Rockets reach deal with Adelman
May 21st, 2007
Houston, TX (Sports Network) - The Houston Rockets have reportedly agreed to terms on a contract for Rick Adelman to become the next head coach of the team.
The Houston Chronicle reports Adelman will fly to Houston on Tuesday and will be introduced as the head coach on Wednesday.
The 60-year-old Adelman, who coached the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA Finals twice, has a career record of 752-481 over 16 seasons. His last head coaching stint was with Sacramento, a team he guided for eight seasons, and the Kings made the playoff in all those years.
Adelman would replace Jeff Van Gundy, who was fired last Friday. Van Gundy joined the Rockets in 2003 and in four seasons posted a 182-146 record. Houston also made the playoffs three times (2004, 2005, 2007), while posting a 7-12 mark in the postseason.
The Rockets lost to the Utah Jazz in seven games in the conference quarterfinal round of the playoffs this season.
Before joining Sacramento, Adelman made his coaching mark in Portland, where he guided the Trail Blazers to the 1990 and 1992 NBA Finals during his six seasons at the helm. He also coached Golden State from 1995-1997 before taking one season off from coaching.
The word in China: Adelman will make Yao Ming better
May 23, 2007
BEIJING (AP) -Rick Adelman will make Yao Ming better.
That's the word in China where fans intensely follow every pivot, every move the 7-foot-6 center makes for the Houston Rockets.
Knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the Utah Jazz, the Rockets fired coach Jeff Van Gundy last week and replaced him with Adelman - a shakeup reported in nearly every newspaper in China.
``Yao's Home Fans Welcome New Coach,'' said a headline in Wednesday's China Daily newspaper.
In a poll cited by the paper, 53 percent said Adelman would be a better coach for the Rockets, with only 37 percent unhappy to see Van Gundy leave.
Yao averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds this season, but committed critical turnovers against Utah in the first-round playoff ouster. To sharpen his skills, he has worked out since the playoffs with Hakeen Olajuwon, the center who led the Rockets to NBA titles in 1994 and '95.
``The new coach will be better for Yao Ming because he thinks more about offense,'' said Ni Aiqi, 27, who heads a Beijing-based Yao Ming fan club - appropriately called the ``Giant Club.''
``Yao Ming's agility got worse under the old coach,'' Ni added. ``But Adelman will improve this and help his decision making.''
Ni said 30-to-40 club members meet every weekend to play basketball and watch Rockets games.
Basketball is widely followed in China, where about 300 million are estimated to play the game. NBA ratings are on the rise and should go higher with China's latest star, 7-foot forward Yi Jianlian, expected to go in the first round of next month's NBA draft.
He would be the fourth Chinese to make the NBA, following Wang Zhizhi, Mengek Bateer and Yao.
Adelman sat out this season after the Sacramento Kings decided not to renew his contract following the 2005-06 season. He has a 752-481 record in 16 seasons and his teams have made the playoffs 14 times. His teams made it out of the first round seven of those 14 times, and he is 70-68 in the playoffs.
He also coached Golden State and Portland.
Adelman Era set to begin in Houston
May 23rd, 2007
Houston, TX (Sports Network) - The Houston Rockets have scheduled a press conference for 4 p.m. (EST) Wednesday in which they are expected to introduce new head coach Rick Adelman.
The Houston Chronicle reported earlier this week that the Rockets had agreed to terms with their former Western Conference adversary.
The 60-year-old Adelman, who coached the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA Finals twice, has a career record of 752-481 over 16 seasons. His last head coaching stint was with Sacramento, a team he guided for eight seasons, all resulting in playoff appearances. He took a year off after the Kings declined to renew his contract after the 2005-06 season.
Adelman has a 70-68 career mark in the playoffs. His .610 winning percentage is the highest for an active NBA coach to have never won a championship.
Adelman will replace Jeff Van Gundy, who was fired last Friday. Van Gundy joined the Rockets in 2003 and in four seasons posted a 182-146 record. Houston made the playoffs three times (2004, 2005, 2007), but posted a 7-12 mark in the postseason, never making it out of the first round
The Rockets lost to the Utah Jazz in seven games in the conference quarterfinal round of the playoffs this season.
Before joining Sacramento, Adelman made his coaching mark in Portland, where he guided the Trail Blazers to the 1990 and 1992 NBA Finals during his six seasons at the helm. He also coached Golden State from 1995-1997 before taking one season off from coaching.