I love it how people continue to take away credit from Rudy by bringing up Hakeem and the MJ*. Its funny how people forget that MJ had nothing to do with the Rockets, before Rudy was head coach, not making so much as ONE WC finals appearance, being in the lottery one season and being booted in the 1st round several seasons, with Hakeem as our go to guy.
All I can say is this: JVG as a head coach has a unbelievable win/loss record. JVG preaches running and defense (which wins games) JVG took a depleted Knicks team from the 8th seed to the NBA finals and darn near won the thing (would have if not for so many injuries) NBA players get to play a kids game for a kings ransom, they SHOULD be ready to play when they come to camp. And I'm sure he had conversations with them after he accepted the job as head coach. If Steve Francis REALLY wanted to win a championship he would take a few lines out of Michael Jordans play book and bust his ass in the offseason to work on his weak points and make the practices harder then the game so when the game comes around it seems easy. Or perhaps a page out of Larry Birds book and start running the concourse after a game in the Toyota Center to improve his conditioning. Talk is cheap and excuses are like A**Holes; everybody has one and they all stink! Winners lead by example and by doing so elivate their team mates to a higher level. I think SF is a good player based on stats alone, but he has yet to show me that he can be GREAT by showing dedication and unselfish play... Take the street ball iso and throw it out the window, how about dumping the ball into Yao and then MOVING WITHOUT THE BALL? Hmmm.....what a novel concept....
I'm not gonna go into that again because this is a completely different subject. If you want I'll edit my post for you if it makes you feel better. Same question still holds: what has Rudy done in the last four years to deserve respect?
RR, You know what you are saying doesn't apply to everyone on this board. If Francis is a 20, 10, 12 guy an we are losing, you can bet your ass I'll give him mad props. But then if I think the reason we are losing is because of him, you can bet your ass I'll give him none - that said, defense aside, I dont see how we could be losing because of Francis if he was getting 20, 10, 12. What JVG is doing may be classless, but then again, what the players are doing is pathetic and disrespectful. JVG wants you in camp, you show up unless you absoluetely can't. Let's not forget about what this is we're talking about. Grown men getting paid millions upon millions of dollars to stay in shape and have fun - to entertain. JVG getting paid millions upon millions to make sure they do that. I go to games. I support the Rockets and buy food an gear and tickets. I demand much more than I've seen from them in recent years for my money. I like what JVG is doing. Perhaps he recognizes that the classless route may just be the right one to take given the situation.
Where do I start? Rudy T does not suck. His coaching record proves it. He is about 50/50 on successful draft picks- in my book, that does not equate to "can't." Oh, and he didn't contribute at all to the improvements in Maxwell, Brown, Elie, etc.? Come on. You know, they recommend that this board not turn into a forum where members insult each other, and I fully agree with that. But you call Rudy T a sorry ass? My inclination is to wage a battle of wits, but I refuse to fight against an unarmed person.
MFW, You and I are just two different types of fans. You don't respect Rudy because we haven't be in the playoffs the last 4 years (despite two winning seasons). Suit yourself. I respect Rudy because he has had 10 winning seasons of the 11 1/2 seasons he was coach year. He coached the team to two NBA titles, which were the 1st major pro championships for this city. I respect Rudy because of "The Punch" and what it too to come back from such an ordeal. But mostly, I respect Rudy because he gave everything he had to the team, the organization and the players He wore his heart on his sleeve for us. You are a "what have you done for me lately" kind of guy. I am about "what have you done for me the whole time you have been here" kind of guy.
Who the heck was talking about RT? The only coaches I mentioned were JVG, Jimy Williams, and Jimmy Johnson. How many times have we been through this? JVG had two good years, and three average ones in NYC. .695 .524 .540 .610 .585 That's not counting the 13-10 and 10-9 bookends, which works out to .547. Besides, as all the Spurs fans know, the whole playoffs the lockout season didn't count
codell, you are confusing my opinion of "Rudy the person/Rocket" with my opinion of "Rudy the coach." I have great respect for "Rudy the Rocket." He played here his entire career then stay with the organization, that shows me loyalty, not to mention he wasn't a bad player at all either. "Rudy the coach" is a different story. You can't be a good coach by being a nice guy that everybody likes. You do it with results. How would you like Yao as your starting center if he puts up 5.5/2.3 per game? What we are disagreeing is Rudy's coaching ability. You seem to be pretty high on it and myself a little bit less. This has nothing to do with Rudy the person who I'll respect regardless.
Im not confusing your opinion at all. YOu don't respect Rudy the coach because we didn't make the playoffs the last 4 years. Again, you are a "what have you done for me lately". I am not. We are just different. I respect Rudy for his coaching career with us as a whole. I will never ever forget what he did for some of us long suffering Rocket fans. Rudy was and is a great coach. Two championships and 9 1/2 winning seasons out of 11 1/2 total seasons goes to show that. JVG himself as come out and said what a good coach Rudy is and specifically, what a good coaching job he did last year. PS - If Yao puts up 5.5/2.3 per game, I will still respect him as long as the effort is there. The effort was ALWAYS there with Rudy. Always.
Will JVG get respect? IMO It's not a matter of will or won't, but a matter of when, as long as Les is backing JVG up.
Huh?? Greg Popovich, Phil Jackson, Joe Torre, Jim Leyland, Dick Vermeil and of course Rudy T to name a few....ALL CHAMPIONS!!!!
Agreed to two bad seasons. How much of that was due to coaching is questionable. All the rest can be considered at or above JVG. .671 .707 .573 .585 .695 .500 .620 .415 .549 .341 .524 That was preceded by a 16-14 (.533 run). Incidentally (34 + 28 + 43 + 45) / (82 * 4) = 0.457 Anyway, as I said before, I didn't mention RT, you did.
