year. My point is and has been that we have much more talent this year with out Yao and TMac than last year with out Yao and TMac. I am not saying that JVG should be able to take this bunch to the play-offs but I do think that there is enough talent there that this team should be able to tread water, stay competitive and win enough games to keep us in a position to make the play-offs once Yao and or TMac comes back. I definitely think that this is when a coach proves his real worth. And while I have little confidence in JVG, I never hope for failure in any Rockets coach. And I still believe that if JVG can't hold this team together with the talent that he has then he is the wrong coach for the Rockets.
I'm not quite sure where did my post go, so I'm going to put it up again: I do not understand why people say JVG can't coach a good offense. How many games have the Rockets played so far without Yao and T-Mac with our new supporting cast? Exactly 0. So far, there is no statistical reason that JVG can't coach this team without Yao and T-Mac, and the Clippers game proves it. We managed to stay within a >10 points the whole way, leading by 2 points at the half, and only in the last few minutes was the game decided (by 5 point or so) and Yao was only in the game for 5 minutes. JVG can put up good offense and defence when needed, and we just have to wait for the Pacers game to see who he puts out there as our primary scorer. We have more offensive weapons that last season, I'd take Battier over Ryan Bowen any day of the year, and Head over Bogans, plus Wells is on our team.
No Excuses - JVG It is simple. He does not have to go on a 16 game tear like Rudy did when Hakeem was out but he needs to keep the team in the hunt I don't think we can be basically out of the picture by time Yao comes back We need to be no lower than the 10th [I'm being liberal .. i think we should fall no lower than the 8th spot] He will need to keep the team somewhat righted Rocket River
JVG's new philosophy of offense for this season is: Dump it to the post or kick it out and swing it around for a 3 pt shoot. Results: Before the Spurs game, the Rockets attempted 22.5 3 pt FGA per game. It accounted for 29% of a total 77.5 FGA. The Rockets tied with the Suns as the highest 3 pt FGA in % of FGA and was just 2nd in the number of 3 pt FGA behind the Suns. So, the Rockets were lived or died for their 3 pt shootings. Anyone who complains about Rafer Alston's 6+ 3 pt FGA per game actually should complain about JVG's offense scheme. RA is obviously just doing what JVG tells him. It's so weir that the Rockets as a half-court team to attempt such a high number of 3 pt FGA. Good coaches always tell their teams about how to get easy baskets and how to get high percentage shoots. That's the 2 things u want to do in your offense because they keep your team's momentum going and also prevent a long period of drought. 3 pt shooting is obviously not an easy basket or a high percentage shoot. The Rockets' offense is so predictable and the opponents could locked it down so easily and it led to some 3rd/4th quarters melt-downs after big lead. Ironically, one of the more efficient offensive game the Rockets played vs the Spurs was with a lot of drive and kick/dish instead of spot up 3 pt shooting. In a league with rules favouring penetrations and if your team doesnt try to take advantage of it, than you must be somehow dumb. So, if you ask me "Hasnt JVG implemented an effective offensive scheme for the Rockets?". No, JVG hasn't and historically, JVG is very inept in offense. A team with Yao and T-Mac cant average to 100 PPG is disappointing. Cant JVG learn how to coach offense? After 10+ years of coaching, I think it takes a thunder bolt to strike JVG's head in order to have a different mind.
