The Godfather of Basketball

In the end, Van Gundy did not adopt Tang Tian's suggestion. In his opinion, defense is the foundation of winning, and it is also the best way for the Rockets to win the championship.

You must know that two years ago, the Pistons won the championship by relying on defense.

Two days after the end of the game against the Heat, the Rockets sat at home and ushered in the same five-game winning streak, the bitter host Mavericks in good condition.

After the Rockets adopted the new offensive system, their strength increased greatly. They played against the Mavericks inextricably in the opening game. However, after entering the rotation, Stankhouse directly opened the score with sudden shots. The Rockets have been struggling to catch up since then.

In the end, although Yao Mai scored 50 points together, the Rockets still lost to their opponents 90 to 106. They were defeated in this strong dialogue and suffered their first defeat of the season.

And that's just the beginning.

The Rockets faced the Chicago Bulls back to back. Tyrus Thomas, who was restricted by Tang Tian in the preseason, played the best game of the season against the aging Howard, scoring 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. , The Rockets eventually lost to their opponents 101 to 102.

After two days of rest, the Rockets finally won the victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, but the whole process was ups and downs. After being overtaken, it was only because of McGrady's last-minute harvest that he won the game.

Although the losing streak is over, the atmosphere in the team seems to have become turbulent again. Novak, who contributed to the lore, never got a chance again. Did not play.

In an uneasy situation, the Rockets lost to the Jazz, one of the main competitors in the Western Conference, after a day off.

After a wave of five consecutive victories, the Rockets lost 4 games and 3 losses, completely losing the momentum they had at the start of the game.

The dark clouds that had dissipated seemed to gather over the city of Houston again.

General Manager's Office.

Dawson was sitting at his desk frowning. The Rockets' five-game winning streak made him very happy, especially the soul-stirring way of defeating the defending champion Heat, which made him full of expectations for the Rockets.

But the recent wave of 4 games and 3 defeats made his expectations disappear all at once.

Although the losing opponents are all strong, but if such a game is lost, what is the championship?

"Hey~"

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

He withdrew his thoughts and said, "Come in."

The door was opened, and in came Jaylen Rose, the team's assistant coach in charge of the team's shooting drills.

Seeing that it was Ross, Dawson motioned him to close the door, and then asked, "What's the matter recently?"

As a general manager, you need to know the team's situation in real time. In addition to directly obtaining information from the head coach, an "undercover" is a must. Rose is the monitor he arranged on the coaching staff.

"It's nothing serious. Just a week ago, just after I reported to you last time, at the regular meeting of the coaching staff, Don made some suggestions on team rotation, but Jeff rejected them." Rose said.

"Some suggestions?" Dawson had a good impression of Tang Tian, ​​especially after knowing that the last attack against the Heat was arranged by Tang Tian, ​​he quite recognized Tang Tian's ability.

"Yes, that's how it is..." Ross went on to tell the story of the routine meeting that day from beginning to end.

After hearing what Rose said, Dawson fell silent.

The recent losses were all at home, and he watched them all. Rotation is indeed the main reason for the loss. Tang Tian was able to have this foresight in advance, which is really unusual, but what bothered him was that Van Gundy didn't listen at all. .

Just imagine, if Van Gundy had adopted Tang Tian's suggestion, wouldn't the Rockets be on a 9-game winning streak now?

The start of the 9-game winning streak has never been seen in the history of the Rockets.

Why is this Van Gundy so stubborn!

"You go down first."

After sending Rose away, Dawson's mind was full of thoughts.

Van Gundy is a famous coach in the NBA. He led the Knicks to the finals. This is the main reason why the Rockets chose him as their successor after Rudy Tomjanovich.

But as an old coach who has coached in the NBA for 17 years, Van Gundy seems to be a bit too stubborn.

The league is changing, basketball is also improving, and sticking to the rules is definitely not enough.

He, who has been in the Rockets for nearly 30 years, has realized it. He didn't expect Van Gundy to be so stubborn.

While not looking to make a big splash before retiring, it's his job as general manager to take a knock.

He picked up the phone, called Van Gundy, and asked him to come to the general manager's office.

The offices of the head coach and general manager were not too far away, and within five minutes, Van Gundy knocked on the door and entered.

"Sit." Dawson gestured for Van Gundy to sit in front of his desk.

"Mr. Dawson, I am responsible for the recent losing streak." Van Gundy said after sitting down.

Dawson was overjoyed, did Van Gundy realize himself?

But before he could show his joy, Van Gundy's next words made him feel helpless.

"It was my failure to manage the team well, which caused the players to not play as hard as they should on the defensive end. This is my responsibility."

"Ahem, Jeff, I heard what Tang said at the regular meeting of the coaching staff." Dawson coughed twice, and then said.

Van Gundy looked up suspiciously, but he didn't seem too surprised. The general manager would definitely know about the coaching staff meeting.

"I've watched the last few games. Rotation is indeed a big problem. Don's suggestions are quite constructive. It doesn't hurt to try it." Dawson said as calmly as possible.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Van Gundy's expression became ugly.

He is really upset.

Before Dawson asked him to hand over the offensive rights, he listened, but now Dawson wants him to listen to Tang Tian even the rotation, so what's the point of his existence? This is a trample on the dignity of his coach.

When he was in the Knicks, he resigned because the management interfered too much in coaching matters. He didn't expect to meet him again in the Rockets.

"If the Rockets feel that I am no longer suitable as a head coach, I can take the initiative to resign." Van Gundy said directly.