JB Bickerstaff's strong words after the Pelicans game

John Blair interview with Adrian Woj

Hold on, J.R., you left off the last part.

Woj: J.B., your rotations have been, well, to be kind, "confusing". A middle-of-the-road expression might be, "erratic and nonsensical". The lifelong Rockets fan might say, "effing stupid as all hell". Let me boil it down to Corey Brewer. Why play him so many minutes? Why play him at all? Does he have incriminating photos against you? Did he ford a swollen river and save your kitten from a tree that was about to be uprooted and swept downstream to certain death?

JBB: Ha ha, funny you should bring that up. BREW! That's my dawg, man, that's my boy. When we were in Minnesota together we would hit the clubs, get our drink on. Brew's cray, he's all right. (laughs) Always gave me a ride to the arena so I wouldn't have to catch the bus. Minnesota's cold, right? I watch his back. You know, I owe the guys from last year's team to prove themselves. They're struggling but they'll come around.

Woj: But, J.B., his on-court performance this year....

JBB: Hold up a second. You're questioning the job I'm doing as a coach. You're dogging out my boy. Who let you in here? Who the hell are you? Get up outta my face before I slap the white off of you! Don't let the door hit you in your narrow ass!

Dwight (hastily intervening, half-smiling) Hey, JB, it's all right, he's cool, calm down....

JBB: I'm good, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. But somebody BETter get this fool out of the locker room. We're done.

 

I wish this was false =/

 

The title of that is:
"What happens when CFers interview J.B."

Clutch should do something like that sometimes. :grin:

 

He is on 790am right now

 

On a lighter note it seems JB is pushing the right buttons with Lawson lately:

If there is any good new from the Rockets current stretch, it's that Ty Lawson is has become Ty Lawson again.

For so long Lawson had been trying to find himself in this offense, but since the two-game suspension, Lawson has returned and been a valued addition.

Lawson has played in four games since the suspension and has been on fire, shooting over 50 percent from the floor, not to mention handing out assists all over the place. Lawson has been aggressively getting into the paint and finding open shooters, and the backup point guard has also been assertive at times, looking for his shot and his offense.

The Dream Shake spoke with Ty after the game to ask his if this is the most comfortable he's felt with the Rockets..

"I think so," he told us. "Just being aggressive, getting to the basket, shooting my pull-up mid-range (jumper). Just being aggressive, that's what I think what's making it a little bit easier transition."

During his suspension, Lawson spent time watching film. Unlike earlier in the season when he said he watched his old highlights, it seems, this time, he found himself. He found a way to play in the system the Rockets run.

The Lawson from the first 26 games is drastically different from the Lawson of the last four. In the first 26, Lawson was averaging 5.8 points and 3.9 assists a game

In the last four games, he's 9.5 points and 4.3 assists a game.

Lawson in the past four games is out doing the what he did in the first 26 when he spent a decent chunk of it as a starter.

During a recent Root Sports broadcast, Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy mentioned he thinks Lawson should still be starting. Whether Lawson should be starting or if he will start again in the future — I personally like Patrick Beverley starting the game and Lawson off the bench, it's like a football team with a change of pace running back — this Lawson has found a seem to found a groove.

Lawson has taken charge of the second unit and been a scoring punch for the team when James Harden is not on the floor.

With this new version of Lawson, the Rockets are still trying to figure out how to utilize him best. But while they are still trying to deploy him the right way, the good news is when Lawson's on the floor, the Rockets are scoring and playing faster. More Lawson is not a bad thing of late.

Josh Reese

 

interesting question...because it's obviously calculated like all the others....time to cut some people out of their lives.

 

Iam still in shock he put brewer in to play defense in the last possession.....how stupid are you really?

Brewer gambled for the steal AGAIN and missed AGAIN when all we needed was a stop, and gave up and easy layup to Millsap.

Ofcourse weve been saying how stupid it was to switch everyone but no1 has talked about how idiotic that move was, the perception is wrong brewer is actually a TERRIBLE defender

 

well, who do you put in? The game isn't all about skills. You need experience and in certain cases, the physical presence...Brewer wins out with the better combination of all three, compared to Daniels or MC. What we need is to replace Brewer.

 

or stick with Capela there and not Brewer. Brewer's defense is mainly based on gambles which look great when he steals the ball (he does more than average because of his length) but completely leaves the team exposed when he he doesnt win the gamble. Overall its not fundamentally sound defense. In that situation you should go with the guys who are more fundamentally sound. I mean as soon as I saw Brewer on Millsap I knew he was going to gamble on that entry pass.

 

This sounds disturbingly similar to McHale blaming the players.

 

I read through a couple of pages but just don't have the time to read through all 17. And not having visited the board over the last couple of weeks I missed this thread when it first was posted. I'm sure I won't be saying anything that isn't observed by other fans here. And I really don't care to post as much. But this gets to the core reason I was so turned off when McHale was fired and a couple of players said, "this is not the same group" [as last year]. This returns me to that exasperation. So, please forgive the frothing at the mouth.

It should be perfectly clear what is being said here, even though a coach won't call players out individually. The more plain translation is: "No matter what the game plan is, there are certain personalities here that decide on their own to change them whenever they want."

There may be more than one player being "called out." But it doesn't take a Rocket scientist to deduce that Harden is one of those players. As has been the case for the last couple of years, as Harden goes, so goes the Rockets (When he has 8 turnovers, he cancels out all the good he does.). Every fan on the board here knows Harden is the biggest culprit when it comes to playing ISO BB. I'd be willing to bet (but have no money to lose) that if there is one player who most often changes, on the fly, what the team is supposed to be doing, it's Harden. Having so many turnovers shows how much the ball is in his hands. It also shows a lack of respect for understanding winning.

This isn't about calling the team out. It just gets expressed that way to be PC. This should have been done early on in the season by none other than Les Alexander. If certain players won't respect a HOF player and coach like Kevin McHale, then the biggest hammer in the room needs to be pulled out. Alexander may feel like he can't do that. But he doesn't seem to be a squeamish personality. By not doing so, then, that is an admission that your star player(s) have all the power in the organization. This is bass-akwards.

I think, a huge problem here is plain old immaturity. Harden is young and doesn't realize he often wastes the precious time of other players who have less time left to play the game. Harden is capable of playing a better way than ISO ball, he just doesn't do it consistently. In that respect, Curry is a much better player than Harden. He actually is a better shooter, too. Like him or not, he plays the game more properly. The Warriors and Spurs don't have an overwhelming advantage in talent. They do have players who are mature enough to know that team ball will always beat ISO ball.

As Harden goes, so go the Rockets. Yes, and that includes teammates being held hostage to plans being disrupted by a single player not playing team ball. Ball movement and player movement is designed to gain an edge. How can teammates overcome a player deciding to play ISO ball? I think the biggest reason for lack of ball and player movement is it becomes obvious to teammates when Harden has chosen to hold the ball for whatever reason. They just stop whatever play might have been called and wait to see what he is going to do -- probably knowing player movement will do little good at tthat point. It is a consistent defensive scheme by teams when playing against a player like Harden to say, "Oh, he'll get his. If we can keep the rest of the team in check, we think we'll have a good chance to win."

It is definitely good that Bickerstaff said what he said. McHale certainly benched Harden in a couple of games last season -- one for most of the third quarter; I forget which game. It had a temporary effect. This isn't really that new. Hakeem had to mature and trust the "system" and his teammates before he got a championship. You can go down a list of the most talented players who have played the game and, in the end, they had to realize that, in spite of the wonderfully gifted talent they were given, it's impossible to win a championship without your teammates. THAT'S the disrespect to the game that Bickerstaff is referring to and is, no doubt, very angry about whenever it happens. It's just such a shame that the Rockets can play better "team" BB some nights, and not some nights.

I don't think for one minute that McHale had any different view on that score, or that he was less capable of getting the point across to players -- if they aren't deafened by their own abilities and "seeming" success.

If I were the owner, fans would probably blame me for giving away talent, because I would place responsibility and respect for the game over talent, because in the end, individual talent will never win a championship. It may be a crucial ingredient but, alone, it fails. There is nothing more fun to watch than true team basketball. Creating a scoring opportunity off ball and layer movement against a "more talented" team is just plain enjoyable. I'd much rather see that than some high-flying plays by individuals. Sadly, too many fans are wowed by that and it's that appreciation that helps drive the game as it is.

Players can be traded in such a way as to be equivalent to being sent to Siberia. It's sad to think that may be the only way to get players attention. But if an owner is willing to axe a person of McHale's stature (and accomplishment last season) there should be no sacred cows on the roster. For crying out loud, at some point the owner needs to back his coach with some real teeth. And even Alexander doesn't have to call out any player by name. Just address the squad and have eye contact with the right players at the right time.

And these feelings are why I've chosen to limit my exposure to watching the team at this point.

 

when we ship some guys out it'll be interesting to hear the "behind the scenes" interviews they give. it's been surprisingly quiet considering the circumstances. i expect some stories from "anonymous sources" and cryptic answers from ex-Rockets.

 

Actions speak louder than words, so far, very unimpressed with JBB as head coach.

DD

 

Can I get an AMEN!?!

 

I went on vacation and came back and nothing has changed here. LOL

 

Yep. All talk.

After Harden's lack of effort yesterday he could have made a real stand and benched him. The game was gone anyway. Throw a curveball JB.

But no, he sticks with the Beard because he is job-scared.

Don't worry JB, I can't see you keeping the job beyond this season anyway. So man the eff up and sit guys down who aren't ready to play.

 

So wonder what J.B. will say after this one? Who respected the game today? Did he? Did the team?

 

Haha, this was the thread I was talking about, ****ing took JBB forever to bench anyone... Woooooooooooo Go Rockets!!