JVG thinks he's coaching a high school team. That's the feeling I get everytime I see quotes like this. Yeah, he never calls anyone out.
From Earlier Poster: Quoting JVG "Particularly after a loss, I’ve never been around a group that would put so little into their work after a loss.” I `agree-he never calls his player out in the media-nless they are about to be traded or sent to the doghouse- bench
Who is Jeff Van Gundy talking about when he talks about lack of effort and intensity???? 1. Yao-no 2. Juwan-???, haven't ever heard him even insinuate anything about Juwan 3. Rafer-??, all we've been hearing is glowing reports about Rafer doing a great job running the team 4. DWes-doesn't Van Gundy love the guy? 5. TMac-he's our superstar 6. Bogans-hasn't he been a hustle contributor??? 7. Head-the only rookie to get minutes, hasn't Van Gundy been very complimentary of his effort, only critiquing his shooting and his body? 8. Bowen???-isn't he Charlie Hustle? 9. Hayes-??? hasn't he impressed with his dirty work? 10. Deke-??? he only plays max 10 minutes, Van Gundy talking about him? 11. Lampe-?? he don't even suit up. 12. Fitch-?? same 13. Swift??????---possibly, probably, definitely.....but he wasn't on the floor the last 2 games 14. Barry???-gone and wasn't playing when he was here 15. Sura-out Who is Van Gundy referring to besides TMac??? Swift has been out. Who else is there? It looks like a soft "calling out" of McGrady. Who else's efforts could he be referring to?
He is TOTALLY calling out Tmac....and has been all year. Earlier he had a sit down with him and talked about responsibility etc. This team derives most of it's energy or lack thereof from Tmac. He has been emotionally spent, and it is killing this year. DD
judging by how pissed off JVG was at that refs for missing the tech that should have been called on the guy near DWes who stepped onto the court, I cannot understand how anyone could say that JVG lacks passion or doesn't care about how this team does.... I think he implied that after terrible shooting performances, the guys aren't putting in time to try to correct them between games or after losses...
I think he is starting to rub the players the wrong way, he will soon wear out his welcome. Anyone think they are quitting on JVG? DD
I so want to gather everyone on this forum and go stand outside of Toyota Center or wherever these management people have their offices, and protest for kicking JVG out of Houston. Freaking guy has ruined this team.
Ummm...no it isn't. Even when he was struggling for that stretch of games, we won like 7 out of 9 or something. If anything, McGrady and Yao and the whole team derived their energy from Sura and MJ and JB last season, not the other way around. Energy is infectious, that's why some guys are valuable far beyond their personal stats, because they can pump up the team. We had guys like Mario Elie and Sam Cassell in the past who played that role, it doesn't have to be your superstars who're your energy players that everyone can feed off. There have been many successful teams in the past where that was'nt the case. T-Mac and Yao are who they are. They play intense once in a while during the long season but once the playoffs are here, you see what type of passion and intensity they play with. The key is building a team around both that provides the intangibles which they might lack, and it will be just as good. The best players aren't always the emotional leaders, idealy they would be, but it's not by any means a must.
Poppovich calls out his players/team all the time... so does Avery Johnson (who hasn't won a championship). Additional coaches who do this: Scott Skiles Jerry Sloan Rick Adelman George Karl Doc Rivers The first two teams are championship calibur... the rest of the teams are borderline playoffs... but they all have teams who PLAY HARD, and if they don't, they get b***ched out for it. If this team isn't tough enough to respond to this and play hard, they're not going to be worth ANYTHING in the long-run. I'm against "coddling" players, no matter who the coach is... if the effort isn't there, for whatever reason, they deserve nothing. You want to see "tough"?... just go watch the two best teams in the west play tonight. Its 36-31 and its almost halftime... you won't see gimmick offenses (like the Suns), just amazing defenses and slow half-court offenses. Unfortunately (for many of you), that style of basketball still wins championships... and until it doesn't, you can't argue about having a hard-nosed coach who demands full effort/intensity every second of every game for every year.
Excellent post. Jim Petersen in '86, Maxwell & Elie in '94, Clyde in '95 (is your exception - as to being a star and emotional leader), but your comments are so true.
PLEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSEEEEEEE! Give me a break! Stop your freakin' stargazin'. I've been watching the game sine it started and honestly...it's boring as HELL. I watched the end of the Cleveland/Bulls game earlier and THAT was exciting, but seriously the Spurs and Mavs are about as exciting to watch as the new T-Mobile commercial (sorry T-mobile...but your commercial SUX). Seriously, the Bulls are a FUN team to watch. I wish he Rox had half the intensity that Chicago has.
Did I say "fun" basketball? No... I said "tough" basketball. And, I also said that until further notice, the latter is what WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS. I also said that fact would dissapoint most of you in here, which it obviously just did for you. I'll take championships (which by themselves are entertaining) over just a "fun team to watch" (but ultimately won't win anything).
what happened to the good ol' days , where teams used to win championships scoring like 200 pts a game. didn't the celtics do this in their championship runs?
Sadly this team lacks that this season. I think that if it were not for all the injuries we wouldn't be in this hole and the team morale would be higher and they would be playing with more passion. Right now it seems the team is on the verge of giving up which is really sad I heard JVG's comments on Fox a few minutes ago and it seems the team could care less about last night's result. He said most of the players were casual in practice today and didn't seem to be bothered by the loss last night...that really pisses me off and breaks my heart at the same time I wish the Rockets had a Mario Elie or Sam Cassell type who would step up and call a team meeting and challenge one another about whether they are going to mail it in or they going to truly fight to make the playoffs.
Just saw some JVG quotes on Fox 26. He said the Rockets only have two tough guys that are passionate every game, Bowen, and Juwon freaking Howard. how sad. Mix in a nap JVG.
I think the Rocket's problem is High turnover of player. Last year was the best we have, Guys who commit to win and play with fire. We have great emotion from the bench. Bench jump up and down when we make a great play, Cheer and just having fun out there. Remember the hand sign thing when Barry makes 3's, Yao behind the back dribble, the whole bench just erupted. We never seen those anymore this season. That's means they don't care about the team as much as themselves. As a team, they must be an entity. They must win together, lose together. Honestly, we don't have the same ethic like last year players. Look like we continue to start rebuilding every season. We are only a half way starter team. Beside Yao and Tmac, our starters are actually a bench player if we send them to other team. And our bench player are joke in NBA. Time and time when we are leading and have to rest Yao or Tmac, our lead will evaporate in minutes. It will take 3 years to finally build up this team, but sadly T-Mac time is running out by then.
Allright! You win! Good post - it's ugly, as were the Rox in '94 & '95 but you are correct Sir! I'll take a Championship anyday over your typical Cubs/Suns "pretty" run that ultimately ousted.
