An Average, Immense Failure

On Friday, the Houston Rockets fired Coach Jeff Van Gundy. During his press conference, Van Gundy lamented past and future. "I feel bad that I wasn't able to help McGrady and Yao and the rest of the guys get over the hump and also that I won't be with them as they go on because I know they have a lot of success ahead of them," he said.

Overall, Van Gundy has logged a 430-318 record. Unfortunately, his playoff ledger is only 44-44. In Houston, Van Gundy tallied a 182-146 record. In New York, he posted a 248-172 record. During his career, Van Gundy has scored one conference championship.

Van Gundy is a satisfactory coach. However, the NBA is littered with mirrors. Mike Dunleavy, Lawrence Frank, Brian Hill, Sam Mitchell, Doc Rivers, Byron Scott, and Scott Skiles. Does Van Gundy trump them? Obviously not. He failed with Patrick Ewing, Tracy McGrady, and Yao Ming.