Rockets failing to mesh
Van Gundy says changes imminent in organization
By MEGAN MANFULL
One thing Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy can guarantee is that changes are imminent in the Rockets' organization. He isn't sure what or when they will happen. He just knows the current situation isn't working.
Three weeks into the regular season, Van Gundy has yet to see the team mesh on the court. The Rockets (6-7) have won only two games against teams with winning records and lost four games to teams under .500.
"Certainly if the results don't change, we'll need to change either who plays or who's here," Van Gundy said. "Because one thing you don't want to get used to is mediocrity."
Van Gundy sees the Rockets as an organization that has been mediocre for too long. Last year's team made slight progress by reaching the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. The Rockets were a seventh seed, however, and lost in the first round to the Lakers.
The team hasn't won a le since the 1994-95 season when the Rockets won the NBA championship. Their last division le came in the 1993-94 season, and they haven't gotten past the first round of the playoffs since 1997 when they lost to Utah in the Western Conference Finals.
"To break the cycle of mediocrity that our organization has been in is a challenge for all of us from (owner) Leslie (Alexander) on down," Van Gundy said. "And the one thing I love about him is he has an urgent desire to win. And he doesn't have any patience with mediocrity. And I think our team needs to reflect that. And I don't think we do, yet."
Van Gundy hopes to see progress as early as tonight when the Rockets travel to play a Utah team searching for answers of its own. Van Gundy is still mulling possible lineup changes and didn't rule out the possibility of one happening as early as tonight.
The Rockets have not changed the starting lineup all season except when injuries have forced it. Van Gundy has proved over time that every decision he makes is deliberate.
"One thing that you don't want to be doing is vacillating," Van Gundy said. "So you want to be sure if you ever do change, not vacillate back and forth."
Rockets players agree something is wrong with the team, especially after entering a season expected to contend for the Western Conference le. The team started with high hopes after acquiring Tracy McGrady from Orlando, but the transition of easing eight new players into the system hasn't been smooth.
Changes blamed
Jim Jackson said the offseason transactions are to blame for the slow start. The players are still trying to become familiar with each other on the court.
"If you had a crystal ball and said, 'Yeah, I want it to happen by Dec. 1,' that would be the best scenario," Jackson said. "But, unfortunately, it doesn't happen like that.
"I do think more time is needed, but coach has to make a decision on what he feels needs to be done. Players, we look at it a little differently. But coach's timetable may be different than ours."
Van Gundy doesn't have a timetable yet. He likes the current makeup of the team and said the personalities all mesh in the locker room. They just don't fit on the court together.
Bob Sura is still recovering from back surgery and likely will be cleared to play next month. And while Sura's return is greatly anticipated, Van Gundy has no notions that Sura can fix all that's ailing the team.
Sura no cure-all
"You would expect that he will help, but you can't expect someone who has never played a game with you and who's been out so long, to be a cure-all," Van Gundy said. "It's not that one position that is holding us back. It's really not fitting together well that's holding us back.
"When you have good chemistry, it inspires you personally. It inspires each other. And we certainly need improvement in that area."
Van Gundy said the blame is shared by everyone in the locker room, including him. He said he is still searching for a right mix of players who can win on the court. He added that the players need to ask themselves if they are helping the team come together or hurting the team.
The change Van Gundy hopes to eventually create will catapult the Rockets to the top of the Western Conference. He has seen the potential in this team, but the glimpses have been fleeting.
"To break out of that rut of being just OK is very difficult, but we have to be able to be ruthless in our pursuit of being better than mediocre," he said. "Mediocrity has seeped in and stayed in.
"And to have a breakthrough, we're going to have to do some things differently as far as sustaining our play."
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2919350
This part is weird. The article was supposedly only written 2 days ago, but Sura played last night. I'm thinking maybe this part of the article was written a while ago and just added in now or something.Bob Sura is still recovering from back surgery and likely will be cleared to play next month. And while Sura's return is greatly anticipated, Van Gundy has no notions that Sura can fix all that's ailing the team.
Looks like he already pulled Howard in favor of Padgett, with decent enough results. Sura may not be a cure-all, but it seems like his game is versatile enough to adapt to the new system faster than most. Trading season isn't going to come fast enough for Houston.Van Gundy is still mulling possible lineup changes and didn't rule out the possibility of one happening as early as tonight.
When is somebody going to state that it's obvious the Yao Ming is more like the next Rik Smits than the next truly dominating center?
ha ha ha ha ha! Burn Rockets burn!!! I know this comes across as sadistic, but I hate the city of Houston and especially the overhyped Rockets. If I had one Christmas wish it's that they restart airing the stupid commercial here that they were showing around the clock at the start of the season. Basically they made their ticket pitch and then wrapped the spots up with showing T-Mac's first press conference here in Houston when he said "something great" was going to happen for the Rockets.
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