ducks
05-21-2007, 07:35 AM
Rockets to Adopt Phoenix System
SportsJustice
A sports blog with Richard Justice
May 19, 2007
Does anyone have the nerve to tell Les he has a bad idea?
I'm wondering if anyone at Toyota Center has the nerve to tell Les Alexander his idea of adopting the Phoenix system is dumb. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. I know it won't be Daryl Morey. He wanted to bring Jeff Van Gundy back as coach, and you saw what Alexander thought of that.
Poor Daryl. We were having a combative conversation earlier this week in which I was telling him that I didn't think he'd been completely honest. Actually, I might have accused him of flat-out lying. By the end of our conversation, I had the feeling this nice young man wished he was back in Boston doing baseball stats and movie reviews.
He has an odd pick for GM in the first place. First, the Rockets had a successor to Carroll Dawson in place. Dennis Lindsey deserved the job. But Morey is extremely bright, and even though he has never made a trade or a draft choice, it would be intersting to see how he performs if he had freedom to do his job.
That's the one thing about sports in this town I can't figure out. How much freedom do the GMs really have? I'm pretty sure Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak have complete control of the Texans. I think Bob McNair trusts them to do the right thing.
I think Tim Purpura has some control, but Drayton McLane is such a large presence that I'm not sure how much. The Rockets are even tougher to read because, unlike McNair and McLane, Les Alexander seldom shows his face. All you need to know about that is it was his decision to fire Jeff Van Gundy and he sent Daryl Morey out to explain it. Not good.
OK, back to Alexander's idea to have the Rockets run like the Phoenix Suns. It would appear Les doesn't watch much NBA basketball. Maybe these Western Conference games start past his bed time.
If Les is paying attention, he might notice that Utah and San Antonio are going to play for the Western Conference championship. He might note that those two teams play the way Van Gundy wanted to play. They're about defensive stops and rebounding and making the extra pass.
They have better players than the Rockets. They have players who can get into the lane and create scoring chances. That might be a reason they're still playing and the Rockets aren't.
As for those high-flying teams, they're home now. The Phoenix system is fun to watch, but it has never won a championship. Phoenix, Golden State and Denver--the NBA's highest-scoring teams--won't be bringing the hardware home again. Of the NBA's 13 highest-scoring teams, just one of them--the Jazz at No. 6--is still playing.
I hope someone has the nerve to stick their head in Alexander's office and say: ''Defense and rebounding are what wins in the NBA. You're dumb to think otherwise.'' I'm sure that guy will get a nice severance package.
http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2007/05/does_anyone_hav.html
SportsJustice
A sports blog with Richard Justice
May 19, 2007
Does anyone have the nerve to tell Les he has a bad idea?
I'm wondering if anyone at Toyota Center has the nerve to tell Les Alexander his idea of adopting the Phoenix system is dumb. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. I know it won't be Daryl Morey. He wanted to bring Jeff Van Gundy back as coach, and you saw what Alexander thought of that.
Poor Daryl. We were having a combative conversation earlier this week in which I was telling him that I didn't think he'd been completely honest. Actually, I might have accused him of flat-out lying. By the end of our conversation, I had the feeling this nice young man wished he was back in Boston doing baseball stats and movie reviews.
He has an odd pick for GM in the first place. First, the Rockets had a successor to Carroll Dawson in place. Dennis Lindsey deserved the job. But Morey is extremely bright, and even though he has never made a trade or a draft choice, it would be intersting to see how he performs if he had freedom to do his job.
That's the one thing about sports in this town I can't figure out. How much freedom do the GMs really have? I'm pretty sure Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak have complete control of the Texans. I think Bob McNair trusts them to do the right thing.
I think Tim Purpura has some control, but Drayton McLane is such a large presence that I'm not sure how much. The Rockets are even tougher to read because, unlike McNair and McLane, Les Alexander seldom shows his face. All you need to know about that is it was his decision to fire Jeff Van Gundy and he sent Daryl Morey out to explain it. Not good.
OK, back to Alexander's idea to have the Rockets run like the Phoenix Suns. It would appear Les doesn't watch much NBA basketball. Maybe these Western Conference games start past his bed time.
If Les is paying attention, he might notice that Utah and San Antonio are going to play for the Western Conference championship. He might note that those two teams play the way Van Gundy wanted to play. They're about defensive stops and rebounding and making the extra pass.
They have better players than the Rockets. They have players who can get into the lane and create scoring chances. That might be a reason they're still playing and the Rockets aren't.
As for those high-flying teams, they're home now. The Phoenix system is fun to watch, but it has never won a championship. Phoenix, Golden State and Denver--the NBA's highest-scoring teams--won't be bringing the hardware home again. Of the NBA's 13 highest-scoring teams, just one of them--the Jazz at No. 6--is still playing.
I hope someone has the nerve to stick their head in Alexander's office and say: ''Defense and rebounding are what wins in the NBA. You're dumb to think otherwise.'' I'm sure that guy will get a nice severance package.
http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2007/05/does_anyone_hav.html