Why the loyalty towards Rudy?

You said it. And I think the good Doctor's been more than patient with you. Hope you've enjoyed your time on the board. I haven't. And you're just begging to be banned now.

 

rockfat,

The above statement is what my quote of Hakeem was meant to refute, and DOES refute. Also, they do indeed back up my claim that Hakeem left to win a ring and not for money.

You need to accept that and quite stating your conjecture as fact, when its nothing but fiction.

Just out of curiosity, what coaches could do a better job than Rudy in your opinion???

 

I think someone has got a crush on you, DoD.

 

I'm just stating my opinion : Your opinion stinks. No need to cry about it. And no need to call people idiots. It makes you look bad. Wouldn't want that happening, would you?

You're sad and pathetic. Hopefully you'll change your opinion and become a Rockets fan again (if you ever were one). Quit hiding behind "I want the Rockets to win, but if it takes them to lose to get rid of Rudy, then I want that". Doesn't even make sense. But that's ok, we still wub u.

 

Well, you said "anybody"

You're losing it man. I'm happy you're not our coach. Rudy is so much better than you.

And post counts don't matter. I never said they did - you're just reaching for a defense and wrecking your own thread in the process. It's bad you didn't have a good argument, now you don't even have a good thread.

 

rocketfat,

You are just being hardheaded now. Way to make up quotes to support your theory.

Go read the quote from Hakeem that I posted. He flat out said, it wasnt about the money, it was about the opportunity to win one more ring!! It didnt matter how much money we offered. The Rockets kept upping the guaranteed money and Hakeem refuse to take it!

Geez, accept that and move on.

 

silly, silly person.

An athlete's skills don't go away, Larry Bird can still drain jumpers left and right given the time - their body simply fails them. The knees make it almost impossible to run and jump, the lower back gives you incredible pain, your joints ache every single day. It isn't about a loss of skills, but the fact that age gets everyone, and because of the incredible pounding professional athletes go through, their bodies age quicker than the rest of us.

As for coaches they don't lose their abilities - which is why Hubie Brown is a coach well into his 60s - unless their mental faculties fail them.

What you are asking us to believe is that Rudy hasn't lost it, but that he never had it - but there are two banners hanging in the Summit that would say different.

 

fattie: It was, perhaps, extreme to say you were begging to be banned. I should have just said you were being a stubborn jerk. I just couldn't be more sick of people saying (a) that the Rockets pushed Hakeem out, when he clearly wanted to go, and (b) that Rudy sucks, when this year has proven that he has more to offer than the inside out with Hakeem. Before this year, I didn't know if he did. This year, it's clear he's a good coach. And I'm sick sick sick to death of the doom and gloom from supposed Rockets fans every single time we lose. If you actually pay any attention at all, it will be clear to you that we usually win when the players stick to Rudy's strategy and we usually lose when they get frustrated and stray from it. But if you're going to blame every loss on Rudy, give him credit for the wins. I guess if he was a goat yesterday, he's a genius today. Too bad you can't be happy for the win, since you're hoping a losing streak will get him fired.

 

Here are a few things that Rudy has done recently to still make him a top level coach:

The Rockets defense has improved immeasurably. Listening to the recent coaches show, Rudy demonstrated a defensive sound philosophy about limiting on-the-ball pressure too far up the court...by taking less chances, the Rockets are giving up fewer easy baskets. This is Rudy's idea and it is working.

Rudy should also be commended for adapting his system to the talent of his team. The Rockets have done two offensive system changes on the fly- no small feat- to meet the accomodate the skill level on the roster. First, Rudy made a transition from a low post offense in the Hakeem era to a guard oriented offense. The isolation plays the Rockets featured two years ago were borne of necessity and they deftly took advantqage of the rules and talents to squeeze 45 wins out of a roster that was pretty weak in the front line. Last year, injuries simply decimated the depth and continuity of the team.


This season, Rudy has done a good job at integrating Yao Ming into a focal point of the offense while managing his minutes to keep his energy up. You can already see the Rockets working in different cuts to the basket by the guards to take advantage of Yao's great passing. They've also de-emphasised the three point shot this year.


There are things I wish Rudy would improve upon, especially rotation issues, but he is undeniably a sound coach. I wouldn't dismiss the value of loyalty and a close family-like atmosphere that Rudy was fostered, either. Going back to the Championship years, Rudy set a calm and resolute tone for the team that helped them through a lot of tough times and elimination games. That sense of loyalty also won't hurt in signing Yao Ming to a contract extention, either. That's my two cents...thanks.

 

Hmm...Isn't the Dr of Dunk a moderator? I was just wondering...sorry for interrupting this happy and joyous conversation.

 

This cuts both ways, you must realize. Loyalty towards your players can be a very good thing, and can give your players a cushion, knowing that the coach trusts their skills and won't just pull them like Jimmah Williams, to use the most extreme example. Players might be more succesful if they aren't fretting that at the tiniest mistake, they'll never see the floor again. Yes it can go to far, and it sometimes does with Rudy, making players complacent. But at its heart, having loyalty to your players is a good thing, and I believe it creates a relationship where the players are far more coachable than if they were playing for a coach who has a reputation as punishing you for the slightest error.

It is entirely possible that he's having difficulties in practice, and as such, Rudy doesn't trust him in games yet.

 

lol. Weak.

What's your proof that he deserves to start or even get any minutes? How do you know that he actually isn't worse than Rice? Please prove that he is not worse than Rice to us. Prove to us that Nachbar is deserving.

The fact of the matter is you don't know and I don't know.

Until Rudy is confident that Nachbar can run in this offense, he won't see the light of day on this team. Who knows... he may start him the next game and score 50. Maybe Rudy has Rice calling some plays out on the floor while he's out there. Maybe he's the "veteran influence" as far as keeping morale up during down times on the court. Maybe Nachbar is not fully recovered from his surgery.

The fact is nobody here can definitively defend or contradict Rudy's decision not to play Nachbar unless they're in practice and knows what's going on both physically and psychologically on the practice courts. You can have your opinions and I can have mine, but when you come in here as if your comments are gospel, you just get beat down.

The fact that you discount loyalty as part of the decision-making process speaks volumes about where you're coming from. You can sit there screaming all you want, but this isn't a daycare and you won't get a pacifier.

 

For what it's worth, here's another moderator who thinks you look like an ass in this thread.

I'm just never sure how a coach can take all the blame when his team plays poorly and get none of the credit when his team plays well.

I have no problem hammering Rudy when he deserves it and this previous losing streak falls at least somewhat on his shoulders, but this team has dramatically improved this season particularly on defense and not just because of Yao. They were playing great defense when he was getting 15 minutes per night.

The fact that the team has been able to bring in Yao so quickly is astonishing considering his lack of practice time. And he has to be set up in the right position. He isn't a guard that just gets the ball and goes nuts. They actually have to run plays for the big fella. Yao doesn't just dream them up.

Like I said, I have no problem doling out blame when the time comes, but it is amazing to me how credit seems to go to everyone else.

By the way, Nachbar is still out of shape and not fully recovered from his hernia. Like groin injuries and high ankle sprains, hernias are brutal when it comes to recovery. Ask Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon. They both missed long stretches of time due to hernias and they were veterans who were in NBA playing shape when it happened to them. Nachbar was a moderately-in-shape rookie from Europe.

 

Jeff -

I truly do appreciate the job you do as a Moderator, but I like it even more when you post your own thoughts on the thread at hand.

I can be a bit emotional and exaggerate some of my statements to reflect my passion, so I value those of you who "play with more smarts".

Having said that, I will amend some of my previous comments about Rudy and try to be patient (not an easy task for folks like me...) until the end of the season. I still think that it's not unreasonable to expect more than an 8 seed.

Thanks for being insightful and cool

 

P.S. Jeff -

Thanks for the update on Boki. You're post has helped me to renew my plan to get the half season duckets starting with next weeks games!!