Yao's home fans welcome new coach

Chinese fans have hailed the appointment of Rick Adelman as the new coach of Houston Rockets, home of All-Star center Yao Ming.

The Rockets fired Jeff Van Gundy after the team lost to Utah Jazz 4-3 in the first round of the NBA Playoffs earlier this month and announced it has settled on Adelman as leading candidate.

Former Sacramento Kings coach Rick Adelman looks on during a timeout against the Philadelphia 76ers in this Jan. 23, 2006 file photo in their NBA basketball game in Philadelpia. [AP]

"The former head coach of Sacramento Kings had talks with Rockets chiefs and is likely to take his new post in the coming days," Sohu.com reported yesterday. "Van Gundy should be responsible for the humiliating setback and Adelman is a good subtitute."

In a poll conducted by the website, 53 per cent of fans believe Adelman is a better coach for the Rockets while only 37 per cent said they are sorry for Van Gundy's exit.

"I support Adelman for sure," said Liu Ailin, a member of the Rockets Fans Circle, a fan group in Beijing. "I like his fast style and outside attack. This is obviously a great move, the Rockets played dull basketball this season. They should be more passionate as they have the best scorers in the league - Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. They should be more successful than they were in the playoffs."

Adelman is reportedly Houston's only target since he met with Rockets owner Leslie Alexander and general manager Daryl Morey last week. He has met several times with Morey since.

Morey would not talk about Adelman specifically, but if hired, Adelman would have the best career winning percentage of any Rockets coach.

Adelman, 60, is 752-481 in 16 seasons as an NBA coach, reaching the NBA Finals with Portland in 1990 and 1992. He has a 70-68 postseason record. He also would join Rudy Tomjanovich as the only former Rockets players to become coach.

Rockets owner Leslie Alexander met with Rick Adelman, a former NBA coach, last week following comments by Jeff Van Gundy, pictured April 2007, that he might not return to guide the Rockets, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday. [AP]

Adelman took Sacramento to the Western Conference finals in the 2001-02 season, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime of Game 7. He was fired as Kings coach after the 2005-06 season and did not coach last season.

Van Gundy himself said Adelman is the first choice to replace him.

"He is a great coach and an even better man," Van Gundy said. "They'll have tremendous coaching coupled with a group of very, very good, hard-playing professional players. Hopefully, they'll break through next year."

However, there was some sympathy for the departed coach.

"I will miss him, we shouldn't deny him just because we lost to the Jazz in the first round," said Luo Qi, a Rockets fan in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. "The team chemistry was good and the players were playing hard. The Rockets just need a few more pieces to complete the roster to be the top team in the league."

Despite playing without Yao and McGrady or both for more than half the season, the Rockets finished 52-30, their best record in 10 years.

Van Gundy is 430-318 in 11 seasons as an NBA coach, the best career winning percentage of any of the Rockets' 10 previous coaches. His 182-146 record in four seasons with the Rockets is second only to Rudy Tomjanovich.