That Familiar Feeling...

...of loyalty, rigidity, and stability

by Guichard Cadet


The Houston Rockets will be in New York tonight, but it seems like New York is always in (or with) Houston.

When GM Carroll Dawson hired Jeff Van Gundy to coach, I don’t think he knew JVG was going to be such a ‘homer’and bring all these folks with Knicks' ties to the franchise.

Another aspect that Dawson never anticipated: JVG’s rigidity in his coaching style. Though the GM bears the ultimate responsibility for trades and transactions, weeks into the 2004 season, JVG’s style clashed with All-Start point guard Steve Francis. This rift led to a summer trade of three starters - Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato - to the Orlando Magic for Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard and Tyronn Lue.

As a coach, JVG always implements a slow-down, grind-it-out system, no matter the talent at his disposal. Though he cannot be faulted for wanting to run an offense that focuses on center Yao Ming’s strength, at the start of the 2005 seasons, JVG found himself in a quandary. The Rockets were losing more than they did last year.

Dawson orchestrated more trades, which focused on trying to find a point guard to fill the void left by the departed Francis. Currently, with no true all-star caliber point guard in the rotation, the Rockets have signed former Knick, Rod Strickland, the 17-year veteran, to the roster.

For the Rockets it boils down to this: what effect is all this instability having on the franchise’s main focus: Yao Ming? Now, in his third season, Yao has not had the opportunity to form his NBA family, as JVG had the opportunity to do while part of the Knicks coaching staff.

This lack of stability and familiarity could become a major factor when (and if) Yao becomes an unrestricted free agent after next season.