Houston Rockets

[tam2]

Van Gundy's style won't really fit their franchise players' style. TMAc loves the open court, but JVG would have nothing of it. JVG in fact, did, a more than excellent job of putting his team in the playoffs despite the injuries and bad luck

[howard_the_duck]

Juwan Howard is bad luck!!! :thumbsupsmiley:

kahit saan magpunta 'to malas pa rin

[Pepeng Manas]

they just fired van gundy as head coach

'bout time!

[ninong03]

Friday May 18, 2007 4:50 PM

 

Parting Ways

Van Gundy leaves after four seasons with the Rockets organization

 

 

Jeff Van Gundy leaves the Rockets after leading the team to the playoffs three times in the past four seasons.

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Damien Pierce

Rockets.com Staff Writer

HOUSTON -- Jeff Van Gundy will not be back to coach the Rockets next season.

 

The Rockets parted ways with their fourth-year coach on Friday afternoon, ending two weeks of speculation revolving around the future of the coach.

 

Van Gundy and the organization were unable to reach an agreement to extend his time on the sideline after a lenghty negotiating period. The coach was 182-146 in four seasons in Houston, guiding the team to three playoff appearances.

 

"First and foremost, we want to thank Jeff for his tireless efforts here with the team over the past four seasons," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. "Jeff built the team into a top defensive club and played a crucial part in helping mold this team into a playoff contender."

 

The Rockets will continue searching for Van Gundy's replacement.

 

Van Gundy, who is was 430-318 in 11 seasons as an NBA coach, guided the Rockets to a 52- win season, their best performance in a decade. However, he was unable to guide the Rockets beyond the first round of the playoffs. Houston was eliminted by Utah in seven games.

 

The coach was offered the opportunity to remain with the organization as a senior consultant, but declined the offer.

 

" Since the end of the postseason, we have had numerous conversations with Jeff about his interest in proceeding as the head coach," Morey said. "He asked for, and was granted, additional time to evaluate his situation with the agreement that we would begin looking into other candidates. During that process, it became clear that Jeff did not want to continue in any capacity with the team other than as head coach."

[_eRon_]

hmm, sino kaya ang ipapalit nila kay JVG? sana defensive minded na coach din and sana makakuha na sila ng better support players for yao and tmac..

[howard_the_duck]

balita ko si adelman daw

[steyr]

somebody who can control T-mac will be a nice choice for a coach...

[willow_boy]

Tracy McGrady should learn to leave his ego at the door. He will never win an NBA Championship until he learns to share the spotlight with another player of equal or greater caliber on his team.

 

Years ago, he left Toronto because he didn't want to share the same spotlight with his cousin, Vince Carter. The two of them could have been a potent tandem.

[facialfrankie]

tmac keeps calling the rockets "my team".

well, he's a certified superstar but he's no leader. he can keep on racking those personal best records but he can never bring the rockets to greater heights with his egoistic approach.

 

reminds me of another superstar from another team. can score but can't lead.

[Pepeng Manas]

reminds me of another superstar from another team. can score but can't lead.

hmmm... sino kaya yun? hehehe! (obvious naman kung sino yun eh! )

 

anyway, houston gets adelman for the coaching position. i think adelman is more offense-inclined kind of coach and more of a run-and-gun type of game. he implied in his press con that he wants to apply it to houston. i think the problem would be yao. but he stated that yao wouldn't be a problem because when he was coaching the kings, he also had vlade. it didn't pose a problem, accdg to him.

 

what d'ya think, guys?

[revi]

hmmm... sino kaya yun? hehehe! (obvious naman kung sino yun eh! )

 

anyway, houston gets adelman for the coaching position. i think adelman is more offense-inclined kind of coach and more of a run-and-gun type of game. he implied in his press con that he wants to apply it to houston. i think the problem would be yao. but he stated that yao wouldn't be a problem because when he was coaching the kings, he also had vlade. it didn't pose a problem, accdg to him.

 

what d'ya think, guys?

 

You are correct.. JVG is a better fit for Yao and Adelman is a better fit for TMac.. That is what I can also see.. Let us wait and see how Adelman fits into the Houston Rockets system.. A new era or another disappointing season? I'd still prefer JVG over Adelman because I would like the ball more in Yao's hands than TMac's, but let us give Adelman's cerebral process a chance..

[djlo]

well sayang lang kasi umiral nanaman ang sakit ni t-mac na kita bakal tira. di kasalanan ni jeff yun kung di maexecute ang play.

[peep_tom]

Did you guys hear that Yao Ming is polishing his basketball skills with Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon? Man he could learn a lot from the Dream.

[Pepeng Manas]

Did you guys hear that Yao Ming is polishing his basketball skills with Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon? Man he could learn a lot from the Dream.

really? im surprised that he is doing it just now. dapat noon pa nya ginagawa yon eh. makuha nya lang yung fall away ni hakeem, laking bagay na noon. pero dapat syempre yung passing skills din ni hakeem.

Edited May 24, 2007 by Pepeng Manas

[peep_tom]

really? im surprised that he is doing it just now. dapat noon pa nya ginagawa yon eh. makuha nya lang yung fall away ni hakeem, laking bagay na noon. pero dapat syempre yung passing skills din ni hakeem.

Madami sya matututunan kay Hakeem, fade away, passing pero most of all yung agility and dribbling skills. Deadly talaga si Olajuwon, the only other center na nagpahirap kay Shaq. He is also my all time fave center.

[peep_tom]

Watch Yao's "Dream" tutorial.

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Yao_gets_f...-226053-34.html

 

It's awesome to see Hakeem in a basketball court again! Even if its only to teach somebody.

[peep_tom]

Man if Yao can get that spin from Olajuwon hes gonna be unstoppable! :thumbsupsmiley:

Edited May 25, 2007 by peep_tom

[_eRon_]

hakeem is really one of the greatest centers to play in the nba..sana maraming matutunan sa kanya si yao..

 

adelman as the new coach, i hope they can get a new pf & a 3rd scorer for the rockets..

[peep_tom]

hakeem is really one of the greatest centers to play in the nba..sana maraming matutunan sa kanya si yao..

 

adelman as the new coach, i hope they can get a new pf & a 3rd scorer for the rockets..

In my own opinion The Dream is the most talented center to have ever played in the NBA.

[clubber_lang]

Yes. If you want someone who'll bull his way for points, Shaq is your man. If you want someone with finesse, you take Hakeem.

 

Of course, Bill Russell is still on top of the heap, then Kareem and Wilt. 4th best Center depends on your preference: Hakeem or Shaq? Personally, I take Hakeem too.

 

As for him teaching Yao, I think what he should teach the Rockets C is something beyond talent and skill. he should teach him to have a warrior's heart. Yao is still soft despite what the stats might say. I mean, a fade-away would be great but for his size, it won't be really necessary. He needs to learn how to intimidate others. He needs to instill fear in his opponents. Attack the rim. Attack the boards. He could do that already but inconsistently. Never take a play off in D.

[_eRon_]

tama yun clubber_lang..kulang nga sa killer instinct si yao, he needs to dominate the paint more, in offense as well as defense..

[peep_tom]

Draft Prospects: Houston Rockets

By Bill Ingram

for HOOPSWORLD.com

Jun 6, 2007, 13:00

If Tracy McGrady has his way, Oklahoma State's Mario Boggan will be a Houston Rocket next season.

 

"Who?"

 

Exactly.

 

McGrady and Boggan went to the same high school and they've been working out together this summer as Boggan tries to make his way into the NBA. Frankly, the Rockets could do a lot worse than sign Boggan after the draft. He's not likely to be on anyone's radar for the first or second round, but the senior from North Carolina could help a Rockets team that needs talent and has little cap room to acquire it.

 

Boggan averaged 19 points and 7.6 rebounds in his senior year as an OK State Cowboy. At 6'7" 235 lbs. he has the body of a small forward, though he often played center for OSU. Despite some impressive play throughout the first half of the college season, Boggan stock fell when he struggled to get it done as teams began to key on him over the second half . The more he struggled, the more the Cowboys struggled, losing nine of their last 12 games. There were rumors that Boggan had an attitude problem after he left Florida, but both Taurean Green and Jared Jordan – two of his teammates in Orlando for pre-draft camp - are very high on him. Keep an eye on Boggan.

 

As for the 26th pick in the draft, the Rockets will most likely look to address size. Unfortunately, since every other team in the league is in need of size, it probably means the Rockets will take what's left. Brazli's Taigo Splitter would be a great addition to the team, but is a long shot to be there at 26. Croatia's Ante Tomic draws comparisons to Pau Gasol because of his ability to play three positions, but he has been playing in a lower level of competition in Europe and probably won't be ready to impact this team from day one. Finally Aaron Gray is also being talked about in terms of potentially ending up in Houston. Gray is a project, for certain. Think Dave Feitl. He has soft hands and can catch in the post, but he gets pushed around and isn't quick enough to be an impact rebounder or shot blocker.

 

If Gray is the only big left when the Rockets' number is called they would probably be better off looking for the big two they are lacking. Italy's Marco Belinelli might still be there, or Arizona's Marcus Williams is an attractive pick at 26. Williams is a primetime scorer who handles the ball extremely well and has great court vision. The drawback with Williams is his defense. He just doesn't seem interested much of the time. But Belinelli is no better defensively and not as good on the offensive end.

 

Daryl Morey may be in charge now, but he's not likely to change the Rockets' pattern of taking best available. At 26, that's the name of the game. If the Rockets feel they can retain Dikembe Mutombo for one more season they should go ahead and address their 2/3 needs. If Mutombo is out for sure, they have to find someone to back-up Yao . . .even if it's not a top-tier talent.

Edited June 7, 2007 by peep_tom

[clubber_lang]

The Rockets have acquired Mike James from the Wolves in exchange for Juwan Howard.

 

IMO, this trade benefits Houston a bit since they now have a PG who really scores from time to time. Not consistently but still viable...

[_eRon_]

what? mike james?i'm not really happy with what they got for juwan, well at least they have a back-up for rafer..

 

nice article peep_tom, matagal na ko napapaisip kung sino ma-ddraft ng rockets, sana "sleeper" makuha nila, ala "tony parker" na pick, yung bang wala sa radar pero magaling na player, sana forward (mas ok kung scoring/rebounding power forward)..pati sub for yao pala kelangan din nila..

 

go rockets!

[launchpad]

as much as scoring is concern i think with tmac, yao , and wells could be already enough i mean alston do take shots. what they need now is a ball handler who can spread the floor and pass.

 

the problem with tmac is that the ball when it is in his hands stays in his hands. too long to execute so other players tend to just stand and do nothing for all they know his gonna shoot! i mean his paid for it.

 

lets see as far as i know they need a shoting guard, a consistent one maybe james can offer that! plus i would suggest getting rid of the slow enforcer that sometimes seems lost in his role in the team. battier for artest!!!!! hahahaha