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wells is a moron.
Oct. 8, 2007, 12:22AM
Bonzi on own terms
At odds with Jeff Van Gundy and unsettled by losing a huge contract last season, the swingman says he is happy to be playing for Rick Adelman
By FRAN BLINEBURY
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Complete Rockets coverage
AUSTIN — There's been less of Bonzi Wells this year in training camp. So there could be more of Bonzi Wells in the lineup for the Rockets this season.
Wells is about 15 pounds lighter and has been bouncing around the different courts inside the Cooley Pavilion at the University of Texas as if someone unstrapped a piano from his back.
"This is how you want a professional camp to be," he said. "You want guys to be themselves and come out and play their games and not play a game somebody else tells you you have to play."
If the Rockets have a different look, different offensive philosophy, different demeanor this time around, nowhere is it more evident than in Wells, 31, the swingman who is reveling in the coaching change from Jeff Van Gundy to Rick Adelman.
Wells' participation was limited through most of the camp sessions due to a groin strain he suffered in a bathroom fall at home four weeks ago. Yet he says he's been uplifted by the change in atmosphere surrounding the team.
"Players can be players," Wells, 6-5, said. "You ain't got to worry about it. Coach last year had a problem telling guys what he wanted them to do instead of letting guys play your game. Coach Adelman doesn't do that. He lets you go out here, and it's OK to make a mistake. When you make a mistake, you don't worry about it. You don't stress about it and think about getting yelled at. Coach's way is just make up for it.
"This year my mind is clear. Coach Adelman is here. I know what he expects from me.
"This ain't college. This is the pros. We're all men, right? Treat guys like men, and they're going to perform like men."
In limited workouts while recovering from a groin pull, there's been a different Wells on display in camp.
"I like what I see in Bonzi," Tracy McGrady said. "He's happy. He came into camp in great shape. He lost 30 pounds, so that tells you that he's really focused and ready to play this year."
Bad first impression
Wells was a last-minute arrival to the Rockets on the eve of camp a year ago, signed to a bargain-basement $5 million, two-year contract after mishandled negotiations with the Sacramento Kings cost him a guaranteed deal worth eight times that much.
The plan was for him to be an effective third-option scorer behind McGrady and Yao Ming, a veteran who could make the offense harder to bottle up in the playoffs.
But after reporting out of shape, missing several days of camp for dental appointments and personal reasons, Wells set off a tug of war with Van Gundy that lasted all season.
He fell hard and suffered a back injury that put him on the inactive list in December and never found a rhythm or a rapprochement with Van Gundy.
Wells made his only start of the season Feb. 26, in place of an ailing McGrady, and finished with season highs of 27 points, nine rebounds and three assists in a home loss to the Boston Celtics.
On the season, he played in only 28 games, averaging 7.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and shot a career-low .411 from the field.
"It wasn't just me," Wells said. "Coach had a problem categorizing guys. He'd tell guys, 'The only thing you can do is shoot. The only thing you can do is post up. The only thing you can do is this, this and that.'
"That's not basketball. ... That's not productive. It's not getting the most out of everybody.
"He can probably be good and coach kids. But it's tough for him to coach a grown man like me. ... I ain't scared of him. I told him that to his face."
Wells concedes he wasn't in the best frame of mind entering last season after losing a guaranteed long-term deal with Sacramento.
"I'll admit, it wasn't all coach," he said. "It was me, too. But think about how you might feel if you lost $40 million. That kind of sits on your mind a whole lot."
Welcome reunion
Now Wells is reunited with Adelman, for whom he thrived during the 2005-06 season in Sacramento, averaging 23.2 points in the playoffs and nearly leading an upset of defending champion San Antonio.
"He's a big part of it," Adelman said. "When you put him on the floor coming off the bench, he's someone who's very explosive around the basket. He ran our stuff pretty well in Sacramento. He's a great offensive rebounder.
"I think when Tracy's not on the floor, he's somebody you can go to who really has an advantage on most people. He's so strong. He really can be a huge help.
"It's going to be interesting to see how this all plays out, see how these guys play together. But I've seen Bonzi in our offense, and he's been effective. So I don't see any reason why he can't be now."
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Last edited by Indazone; 10-08-2007 at 10:46 AM.
wells is a moron.
I don't fault Wells.
Wells will have a good season this year. I wish I still had that picture of him ting on Tim Duncan.
Although i think Bonzi was a little harsh he is correct in everything he said.
Lots of people are morons depending on the cir stances. One thing you cannot deny is that Bonzi is a great talent when there aren't distractions. If JVG was a distraction, then as the head coach, he needed to to compromise to get the best out of Wells. It's not always on the player when a player doesn't perform up to expectations. Bonzi wasn't even given a chance last year. He has his issues, but he's a heck of a basketball player. Spurs fans saw that first hand in the 2006 playoffs. Give him some freedom, give him some constructive criticism, give him encouragement, and he can be a great player for any team. Coaches who know how to push players but still show respect can get a lot more out of them than coaches that constantly beat down players for whatever reason.
Wells is the reason why I think the Rockets are a major team to fear this year, especially for the Spurs. I think the Rockets match up better with the Spurs than any other team in the league (even Dallas). If they stay healthy, they are going to be a very hard team to beat. Seriously, just look at the starting lineup...
PG - Mike James
SG - T-Mac
SF - Bonzi Wells
PF - Shane Battier
C - Yao Ming
The first four guys can hit a shot from any spot on the court, and Yao is Yao (soft, but can still own teams with his size and shooting ability).
Then as backups, Francis, Head, Sura, and Mutumbo are all good players, capable of starting on plenty of other NBA teams.
They are already a very good defensive team, but now that they have a coach that knows how to preach offense, and utilize talents of guys like T-Mac, Wells, and Yao... this team is going to be SICK. We better hope that they have to deal with injuries like in the past, because if they are healthy all season, I really can't see anyone beating them.
Sura's career is done. He is on the final year of his contract and has injuries up the wazoo. Head will most likely get dealt along with rafer, and suras expiring deal for a work horse PF. Plus they landed 2 unproven talents in Scola/Butler.
Francis,Tmac,Battier,Scola,Yao
Who? Mike James!,Wells,Snyder,Hayes,Mutombo,Brooks,Butler,No vak
How do they match up well to the spurs? Battier or Yao guards Duncan.Mike James guards Parker?
No it'll be Scola (haha) and Yao on Duncan while Battier/James will guard Parker. Battier is always called on to guard the other teams best Guards or Forwards.
JVG have no end to his lie and craps. All thing he do to Bonzi and Billy and other player true. Houston reporters be such coward they cant start even asking player questions about it until coach is fired. Reporters should all be fired to.
Battier is not quick enough to stay in front of Parker. Battier is a SF while Parker is a fast point guard.
Well in that case, it's going to fall to a combination of Alston/Francis/James/Brooks to guard Parker.
Yeah it is best to keep switching point guards and not let Parker get in a rhythm against one point guard. None of them are quick enough to stay in front of Parker though. The advantage for Dallas is Harris is quick enough to stay in front of Parker most times.
JVG and compromise=
+1
Harris is not quick enough to stay in front of Parker. I don't know any one player quick enough to stay in front of Parker. Harris is actually a defensive liability because he plays to timidly.
i am officially on the rockets bandwagon...
^^welcome, hold on tight.
Wow you are instantly becoming the stupidest poster on this board. I guess everyone has their goals. Congrats.
Jeff Van Gundy has a solid track record ; Bonzi Wells hasn't won (ok JVG has no tiltle either, but you get the point), so he should can it.
i just think bonzi is a headcase who only plays when he wants to, and it may not even matter who his coach is. when he decides he wants to play, he's pretty good. i don't think JVG should have to change the way he coaches just so bonzi doesn't feel slighted - he could have easily tried to play some defense and got more pt.
Bonzi has the best post up game of any guard i've ever seen
With Tmacs length, and Bonzi's post up skills, teams better hope they have at least 2 long athletic defenders or it could be a long night
Well it's no different than playing the 2003 Kings. With this small exception:
C Yao/Deke >> Divac/Pollard
PG/SG Francis/James/Wells > Bibby/Christie/Jackson
PF Scola/Hayes < Webber/Clark
SF Battier/T-Mac >> Turkoglu/Stojakovich
Which team would you rather face?
Same Coach both teams
Bonzi needs to look in the mirror before he starts criticizing others
I think the bigger question is who guards T-Mac, Yao, and Wells?How do they match up well to the spurs? Battier or Yao guards Duncan.
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