Rudy T, Nice Guy : Rocket Coach Leads Team in Intensity, Determination

Near the end of Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the Houston Rockets had to call time after botching an in-bounds play. Sam Cassell, the team’s ball handler at that moment, had drifted too far down court to get a pass. Rudy Tomjanovich approached him angrily. “Go get the ball,” he told Cassell, who said he was tired. Didn’t matter to Tomjanovich. Cassell had a role and he better fill it.

For all the talk about nice guy Rudy Tomjanovich, the prototype player’s coach, there is a side to the man that goes to the very heart of the Rockets’ stunning success over the past two seasons. He expects his fairness to be rewarded by execution and commitment. When he sees somebody slacking off, he is not about to let the lapse slide.

That’s why his Rockets don’t back off. Last year, when they beat the New York Knicks for the title, the focus was on the Knicks’ physical style of play. But this spring, when Tomjanovich’s team streaked through the playoffs on the strength of unprecedented road performances against opponents with better records holding home-court advantage, the spotlight has clearly swung to the Rockets. This is a relentless bunch built around two stars, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, who are complemented by role players. And, oh yes, they are coached wonderfully, a matter that might have been overlooked in 1994.

The Rockets sweot the Magic by executing a much different style than last year. They pushed the ball and scored in transition and outscored their offensive-minded opponent. It was a highly entertaining series that returned the pro game to a level of excellence that was missing in 1994.

The Rockets won the title despite making major changes in their lineup. In February, power forward Otis Thorpe was traded to the Trail Blazers for Drexler, a former All-Star who appeared to be slipping. And Tomjanovich stood firm amid the criticism that followed the trade. But without Drexler, the Rockets would have been eliminated from the playoffs weeks ago.

The Magic found out just what it meant to perform in the pressure that is the Finals. It was a rude learning experience but something the Rockets, who didn’t win 50 games in the regular season, already understood.

“They say experience doesn’t mean anything but that is wrong,” Rockets forward Mario Elie says. “You have to go through this to understand what it takes. Orlando probably understands that now. We are always fighting uphill, and it makes us very, very tough. People don’t understand how many guts this team has.”

And no Rocket has more fight and determination than the coach, who found out long ago that he couldn’t accomplish anything unless he ground it out.

“Rudy has a feel for the game and his teams execute what he wants them to do,” says Jack Ramsay, a former Trail Blazers coach who is a television analyst. “They don’t seem to get rattled no matter the circumstances. You have to be impressed with the job he has done blending everyone together in such short order.”

All this for a man who didn’t want the job when it was offered, who isn’t sure how long he wants to keep it but who has elevated himself to where he is among the elite. The irony is, he is creating such a successful monster that the more the Rockets win, the harder it is going to be for him to walk away.

“But that may be the one thing that drives him away,” says assistant coach Carroll Dawson, a longtime friend. “He really is not a guy who enjoys the exposure. He doesn’t like to be recognized in public and have people make a fuss over him.”

Those around him urge him to back off a bit, mellow out some and enjoy what he has done. He tries, particularly after he experienced chest pains during a practice earlier this season. A faulty esophagus was the problem but he thought he was having a heart attack. Now he watches his diet better (even though he smokes) and walks every day (he found he was too competitive when he ran). He listens to selections from a massive collection of CDs. But no matter what he does, he just can’t relax.

“Not when you are waking up at 3 a.m. wondering if there is something you should have done in preparation to help your team,” he says. “After games, my heart doesn’t stop beating fast (until) the middle of the night. I can’t leave things at the arena. I wish I could.

“But I don’t know if I could coach like I want if I wasn’t emotionally involved. I don’t see any other way to go about what I am doing.”

What is nice about Tomjanovich is that he isn’t polished. He is one of those straight-shooting, beer-and-a-shot guys who could sit next to you at a bar and feel really comfortable having a Bud and talking hoops or baseball or the 49ers. In an era where coaches and players grow further and further apart from the people who watch them perform, Rudy T. remains one of us.

“I just want to be myself and do the things that I have always done,” he says. “I never thought I was better than anyone else. I’m competitive and I want to win, but I don’t think there are any magic answers to success. I always thought you just have to keep working and trying.”

That’s how he coaches, too. His Rockets must always keep trying and pushing hard. They walk onto a foreign court and employ this work ethic to neutralize that home-court advantage. Their seven consecutive road victories this spring, including a two-game sweep in Orlando to start this series, is an NBA record. But they are barely above .500 in Houston. It’s almost as if they are uncomfortable being comfortable. Like their coach.

His intensity and singlemindedness are legendary within the organization that has employed him the past 25 years. As a player, he was always practicing long after his teammates had left. At home, he can’t go halfway on anything. He’ll buy a juicer and within short order, the refrigerator is filled with carrots. He recently got interested in the history of Christianity; he soon had picked up a stack of books on the subject. He has two televisions at home, hooked to separate satellite dishes, so he can take in more basketball.

He has a magical hold on his team. Robert Horry can be traded, the deal was called off--and Tomjanovich maintain a good relationship with the guy.

“Grudge? Naw, I really like the guy,” Horry says. “I understand this is a business. Nothing personal. They did what they thought they needed to do to make the team better. I might have disagreed, but it was their call. When I left, I wished him good luck, and I meant it.”

Horry has emerged as a pivotal player in this year’s championship drive. In the middle of the Western Conference championship series against the Spurs, Tomjanovich moved Horry from small forward to the power forward position once occupied by Thorpe. It meant Horry had to defend Dennis Rodman and Horace Grant, but it also meant they had to defend him. Horry is a standout perimeter shooter; now the other power forward is forced outside, where he can’t rebound, or the other team has to rotate its defense to adjust to a guy who isn’t one of his team’s two best players.

“It’s a great move by Rudy,” Grant says. “It’s gotten me away from the basket. But you can’t leave Robert open, or he’ll kill you with 3s.” In Game 1, Horry made four 3-pointers. In Game 2, he set a Finals record with seven steals, frustrating the Magic by hiding behind Shaquille O’Neal and sneaking into the passing lanes. In Game 3 last Sunday, he made two pressure 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of a 106-103 victory. And he rarely steps outside his role.

That is essential to Tomjanovich’s success. He defines roles and insists his players follow them. Vernon Maxwell, who was the Rockets’ shooting guard last season, couldn’t accept his defined role after the arrival of Drexler, so he was placed on a leave of absence.

“I am very big on chemistry and loyalty to people who are getting it done,” Tomjanovich says. “That’s why the Clyde deal was tough to make. Otis Thorpe was not the problem but without him, the deal doesn’t get done. With Clyde, I knew we were going to get an All-Star player. But he also was close to Hakeem, and that was important.

“You couldn’t bring a guy in here who would have problems with Hakeem being the No. 1 guy and who would think just about scoring. He is from Houston, and I was convinced he would come in here and do what it took to win. But of all the guys, I probably spent more time away from the court, on the golf course, with Otis than anyone. So on a personal level, it was a hurting thing when you take someone who has been close to you and trade him.”

Drexler was the main man for the Portland Trail Blazers, but his reserved, gentlemanly personality functions just as well in his present environment, where Olajuwon is the main man. In Game 1 against the Magic, when the Rockets trailed by 20 in the second quarter, Drexler took over, scored 15 and cut the lead to 11 at the half. In the fourth quarter of Game 2, when the Rockets were protecting what had been a 22-point lead, Tomjanovich repeatedly isolated Drexler against Nick Anderson. Drexler would let the clock work down to under 10 seconds, then maneuver for a shot. He wound up with 10 points in the period, and Olajuwon was able to rest. In Game 3, Drexler grabbed 13 rebounds in addition to scoring 25 points.

“They are getting their energy from Drexler,” Magic Coach Brian Hill says.

“They make it very tough for you, the way they use Olajuwon and Drexler,” says Magic assistant coach Richie Adubato. “Those are two superstars; they aren’t second options. One can take the pressure off the other. Rudy has done a great job playing to their strengths and keeping you on edge about who will carry the offense.

“This is an extremely well-coached group. They have good spacing on offense and they know their rotations on defense. Like everyone else, they have weaknesses, but you also know that they aren’t going to fold. You have to respect that.”