<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"But Yao has been overwhelmed defensively by quickness and has been inconsistent and error-prone offensively. McGrady, the league's two-time reigning scoring champion, knew his numbers would come down. The Rockets' defensive style, as much as their offense, limits possessions per game. And McGrady never has had to look inside before looking for his shot, as he does now. But McGrady has been solid, rather than spectacular, and seems to be losing patience with the process. "We're all frustrated," McGrady said. "Losing four straight at home is very disappointing. We also expected a lot out of Yao and myself." Houston Chronicle </div> He should chill out because it's definitely gonna take some more time than just a few games. I also wanted to remind everyone that I said this in the beginning right after the trade happened. (Just a reminder, lol)
I agree man, I hate premature assumptions made about any team. It was assumed that the Rockets would get homecourt, and maybe even a championship this year. I don't think that Tmac should be complaining though. His record at this time last year was a lot worse. Amazing how players can get their requested trade and then still complain.
lazy eyes also blames it on the system!! so did francis!! he said he wouldn't wish it upon anybody the restrictions he's been given under jvg's system. Look howmuch franchise is flourishing in the free point guard role he's gettin more creativity and excitement and efficiency. The system doesn't work for the big man or the guard positions..this is hilarious why jvg doesnt change it..i wouldn't mind an ailing hubie brown to replace jvg at all thats how desperate i am...jvg not only bores the fans with his style, he also sucks at it.
Boo T-MAC . You see I told you guys so, T-CRAP is nothing more than one of those Hip-Hop listening stupid thugs. What an Idiot.
yes JVG's style is boring and before it's all over with something tells me T Mac is going to lash out at him
Funny how none of you guys with such "foresight" didn't complain at all when the Rockets were winning last year. Loyalty anyone? Van Gundy's "boring" style brought us a trip to the playoffs, and this year, no one but the players, Yao most importantly, are to blame. A true basketball fan is appreciative of defense, although I have to admit even that is lacking this year.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drm2dnk:</div><div class="quote_post">i wouldn't mind an ailing hubie brown to replace jvg</div> Hubie wouldnt exactly allow more freedom than JVG, lets not forget how he killed white choclate. Unless you want to see a 12 man rotation where each guy plays 30 mpg , I wouldn't recommend Hubie. Be careful what you with for.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting YaoMing03-04:</div><div class="quote_post">Boo T-MAC . You see I told you guys so, T-CRAP is nothing more than one of those Hip-Hop listening stupid thugs. What an Idiot.</div> First what does listening to hip hop have to do with basketball. I do not see how you get out of this article Tmac sucks when he basically just stated how he was frustrated as well as everyone else on the team about the losing streak. The article talks more about the coaching style Van gundy runs rather than Tmac.
Trip, I agree that it's mostly the player's lack of efficiency (mostly Yao) and the yet to be realized team chemistry that are to blame. However, it may also be the system. For example, the guys I played on my high school team with were all really good players, but our coach was horrible. The tallest guy on our team was 6'6" (we had a 6'8" guy at one point but he was the worst basketball player I ever saw on a court...couldn't even dunk), with most of our players between 5'9" and about 6'2" and NOBODY was a traditional post player. Regardless of this, the coach ran the same plays he had run for 20+ years, which mostly ran through the post, or should I say TRIED to run through the post. We were constantly outmatched in size every night, but our coach would never let us run. He was VERY much in the mold of Jeff Van Gundy. I've never had the greatest handles but I can certainly hold my own, yet my coach would stop and yell at me if I put the ball on the floor in practice. How ridiculous is that? He always blamed me for thinking too much instead of just DOING, but when you're constantly second guessing whether or not your butt is going to get put on the bench for one little mistake, it's impossible to just DO. I think that's a lot of what the Rockets have to go through with Van Gundy. On the other hand, that same group of guys that were on my high school team played together in the Houston AAU league in the summers and one of my teammate's dad coached us for that. He guided us more than he coached us, letting us determine our own playing style, and simple pulled back the reigns a little when things got disorganized. Under that system we ran and ran well, and played like complete opposites of how we did at school. I was actually constantly reminded that if I DIDN'T shoot, I'd be watching from the sideline. Just that difference in the coaches mindset was enough to make us look like a completely different squad. Even when I play pickup games these days I get people asking me if I play for a college, but back in actual high school games the question would more likely be "why are you even playing for your high school?" lol. A stubborn and overly strict coach CAN make all the difference. Maybe they do need a coaching change, but I wouldn't really call for one until at least mid-season if the year is a bust anyway.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting YaoMing03-04:</div><div class="quote_post">Boo T-MAC . You see I told you guys so, T-CRAP is nothing more than one of those Hip-Hop listening stupid thugs. What an Idiot.</div> Oh, shut up.
McGrady is right to be frustrated. I'd be worried if he wasn't. He knows the team is struggling, and he's accepting some of the blame. No NBA player should have "patience" for losing.
Although it does seem that Van Gundy's system is causing our turmoil right now, how come we were able to win last season? This year, if our defensive committment was a half of what our team was able to put out last year, we'd be looking at a fairly successful record right now. None of the players have been giving it their all every night on the defensive end, and that is the biggest reason for our collapse. Last year, we finished the season 10 games above .500 because every player defended with their hearts every night, and although the offense was still pretty ugly at times, the defense was fabulous. This year, I don't think most of us would be complaining had we been winning games with our defense. However, we are complaining because even our best asset, defense, is failing us now. Is it Van Gundy's fault? I wouldn't jump right off the bat and point fingers at him, but it seems that none of the players are willing to play hard defense and rebound.
I think it's because Francis, Mobley, and Cato were all average or better defenders. Lue is too small and Ward is too slow to avoid being liabilities on defense, and Howard doesn't even know how to spell defense. Tracy is the only one of the bunch with potential.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">Although it does seem that Van Gundy's system is causing our turmoil right now, how come we were able to win last season? This year, if our defensive committment was a half of what our team was able to put out last year, we'd be looking at a fairly successful record right now. None of the players have been giving it their all every night on the defensive end, and that is the biggest reason for our collapse. Last year, we finished the season 10 games above .500 because every player defended with their hearts every night, and although the offense was still pretty ugly at times, the defense was fabulous. This year, I don't think most of us would be complaining had we been winning games with our defense. However, we are complaining because even our best asset, defense, is failing us now. Is it Van Gundy's fault? I wouldn't jump right off the bat and point fingers at him, but it seems that none of the players are willing to play hard defense and rebound.</div> I think Van Gundy's system can work alright, if its executed the right way. Player need to play energetic, alert defense. That's a matter of putting in the right effort. I don't blame Van Gundy for our defensive woes. Offensively, I do think some changes are in order. McGrady should handle the ball more on offense, and the spacing should be different when Yao gets the ball on the post. We should send more cutters to the basket, and Yao needs to start finding them. Yao has some passing skills, but they're not being utilized properly under Van Gundy's offensive system. Yao averaged 2.3 assists per 40 minutes his rookie season. In regular season games under Van Gundy, Yao has only averaged 1.7 assists per 40 minutes. Since Yao has been receiving many more double teams the past few years, this is very strange. Sure, the pace has slowed down a bit under JVG, but I think there's more to it than that. We also should look to fast break more. Can anyone recall a SINGLE outlet pass being thrown off a defensive rebound this season (or even last year)? I mean, that's a basic basketball play and the Rockets never do it.
Well, the fact that no outlets were thrown this season is because we are sucking right now in defensive rebounding. Also, Charlie Ward would never go streaking towards the opponents' basket when Yao pulls down a rebound. He'd start running towards Yao instead to get the ball and bring it up. Last year, Francis and Mobley were willing to run, and that's why we had a fair amount of fast breaks.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">Well, the fact that no outlets were thrown this season is because we are sucking right now in defensive rebounding. Also, Charlie Ward would never go streaking towards the opponents' basket when Yao pulls down a rebound. He'd start running towards Yao instead to get the ball and bring it up. Last year, Francis and Mobley were willing to run, and that's why we had a fair amount of fast breaks.</div> It's definitely our strategy problem. JVG's offensive strategy is obviously not working right now, I mean we have a quick, incredible offensive player in Tracy McGrady and a fast energized player in Tyronn Lue, but we aren't utilizing either of them. I believe we're centralizing too much of our focus on Yao. He's not ready for it and it shows by his inconsistency; one night he puts up 35 points and another he barely makes 10 points. Its too much pressure to be placed on one player, so why not let McGrady and Yao share it? Get McGrady or Lue on the fastbreak sometimes after rebounds or let Yao set a screen for McGrady to drive. Do something really. Van Gundy has arguably the best offensive player in McGrady and a potentially incredible rebounder, screen, pick and roll, low post player in Yao, so why not utilize them both effectively instead of just concentrating on Yao? Jeff Van Gundy's defensive strategies can be extremely effective, when being carried out correctly. Right now it's a whole new team so almost everyone have to take time to understand his overly complicated defense. Heck, it might never happen, but at least you have to give it a chance. Right now we have Mutumbo, Weatherspoon, and maybe Padgett, who all are incredibly defensive minded players at our disposal but only Mutumbo and Padgett are being utilized effectively. I have yet to see Weatherspoon get consistent minutes. All in all, just give them some time, maybe after the season is over and we have time to analyze it, then and maybe then should we try getting a new coach that may fit our team.
I really think Weatherspoon needs more minutes. We had a big loss in Cato, and (2 answer Trip's question), I think its Big Kelvin that allowed us to get into the playoffs last year under the JVG system. Without him playing along side Yao, we are VERY week at the PF position. Its good to see Padgett get some mins the last game, but I really do think that JVG has to get Spoon in there. Spoon is the closest thing to Cato we have left, and even at his size, he can get the job done as a PF. Maybe even puth im at SF and Padgett at PF, and we have a solid and large team. Yao Padgett Weatherspoon T-Mac Sura The above lineup seems pretty defensive minded IMO, and I think can work with the JVG defense. Offensively, there might be more to be desired, but our defensive problems can be fixed. This lineup is also a pretty big one.
I don't really like T-Mac, but I feel sympathy for him. He came to Houston because if they get real good players, they have a better chance at the playoffs and the finals. although he excpected more of himself and Yao (as do fans I'm guessing) thats no excuse for losing 4 straight home games
sympathy for T-Mac , the guy makes 20 million dollars a year. And he cant even read and write. Let him quit basketball. What is he gonna do? FLIP BURGERS. HUH?
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">sympathy for T-Mac , the guy makes 20 million dollars a year. And he cant even read and write. Let him quit basketball. What is he gonna do? FLIP BURGERS. HUH?</div> Wow, you should really think before you start posting. No one ever said he was going to quit basketball, and no one ever said he can't read and write. If you could justify your statements, please do. Anyone would be frustrated with so many home losses. Plus, it was projected that they would be doing pretty good this season, yet they are doing the complete opposite. Its obvious McGrady is doing too well under Van Gundy's system although he is making attempts to at least try it and use it, but it just isnt affective under these new players. I don't know, maybe they just have to understand it more for it to be effective. Patience is a key, but its pretty easy to see we might need coaching changes, trades, signings, at the end of the year.
