Come on, guys. I know we hate JVG and yes, he's won zero championships. However, the similarity is you have two owners who want to change course, BUT to look better with their fans (??), they do the following shuffle: "Well, we want him back for sure, but he hasn't really committed to us" or "Well, we're making an offer but he didn't accept it, so it's on him" It's pretty similar. Owners should show more guts and just say "we're changing course. Thanks for your good work." IMO, this is a clear sign that the Steinbrenner kids are now running that shop.
A_3PO, You have to forgive Hydra aka StupidMoniker as he is the biggest Yankees fan (other than mc mark who lives in NY) on this board. Of course, he is going to tell you that the Yankees didn't screw Torre.
The poll would be more relevant if it was Rudy T and Torre. JVG is no Rudy T. He is more like Don Cheney.
Right as Rudy T, like Torre, has won a couple of titles as a coach/manager. Gumby has not - huge difference there.
Wow you guys aren't giving JVG any credit. He failed to take the Rockets past the 1st round but he did overachieve during the season. We're not talking about just Championships here. That's only one element. If it were Phil Jackson would be a better comparison. We're talking about owners, players, contracts, public relations, fans, success, failures, etc. We're talking about the bigger picture. I think there are similarities.
Going from the 9th best record in the west to the 5th best record in the NBA is not a substantial improvement? Yes they failed to close out 2 series when they had a 2-0 lead, but moving up the standings from the 15th best record in the NBA to the 5th is substantial improvement in my book. During his four years with the team, Van Gundy also won 7 more playoff games than the Rockets did in the previous four seasons. I said they did screw him, just not as badly as the Rockets screwed Van Gundy.
Over 4 years, no that is not a substantial improvement. For example, going from the lottery in '91-'92 to a division title the next year is a substantial improvement. Going from the lottery to first round losses in 4 years is not substantial.