You'd Think We Were 4-8...

weren't you drunk few days ago?

 

Unfortunately there are people who will always find something to complain about with the Rockets.

 

Amen to that.

 

I have been a fan of the Rockets since the days of Hofheinz Pavillion, although I am new to ClutchFans. Just a couple of observations:
1. It is human nature to never be content, to always assume that things should be better than they are. That is why you hear so much, "Play VSpan, Novak, JLIII, Bonzi." People incorrectly assume that the unknown (the players on the bench) is better than the known (the players that are getting playing time). Of course, there is virtually no objective evidence to support this notion, since they have not seen VSpan, Novak, JLIII, or Bonzi in practice. The complainers just assume that these players have sizzled in practice and that JVG has some desire to deprive better players of court time because he prefers a weak team to a strong team. Does that make sense? Of course, it doesn't.
2. There is no emotion stronger than Hate! It strips an individual of any ability to be objective and distorts any effort to accurately assess circumstances. For reasons I have never understood, there is a significant number of people who hate JVG. I guess it relates to his sully face or his lack of a rah-rah demeanor. It certainly is not "fact-based because the FACTS wholly unsupport any belief that he is a poor coach. He has had 9 winning seasons in 10 years of coaching. The one year of not winning was last year, where he did not have a team capable of competing in the NBA, due to team wide injuries. Red Auerbach or John Wooden could not have coached the Rockets to a winning season last year.
3. The tendency of people without a brain is to examine all circumstances in a span that extends over a very short period - in other words "What have you done for me lately?" That is why Jerry Sloan was almost lynched last year in Utah, even though he had gone 16 straight seasons of winning. Funny, but at this point he looks like a lock for NBA Coach of the Year, and now all is forgiven by the thoughtless masses. That, of course, is subject to change when the Jazz experience their first 3 game losing streak and Sloan haters will once again emerge from their trash cans. And now the target of ire is who? Pat Riley, that's who. The guy who just months ago was annointed with the status of all time greatest NBA coach, apparently had a severe case of amnesia over the off-season, which has caused him to forget how to coach. Insanity. 90% of winning has to do with players. 90% of losing has to do with players. Coaches get too much credit and too much blame.

Because I take a reasonable point of view, I am immediately labeled as a JVG lover. Well, I am not, but I'm not a JVG hater for sure. What has he done for me to hate? He restored the Rockets to respectability, in his first year here, after having inherited a CD/RT mess. His second year he won more regular season games than the first year. Last year - well I'm sorry he is not to blame for Yao's toe and TMac's back. So this is his year to prove himself and keep the Rockets moving forward, which I think he will. So I say if you can't get excited about Yao, TMac and crew this year, well, there's just no hope for you. Perhaps a course in anger management might be in order?

 

Shut up ROOKIE !! Use Paragraphs......

And...

Nice post.



DD

 

I also find that many people forget the bulk of evidence of strengths & weaknesses over a person's career, including the weaknesses. Just because a person points out a glaring weakness in a coach's armor people yell "hater"!

Every coach around has labels based upon these +/-'s and his track record.

Comment from a couple of years ago here in Houston by a PLAYER in the paper IIRC that Gundy spends the vast majority of practice time on DEFENSE and the team ever hardly practiced offense. It showed then.

Maybe he has changed as he has gotten happier with the D. Don't know. All I can look at is the game evidence including the pre-season games where we all saw Novak and Bill play, as well as the WC where Bill played well against NBA players.

Rotations is another area where not just this season but over his time here in Houston VG has performed in a manner to beg various questions - which never get answered.

When the Miami 500 followed the team for the Nov. 12 game, at the post game rally Les and many players spoke. Not even an appearance and a wave by Gundy. Makes me wonder if he can savor a victory. Talk is he doesn't think much of fans - but we are the reason this league exists.

As discussed in another thread by a man who admits to being obsessive compulsive - he shares a lot of traits with JVG. Great technicians - but not inspiring people; and people who sometimes lack great vision or the ability to communicate that vision to others. The new nickname I see so often is Assistant Coach Van Gundy.

Maybe this is why Riley pulled the plug on Stan. We'll never know for sure.

But we've got to live with Jeff with all of his strengths - which he does have, and his weaknesses, which he also has.

 

Well !! You could be right of course but such generalizations will get you into trouble. Blanket statements like yours about your fellow posters can be taken as very demeaning by the ones that have, just like you, as fans of the Houston Rockets had the many years of experience. Some of us have studied form, statistics and examined earlier player playing experience before we make our desires for the team known. Its not too difficult to see that Padgett and Howard are not the players that they once were, just look at their scoring performance from yesterday's game and their limited ability to play decent defence. So when we criticize JVG for not developing the games of V.Span and Steve Novak, we are not just making wild stabs of hatred towards our teams coach. Its that we hope that by the seasons end that the product on the court will be the best it can be and not one that just meets what we, as experienced fans, consider a slightly misguided NY criteria of JVG.
By expressing our desires and wishes on this forum we at least psychologically feel [hope]that we have thrown our thoughts into a melting pot [Forum]that is also read by many of the rocket's executives and therefore our voices, which may be small but are heard by ones in an influential position.Y

 

Its not desires. Its not wishes. Neither of these are posted when you talk about Gundy in an objective way. Its called coach HATE.

And developing the game of V. Span and Steve Novak?

Please.

First of all, they are in their first year. Haters said the SAME THING ABOUT HEAD LAST YEAR. How's he doing this year? The Haters said the same thing about Yao and Gundy when they first got together. Remember that? Yao is not developing? Why is Ewing here? Bring in Olajuwon? Bring in Jabbar?

Hows Yao nowadays?

OH WAIT!

My bad. That wasn't the coach that did that. It was Yao. Gundy is only responsible when a player REGRESSES and not when he PROGRESSES.

As Gundys secret lover, I know the drill. (No pun intended)

 

Well, of course its a generalization. How could it not be? I don't personally know the motives of everyone who posts here. But when you see numerous posters openly declaring that they prefer that the Rockets lose games so JVG would get fired, it doesn't take a genius to know that hate is involved in a statement like that.

Let me ask you something. Do you blame JVG for being a lottery team last year? If you answer yes, then I know all I need to know. Any fair minded, reasonably objective person would realize that it was impossible to win last year. If you hold JVG responsible for last year you just have no interest in being fair.

If you don't hold him responsible for last year then you must be complaining about this year. Another question and just be honest. If you and I were having a beer in September and I told you that after the first month the Rockets would be 10-5 what would you have said? I'm betting you would have said, "10 and 5, no way, not with Van Gundy." So if it isn't last year, and the record this year is better than what you expected, what are you so upset about?

 

you are seriously delusional if you honestly think the Rockets make any on-court decisions AT ALL based on fans posts on this board.(or any board for that matter)

None

at all

ZERO

understand??

 

I love how people that criticize coaches are automatically called haters.

I give JVG credit when he does the right things, like putting in a zone defense, getting Tmac to attack the basket, and playing inside out.

However, he also deserves a lot of criticism for his faults....it took him THREE YEARS to install a zone, he would rather play an old Rod Strickland than give a young guy a look.

Then, last year.....all the oldsters theory bit him in the butt when injuries felled the rest of the team, and they could not compete athletically.

JVG is a good coach, but if plan A isn't working, it takes him FOREVER to get to plan B.

DD

 

JVG and Garner are similar. They stick with what they know. Lidge kept blowing saves, our rotation keeps blowing 4Q leads. With that as a CONSTANT issue, he needs to try something new the next time it happens (which will probably be soon). With Snyder out, he's obviously forced to do something new. And 1 game into that something new, it hasn't worked. Well you don't fire a coach who is 9-4 and trying to find what we need. He is trying after all, there is no way on God's green earth that JVG doesn't notice something is wrong, just like us.

But the fact of the matter is the man is winning games. Fire him when he loses them consistently. When you've got the 4th best record in the West, you're doing something right. Can't we all agree? EVERYONE knows that there are adjustments that need to be made, and those adjustments will work themselves out. So all JVG haters, dislikers, or questioners, know that JVG does this for a living, and he is obviously trying to win. It's not wrong to disagree with him, but it is to call for a firing when the man has got a winning thing going.

 

There are good doctors and bad ones, and there are doctors on this BBS....just saying.

Because there are some fans which are better at recognizing things than even coaches, ESPECIALLY the ones on this site.

And no, I am not claiming to be one of them.....



DD

 

If you can't criticize a freaking basketball coach, how can you criticize the president or any position different from yours?

As they say, basketball is not rocket science. It's ten guys throwing a ball around.

 

Thank God for the man that wrote this common sense piece! Give the Rockets about 42 games before you feed them to the Lions! By then;

Check will be back and healthy, Van Gundy will get his head out of his ass as it pertains to playing Bonzi and Novak and the teams chemistry will be awesome.

 

You couldn't argue, R2K, that if they spent a lot of time cruisin' this board, they'd be in dire need of a therapist!

 

I don't care what record we are, MAKE THE PLAYOFFS

 

Who's this, your dad?