this has been his case since day 1. i stomached it at first but every interview, there HAS to be at least one critique regardless the outcome of the game. "we won but our shooting % wasn't as great as it could be" "the guys played tough and won the game for us but we still need to work on our perimeter defense" it's always something like the above. now it's just getting old. he needs to realize that negative feedback can only work if your team has players that will respond to that kind of motivation. he spends too much time trying to get into his players' heads and not enough time maximizing his players' abilities
That's a fair assessment. I think JVG would have been a nutjob if he had said Yao put 0 effort in defense as the thread starter put it.
Here is the actual quote to end this controversy. In all honesty, not really a rip. But on the other hand, Yao's defense had nothing to do with the outcome of this game. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Post_Game_Quotes_031506-172213-822.html ROCKETS HEAD COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY (on whether this team can shoot well against a team of Dallas' caliber) "Well, it doesn't matter...me predicting one way or another, it's a matter of what you do. We surely didn't shoot well enough to win tonight. I don't think that precludes us from shooting well enough to win." (on whether Yao Ming's play tonight is what is expected from him) "No, we can expect much better from him defensively and on the boards. He had one rebound in the 2nd half and he was not active defensively. He's been playing great on offense, really great, and he's not been as good on the boards or defensively in the last 3 games." YAO MING (on whether poor shooting led to the team's breakdown in the 2nd half) "I have to go and watch the film, but I believe my teammates took quality shots. Those shots were good shots and some of them were wide open. I still think we need to defend the pick and roll better. They (Dallas) play the pick and roll very well with (Dirk) Nowitzki." (on his carrying the load for the team) "During the game, I'm focused. I'm trying to score or rebound or do whatever the team needs me to do." RAFER ALSTON (on how the Rockets can snap their losing streak) "You've got to defend first. The only way other guys get involved is if we defend and rebound and we run and race it up the court. We have to put more energy into getting fast break points. Other than that, we're going to go to Yao (Ming) and go to Yao (Ming) and go to Yao (Ming). We have to knock down open shots when Yao (Ming) is drawing double-teams and triple-teams and he's passing the ball out. We have to find a way to knock down open shots for him." (on whether or not the Rockets are relying on Yao Ming too much) "If you've got a dominant big guy, that's the game, inside out. You're posting him and he's scoring. He's playing at a high level right now and we're going to continue to go to him. I think for the rest of us, we have to find a way to help him out. We have to knock down basketball shots and open shots that we're taking, we have to find a way to consistently knock them down." (on why the Mavericks are so troublesome to the Rockets) "They pose mismatches all over the floor and they're a smart team. They're going to go to the mismatches and make you defend that. They're going to put you in rotation situations. If you can't close out to them and stop them from catching and shooting the 3, then you're going to be in for a long night." (on what the Rockets are doing wrong during this losing streak) "It's tough, but I think we're making it tough on ourselves. We're giving up fast break points, we're letting guys do whatever they want to do on the floor, we're not making it tough on them, we're not bumping them, we're turning the ball over at a high level, especially myself. We're making it tough on ourselves as well as playing tough teams. When you're playing tough teams, you have to find a way to make it easy on yourself and try to get shots at the basket every time down." LUTHER HEAD (on the Rockets' making the game competitive in the 2nd half) "We had confidence throughout the game. We were confident going through that stretch. We started making shots, Yao (Ming) was doing well." (on whether the Rockets need to give Yao Ming more help offensively) "It's about Yao (Ming) and we have to give Yao (Ming) the ball. That's a given, but we've got to step up. We're taking the right shots, but we've got to start knocking them down." DALLAS MAVERICKS HEAD COACH AVERY JOHNSON (on the game) "Obviously, we needed to come out and play well. We struggled to guard Yao (Ming) in the first half but made it a lot tougher on him in the second. Yao (Ming) is playing the best basketball I've seen since after his surgery. We were fortunate to hold Houston off after they made their run. Overall it was a pretty good defensive effort on our part." (on Rawle Marshall) "Nobody knows his name now and we'll see what happens in the long run. He's a rookie and may not get off the bench next game. We thought the defensive effort he gave us on Luther Head was very important." (on Dirk Nowitzki) "Dirk battles every game for us. There is not one coach that would not want him on their team." (on the team's injuries) "I never give the team an opportunity to make excuses because of injuries. This is the NBA and every team has injuries at this time of the season." DIRK NOWITZKI (on the Mavericks) "We're obviously going through a tough stretch right now, a lot of injuries, being on the road, our fourth game in five nights. It's good we have a deep team. Rawle Marshall played a great game tonight." (on Yao Ming) "He's been playing phenomenal since the All Star break. His turnaround is money. He is so big and so skilled." JASON TERRY (on the team's recent play) "Under the circumstances I think we are doing quite well. We are doing the same things as if we had all our guys healthy. Nothing really affects us. There are no excuses. Everyone is hurt in this league." (on Yao Ming's play) "An animal. He is playing like a beast. He is playing real aggressive. This is the best I have seen him play since he's been in the league." JERRY STACKHOUSE (on the team's playoff position) "We want to win every game we play and don't worry about what San Antonio does. We are a playoff team and either way we will line up against somebody. It would be great to be the number one seed but we have to prepare and be ready as a team. We have some concerns but the positives are some of the others guys are getting to step up." (on Yao Ming) "We don't worry about Yao (Ming). He and Tracy (McGrady) can get a hundred but they still can't beat us if we keep the other guys in check. This is the best I have ever seen him play. He's the best center in the NBA right now on one end (offensive) of the court. Every team has to focus on him more than any other center in the NBA, even Shaq (O'Neal)." ERICK DAMPIER (on defending Yao Ming) "We tried to give him different looks in the second half. Sometimes double-team him but always contest him whenever he took a shot. He made two real tough shots in the second half." (on how many points he got in the second half) "Seven." RAWLE MARSHALL (on his play) "There are a lot of guys injured on the team and I wanted to come out and play hard. I wanted to focus on defense and I tried to play tough defensively and my offense came off that. It made me feel good and I had to be ready when the coach gave me the opportunity."
I'll agree that JVG can not maximize a player's ability for sh*t, but, I think his comments after every game are nothing more than something to keep the media busy. This is the same guy that had to pay $100K after backing up Yao afterall... EDIT: Jerry Stackhouse is a dumbass. T-Mac and Yao have been carrying this team to EVERY victory since T-Mac got here. Very few times the role players step up at all.
I just listened to it on NBATV, its totally not a rip on Yao. JVG is an honest person and if one person has to critize a player, I prefer it be the coach.
I'm sorry...JVG paid $100,000 for standing up for Yao. One hundred thousand freaking dollars. If anyone has the right to criticize Yao's defense, it's JVG. And it's not like he's lying. I know everyone worships Yao as a god these days (and Lord knows I'm as big a fan of his as anyone), but Yao did have only 2 rebounds in the second half.
I'm sorry but getting fined for defending Yao does not give him a free pass to slap the guy around. People want to look at the 2 rebounds in the 2nd half, look at: -Yao's first half stats -Yao's minutes in the 2nd half (esp. in the 3rd quarter) -Maverick's shooting % in the 3rd quarter -Howard's rebounding numbers for the WHOLE game
he didn't slap the guy around. he's trying to help him get better, recognize his weaknesses. as great as yao has been, one of the best players in the game since the break, he's got a lot of learning and growth left.
No, he got fined 100K for talking about one of David Sterns precious refs. You didnt see Mark Cuban being fined when he complained did you? How about Avery's rant? Point is, he is not a motivator. His negative comments after each loss is pretty stale. He makes the players sound like a bunch of sorry saps. "oh we didnt do this, we didnt do that", and there is never a real solution. He continues to run the same gameplan and it sucks. Then he rants on the players again, and never thinks maybe he should switch things up every once in while. I dont remember Carlisle dumping on his guys after every game when they lost 3 starters.
you do not try to recognize a player's weakness when he just put up 36/12 for you on 12-17 shooting. you do not try to recognize a player's weakness when he's the one that's been carrying your pathetic team since the all-star break you do not try to recognize a player's weakness when he's all you have left you tell me what Yao has to learn a lot of and what kind of enormous growth he needs and i'll tell you "welcome to 3 years ago"
Boy you guys are stupid. You guys can't see Van Gundy trying to get the best out of his only true weapon left? Van Gundy knows that If Ming doesn't get close to 40 a game and maybe 14 to 15 boards and maybe 5 assist the rest of the season this team is dead like roadkill. Those stats are huge whether Yao has the mental ability and stamina to strive and attain them is a question but Gundy knows he needs that kind of production and leadership from his only remaining weapon to get us to the playoffs or at least not to come close losing all games we have left until Mcgrady comes back. Gundy wants Ming to have a COMPLETE game. That is not much to ask, is it? 9 points and 2 boards in the 2nd half after a 27 and 10 1st half is a bit dissapointing if you are fighting tooth and nail to try and win the remaining games left for the playoff spot. Van Gundy is just trying to milk every ounce of production out of his only card in hand. Given the sorry state of the rest of the team can you blame him??
If JVG is trying to motivate Yao by criticizing him, he is doing it the wrong way. Yao is not like any other player in the league. He criticizes himself too much. What he needs is encouragement and praises when he contantly beat himself up for every loss. Any more criticizing from the coach may damage his confidence and push him to depression. Honestly, I don't want Yao to make any adjustment because JVG's comments. I am afraid any adjust will only make things worse. Yao is already playing really well. I cannot be happier with his progress. I'd hate to see any change to this development. Maybe it is time to write off this season and use the last 13 games focus on developing Yao. He is gonna be the savior of this team for years to come.
so you think yao's better off if van gundy says "way to go big fella" and pats him on the back every day without acknolwledging his weaknesses and areas he can improve himself in? you think other than his parents there are bigger yao ming fans out there then van gundy? he's not ripping him he's trying to help him. believe that yao doesn't want to hear way to go boy after a loss. if you don't think yao, as AMAZING as he has become, has quite a bit left to learn and grow in the game of basketball, then i don't know what to tell you. face it, you guys are way way more sensitive than yao ever was.
Thanks. Those are some great quotes from the Dallas players, along with Avery, and sum things up pretty well. They all paid huge compliments to Yao, and made the rest of the Rockets beat them. We saw what happened. Our own players know why we aren't winning, and they know it's not on Yao. They're not knocking down open jumpers. Yao is getting tired by the last part of the game, trying to carry the rest on his back. Our lack of depth was covered when Tracy was able to play, but now we're exposed. Van Gundy didn't sound as bad as has been made out in some of what I read, but he's very frustrated. The team is frustrated. I'm frustrated. Everyone's frustrated. If we had any quality depth at all, we'd still be in this thing. It's damned frustrating.
