Yes I agree something is up with jvg brain sometimes..ne needs to give novack atleast a chance to check in the game sometimes..I really don't understand this coach..give him 3 min a game or something atleast gezzz.By the time he get in the game he will be rusty from not playing at game tempo.
The main reason the Rockets lose these leads is because they get 3-happy and jack up way too many in the 4th. They stop giving the ball to Yao and T-Mac gets doubled on the pick-n-roll every single time so he can't get to the hoop. The ENTIRE team needs to QUIT shooting so many damm 3's when they're not going in. JVG is NOT the problem. The offense is off to the best start since '99 or something like that. This is a team full of new players who are still feeling one another out. We're freaking 8-4 with a tough schedule, T-Mac struggling with his shot, no Bonzie, and missed games by a starter (Hayes). It's great to have passionate fans, but to piss and moan and blame one guy after every loss and create pointless threads is just ridiculous. If we were 4-8 then there would be reason for SOME concern. It's way too early to worry. After the All-star break is when pretenders are weeded out from Contenders and I am confident the rockets contenders.
I did not say that. There are however, situations when a zone defense is advantageous to implement. The Rockets play some zone defense almost every game nowadays. Does this mean their old defense was bad? No. But it does mean that JVG believes that there are circumstances nowadays where a zone defense is better. This is not my opinion, for this is what JVG has stated publicly. So what's your point now? The League rules dealing with hand checking and allowing zone defenses are NOT a NEW thing for this year...they were implemented a few years ago. Other teams changed first (including Pat Riley), and so finally, JVG decides that he should incorporate it too. I'm no great fan of JVG, but I respect him a lot as a coach. But this is clear evidence that he is stubborn to change. This year's team is more athletic than years past. This year's team is better defensively. If Jeff Van Gundy truly believed he was doing the right thing with his defensive system 100% of the time in years past, there would be NO REASON AT ALL to play zone defense this year. Yet the Rockets ARE PLAYING ZONE sometimes this year. So beat that logic or take your and shove it. Never said the D sucked, but that it could be better, and JVG realizes that now, 3 years later than he should have. That's a coaching flaw. He's a good coach, but he is not flawless. At least he is changing for the better.
Kim have you considered that a zone defense is most effective when you have players who are athletic enough to effectively cover an area? thoughts?
Yea, i guess you didnt get the part that I was talking about his situation prior to his first significant playing time...
I started this thread as an immediate reaction to the game and then went out of town. There have been some good points made here for instance Dakota’s post about JVG taking FAR to long to recongize trends, and abilities, or Zhaozhilong stating JVG’s 100% belief that if he plays a rookie or tries something new, it's a guaranteed failure simply because that's not in his original well-prepared plan, or someone’s quote on how JVG is the Marty Shottenheimer of the NBA - good fundamental teacher, the he always goes into Prevent Defenses in the 4th quarter and the only thing it prevents is a victory. And while I agree with these opinions I think the problem goes even deeper. I believe JVG should have used Vspan earlier and more frequently but also his decision to not use him as a pg is an example of his controlling ego. There is no question about it when Billy and Luther are on the court together Luther should play the 2. Billy is hands down the better pg. And please don’t bring up the Vspan preseason TO’s. JVG’s comment about TO’s was just to cover his ass and to justify why he hadn’t played him before and to try to control the media. Anyone who watched those preseason games could see half of those to’s were carrying and traveling. That’s simply adjustment to new rules, another portion where adjusting to the quickness of the league and none of this includes the fact that the guy just got here after playing in the WC’s in a totally different type of game. Billy clearly improved significantly in the preseason and was ready to contribute at the beginning of the season. But no JVG has to control the situation. He says early that he would have to do damage control with the media where Vspan was concerned and everyone knows he never wanted Vspan so his intent from the very beginning was to limit his playing. And if not for Snyder’s injury Billy would not be in the rotation. Stupid Van Gundy didn’t anyone tell you Vspan has been a winner at every level he has played at. His teams win not so much because he is this great athlete but because he oozes confidence and makes the players around him better. Also when the going gets tough he plays his best. Qualities like that are rare and don’t always show up in short clips of video or preseason games. But they show up in wins. Where’s the Moneyball guy when you need him! Billy has the second best on court numbers and what makes that even more amazing is he has managed to achieve that with so little minutes. When he is on the court the team gets leads so why not put him on the court. It’s a no brainer but JVG can’t or worst won’t see it. Which brings up another point about JVG’s coaching. OLD SCHOOL! JVG is Old School and believes that the that the best way to gain respect is to be a stern, unemotional, and unrelenting disciplinarian who orders people around like a traditional military drill sergeant. His belief is that respect must be demanded from his players. So he tells people what to do and uses threats of trades and sending to the IR and intimidation to get them to do it. He believes that the tougher he is on his players, the more they will respect him. This "command and control" style of coercive coaching is effective because players will mainly follow you to avoid being physically or mentally tortured. But the fact is true respect must be earned from people, not imposed on them. JVG’s style of coaching is to force people to follow him out of fear. He makes athletes fear by punishing, embarrassing, and yelling at them when they make mistakes or break rules. Look at the other night Snyder made a foul late in the game against the Bulls. Sure it was a mistake but it was a hustle mistake and JVG screams at him in front of all the fans and National television and then benches him. Sure Snyder just took it and shutup but do you think he did not hate JVG a little bit right then and lose a little bit of his desire to hustle out there. Does he really respect Van Gundy after that and will he give his heart for Van Gundy in the future? And he has been seen screaming Yao and Luther and already Billy. So in general JVG gets his players to comply to his commands, but he is not a legitimate leader. His function is more like a dictator, intimidator, and master of manipulation who might be obeyed, but will never be respected. This overbearing and negative approach may work in the short term, but over the long run it leads to people who feel discouraged, persecuted, humiliated, and incompetent. And what makes it even worst is his players are not treated equally. You will never see him scream at Tmac. Never! And don’t say it is because Tmac never makes mistakes. I love Tmac but he is human and makes many mistakes and poor judgement and doesn’t play as hard or as smart as players like Yao, Battier and Billy. Maybe this style would work better in college ala Knight. But I don’t even think there anymore. There is no credibility with that style. And I am not saying there is no time for a good yelling but not in front of the nation and as a humiliation. Yao once said Rudy was so pissed at the team he never heard the f-word spoken so much. SO discipline is necessary and rules are necessary but credible coaches earn their athletes' respect by the way they coach and develop them. First and foremost, they treat their athletes with dignity and respect and basically abide by the Golden Rule - they treat people the way they would like to be treated. Credible coaches are honest and trustworthy in their dealings with their athletes. They don’t show favoritism are not afraid to show their athletes how much they care about them - both as athletes and people. And they never deliberately humiliate their players in front of others. In doing so they ean their players respect based on integrity, compassion, and trust. JVG’s Old School and doesn’t get it. Sorry for the long post.
Preach on Old Man Rock. Preach on Brutha! And when you get tired and need a break...give me a call. Your posts oozes with so much TRUTH, its downright NASTY!
Look at the change in T-mac since he joined the Rockets. Look at the level of professionalism on this team. every player plays hard and they all respect JVG tremendously. He's respected wherever he goes. Why are his players to loyal to him? Why do they offer to be his assistents years later? Why do all of this players speak well of him???? Think about that before you say he doesn't earn respect.
You could say that for any player, but a missed shot does not count as a TO, it counts as a missed shot. I never said Vspan is still TO prone, I said he has shown he CAN be TO prone. Like I said, I like Vspan a lot and hope he gets more minutes, but I could almost guarantee you that every coach in the NBA would have gone with Rafer over a rookie playing in his 2nd game of the regular season.
Huh? How can you deserve to stay on the court based on your last shot? This doesn't make any sense at all. He deserved to stay on the court because our only alternative was a rookie. The game was on the line and you typically have your starting lineup on the court in these situations, Head was playing because he can shoot the ball. And while Rafer didn't shoot well down the stretch, he is still our 2nd best 3 point shooter on the team AND IT PAID OFF. You guys are acting like we lost the game.
One thing I noticed about Spanoulis over the last couple of games (compared to his FIBA performance and preseason) is that he's really trying hard to play under control. Almost conservative to a fault on the offensive end. He was passing off many wide-open shots. His first 3 pt shot vs. WAS was made only after hesitation, for example. You don't think chilling on the bench for a few weeks changed something in his mind about how to play? He knew what he had to show (in games and practice) to stay on the floor. Hopefully he finds the balance between aggression and intelligent play soon. He's very close right now.
I think I was too agitated at someone interpreting my post wrong. But yeah, good point R2K, but I don't think that's what JVG wanted. link "It's not going to be one time," Van Gundy said. "There are certain uses for it. The main use is we'll get zoned, so we'll have to practice against something. The second one would be against teams with shooting 5s (centers) and against teams hurting us with the pick-and-roll." I think that JVG's trap and switch defense that he normally runs is best served with great athletes. Ideally, that defense is not supposed to allow an open shot, but if there were a shot to be taken, the defense would force the ball to outside shooters. If your D is not athletic or quick enough, the outside shooters will have more time to get their jumpers off. I've always thought a zone was used to cover up defensive inefficiencies, something that's implemented when your team is less athletic, not more. So perhaps you are correct, in that better athletes would make a better zone defense. I just think that better athletes would make a really good JVG defense. And from JVG's quotes, using zone was more about adjusting to other teams D, and about using it against teams with shooting big men, and teams that hurt the Rockets with Pick-and-Roll. Those issues have been going on for years. So, while I'm glad the Rockets are mixing it up nowadays, I still believe JVG is at least somewhat at fault for not addressing these concerns earlier.
what Oldman said... I mentioned it few times already JVG needs to check with a psychiatrist, his stubbornness could cost us 10-20 games
Very true, and I'm damn glad VSpan is looking to drive before shooting the trey. Normal basketball philosophy dictates that you take the open 3, but other circumstances have to come into play: -is there another open shooter who is better? -is there an open lane to drive? -is there time left on the shot clock? Going 2/3 from behind the arc in one game does not make VSpan a consistent 3pt shooter. His shot is still flat and his form is still somewhat messed up in my opinion. He's doing the right thing by shooting it if he must, but looking for better options 1st. VSpan excels at the other options: driving and passing. But it's this lack of 3pt shooting that has VSpan riding the pine in crunch time, and I agree with JVG's decision. I explained the reasoning in detail a couple of pages ago, but my conclusion simply is that the Rockets don't have enough shooters who can defend to compliment VSpan yet. If T-Mac gets his 3pt shot up, or if Battier gets his 3pt shot up, or if Novak can team defend, ...once those things happen, then you'll see VSpan in there at the end of games. But until then, the Rockets are going to role with Rafer or Head if they're playing big ball, or Rafer and Head if they're playing small ball. Rafer and Head are the only guys draining big 3's with consistency so far for this team, and I'll take their 39.2% and 48.0% 3pters every game.
