1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

[Video] Kevin McHale after Houston's 118-110 loss to Denver 1/30/2013

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Clutch, Jan 31, 2013.

  1. J.R.

    J.R. Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2008
    Messages:
    106,788
    Likes Received:
    154,648
    McHale is always angry. :rolleyes:

    We started off the 3rd Q, Gallinari makes two throws late in the shot clock that go in. We were quitting on the play, runnin' back down. It's the same thing: turnovers, playing in a crowd, not moving the ball on the offensive end and didn't back and cover the paint. Same thing. We've played against this team--too many turnovers, too many run outs.

    Beginning of 4th, end of the 3rd?

    Decided we were going to do it on our own. It snowballed a little bit, they got ahead, and we had to fight back.

    One of those things in the NBA or a genuine setback from progress made?

    Never want to lose, especially don't want to lose when you self inflicted.

    Even when you were up, turnovers were still piling up.

    Too many guys playing in crowds.

    Can that be corrected?

    I hope so.

    [Walks out]
     
    #21 J.R., Jan 31, 2013
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2013
  2. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2007
    Messages:
    37,714
    Likes Received:
    18,912
    Parsons, Harden - both of these guys play in crowds way too much. Try to do it on their own.

    The sign of youth and inexperience.
     
  3. spdngyns69

    spdngyns69 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2008
    Messages:
    2,294
    Likes Received:
    79
    A large part of this loss was on Parsons. I don't care if he scored those 17pts or whatever, clumsy boneheaded plays down the stretch were the momentum killers. That iso attempt at the end of the third was a big fat joke and icing on the cake.
     
  4. tor.rocks

    tor.rocks Member

    Joined:
    Nov 7, 2012
    Messages:
    411
    Likes Received:
    7
    The reporters couldn't believe the crap that was spewing from his mouth. They didn't even know what kinda questions to ask....lol.
     
  5. Grigori

    Grigori Member

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2010
    Messages:
    1,111
    Likes Received:
    74
    Obviously there are issues other than McHale. He just happens to be the biggest issue by a Texas mile at the moment.

    It's kind of hard to blame him for trying at the end of the third. It's either Parsons initiating the offense, or it's Tney friggin' Uglas. Seriously, f*** Uglas' feelings. Put in Beverley for krisakes. Beverley may be raw, but he actually has enough brains to play PG.
     
  6. Arthurprescott2

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2012
    Messages:
    2,647
    Likes Received:
    77
    Yea but that's what happens when you give Parsons too big a burden in terms of playmaking - we've seen it all season long. He can be ok or even brilliant at times, but he's still a young player that's limited and should have a well-defined limited role with specific directives. That's where the blame falls on McHale, for failing to define roles for his role players.

    TD should not be jacking up 11 shots in 19 minutes. Delfino should not be handling the ball for any longer than 3 seconds - same with Parsons.

    Good coaches take limited/young/inexperienced players and put them in defined roles that hide their weaknesses and showcase their strengths.

    Pop doesn't let Gary Neal play unhindered w/o any supervision. Even Scottie Brooks doesn't have Thabo try to make plays.
     
  7. roxxy

    roxxy Member

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2012
    Messages:
    5,120
    Likes Received:
    162
    Greg Pop when Kawhii Leonard starts to do to much he yanks him out rips him a new one & then immediately puts him back in.
     
  8. rocketsfeeva

    rocketsfeeva Member

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2012
    Messages:
    1,505
    Likes Received:
    74
    His coaching is as inconsistent as this team's play.
     
  9. kmart9419

    kmart9419 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2003
    Messages:
    718
    Likes Received:
    46
    Once harden started going into iso mode in the third and fourth, I knew it was over.
     
  10. AggNRox

    AggNRox Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2003
    Messages:
    3,284
    Likes Received:
    59
    you compared a novice to a HOF vet. you ask too much.:grin:

    i hope our coaches learn their mistakes from those losses.
     
  11. trock

    trock Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2012
    Messages:
    1,219
    Likes Received:
    15
    Is he talking about the 3rd of the 4th quarter?
     
  12. pippendagimp

    pippendagimp Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2000
    Messages:
    26,976
    Likes Received:
    21,165
    he's like a clueless frustrated dog furious that he can never catch up to his tail
     
  13. NL Rocket

    NL Rocket Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2012
    Messages:
    4,382
    Likes Received:
    103
    Wow he sure is pissed, people didn't almost even dare to ask another question :eek: Still, McHale has to realize it's also on him to put guys in their place when they try to take it upon themselves to win the game. Bench somebody for instance.
     
  14. Jetfuel

    Jetfuel Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2012
    Messages:
    530
    Likes Received:
    50
    A head coach has specific responsibilities.

    1) Developing the current roster of players.
    2) Utilising the players he has to the best of their abilities and getting the most out of them by putting them in positions to succeed, giving them confidence, disciplining them where necessary and managing their minutes.
    3) Managing player minutes during the game.
    4) Calling plays during the game.
    5) Reading the game and making adjustments accordingly.

    In my opinion McHale has failed in virtually every one of these tasks and has cost the rockets between 5-7 wins (a conservative guesstimate).

    Player management:

    Harden - Half way into the season and he already looks burnt out. Routinely turning the ball over 5-6 times a game and missing lay-up after lay-up. His 3 point shooting percentage seems to have declined sharply also. The way McHale is playing him, fans shouldn't be surprised if the team's franchise player going forward ends up getting injured.

    This is his first season as a starter, so it's understandable he's struggling with his current minute burden. Is it really that difficult to cut down his minutes slightly? IMO he should be playing 36-38 minutes a night with 40+ on very rare occasions in close finishes only. Does he really need to play to the end in blowouts like he has been?

    Asking Harden to play as PG has also been a serious tactical error. Giving him the ball at the start of the shot clock makes it easy for opposing defences to key in on him, forcing him into taking tougher shots and reducing his efficiency and effectiveness.

    Expecting harden to run the offensive and then also be the main finisher/scorer while playing 40+ minutes is a recipe for disaster and we are seeing the fruits of this now. Nevermind the fact that there is no way he can be expected to contribute defensively when he is being forced to bear such a ridiculous burden. Certainly not in his first year as a starter.

    Lin - It's obvious that McHale has some kind of issue with Lin. Not sure what it is but he clearly has little faith in him. In the beginning of the season it was 'not a great defensive match-up,' well that myth has been roundly dismissed. He doesn't seem to trust Lin to play as the team's main PG, constantly looking for ways to take the ball out of his hands, while deciding to try and use him instead as a spot-up shooter. This has been one of the main reasons for the over and misuse of Harden. He benches Lin the moment he makes a mistake and seems to also bench him when he's playing well. Last night was a case in point. While Lin's stat line might not have been great by mid 3rd quarter he was playing excellent defense on Lawson while also orchestrating the offense.

    I think the real problem here is that Mchale has little to no understanding of what a PG does and how a good PG influences the game. He just seems to look at points and assists as his measuring guide to judge Lin's play.

    Chandler - While overall McHale has helped chandler to play well, he has at times put too much on his young shoulders, last night is a good example of this. Chandler is also not a PG and he can't really be excepted to fullfill the role of one.

    Patterson/Morris - Has Patterson missed a single mid-range, baseline jumper lately? He seems to be money from that shot off the PnR, especially with Lin. McHale should be running this play to death, whether with Lin, Harden or Douglas. Force opposing defenses to take at least one of our bigs seriously on the offensive end to open up space and opportunities for harden and Lin.

    Morris seems to be used primarily as a 3 point shooter. Is this really the best we can expect from him?

    The bench - Asking Douglas and Delfino to orchestrate the offensive is ridiculous. They are not good at it. Douglas is great as a high energy spark, but he should not be playing more than 12-15 minutes a game. I'm not convinced Beverly is ready yet, he seems to just commit fouls and turn the ball over. But I'm not against subbing in Beverly for Lin and Douglas for Harden when these players need a breather. But not both at the same time except for VERY SHORT bursts in specific situations and on a VERY SHORT leash in those situations also.

    ====

    In terms of reading the game, I think this is where Mchale's lack of talent as a coach is really exposed. A good coach should be able to anticipate and make changes before the momentum starts to shift away to the other team. At the very least, a decent coach should recognise the first signs of change and immediately change things up. How many times have you seen other coaches call a time out after they have been on a run, the moment the Rocket's score a couple of buckets and it looks like momentum might switch back? McHale never seems to do this. He waits till momentum is well and truly with the other team before realising that his idiotic lineup is failing. By then it's too late and the game is over.

    There have been at least 4-5 games where the Rockets have thrown away the momentum by leaving the bench in for too long.

    'Going with what's working,' is not a viable coaching strategy most of the time because opposition coaches exist, and they will adjust. The bench, specifically Douglas, can and have provided a solid spark on occasion. They play well for a few minutes until the opposing team adjusts and then they get hammered.

    Mchale should be switching them out before this happens, but he seems to have zero feel for the game. There is a reason that these are BENCH players and not starters.

    Bottom line, Mchale has shown himself to be an incompetent coach and fans who care about the Rockets need to get over their problems with Lin/LOFs and see just how much he is costing this team both in terms of chemistry/player development and actual results.

    Clyde Drexler told you guys the same thing that people you call LOFs have been saying for a while now. i.e. Lin should play PG and Harden as SG.

    Maybe you need to look at the merits of the argument and not just the join date of the person who is making it.
     
    7 people like this.
  15. mike_lu

    mike_lu Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2006
    Messages:
    2,159
    Likes Received:
    169
    Good post. I agree with pretty much all that you wrote.

    One exception ... we wouldn't have won 5-7 games more, conservatively. We may have been better positioned to win 5-7 more games with better in-game decisions, but most of those close games are still a toss-up, and who knows exactly what would've happened.

    Not to say the coaching hasn't been frustrating.

    If we have won an extra 3 games, we'd be 28-20, and I'd be much more comfortable of holding off the Lakers/Portland (even Dallas with Dirk back) ...

    That's a big difference.
     
  16. kuku

    kuku Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2012
    Messages:
    2,158
    Likes Received:
    125
    Why are you surprised that McHale likes to deflect responsibilities? Ever since he was hired, he never took accountabilities on anything.

    I remember his first press conference as Rockets HC, he said

    http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/kevin_mchale_press_conference__2011_06_03.html

    As far as I know, he never came out and took accountability for missing the playoffs. He blamed it on lock out season for team chemistry and not getting along with 'certain players.' (Lowry and Budinger all had issues with McHale.)

    LOL he even blamed bloggers for strings of coaches firings back in 08. No wonder he and Royce clicked well.

    Birds of a feather flock together!
     
  17. jogo

    jogo Member

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2003
    Messages:
    1,741
    Likes Received:
    916
    McHale gets all the blame when we lose and none of the credit when we win. Is that fair or not? Who should get the credit if we actually make the playoffs?

    No Rockets coach has been embraced by this board since Rudy T.
     
  18. cw3k

    cw3k Member

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2012
    Messages:
    728
    Likes Received:
    25
    The biggest problem of the game is there was no PG in the game for more than stretch of 8 minutes. No, TD is not a PG.

    Lin was only allow 20 minutes in 3 quarters and wasn't allow to go back in until after the point of no return.

    McHale failed. Still blamed it on the players instead of taking some responsibility.
     
    1 person likes this.
  19. T FOR 3!!!

    T FOR 3!!! Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2008
    Messages:
    2,041
    Likes Received:
    988
    This... During the game my friend and I couldn't figure out why Lin was still sitting. He'd played well up to that point.
     
    1 person likes this.
  20. RMGEEGEE

    RMGEEGEE Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2009
    Messages:
    2,780
    Likes Received:
    136
    You people forget that this is the youngest roster in the NBA.

    McHale can do all he can, but a group of kids are going to make mistakes and they are going to make the same mistake again.
     

Share This Page

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now